Chaconne

Chapter 6 : The Flower Prince

"That's extraordinary, Sunghoon."

"What?" The prince's stone-cold gaze falters. The disbelief is evident in his tone but you also pick up indistinct hints of nostalgia.

"Being half vampire and half werewolf does not make you a monster in my eyes," you clarify. "If anything, it makes you special. More special than the rest of the princes."

"The princess used to say the same thing," Sunghoon murmurs. Suddenly, now within this moment, the once dominating prince appears much smaller and more approachable since you first met. But just as quick as he unsheathes his vulnerability, he masks it once again. "Dance for me," he commands.

"What?" You're astonished by his unexpected change in demeanor.

"Dance for me," he repeats himself, pushing his body off the desk and taking one step toward you. "Dance for me, Princess. Like you're drunk and obsessed with me; like you can't get enough of me." His powerful aura suddenly engulfs the entire room and there's not an inch left for you to escape or breathe. The air is suffocating as he takes slow taunting steps toward you causing your heart, once again, to pick up its pace.

"I thought you weren't convinced that I was the lost princess?" you question as the prince grabs hold of your waist with one hand. He stares down at you, his gaze raking over your face as he searches for something just as the youngest prince had done earlier.

"Riki told me you can hear the harpsichord. No one else has been able to hear the harpsichord until you came along." The tall prince finally wraps his other hand behind your waist and you take his cue to loop your arms behind his neck.

"How is that possible?"

"Heeseung and Sunoo use their powers together whenever we sense someone near. It's complicated and I'm not all too sure how they manage to do it. All I know is Sunoo uses his mind abilities to recall a memory of the princess's favorite song and Heeseung uses his telepathic abilities so that only our fated one can hear it," Sunghoon explains.

The new information shocks you. Is he telling you the truth? If so, is it possible you are truly the lost princess that the princes claim you to be?

"Does Heeseung know that I can hear it?"

"He's probably been reading your mind ever since you got here," the tall male shrugs with a contemplative nod.

"Then why-"

"Stop asking all these questions and dance for me," Sunghoon demands again, eyebrows furrowing together in slight frustration.

"Who are you to command me to dance for you?" you bite back, slightly irked by the prince's impatience.

"Please, Princess," Sunghoon softens. "You used to say you would only party for us. For me. You promised you would only dance for me. It's been too long."

The prince sounds impossibly tormented and it elicits a similar feeling you felt while kissing Jake. Longing. It's like you've gone your whole life, living with a missing piece to your existence, but you never even noticed it until you met the princes. And now, something about Sunghoon, whom you first assumed to be stubbornly somber, but currently vulnerable and pliant to everything you say and do awakens the same feeling of longing exceedingly.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting, Hoon. I'll dance for you," you murmur, the nickname tumbling past your lips without a second thought. You suppose it's a nickname the princess used to use because of the way Sunghoon's pupils dilate ever-so-slightly before he's stepping back with a newfound surge of determination to lead you into the dance.

Your heart swells as he brings you around his room. Although the space is less than that of the room where you danced with Sunoo and Riki, there's still plentiful space that gives way for the prince to swing you around in elegant turns. You're captivated by his enchanting spell, watching in revere as he extends his arms gracefully, your gaze tracing down from his defined shoulders to his elegant fingertips. Sunghoon's movements are by far the most graceful of the princes you have danced with. His aura, while he dances, contradicts his normally intimidating persona and you find yourself liking this side of Sunghoon quite a lot.