The Tale of Two Hearts | Tedros x Reader

Chapter 16: Invitations

Everyone's minds were racing as girls were as friendly as possible while trying to look their best for their possible ball dates and boys were trying their best to work up the courage to ask the girl they liked. Why do this so soon you ask? The Snow Ball invitations had been slipped under doors during the night.

Tedros was walking down the hallway when he saw his fellow mates asking girls to the ball and of course, the girls saying yes. Tedros was becoming frustrated with the sight.

The problem with Balls was that boys had to do all the work. Girls could flirt and scheme and wish all they wanted, but in the end, it's the boy who had to make his choice and hope she said yes. Tedros wasn't worried about the girls saying yes. He was worried there was one girl in particular who wouldn't say yes. Or even worse, gets asked by someone else before he could.

He couldn't remember the last time he actually liked a girl. And yet, he always had one following him, claiming to be his girlfriend. It happened every time. He vowed to forget girls, then noticed one getting attention, set out to prove he could get her, got her, and discovered she was a fatuous prince hunter who had had her eye on him all along. The Beatrix Curse. No. There was a better name for it. The Guinevere Curse.

Tedros was only nine when his mother, Guinevere, made off with the knight Lancelot, leaving him and his father alone. He heard the whispers that followed. "She found love." But what about all those times she said "I love you" to his father? All the times she said it to him? Which love was real?

Night after night, Tedros watched his father slip further into heartbreak and drunkenness. Death came within the year. With his last breaths, King Arthur gripped his son's hands.

"The people will need a queen, Tedros. Don't make my mistakes. Look for the girl who is truly Good."

After that, Tedros vowed that he would find the perfect girl for his kingdom. He searched and searched but he couldn't seem to find love with any of the girls in the school. That was until he met Y/n.

She didn't follow him around and hoped to get his attention. It seemed like he was the one doing that most of the time. She didn't try her hardest to look better than the other girls, and that made her even more beautiful. She wasn't mean or cruel to fellow students or teachers, she was even nice to her Never friend, who was nothing but mean to her. She had a kind heart and this didn't go unnoticed by Tedros.

"Stop it," Tedros muttered to himself. "She just wants to go home with her friends. She would never stay here with you. Get over yourself."

But what if there was a chance she would say yes to the young prince?

"It's contagious," Agatha moaned to Y/n as Evergirls bounded around the Clearing showing each other their invitations, each snowflake a different shape. Nearby Tedros shot marbles and ignored them entirely. "Every challenge had to do with Ball beauty, Ball etiquette, Ball entrances, Ball history—"

Sophie walked over, a pail of pig's feet in hand, and gazed longingly at the Evergirls.

"What's this is hear about a ball?" She asked with a smile.

"The Evers have a ball that we're required to attend with a date. If you don't get a date, then you fail," Y/n mumbled as she watched Tedros. She could tell he was thinking yet again.

"Sounds amazing," Sophie smiled.

"Don't get any ideas," Agatha stated. "We've already learned that Tedros doesn't want you."

Sophie's smile dropped as she put her chin on the palm of her hand.

"It's not fair," Sophie muttered.