"𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑠"

A Dance with a Mask

The princess was getting her dress on, with the help of two maids. Her dress was red and long, it looked light and graceful, it looked like a maroon waterfall cascading down her body. She had loose, silky hair draping over her shoulders, her simple gold crown placed neatly on her head. She wore deep red flats, lined in velvet. She decorated her pale neck with a variety of gold necklaces and pearls.

"Hello father." She curtsied and took the hand of her father, the king. He lead her to the ballroom, where what would have been his 50th anniversary with her mother. The grand doors with gold details were swung open by two knights as the king and his daughter gracefully stepped into the ballroom. The king had a long, loud speech, thanking those who came from all over the world, and commemorating 50 years since he married his deceased wife.

"There you are!" The king grabbed the princess's arm and brung her to a man who looked older than her. Everyone wore a masquerade mask so she couldn't tell who he was. She slightly recognised his voice but she was so deep in thought of who he was that his communication to her father was muffled in her ears.
"This is my daughter, Princess Victoria." The king looked down at her and smiled, she looked up at the masked man and could see him smile at her.
"Victoria, I'd like you to meet Lord Julian of Scandinavia. He has come a long way to meet you." Julian adjusted his mask, she saw a bit of his dark eyebrow, she could tell his expression was relaxed and uplifted.
"Pleasure to meet you, Princess Victoria." He took her smooth hand and kissed it softly as she smiled and curtsied.
"I'd like you two to dance tonight and get to know each other." The king smiled at both of them and then left to make conversation with other guests.

"Well, may i?" Julian held out his hand and smirked. Victoria chuckled and took his hand as he quickly walked her to the centre of the ballroom where everyone was dancing. They elegantly danced, holding hands, close to each other. The princess had her cheek grazing his shoulder, looking out to the side, Julian, on the other hand, looked straight down into her blue-green eyes, glowing and enchanting him from behind her delicate red and gold mask.

"Oh my, princess, your eyes are simply beautiful." Julian said quietly to the princess, whose ear was right at his mouth.
"Why thank you, I get them from my mother!" She looked up and stared into his eyes of darkness. She looked back down, this time leaning her head on his chest. She loved the feeling of his warm breath against her cold ears, hearing him whisper compliments to her from time to time.

The song had ended and the orchestra were about to start another one. They lowered their arms, he held onto her waist as she held his lower arm.
"So, how has your night gone so far sweets?" He was about to lean in for a kiss when she suddenly pushed him away. She looked flabbergasted, after a sew seconds of standing in utter confusion, he saw her run up the steps towards the ballroom exit. He followed after her and grabbed hold of her hand.
"Hey, what's wrong? Was your night bad?" He held both of her hands but she just threw his hands away.
"God you are unbelievable!" She whispered to him in a very annoyed and fed up tone, trying to not cause a scene. She walked faster towards the exit when Julian caught up with her again and dragged her out to one of the balconies looking over the castle gardens.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry if I said something wrong out there, or did something wrong, I didn't mean to hurt you, really!" He had one hand holding hers and the other pressed against the column, she had her back pressed up against it. She slid her hand out of his grasp and ducked under his arm and walked over to the railing.
"I can't even look at you right now." She sounded so angry, "I thought I had found a kind, handsome man but no, I just found a cocky Lord who goes around hitting on young girls in forests!" Julian recognised her voice and body just then.

"Lord Julian, I knew I heard about you somewhere, not just in the forest but in newspapers too, you have many mistresses and an abundance of money and wealth." She scoffed, she had her hands gripped onto the edge of the balcony railing and gritted her teeth "God! Why can't some decent men come to this country? Why is it always the cruel ones?" She looked up to the moon.
"Look, I don't go hitting on women in forests a lot, and yes, I did have many mistresses but when I heard I would have an opportunity to marry you I abandoned all of them." Julian walked up to her and tried to take her hand but she slapped his hand away. She turned around and looked extremely angry as she started to approach him.
"You only want to marry me so you can have all your fun in bed while I have to raise our children, rule the country and you just get the money and fame! I bet once you secure yourself a good position you'll go straight back to your mistresses!" She snapped and tried to slap him, he stepped back and raised his arms once more.

"Look! I'm not like that! You're beautiful, smart, and you can stand your ground!" It was his back now pressed against the column now.
"Just leave me be. I don't want to dance with you, I don't want to marry you and I don't want to create an heir with you!" Victoria got closer until he was stretching upwards, trying to get further away, although he knew he couldn't because he was essentially trapped by her.

She stared him deep in the eye, his scared face looking down at her intimidating frown, she stepped back and went back to the railing. He snuck out and left the ball, leaving her alone on the small balcony, just like she wanted.

Word count : 1067