Each chapter is filled with cute ChariNina moments! I'm writing this for the sake of my OTP's happiness. I also accept requests for any type of moments or AU you want this pairing to be in. I hope you'll enjoy this!
What am I even doing here? Nina sighed for the Nth time tonight. She scanned around the ballroom at the lavish celebration and even more lavish people, feeling totally out of place. I even tried my best to escape this time but how come I'm still here? That question was actually a no-brainer since Nina was quite predictable in her attempts to escape the masquerade ball. Every single one was foiled by her friend, Rita.
Her family was desperate for her to get married off to a wealthy man. Even though the masquerade ball was set for the prince to find his ideal bride, other eligible bachelors of high society are also encouraged to join to find their own partner.
Finding a partner here in the ball was a sure win since everyone is from nobility, even Nina. However, Nina's family is from a long line of lowly earls who manages a small fief in the outskirts of Anatae. Her mission is to marry a wealthy man so she can provide monetary funds to her family's fief. However, Nina's been adamant to raise the funds herself and didn't want to depend on any outsiders so she doesn't plan to find anyone. If only the prince had found his bride earlier then she wouldn't need to come today.
Anatae's crown prince, Prince Charioce is an exceptional individual who contributed a lot in the country's management despite his young age. His reputation is so great that even the citizens prefer him as king rather than his aloof father. His only flaw so far is his lack of interest in finding his future queen which to his father, who already has lots of concubines, is a big problem. That's why as soon as he turned 17, his father held this annual masquerade ball to let his son choose. So far, five years has passed without any wedding bells. Nonetheless, it had nothing to do with Nina so she easily avoids the prince by avoiding the huge crowd of women in the center of the ballroom. Well, at least I get to eat high-class food.
Unbeknownst to anyone, the prince surrounded by women wasn't the real one. Charioce, feeling bored of all the unwanted attention, decided to play hooky. With the help of his friend and guard, Kaisar, he managed to fool everyone by switching places with him. No one, not even his father, knew that he changed his hairstyle from his childhish locks to a much sharper and mature look. Couple with the mask and a modest attire, he looks like a normal aristocrat while Kaisar had to wear a wig and Charioce's clothes.
Playing hooky meant that he didn't need to attend the ball but being the perfectionist he is, Charioce had to make sure everything was clear on Kaisar's side. Satisfied, he took a glass of wine and headed out to the balcony. According to his professor, tonight is going to be a special night. The full moon tonight will be bigger and the surrounding will be brighter than any night. It's something the professor likes to call the supermoon. Intrigued and curios as always, Charioce decides to view it with his own eyes and preferably alone. Unfortunately, tonight was a rather cloudy one so he couldn't quite see it perfectly.
As he head down towards the balcony that overlooks the garden and is well-hidden from others to get a better look, he saw someone already there. Suddenly at that precise moment, the moon decided to appear. Charioce was starstruck as he saw the figure illuminated by the moonlight. A petite girl with short pink hair was looking at the moon with the most adorably innocent smile on her face. Even though her face was covered by the mask, he could tell how enchanted she was by the moon which made him smile involuntarily. Charioce decided to move closer to the girl. To make her notice him.
Nina, realizing someone was approaching her from behind, quickly turned around and held up the fork she was using to eat cakes.
"Who's there!?" she shouted and the gentleman held both hands up .
"Whoa there. Don't worry I mean no harm nor am I taking any of your cake." Charioce said with a slight chuckle as he saw the girl holding her plate filled with cakes like her life depended on it. Nina blushed madly at his statement and quickly put down her plate on the balcony ledge. As she did so, a large hand gently swipe the edge of her mouth. Nina was too shocked to react.
"Excuse me, there was something on your mouth." Charioce swiped the cream from her mouth and tasted it. It was sweet.
"T-T-THANK YOU FOR THAT B-B-BUT YOU COULD'VE JUST TOLD ME!" Nina became self-conscious of his actions and wanted to retreat as soon as possible. "OK BYE!" was the only getaway she could think of.
Sudden panic appeared on his face and he quickly grabbed her arm. "Wait! Don't go yet! We still haven't-" Just then, the music for the dance started playing and gave Charioce an idea. "We still haven't danced yet." he finally said.
"D-dance? But I'm not good at it! I'll probably just step on your foot or trip or worse!"
"That's okay. I don't mind."
"B-but-" Nina couldn't even finish her sentence when Charioce pulled her closer to him and wound his arm around her waist, the other one holding her left hand.
"Just follow me." With a sweet whisper, he guided her into a leisure waltz. All the while, he was looking at her face.
She was stiff at first, being conscious of how she moved but gradually, she relaxed as she noticed that Charioce was just gliding around the balcony slowly and steadily. It wasn't the most perfect or beautiful waltz, it couldn't even be called a waltz. They were simply swaying around in each others arms. He looked at her lovingly as she laughed and twirled around. Making the dance more playful.
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It was strange, for both Nina and Charioce to be enjoying a stranger's company but they did and both hoped that this dance will never end.
As the dance came to a slow pace, Nina stared at Charioce.
"This is nice. I've never danced like this before. I know it's weird since we just met and I don't even know your name but I hope we'll get to dance like this again." Nina smiled which made Charioce more determined to go through his plan.
"What's your name then?"
"Nina. Nina Drango."
"Nina, I promised you this won't be the last." He whispered and she blushed.
That was the start of the romance between the king and queen that brought their country into a new glorious era.
It all started with a moonlit dance.
HEY GUYS! I DID IT!!!!
Sorry for the long wait but I was quite busy for awhile. Anyway, this chapter is a request from my dear friend, angelsakana. I did my best and I hope all of you like it! Please enjoy!
