The Humble King

Part 2

Ella

The next morning I got ready for my friend's and I's spa appointment to get out nails and hair done before the ball
While we waited at our appointment, Mony read more of her magazine.

"At the ball, he will choose one lucky girl who he falls in love with at the ball to be his wife and future queen," Mony read aloud dreamily.

I scoffed. "That part just doesn't make sense," I voiced.

"What part?"

"The 'falling in love in one night' part. How does he know he's in love? How does he know who's fit to rule the kingdom? It all just sounds like a gimmick to me," I replied.

"You're a gimmick," Tiana shot back.

We all laughed.

"Alright ladies," our spa attendant said, "follow me over here."

After the spa, we went out for dinner and even rented a limo to take us to the castle.

"Five minutes in, and my feet already hurt," Tiana complained in the limo.

She had bought the most daringly high, hot pink stilettos we could find to match her hot pink gown.

"You look beautiful though," I said.

"Thank you, so do both of you!"

"Yeah we need to get a picture some time tonight, maybe of our new husbands too!" Mony added.

I chuckled and shook my head.

When we arrived at the castle, we exited to car and followed the massive crowd of people up the marble stairs. We entered the glorious ballroom with tables and tables of food and a large string orchestra to lead some couples dancing on the dance floor.

I stopped in awe of the marble architecture of the ballroom. I spotted Prince Kendrick in the back of the room with a mob of girls awaiting a dance with him. He was wearing a white suit and dress pants with a black tie. He had his light blue sash across his torso and his suit decorated with small medals and pins showing his rank.

"Come on," Tiana grabbed me. "Lets get some drinks."

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Kendrick

I bowed politely to a young woman I had just finished a dance with. She giggled and blushed at me. I probably shouldn't be leading people on, knowing that I already had a prearranged agreement, but I had to mingle before "miraculously" falling for Arianna after tonight. Plus this is my last night of my single life. A part of me still selfishly hoped I would find my true love here.

A girl I had danced with earlier approached me again. "Hi again," she said shyly. "So I hear you will be choosing a wife sometime tonight?"

This is the exact thing I was worried about. "Yes, that is correct," I replied. I cut her off before she could say more. "I have to be going now, have a good rest if your night." I walked off and grabbed a glass of champagne from the champagne table and went off to a high balcony over looking the ballroom from the third floor. I sipped champagne while I watched the dancing couples. I checked the time: 7:00. Arianna is expected an hour from now. What was I supposed to do? Keep on randomly mingling for a hour? I shook my head.

Just then my right hand man and best friend Jacques tapped me on the shoulder. "How is it going K? The orchestra wants to know where their break room is," he informed me.

"Right, right, I'll take them there," I assured him.

After I led the orchestra to their break room to rest and tune their instruments, I found Jacques again by the sound board. He was running the sound system tonight and making the orchestra sound level and good.

"Thanks again for doing this," I told him.

"Of course. How's the wife search going?"

"It's going," I replied. "Any advice?" I asked.

"I think the key is knowing what you're looking for in a girl," he explained.

"True, I mean, I know what I would be looking for," if I had the chance, I thought.

"And what's that?"

"A girl who's, like, adventurous and carefree, confident and knows what she wants. A girl who's able to let loose and have fun and isn't super entitled like a lot of the girls I've met, like how am I supposed to find a girl like that? There are so many girls here how would I even find her-" just then I had a crazy idea.

"Jacques, can I ask you to do something, no questions asked?"

"Uh sure?"

"Good. Could you aux my phone into the sound system and play my party playlist on Spotify?"

"Uh, why exactly?"

"That's a question," I stated.

"I don't know Kendrick, you're father was pretty strict about the whole classical music only thing-"

"I promise you'll get none of the blame, it'll be all on me, I haven't even seen my father during this whole party, plus the orchestra is on break."

He finally agreed, and I handed him my phone and started to make my way downstairs.