The War of my Heart

1080 - Chapter !

"Oh please Sammy you have to come!" Cassandra threw another pair of shoes in the corner and reached for a new set.

"Cass I in no way Need to come."

Cassandra discarded the shoes so sit in front of her cousin, "For me?" She batted her eyes, "I can't go if you don't."

Samantha sighed and nodded, "If that's what you want, but don't expect me to be wholeheartedly into it, and I will NOT dance with anybody."

Cassandra squealed, "Of course you won't dance...I mean, nobody will ask you, not with those drab colors you always wear." Her cousin said this light heartedly with a grin, she was met in reciprocal with a pillow in the face.

The next morning the two girls were off to the palace. Their grandfather waved them off from the front step, blowing kisses in their old direction as he leaned on his cane.

"He sure is a cute old man." Cass said waving back.

"I just hope he's alright here all by himself..." Sam suddenly regretted her decision but Cass saw the look and quickly grabbed her hands, "He fended just fine by himself when you didn't live there, plus, we're only gone for four weeks, we'll be back before you know it."

Sam nodded, 'Before I know it...' but silently deep down she dreaded what might happen at the palace and going home couldn't come soon enough.

"Oh, isn't this place quaint!" Cass squealed, she pulled Sam out of the carriage and the two ran up the stairs of the Swan Lake Inn.

The hostess immediately perked up at the front desk and rushed to meet them, "Hello ladies, how may I be of service to you today?"

"We need a room for two and extra cushions, we just came from a two day journey in a bumpy carriage, if you know what I mean." Cass winked at the older woman at the mention of the two girls stiff backsides, it was true, mountain roads were not the best.

The hostess smiled, "Of course, if you'll just follow me." She led them to their room and they quickly settled in, their bags and belongings taking up a considerable amount of space.

"When Do the festivities start?" Sam picked through her travel bag, eyeing the books she had brought, wondering if she could get in any reading time.

"The first dance is tonight! Can you believe it!"

Sam nodded then sighed out her answer, "Fantastic."

Sam decided to wear a dark grey dress, she wore her hair up, as she always did and in less than half of the hour she was ready, Cass, on the other hand, was just getting started.

By the time Cass had finished Sam had read the first two chapters of a book and gone on a walk through the Inn, she had met several other young ladies and families taking place at the inn.

"We will be...Fashionably late." Cass tried to excuse their tardiness as no big matter but Sam slunk into her seat, if she could help it she wanted to avoid any special attention and being late was not a good way of doing that.

The palace itself was beautiful, It rested on the crest of a hill, the pine tree woods surrounded it on three sides with a lake far in the distance, the sun was starting to set and it cast a beautiful orange glow on the stone of the castle.

"Oh Sam, this view is something spectacular." Her cousin was half hanging out the window in awe.

"Well I can't see it with the folds of your dress in the way."

Cass sat back and seeing the view had to agree, it was something amazing.

They entered the palace to find that not only were they the only ones fashionable late but in fact, more people came surging in the later the night grew.

"Who know so many people lived in our kingdom..." Cass said still staring at the on flow of people.

"This isn't all of them, a considerable amount won't come, and most of these people will leave within the next few days."

"Cassandra looked at her cousin, "Why would they leave?"

"Money."

Cassandra nodded, they had been fortunate to be able to pay in full, it wasn't much money, but in the pockets of a poor commoner, it would be momentous.

"I Still think it's ridiculous that we have to pay, even that little, I thought the Royal family of Kentix agreed to fund the whole thing." Cass said this nonchalantly but it panged in Sams' heart and she desperately wanted to change the subject, "Yes quite ridiculous, but not so much as these gold linings on everything."

Cass giggled, "If I were as rich as the royal family I would put gold linings on everything..." She sighed dreamily, Sam was about to make a comment about how absurd that would be but her first words were drowned out by sudden applause.

All heads turned to the entrance and Sam saw the crowned Prince standing at the top of the stairs, His wife was standing next to him, and they were smiling down at the crowd.

Sam applauded but as the Prince stood back and presented the Crown Prince of their neighboring country Kentix Sam frowned and her hands stopped moving, in fact, her breath caught and her eyes were glued on him.

It was him.

He smiled and waved and more applause rose, the three started down the stairs and when his head disappeared into the crowd Sam's breath released and she suddenly felt dizzy and grappled for her chair and sat down trying to breathe slowly, she knew he was a prince, but here he was again, the traitor, the man who had broken her heart.