"you look stiff." spoke a selected to the man she had wandered over to. vidia romero was a blunt girl. she wasn't one to beat around the bush or exchange pleasantries she didn't mean. vidia was wearing a gown of a deep shade of purple. her sunlight colored hair was falling down her back in waves. prince elijah had never seen someone so beautiful in his life. or someone so rude.
"stiff?" the prince questioned, casting his eyes slightly downward to meet the selected's eyes. he was honestly shocked that anyone would talk to him like that. elijah was an only child. the crown prince of illéa, set to take the throne once he found his queen. how did a pretty little maiden work up the courage to speak to him like that.
"that's what i said, wasn't it?" vidia said, raising an eyebrow at the prince. the girl knew that he probably was confused by her statement. if she was being honest, it was just the first thing she thought of to say. besides, it was true. the prince had been standing awkwardly to the side of the ballroom, simply watching the festivities on the dance floor. even without a crown, vidia could tell he was a prince. he carried himself as someone who was important.
"you're not from around here, are you?" the prince simply answered her question with one of his own.
"a selected from each province. that's sort of how the selection works, your highness. of course i'm not from around here," she teased simply.
"you're a selected?" the prince asked, both his eyebrows raising. plenty of people besides the selected had been invited to the winter ball, so it wasn't a guarantee that every woman he would talk to that night was a selected. "i don't believe i met you at the selected meet and greet this morning..." the prince commented, trying to figure out why he didn't know her. he had made sure to meet every selected at the meet and greet. he never forgot a face, and yet he didn't remember her.
"i'm a selected, but i wasn't there," vidia shrugged.
"why?" the prince asked the girl. she continued to strike elijah's curiosity.
"well, i slept in," vidia said, an amused smile gracing her delicate features. "some maids tried to wake me up, but after i asked for five more minutes for the seventh time, i think they gave up. i really don't know who thought it was a good idea to have a meet and greet at 7 am..."
"you chose sleep over the beginning of the selection?" for the first time that night, a grin broke out over elijah's face. he was amused and intrigued at once.
"yep," vidia said simply. she wasn't ashamed in the least bit.
"well..." elijah started but trailed off.
"you don't know how to respond to that, do you?" vidia asked, a teasing look sparked in her brown eyes.
"not at all," elijah shook his head, letting out a quiet chuckle.
"that happens a lot when people talk to me," vidia said. she knew she was a little much for people, but she didn't care. she was who she was and she wasn't going to change that for one prince.
"i can tell..." elijah nodded. call it cliché, but she was different. he didn't know if he necessarily liked that, but elijah was definitely intrigued by her. maybe she'd get annoying after a while, but for now, he wanted to learn more about her. "would you happen to want to dance?" he asked, merely because that was what was expected of him. dancing with the selected. it was sort of protocol.
"no." vidia responded simply.
"no?" elijah was truly confused now.
"are you hard of hearing or something?" vidia asked curiously, tilting her head at the prince.
"no, just simply surprised..." elijah answered. was his pride wounded? maybe slightly...
"surprised that not everyone loves waltzing surrounded by other people staring at you?" vidia asked.
"well, when you put it that way..." elijah said.
"do you wanna go out on the balcony and get some fresh air instead? you look like you could use it..." vidia commented.
"was that an insult?" elijah asked, looking at the selected curiously.
"maybe..." she said, a coy smile spreading across her pink-painted lips. without another word, vidia started walking towards the doors to the balcony.
elijah paused for a moment, but it only took him a few seconds before he followed after her, taking large steps to catch up. he had to know more.
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"she was the love of my life..." king elijah's voice broke as he finished his story. the king was sitting up in his bed, his once striking green eyes were glazing over.
lacey and cordelia were sitting at the end of his bed. lacey was wiping away tears from under her eyes and cordelia's eyes were trained out the window. she refused to cry.
"i miss her..." lacey said, her voice barely above a whisper.
