Part I - THE PRINCE

CHAPTER 6

Twenty minutes later, Aldric stood adjacent to his father and mother adorning a pair of polished black pants that matched a wrinkle-free black shirt. He wore a dark blue tailcoat over the ensemble and the pieces’ silver embroidery and buttons added a necessary touch of elegance without appearing gaudy and over the top. The valets had slicked back Aldric’s hair, highlighting his high cheekbones and hooded grey eyes, enhancing the handsome angles of his face. His confidence only continued to swell as more and more members of the staff snuck glances at him as they passed.

Brooke, in contrast, looked far less enthused to be in the corridor greeting their arrivals. She continuously fidgeted with the layers of her skirt and teetered precariously every time she had to move around in her heels. Her skin was slightly pale, too, and her makeup hadn’t been able to completely hide the bags under her eyes.

“Why do you look like you’re about to pass out?” Aldric whispered playfully to her under his breath.

“Why do you look so composed?” She snapped back. Brooke winced at the volume of her own voice and glared at Aldric like he was responsible. She opened her voice to say something else but closed it quickly as another guest moved into position in front of them.

The number of people arriving gradually increased, swiftly cutting off any further conversation. Aldric didn’t need Brooke to explain her behavior, though. It was well known how much the Princess of Aguki despised formal events like this. The gowns, the hair, and makeup, the false exchanges of pleasantries—all of it built up such a nauseating display that getting Brooke to attend was typically a challenge. It didn’t help, either, that Rodell tended not to want his daughter present anyway. Her loose lips had the habit of insulting a variety of guests. However, despite the potential calamities, Aldric had insisted on Brooke’s accompaniment. He felt partially guilty that he was using her to fulfill Rhiann’s vacant position, but not guilty enough to allow his sister some reprieve from today.

A good hour passed without anything of note occurring. Aldric had strangers bow to him, gush over his clothes and general appearance, and congratulate him on such a momentous day before they each disappeared into the ballroom behind him to gorge themselves on the food being assembled and served. Brooke stared longingly at a tray of shrimp that passed and Aldric laughed softly as her stomach growled loudly in response. Carla shot her daughter a look.

“Have a little more decorum, Brooke,” she chided in a hushed voice. “Those are not the manners of a princess.”

Brooke rolled her eyes. “If you’d just let me eat something,” she mumbled.

Carla sucked in a breath through her teeth in a strange sort of hiss. “And risk you bursting the seam of that dress? Absolutely not. If you had dieted like I had instructed you to maybe we wouldn’t be having this problem.”

Brooke’s cheeks flushed red.

“Now, now,” Rodell said with a stiff smile turned elsewhere. Carla’s lips snapped together in a sour pucker as she turned towards her husband, while Brooke hung her head in the opposite direction of her parents. Aldric simply continued staring at anything but his family with his arms folded respectfully behind his back and an easy smile still gracing his face. “Stop fussing over your daughter, dear, and go greet your brothers.”

Duke Jadon McPherson and Lord Jensen McPherson couldn’t have timed their arrivals better. The two men both greeted their elder sister with a kiss on the cheek and a warm smile.

Beside Jadon was his wife Primrose. Her curly red hair was tamed into a knot at the base of her neck and her pale, freckled skin was flushed from the cold. She moved towards Aldric first, bypassing both Carla and Rodell without a backward glance. She took the prince’s hands into hers and squeezed.

“I’m sorry that Rhiann couldn’t be here today,” she said solemnly. Aldric’s smile twitched, but he returned the pressure with a slight tightening of his fingers. “She send her regards, though, and wanted me to tell you how much she wishes she could have been here.”

“Thank you, Aunt Primrose. I appreciate that.”

But Aldric didn’t appreciate it. He could have gone the entire day without anyone pointing out that his beloved cousin wasn’t present. It stung knowing that Rhiann had chosen to remain in Lukipia rather than venture north to attend one single party.

But Aldric bit his tongue. He smiled, the facade of ‘The Prince’ staying perfectly in place.

“Happy birthday, Aldric,” Jadon said, joining his wife with a gentle hand on her lower back. The two exchanged a brief smile with one another before redirecting their attention in Aldric’s direction. Their smiles were tight, though, once they were landed back on him.

“Thank you, Uncle Jadon,” Aldric said with a forced smile of his own. He couldn’t quite rationalize their abrupt discomfort, nor did he dwell on it.

As Primrose and Jadon moved away from him, the pleasantries surprisingly brief, Jensen and his wife Emillie moved into their departed places. Harpreet stood just behind her parents looking angelic in a silver and blue dress. Jensen gripped Aldric’s hand tightly rather than bowing and gave him a firm nod before stepping away. Emillie, likewise, was similarly wordless as she kissed Aldric on the cheek and smiled sweetly at him. Or at least tried to. The gesture came out stiff and almost…sad.

“Is everything alright with your mother?” Aldric asked Harpreet, who lingered in her parents’ wake.

Harpreet shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t know. They’ve both been acting weird today.” She didn’t say anything further before moving to speak with Brooke, who was looking particularly unhappy, more so with every minute that passed.

Aldric momentarily pushed aside thoughts of his family, though, as he stood proudly at his father’s side. Together they welcomed Riko Iseya of Titria to their kingdom, along with Tegan Ridcully of Lukipia. The former was beautifully dressed in a striking red and gold kimono, her hair done atop her head and pinned with elaborate hairpieces that swung with even the slightest head tilt. Tegan, in contrast, wore a simple black dress with a high collar and long sleeves. The dark fabric made her red hair appear even brighter, but it washed out the color of her skin and made the bags under her eyes appear more like bruises.

“How had your sister been, Lady Tegan?” Rodell asked gently, his voice quiet and barely audible in the bustling hall. Tegan’s head dipped, and she whispered something back that Aldric didn’t catch.

Conversation continued flooding the space around Aldric and with the addition of the orchestra, the overlapping noises only seemed to incentives everyone present to speak even louder. But as the entrance doors opened, letting in a brutal October breeze, the hall fell quiet with the arrival of the next guest.

Aldric startled at the abrupt stillness that settled over the guests. Time slowed to a crawl as the Lords and Ladies present halted in their steps. They watched with open curiosity as the last remaining party delegate strolled through the crowd, unbothered by the leering eyes and sharpened ears. She wore a flashy, silken dress constructed of a sheer black fabric that glittered like the night sky. Its plunging neckline and long slit up the side accentuated the curve of her body and the slimness of her limbs, but the style contrasted shapely with the typical conservative fashion of Aguki. And despite himself, Aldric smirked in amusement at the aghast expressions of the surrounding women.

The Tanah delegate seemed to relish the attention as a slight smile curved her red lips. Her chin raised a bit higher as she walked, and her four-inch heels resounded even more prominently than the background noise of the distant violins. And just as King Cirillo had adorned a mask-like crown that concealed most of his face and the entirety of his eyes, so did the girl, except hers was silver rather than gold and entwined around her head in a band of diamonds.

She came to a stop in front of Rodell with an expectant tilt of her head. Her blonde hair hovered just above her shoulders in a series of waves, and involuntarily Aldric’s eyes slid over her exposed collarbone, noting the shimmer of makeup she’d placed there.

Everything about the girl was eye-catching. From the way she dressed to the way she held herself—everything was meant to entice. But despite the flashy clothes, the cocky stance, and the glittery, bejeweled accessory currently wrapped around her head, Aldric’s skin itched. There was a falsehood to her posturing that he recognized with unwelcome familiarity.

“Prince Aldric,” she said sweetly, her voice surprisingly husky. “My father sends his congratulations.”

Father. So this girl was a princess of Tanah.

Aldric’s mind raced as he mentally conjured a family tree for the Andrade royals. It was instantaneous and as natural as breathing as names and faces fell into place. From what he knew, King Cirillo and Queen Lucile had four daughters. The heir apparent and the Feardon were both raven-haired like their father, while the second and fourth princesses were blonde like their mother. And knowing that Nesrin, the youngest, was renowned for her demure nature, Aldric rationalized that it was safe to assume he was looking at Khione Andrade, the second princess of Tanah.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess Khione,” Aldric said, smoothly falling into position in front of her. He bowed low and rose slowly, his entire demeanor oozing charm. “I appreciate you taking the time to journey so far north just to attend a simple party.”

Khione snickered. “The pleasure is mine, Prince Aldric. I wouldn’t dare miss such an entertaining event.”

Before Aldric could respond, Khione was gliding past them, a simper pulling at her lips. Confusion momentarily clouded Aldric’s thoughts as he watched her and her entourage disappear into a sea of dancing forms. As he puzzled the reason for such an expression on her face, Rodell took Carla by the arm and, along with the remainder of the guests, filtered into the ballroom fully. Only Aldric lingered.

An uncouth snort left him impulsively as he took in the scene before him. A glance at his surroundings told him he was alone, except for the two soldiers guarding the entry doors. Though considering their focus was entirely locked on Khione’s exposed leg, Aldric marked that neither was going to have a job come tomorrow morning.

The celebration inside was rising in excitement as people from all over Aguki gorged themselves on delicacies and drank away the royal family’s reserves. Laughter and chatter competed with the crescendo of the current waltz being played as bodies swarmed around one another in a dizzying tapestry of color and fabric. Harpreet and Brooke mingled around the dessert table with unrestrained gluttony, while Ewan watched them from a distance, hovering at the perimeter protectively. Meanwhile, Aldric’s parents, his uncles, and aunts, along with even Riko and Tegan seemed enraptured by a story Khione was currently constructing. And as Aldric looked closer at the circle forming around the Tanah delegate, he couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow at the numerous council members he spotted.

“It’s ironic, isn’t it,” a voice suddenly said from beside him. Aldric pivoted in sharp bewilderment at the intrusion, his brain feeling sluggish as it tried to process the appearance of the person adjacent to him. “You’re the guest of honor and yet no one has realized that you’re not even present.”

Aldric blinked several times, cursing his brain for the delays currently bombarding his thought process. He had wished for her presence so vehemently today that Aldric was having a hard time comprehending things.

“Rhiann?” He muttered like an idiot.

His cousin turned away from the partygoers and grinned wistfully.

Despite the shock of seeing her, though, Aldric couldn’t help but notice she wasn’t exactly dressed for a formal event. Rhiann had on lace-up, brown leather boots, a thick traveling jacket, and wore what he suspected were men’s pants, if their loose fit was any indication. Her hair was braided down her back and looked unwashed and windswept.

“What are you doing here?” He finally managed to ask. Rhiann just shook her head. She glanced around them warily and her entire body abruptly stiffened as her gaze locked on something just past him. Aldric followed her line of sight to see Primrose staring at her daughter with wide, frightened eyes.

“I’ll explain later,” Rhiann hissed, already beginning to move away from him. Aldric’s head swiveled between her and his aunt. Primrose’s face was leeched entirely of color and her pace was frantic as she maneuvered around the other guests in a rush to reach them.

Rhiann slipped a piece of parchment into the palm of his hand and hastily slipped down one of the side hallways before anyone else noticed her presence. Aldric cleared his throat uncomfortably, fisted his hand with the note into his pocket, and ducked into the next dance. He avoided Primrose’s gaze as he started twirling his partner, and tried to focus his thoughts on his surroundings.

His pocket burned the entire song.