I saw him before he saw me. Frantically viewing the room for open seats away from him, I mentally scolded myself.

I'm not going to let him scare me.

Yet that is exactly what I was doing. Honestly, I couldn't figure out if it was him, himself that scared me- or the fact that he elicited feelings I had never felt before. I was curious about his confident nature because his presence seemed to command a room. He spoke to me as if he was giving an order, but his smooth lines and voice made me want to answer his questions.

Which is bad.

I had just moved to Deltora, and I didn't want to spend my time fascinated by some silly boy. If I already knew he was trouble, why wouldn't I want to avoid it?

I dashed into a seat, noticing he still hadn't seen me yet. The teacher walked into the room, and I thanked him internally. Greeting the class, he jumped straight into formalities.

"Now as seniors, I have had the pleasure of knowing many of you for a long time. Some of you I haven't met yet, so I would like to get to know everyone better! Please come forth and present yourself to the class."

No, no, no.

"Come on now, we are all a musical family here." I froze in my seat until I realized he gestured to another girl.

This is probably the best thing that has ever happened to me at this school!

"Wait, that's Alexandria. I meant you," He points to me. The whole class turned their gaze toward me, including his.

I slowly rose, my dress scraping the floor slightly as I walked to the front of the room. Feeling all of their eyes on me, a rush of adrenaline shot through my veins.

"Hello, my name is Annalise Woods. I moved to Deltora for my mother's practice, and it's much different from my old home. I plan on staying here for a while." I made sure to look directly at my classmates, not staying on one person for too long.

Until I found his piercing, blue-gray eyes.

His eyebrows were knotted in confusion. He raised his hand that helped me only hours before, "Where did you use to live, Annalise?"

"Um-Isutanina. It's quite small, you might have not heard of it." I nervously looked away from him, hoping the class didn't think anything of my lie. If people found out I used to live in Gregerson, I wouldn't be thought highly of. Not that I'm ashamed, Gregerson has good qualities but it's a very poor kingdom. Deltora is for the wealthy and prosperous- no place for a Gregerson.

And definitely not a Descuvi.

"I know that kingdom. Very quaint, what a nice land indeed." The corner of his lip rose, and a devious glint in his eyes told me the clockworks were working in his brain.

That's actually a place?

"Alright, welcome to the musical family, Annalise."

I didn't care about our "musical family", because all I could feel was his beady eyes staring at me curiously. I knew by his posture, the way his body devoured the entire chair, that the conversation revolving around my homeland was not over.

I just couldn't figure him out. Hazalen introduced me to a girl named Carey, and right away I knew I couldn't trust her. She gossiped for five minutes about people I didn't know, and I could tell this was her usual nature.

Meeting Hazalen was like a breath of fresh air. It's obvious she has gone through hardship, but she was a kind soul that deeply cared for others.

Now him... if there's one thing I know:- there's a lot more to the story than I think.

Unintentionally, I looked over at him, regretting the decision immediately. His gaze was already fixed on me. My eyes battled his gray-blue ones, trying to hold his stare with confidence.

Unfortunately, he won. I tore away from him, scolding myself. I couldn't understand why his destructive gaze angered me. The class finally ended, and I wanted to get out of the room as fast as I could.

"We are having an assembly, please meet in the amphitheater outside!" A teacher yelled to the students in the hallway.

Hazalen scared me, linking our arms in the process. We chatted along the way, and once we arrived, the amphitheater was already full. We were able to get two seats in the far back and I was happy to be out of sight from the gossip. Mr. Roswell, our principal, entered the stage

"Welcome students! I hope your first day back at school was eventful."

You could say that again.

"Soon we will discuss upcoming events, but first we have an honored speaker. Please welcome Prince Darius of Deltora to the stage," The students erupted in cheers, and I wondered what the royal family had to discuss. First, I guess he wanted to approach the stage and interrupt the Prince of Deltora.

He smiled and nodded to Mr. Roswell, "Welcome, everybody."

"Why is he up there? What is he doing?" I whispered to Hazalen, my eyes not leaving the stage.

"He's the Prince, duh."

Holy mother of the gods.

He's been the Prince all along? That's why my classmates were gossiping about me, I ran into the Prince of Deltora. The emblem on his ring represented the crown! He was mad that I disresoected him by turning down an offer from a prince to show me around the school.

At least I know his name now... Darius.

"You can all just call me Damien though, Darius is too formal." He gives a small glare to Mr. Roswell. I grabbed onto the sides of my seat with anxiety, wishing we could be even father from the stage.

"Every year I have a ball to start our school year on the right foot. I wanted to announce the guest list, based on your acdemics and dedication to Mettling High. As the Prince of Deltora, is it my duty to award those who take their duty to the kingdom seriously."

He held up a long scroll," Archer Whitfield, Sean Annett..."

"That's all bullshit, you know." Hazalen wishpers to me, and I jump in suprise. I couldn't seem to get myself together after finding out he was the prince.

"What do you mean?"

"The only people who get invited to the party are rich nobles or people who have strong connections in Deltora. About fifty percent of the school gets invited, but the other half just looks like losers. Some people are on the guest list one year, and don't get invited back the next. It's all a game to Damien." She glared at him, pulling her head away from my ear.

The list continued for a while, and my anxiety grew. I wanted to leave the ampitheatre and go home- I've had enough to deal with the first day of school.

"And one more person I had the pleasure of meeting today, Annalise Woods."

I immediately hunched in my seat, realizing this was my new worst nightmare. Hazalen covered her mouth beside me, looking down with a glint in her eye. I didn't tell her I met Damien, but how was I supposed to know he was the Prince!

Mummering srung out around me, people wondering who I was and how I was invited to the ball. I just moved to Deltora, I had no connections. Students who weren't invited must be furious.

I'm doomed. So very doomed.