Forbidden Lovers

Part 4

Part 4

The day had arrived and Hanni’s nerves were utterly calm. It was October sixth and the entire kingdom buzzed with excitement. Everyone pulled out their finest clothes, some combed their hair back and others did intricate braid styles. Anything to look like something next to the royals.

Hanni felt the tug of Sofenna pulling her hair back. Hanni knew what to expect: she would go out and greet everyone, and they would mingle. The only thing that worried her was what was expected to be next. Calix planned it, her parents planned it, but she didn't.

Hanni thought of Ahylia, the way she had looked those days ago, when Calix had embraced her. At breakfast Hanni saw that Calix was kind. Unlike the other suitors, he seemed to care about Hanni’s opinion. After breakfast he took Hanni on a walk and Hanni had seen that he was understanding and amusing. Hanni had felt comfortable with him and vented to him about the pressure she felt from her parents. That evening when Calix asked her about his courtship Hanni had weighed her options. If she expected it would allow her parents to back off and possibly allow her more time to visit Ahylia, it had reminded Hanni how she never did get to go find her and it saddened her that she forgot her huntress. If she declined she would go through a dozen more suitors and would most likely not find another one as kind as Calix.

Hanni remembered what was expected of her and any courtship, engagement. That had terrified Hanni, she would watch Calix and attempt fruitlessly to muster up a feeling beyond friendship towards Calix. Something that she felt that reflected what she felt towards Ahylia, at the very least something like what she felt to the Italia’s princess all those years ago. Nothing ever comes, no matter how hard Hanni tries she never feels anything like that towards Calix.

Before Hanni even noticed it was lunch hour, she was being led to the great hall. Inside she found her father in his kingly splendor, the queen with a half made face and loose waves. Kemma is entirely put together, all but her knees. Hanni knew that wasn’t the gown she would wear for the ball because on hand she had told Hanni all about the dress and it’s splendor, and on the second hand this was a chance for her to find suitors and courtships too.

Kemma’s short blonde hair, a near grey, was pulled into a sophisticated twist that hugged her tiara. Hanni hadn’t worn her tiara since the last ball which was the Queen’s last birthday four months ago.

Hanni sat down to eat and her day continued in a mess of preparations. By three thirty- a meager half hour before the ball began- Hanni was exhausted. Hanni was prepped in her yellow gown, her parents had urged her maids to re-dye her hair to its natural shade but Hanni refused. She had allowed them to pull it into a discrete braid that wrapped around her head like a milkmaid’s and nestled her crown to cover the circle of hair.

Hanni wore pale blue sandals, she was grateful for a skimpy two inch heel but her ankles already ached. By three forty-five, the guests began entering the ballroom. The ballroom brought happy memories for Hanni and she worried today would change that. For Hanni’s sixth birthday she had the ball room filled with hundreds of rubber balls to make it one large ball pit. She had enjoyed the pit for hours. Kemma had fallen into the pit and had struggled to get out. She had been very frustrated and went running to their pregnant mother.

Hanni smiled at the memory. She looked up from her seat beside the window in her room, she saw the large gathering to enter the palace, many of them for the first time in their entire life. One person caught Hanni’s eye, slinking across the courtyard a dark head of hair in a dark gown strode to the opposite end of the palace. Ahylia, Hanni thought, a smile spreading across her face. She was coming. Of course she was coming, everyone had to, Hanni remembered. Hanni watched her dark hair which was pulled up into an elegant bun. Hanni watched her figure until it retreated behind the curve of the building. Hanni kept her eyes in the spot where she disappeared hoping she would reappear. Hanni wasn’t sure how long she stayed staring but eventually her eyes snapped back open.