Sinful

000

Every inch of Thana's body was being tugged, pushed and poked from a group of maids who were desperate to get her ready for the ball in time. The time passed by quickly since the Princess found out about the delicate state her father is in, as if time sped up the moment his decided to slow down. She loved her father dearly, he was her best friend, they had fights just like any family would but Thana was forever grateful for him and the life he gave her. Growing up without a mother was hard but raising a child alone while running a Kingdom was even harder. The King did not tell Thana the details of his illness and refused to talk about it, the Princess felt uneasy with not knowing. She was not sure how long he had left and that worried her, she was not ready to grieve her father's passing. He insisted that he was doing well for the time being but that did not satisfy Thana's worries. 

The Princess was so distracted in her own thoughts that she hadn't realized that the maids had finished getting her ready. She looked down at her beautiful outfit, marveling at the simple appearance. The dress hung off her shoulders, reaching the tip of her wrists and her ankles, the white fabric flowed gracefully over her body as if it were air. Thana softly touched the red belted accent in curiosity as she was rarely allowed to wear anything other than white, the smallest hint of color was extremely exciting to the Princess. She looked up to the mirror to see her long, white hair half tied up in a long braid that paired delicately with the ruby crown that rested on her head. She smiled at her reflection, feeling truly beautiful, something that she rarely felt. Most days she was seen as some cursed girl from an evil Kingdom by outsiders, but today, they will see her as royalty, as someone important. The thought of people finally viewing her as "normal" made the whole event seem just a bit easier, she still did not wish to marry any of the attendees but her choice has already been made for her regardless of her own feelings towards the situation. It is her duty to obey her father and find a husband at the ball, she must follow through and honor her dying father. Thana took one last look in the mirror as she let out a deep breath, preparing for her grand entrance. Her goals for the night were clear, she must find a husband and carry out her royal obligation. She will find the next King of Rowan.

***

"Now presenting your majesty, Princess Thana of Rowan." The Princess straightened her back as the grand doors opened, revealing her to the ballroom full of guests who were anxiously waiting for her arrival. Thana stuck out like a star surrounded by darkness, her pale appearance shined brightly amongst the dark ruby walls of the ballroom and the dark attire of the guests. She slowly descended the stairs towards the group of strangers, pretending to be oblivious to the whispers and gasps that arose because of her appearance, she tried to hold back her feelings of disappointment. As she reached the bottom of the stairs where her father stood, the attendees began to greet her one by one. Some of the guests seemed scared of her appearance while others appeared somewhat disgusted or shocked, not sure how to react to the visual of Thana. The Princess continued to greet guests, feeling more and more hopeless with each unsettled interaction. After a couple dozen greetings, Thana was getting tired of the same interactions, she was about to ditch the event all together when she suddenly heard a sharp inhale from her father beside her. She looked at him in concern but his eyes were fixated somewhere else, they were pressed onto the person next in line to greet her. She was met with a blonde duo, the older man had greyish blonde hair that matched his gold attire, his sour expression made Thana's stomach drop, he was clearly not happy to be there. Next to him was a boy who looked around Thana's age, his blonde hair was brighter than the latter's and slicked back, accentuating his bright green eyes. He smiled softly as her before the two bowed in respect, Thana couldn't help notice how beautiful the young man was. The King cleared his throat before addressing the new company. "Vandenberg, I did not expect your attendance this evening." The tension in the air between the two leaders was thick and uncomfortable as Thana became aware of the identity of the duo in front of her. She could feel eyes of the entire room glued onto the four as they interacted, she swore she even heard someone gasp for air, as if they were holding their breath.