𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐄 // 𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐌𝐎𝐊𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐍𝐉𝐈

chapter nine

"Afraid to go inside, ma chére?" My eyes widen as I hear the familiar voice behind me.
"Prince Sanji! Glad to see you. I..." I reply, eyes fixed on the floor, shame lacing my tone. I am a princess, I shouldn't be afraid of this!
"Come on. The others are likely anticipating your presence down there. You can not miss this out." He warmly smiles and holds out his hand for me. I hesitate for a moment, but place my palm into his.
"Thank you" I quietly thank the man, my face flushed at the contact.

I take a deep breath as he opens the door, leading us to the top of the staircase above the ballroom. A few guests notice us, while others are merrily dancing around, or are already under the influence of the wine. My heart starts beating faster at the sight of the amount of guests as we walk down the stairs.

When we get to the bottom of the stairs, Sanji lets go of my hand as he sees his siblings waving for him to go over to them.
"Excuse me lady Y/N, but I have to go now. I will return, I promise." He kisses my hand and approaches his brothers, leaving me speechless, standing alone.
"Sister! We were afraid you would not come!" Cassandra pops up from the crowd of people, Daniela not far behind her.
"I am terribly sorry for making you worry." I apologise.
"No need for this, at least you are here now. You missed out father's usual speech, but nothing else so far." Daniela joins the conversation.

A man appears, and asks Cassandra for a dance, which she accepts, leaving me and Dani alone.
"Where have you been all day? I looked in your room but no sign of you!" She worries.
"I was just in the garden, I thought I would not be in the way there." I reply while looking at the dancing crowd.
"Really? Mother told you not to stay there for a longer period alone!"
"I was not alone, the prince was with me!" I say, a small smile making its way to my face.
"Which one? They were all here! Wait... don't tell me... that you were out with him!" Her eyes widen in realisation.
"You mean Sanji? He was very nice! We did not do anything you were likely thinking of, do not worry." I give her a side eye and reassured her that nothing happened between us in the forest.
"I hope so... I need to go, I'll inform mother that you are here if I meet her. Have fun, sister!" She waves as she walks away. I watch her as she dissapears into the crowd.

"May I you to a dance, ma'am?" A hand appears before me. I look up, and see the same blonde prince from before, a warm smile gracing his lips.
"I would love to, but I can not dance well. I fear I would just step on your feet. And I mostly forgot about the moves, I might just embarass you." I admit. He chuckles and replies.
"Have no fear, princess. I would gladly accept the embarassment if it is because of you. I'll lead the way. They call me Black Leg Sanji for a reason." He smirks and looks down at his hand as a sign for me to take it. I smile as I put one of my hands in his, the other resting on his shoulder. He gently places his other hand on my waist, and slowly takes us to the side of the dance floor. I try with every fibre of my being not to step on him, trying to recall what Donna taught me years ago in hopes of not damaging the prince's feet.

"They told me that there will be big names here, but I did not expect it to be these people. There are some really high-rank guests." He quietly says, still swaying with me.
"Donna said the same, but I can not recognise anybody here." I tell him.
"Hm... See that man over there? Black hair, goatee, strange hat." He describes a man and turns us around, now me being able to see the man he talked about.
"I do. Is he really special?" I ask curiously and look back at Sanji after a quick glance at the black haired man, not wanting to seem rude for staring.
"He is. People say he is the strongest swordsman in the entire world, and that nobody has ever beaten him! His name is Hawk-eyes Mihawk." He explains, looking at Mihawk from the corner of his eye.
"And do you believe them?" I make eye contact with Sanji. I didn't doubt the people, I had a feeling they were right. He did seem strong.
"I think they are telling the truth. We were once invited to their kingdom. There, I went into a match against his son, who is also a swordsman. He's right next to Mihawk right now. Stupid green hair, scar over one of his eye. I think his name was Zoro. As much as I hate to admit it, that mosshead was actually strong. Imagine what his father, who not even Mosshead can defeat, could do!"
"Wait, you went up against Zoro? I take it that you are good in swordsmanship, then?"
"No, not exactly. The chef in our castle, Zeff taught me how to fight using my legs. As a cook, I can not risk losing my hands. But I think I would be a good swordsman, I tend to work a lot with knives in the kitchen." Sanji explains. "Is there any type of self defense you were taught, princess?"
"I asked my mother if I could learn swordsmanship too, but she got furious, saying that a princess should not even think about it. But luckily one of our maids, Angie overheard the conversation and agreed to teach me in secret. Her father was really good at it, and taught her everything. So now I know it too"
"Woah, I did not expect to hear this, princess. But you are an artist, is that right? Losing your hands would be drastic, you are in a similar situation to mine. I could teach you my kicking techniques if you wish."

The night passed quickly in Sanji's company, he had manners and a good humour, told me a few fun facts about guests I did not know, and listened to whatever I said with all his attention. The guests started leaving one by one, and Sanji had to go back to his room too with his family.

When I open my door, I see Donna, who greets me with a warm smile.
"Lady Y/N, I am glad you are back! How was it?" She excitedly asks, wanting to hear the details of the gala.
"It was amazing! I was afraid to go inside after you left me there, but Sanji was there, and offered his hand and we walked inside together! He was such a good company, I wish I could spend more time with him! Oh, did you know the world's strongest swordsman was here?" I tell her tonight's events with a huge smile on my face, the maid patiently waiting for me to finish whatever I had to say.

A/N: hi guys!! I just wanted to thank everybody for almost 300 reads in the first week of publishing, I really appreciate it!! Also I made a lil collage of the aesthetic to keep myself motivated and thought it would be good to share it!! Love you guys!!