We part at Death (A Novelette)

6. A Chance of Capture

A nervous sigh escaped my lips as I arrived at the castle. Many other carriages lined the roadway around the entrance to the capital. Noble ladies and families from all around the empire exited their carriage with grace. The noble women who exited each carriage could not hold their obvious excitement to try and be noticed by the empire. For me on the other hand, my heart pounded loudly and my hands shook. I could feel sweat drip down the back of my beck. What the hell was I doing? I could turn back now and return to my normal life.

I shook the thoughts away and moved to make my way out of the carriage as the carriage man opened the door for me to exit. My heels touched the ground of the thick red carpet that led up into the sparkly castle. Every part of my body screamed at me to turn around and leave with each foot step I took towards the grand doors of the castle.

My breath hitched in my throat as I stood at the entrance into the castle, announcer to ask my name. I jumped a little as he spoke in a deep distrusting voice.

"Name?"

"Victoria Anne Trex" I mustered out.

The door man stared at me with skeptical eyes. I couldn't tell if he was trying to see if I was lying or not. With one final stare, the announcer turned and shouted my name so loud I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Now Entering Lady Victoria Anne Trex!"

I took a delicate step through the doors and gasped at the place before me. It was a grand ball room filled with marbled walls and decorated with decorations that could blow away any average noble ball. Large sparkly chandeliers light up the ball room. I approached the edge of the staircase and took in all the people below me. This entrance was obviously not the normal entrance to the castle.

My eyes fell on his majesty the emperor down on the ballroom floor mingling with the nobles, mostly women. His eyes shifted from his conversation and caught mine. My breath hitched in my throat and my hands began to shake once more. The pounding of my heart began to get louder in my ears. Everything was telling me to turn around and leave. I swallowed the lump in my throat that was forming and descended the staircase with ease. As I walked down the stairs I realized everyone's eyes were on me. There were too many eyes on me for my well being, I was not used to this despite being a nobleman's daughter.

I escaped the crowd's eyes the moment I made it down the stairs. I sheltered myself away in the corner of the ballroom to catch my breath and try to calm my nerves. Why was this so nerve wracking? Could it be because of my true intentions? I shook my head. Nonsense.

My heart jumped into my throat as a deep voice spoke behind me. I spun on my heels and came face to face with His majesty the emperor. My eyes widened with shock and my mouth dropped slightly. My heart pounded loudly once more and my hands shook. I cleared my throat and gained my composure.

"Hello your majesty." I curtsied.

He stared at me with an expression that I couldn't quite read. His unreadable expression made my skin crawl, but despite his expressions he was as what many women said tall, dark and handsome.

"What is your name?" He finally spoke.

"Victoria Anne Trex, your majesty." I spoke softly.

"Daughter of Viscount Trex, if I recall correctly."

"Yes, your majesty." I kept my head lowered in a slight bow, not daring to continue to stare at him.

"It's no wonder I have never seen you before, it appears Viscount Trex was keeping his beautiful daughter from me."

"Thank you for the compliment." I grounded my teeth together. If this bastard only knew that my father originally wanted me to marry him, until I placed my foot down on the issue; but now I'm here with the stupid suggestion of trying to marry this man.

Music drafted through the air as the band played a soft ballad. A gloved hand appeared in front of my face and caused me to look up. His majesty held his hand out towards me. He was offering for me to take it.

"Would you care for a dance?" He inquired.

I bit my lip and took his gloved hand hesitantly with mine. He tugged me along with him towards the dance floor. The eyes of many people could be felt heavily on my frame. Some of the eyes were shooting daggers my way. His majesty stopped and let go of my hand; he spun on his heels to face me. He took my right hand in his and placed his left on my waist-well a bit lower than it was supposed to be for a waltz. I placed my hand on his shoulder and followed his lead as he began to waltz.

I looked off over his shoulder and stared at all the people who seemed to pass by as we spun around the dance floor. His hand gripped mine too tightly for comfort. In turn my heart raced and pounded loudly in my ears. Any wrong move could quite literally be off with my head with this man. I couldn't help but secretly thank Anna for suggesting that I wear gloves. My gloves were filled with a thick layer of moisture.

Just like the music had suddenly started it came to a close. I unhooked myself from his majesty and took a step back. My fingers lifted up my skirt as I curtsied once more towards his majesty. He bowed in return, which was unexpectant of his majesty to do as records say he has never once bowed to his dance partner at balls. He opened his mouth to say something, but before the words could be uttered out he was swarmed by many women. I took that moment to take my leave.

A large sigh escaped my lips. I didn't even know I had been holding my breath. My legs shook violently as I made my way out of the ball room. What the hell am I doing?

Cold air blasted me in the face from the night air. I bent over and held onto my knees, before composing myself enough to make it back towards my carriage. I could feel the doorman's eyes on my back, eyeing me.

I ripped open the carriage before someone could even help me into the carriage. The door closed behind me as the coachman closed the door. The horses began to move and pull the carriage away from the castle. I breathed heavily and collapsed into my lap holding onto my face.

"What the hell am I doing?" I asked myself, "I can't do this, this is insanity."

I one for sure was throwing myself in the deep end.

———————————
Hello!

I would like to apologize on how the story jumps around from past tense and present tense. It is something I do struggle with, but plan to get better at. I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter!

Thank you so much for reading!

Rae Marchand

Ps. If you see this story on any other website, please report them as this story is only published on wattpad by me as this is my story. Thank you so much!

THIS STORY IS ONLY PUBLISHED ON WATTPAD BY RAE_MARCH
🛑NO SITE IS ALLOWED TO USE THIS WORK AND THIS WORK MAY NOT LEAVE WATTPAD.🛑
©2024