The Masquerade Ball (A tale of Eswor Book 1)

A Meeting with the court

Having the sun hit my eyes when I'm sleeping was probably be one of the most annoying things. Muffling my yawn, I opened my eyes. Only to see Cole's sleeping face, right in front of mine.

I looked at him and smile was brought to my lips when I remembered what happened last night. He's so peaceful looking, I thought. I reached out and traced the lines on his face with my fingers. I traced the shape of his lips, his chin his eyebrows, just to etch him into my mind.

Cole took a hold of my hand and kissed it. He put my hand on his cheek. "Morning milady." He looked at me and smiled.

"Morning Cole. I do have ask why am I in your bed?" I raised my eyebrow teasingly and looked at him.

Cole smirked arrogantly. "Cause you're just so damn irresistible." Then he tackled me, making me squeak and placed a kiss on my lips. I ran my hands through his hair, tugging on the roots a little bit. Cole growled, and bit my lip. A quiet moan came out of me.

Too soon a knock came at the door. "Cole, it's me Derrick do you have a moment?"

We pulled apart and my eyes went wide. "Yeah, hold on!" He shouted. "Dammit." He whispered. He stood up and pulled on his cloths except his shirt. I grabbed his shirt and a pair of my pants on. I brushed my fingers in my hair and tied it into a braid. "I'm the only man that's allowed to see you like this." He kissed me briefly before I sat on the sofa opening a random book. He winked then opened the door

"Sorry to keep you waiting." He told Derrick.

Derrick looked at me quizzically. "I didn't know you were here this early Kava."

I shrugged. "I haven't seen Cole in a long time. So I had breakfast with him."

"So do you want to talk?" Cole asked looking at Derrick. Derrick's eyes flicked to me and back on Cole.

"Maybe later. However, Kava when you're available I need to have a talk to you." I looked up at him and noticed the way he was standing. He was obviously tense.

I walked up to him frowning. "Derrick, what's wrong?"

He ran his hand through his hair and didn't look at me. "Nothing is wrong."

I put my hands on my hips. "That's a load of bull." I turned to Cole. "It was lovely spending this time with you. I'll see you later."

Cole nodded and I left, Derrick following me. I turned around and crossed my arms. "Okay what's the problem?"

Derrick looked at me without any sign of emotion. "I need to you distance yourself from me." His voice was cold and his eyes were hard. This wasn't the Derrick I knew. "I shouldn't be spending most of my time with a peasant. You were right with my idea of marrying you it was stupid and out of line. So because of that I apologise. Call me Your Highness from now on.

I glared at him. "First of all, I'm going to be your Captain of the guard. As far as I know," I walked up to him and stabbed him in the chest with my finger. "You can't distance yourself from me because you need me. Secondly, I'm happy you got some sense into that brain of yours."

"Of course you still agree with this." He spat making me flinch. His eyes were so cold.

"Well then why are you acting so cold? Or was there some actual reason to act like a complete bastard?" I returned his icy glare and crossed my arms.

Derrick straightened his posture. "There was something else. The Court wants to talk to you about the pirates and that whole situation." He ignored my insults.

I scoffed. "Now they want to talk to me?"

"Yes now they want to talk to you." I didn't say anything. I just stared at him. He bowed stiffly. "Thank you for your time Lady Kava."

"Always a pleasure, Your Highness." My voice was full of venom. Derrick stopped for a moment, then walked away.

I was so confused. Why was he acting like this? Did I do anything to offend him in any way? I huffed and started heading home.

~~~

I braided my hair and ran into the kitchen after changing into appropriate clothes. "Kinnley, do you have any idea as to why the Court wants to talk to me about this now?"

Kinnley shrugged. "Maybe they are testing you, and since we are having a problem with the pirates, it's the perfect opportunity."

I sighed, still annoyed with how Derrick was acting. "Okay, that makes sense. I'll see you after the meeting."

When I walked into the Council Room, all eyes turned to me. I sighed. Let's get this over with. I thought to myself.

"Lady Kava, we thought you wouldn't make it." I turned and saw Lord James sneering at me. He's the one that spoke. All of the lords were seated with their sons next to them. Which meant that Seth was here, along with Cole. His Royal Majesty the King was here as well as his stuck up son.

"Well I'm here. So can we get a move on with this meeting? I have untrained guards waiting for me." I sat down and clasped my hands on the table.

King Warren cleared his throat. "Yes, well let's continue on shall we?" Murmurs were heard around the room. "As everyone knows by now the pirate attacks have been getting worse and worse. Not only are they burning down villages, but they are also killing the villagers." My hands clenched into fists. "We have been sending our navy out to try and catch them, but to no avail as we didn't know their moves very well. Now that we know how their ships function thanks to our navy, we can catch up to them now." He looked over at me. "The Court and I have decided for Lady Kava and the Crown Prince Derrick work together to find the Pirate King." He then looked at Derrick. "I have told a couple of young guards to join you both in the investigation as well as the lords sons. I am setting a deadline. You have until the day of the Masquerade Ball. Dismissed."

King Warren then left the room with the swish of his cape. I stood up and walked out of the room before Derrick or Cole could catch up to me. I was happy that Cole and I would be working together on this as he told me about it, but I didn't know what to think about working with Derrick. Especially after our fight. I sighed. I needed something to distract me form this for a little while. The investigation won't start until tomorrow.

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Hi guys! Sorry, it's been a long time since I updated, but I hoped you liked it!

Thanks for reading!
-Hannah