Beastly Changed

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

          The prince led Katharine to the dance floor, where all eyes were on her. She spotted in the distance somewhere the woman that had made her the dress. The woman’s jaw was dropped down in shock as she realized that the girl that she had helped was indeed the princess that they were looking for.

          “What a lovely dancer you are,” the prince whispered in her ear. She smiled politely, but scanned the crowd of people, looking for her parents. They were there, of course, and she could tell that her father was angry.

          At the end of the song, the prince grabbed Katharine’s hand and started to lead her through the crowd. “Where are we going?” She said loudly, hoping the prince would hear her over all of the people talking.

          “You need to meet the royal families.” His eyes sparkled as she looked into them and she almost continued to walk with him but she stopped short.

          “I-I-I cannot.” She tried to break away from him, but his grasp was firm.

          “Katharine,” he said, not angry with her that she was causing a scene but calm and compassionate. “Come with me. I promise no one will hurt you.” He mistook her hesitance because of the scene in the side room. “I’m not sure what happened in there, but if there was a man in there and he hurt you, I promise I will do no such thing.”

          Katharine figured that it was best to play it off as she was scared and go with him. Once they reached the royal families, she realized that it was just his family and her family.

          “Father,” the prince started. “I have found her.” As if that was not already obvious, Katharine thought.

          The king and queen welcomed her, making her feel a little more at home. So far, she had successfully avoided her parents, but she knew that avoiding them would only last so long.

          “Oh Katharine we were so worried!” She heard her mother’s high pitched voice exclaimed.

          “Why were you worried?” The queen’s voice asked. Katharine knew that it would not be a good start with them if they found out that she had run away.

          “They were worried because I was late,” Katharine started explaining, shooting her mother a look not to challenge what she was saying. “I got a little lost on my way here. I took a little detour than my parents did.” A small smile formed on Katharine’s face. She knew that it was not going to be easy, but she was going to run again.

          The queen did not say anything—she seemed to be satisfied with Katharine’s answer. “Now you two kids go dance. Get to know each other. We start preparing for the big day tomorrow.” The king ushered them along, being more relaxed than any other royalty she had ever met.

          “Katharine,” her mother said, stopping her as she tried to sneak past. “We still need to talk.” The seriousness in her mother’s voice would have scared her, but if only her mother knew that she did not plan on staying around long enough for that to happen.

          Her prince led her out onto the dance floor, where Katharine spent every moment focusing on possible exits. The dancing and twirling—it just was not her thing.

          “You are distracted,” the prince said. Katharine felt a pang of guiltiness that she did not remember his name. “What are you thinking about?” He searched her eyes for an answer but she looked away.

          “Nothing interesting,” she replied, knowing that lying was not an option, but telling the truth was not one either.

          “The room…the man…is that what you are thinking about?” He did not wait for a response but continued, “Katharine, I believe you whole-heartedly that there was someone in there, I do, but I cannot say that I saw anyone. We checked all possible methods of escape and checked the room, ceiling to floor; there was no sign of him.”