Blistered Roses

Chapter 4: Awakening at Royal Gathering

                  

Tara stood outside of the royal room staring at, at least 500 people chattering, eating, and dancing. Music is playing to keep the guests satisfied and someone touches Tara's shoulder. She jumped a bit and looked back at her mother standing there with hands on her hips. "Dear.....what are ye doing? Yer supposed to be off somewhere else." Caoimbe said.

Tara looked at her with guilt in her eyes as this is the second time her mother has caught her doing something wrong and smiled a bit, "Yes, I know mother. I only wanted to see what was going on." Really, she wanted to see where the Princess was to see if she was still upset.

"Well go on, get." Caoimbe motioned to the side of her by waving her hands towards the left of her.

Tara kissed her mother on the cheek and Caoimbe smiled as she watched her daughter walk away. She straightened her outfit off and walked into the royal room to take care of guests.

"Princess!"

Many people called out for the Princess to meet them and she held her lovely special made dress up with her mask and looked around for the people who were calling for her. She sighed becoming bored of this royal gathering and quite annoyed at all the men asking to dance with her. She smiled at everyone as they go on to talk about nonsense and as soon as she saw a suitor coming her way from the corner of her eye she said 'excuse me' and disappeared into the crowd. She watched all the dances that were occurring as music filled the room and people's voices began to quiet down instead.

"Darling, why are you not dancing?" Queen Eadan, her mother, asked as she stood next to her with the two ladies looking like twins.

"I can ask you the same, mother." Princess Adelaide grinned at her mother and her mother chuckled to herself.

"I would dance with your father, but he is off in the crowd somewhere talking to others." The Queen sighed and Princess Adelaide understood just how she was feeling. The Princess only smiled at her mother and rubbed her back gently. She stood with her mother watching the others in a big group dance.

The music started to slow down and the King appeared from the crowd next to his favorite girls. "My Queen, could I have this dance?" The King asked Princess Adelaide's mother and her mother accepted. The Princess smiled at her parents going off into the crowd and dancing. She sighed starting to feel lonely even though she doesn't want to dance with anyone, especially suitors. She covered her face up with the mask she chose for tonight and held the stick in her hand.

"Milady, may I have this dance, with such a beautiful and forgiving.....Princess."

The Princess heard an unusual yet familiar voice from behind her and she turned to find a gentleman bowing a little and with his hand out and his other hand behind his back like a proper gentleman. She smiled putting her hand on the gentleman's hand and they walked together into the crowd where the dance was about to begin. She decided that this is the only dance she will give to someone since she was feeling lonely anyways.

Princess Adelaide's eyes wandered all over the man's buff figure and when they stood in front of each other her eyes reached his nose. She stared in the man's mesmerizing eyes behind the mask that his covering his nose and some of his forehead. His brown hair was up in a short pony tail and some of his hair hanged down next to his face.

"How did you recognize me?" The Princess asked the man.

The man smiled and got in position for the dance with the Princess, "With a beautiful face like yours, I could recognize it miles away."

"What is your name?" Princess Adelaide studied the man's figure some more before dancing.

"Destrian." The man said and smiled lightly looking in her eyes through the mask.