A Face that launched a thousand ships

Part 11

  part 11

She was dragged into the room and disappeared from where she was last walking. A large hand covered her mouth and pulled her strongly towards the room. Her struggles were useless against the person's strength. "Shh... be quiet!" the person holding her whispered. She could feel the person's warm chest, she was certain it was male since there were no bumps on the front. She bit the person's hand making that person let go of his hold on her and let her free. Quickly, she moved away from the man and stood on the opposite side of the room. It was dark and the moon's light passed through the window at the room's sides. The person in the shadows kept mumbling curse words in pain. Her brows furrowed as she tried to take a good look at the man to see who it was.

She stepped forward cautiously towards the unknown person. "Who are you? Reveal yourself." She commanded, still walking slowly and cautiously towards the person. The said person laughed, the laugh was very familiar to Maria, "It's me, Arthur."

Maria's tensed feeling turned into relief. Her shoulders relaxed as she released a sigh of relief, "You scared me to death! Why did you do that?" Arthur walked nearer to the girl while laughing, "Did I scare you, love? I just wanted for the two of us to have an alone time." He placed his hands on her waist and pulled her close, "Am I not allowed to do that?"

The girl's lips formed a small smile, "No, in fact, you are very much allowed to do so." She placed her hands at his nape and pulled him close for a kiss. His tongue slipped inside her mouth as both their tongues mingled with each other. Arthur pulled off with a trail of saliva still connected to their mouths. Maria wiped her mouth softly to remove the saliva and so did Arthur. She giggled, "Since you have found me already, shall we go back?" The man pouted, "I want a quickie..." he said in a commanding tone then pulled the girl closer to him once again and gave her another deep kiss.


The lights were turned back on; the game was finished. The grand doors opened and in came one of the royal couples—the Kirklands. Everyone's attention was on the couple who just entered; they both looked so happy. But there was one man who was not happy with what he saw—Antonio Carriedo. His hands at his sides curled up into a fist. He clenched his fists so hard that it turned red. Gilbert, who was beside Antonio with Elizabeta, noticed this, "Oi, Tonio, don't get so mad so easily. That's not awesome, you know." Elizabeta followed the brunet's gaze which landed on a very familiar girl.

"Maria!" she called out on top of the stairs. The brunette left her partner and began rushing down to the said girl. Maria, seeing this, smiled at the girl, "Elizabeta!" Elizabeta hugged her tightly, "I thought you would never come back! I thought something might have happened to you. You made me worry a lot, you know?" she ranted. Maria tapped the girl's back, "It's alright. I am fine, see? Arthur found me."

Elizabeta let go of Maria and turned to look at the man beside the tan girl, she curtsied, "It is a pleasure to meet you, King Arthur." She composed herself and smiled. Arthur nodded with a neutral expression. "Well," Elizabeta continued, as she faced Maria, "I better go back. I left my partner just to rush to you. He might get upset." Maria nodded and bid her farewell.

"Now that the game is finished, we would like to invite all the couples to dance and celebrate even more!" the blond man announced. It was weird though how Antonio had gone missing in a split second; the only ones standing on top were Gilbert, Elizabeta, Francis and a girl beside the said blond. Nobody even wondered where the host had gone to.

Maria pulled Arthur with her towards the middle of the dance floor, "Come on, dear, dance with me!" she happily dragged him. He resisted a little but gave up to the girl's demand. Together, they gracefully danced in the middle of the couples surrounding them, uncaring of the happenings outside the two of them. They danced happily as if they were the only people in the world.

Soon, the music ended and so did the dancing time. "I need to rest." She sighed exasperatedly, "I will go look for someplace to rest. You can go interact with people." She smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek before walking towards the open balcony. The balcony was huge, it war circular, and decorated with a variety of plants. The said girl walked towards the balcony's ledge. She inhaled the cool fresh air brushing against her petite body.

The music and loud chattering from the inside grew weaker; the garden below the balcony was very peaceful. Everything seemed harmonious in every way you look at it. She rested her palms on the balcony's ledge and began humming a very relaxing tune.

In a split second, her mouth was once again covered, but this time, the person who covered her mouth had a handkerchief with a weird drug in it. She struggled a lot but her eyes slowly drooped down and soon, she had lost all consciousness. Her unconscious body fell back to the person's chest.


She had woken up in an unfamiliar room, lying on top of an unfamiliar bed which had an elegant crimson blanket covering it. She squint her eyes as she felt a sudden headache. "Ouch... where am I?" Her fingers rubbed her temple as if to ease the pain. She sat up with her left arm supporting her weight. Her petticoat was removed and was placed at the room's side. As she saw her petticoat, her eyes widened in surprise, "Why is my petticoat over there?" she questioned.

The door slowly creaked open, "Oh my, are you already awake, Maria?" she was now faced with a smiling Antonio. "Where am I? Why am I here, Antonio?" she asked confusedly. He laughed, "Do you not like this place?" he asked proudly, approaching the girl sitting on the bed. "Well, it is not that I do not like this place, it is just that, I do not even know where I am; what I am doing here." Antonio smirked as he sat down beside the girl, "You're in my bedroom! Silly." Her eyes widened, "Your bedroom? What am I doing in your bedroom?"

"I wanted to talk to you, in private." He said coolly. Maria straightened up, "Oh, then, what is it that you want to talk about?" The man moved closer to her, his face a few centimetres away from hers, "Get a divorce." He said with serious eyes. Her hazel orbs wavered in fear, "W-Why would I do that?" she laughed nervously as she looked away. The brunet cupped her face and directed it to his, "Because I can give you everything."

She gasped as she heard this, "I do not want material things!" Maria stood up and rushed towards the door. Unfortunately, the brunet was faster than her so he got ahead of her, "Why are you leaving?" He smiled evilly. Maria took a step back and turned around, "Please, do not ask of me these kinds of things. I love Arthur, and that will never change." The brunet's eye twitched in anger, "What part of that fuzzy caterpillar brows do you find attractive?" he raised his voice as he pounded the wall. Maria flinched, he took slow steps forward to the girl; he looked a lot like a mad man. "I am more handsome than him, richer, more charming, more caring, more generous, basically, better than him!"

"But I have loved Arthur ever since we were kids! I like you, but only as a friend!" she answered back, still stepping backwards from the man. Antonio stopped; he pinched the bridge of his nose and laughed, "So you are implying that I stand no chance against him?" Maria bit her lip, "Yes." Once again, the man was overcome by rage; he walked even faster towards the girl while the girl kept stepping backwards and away from him. Alas, she had reached a dead end—she was already leaning on the wall. The brunet laughed, "Now I have you where I want you to be." She pressed her body against the wall, "No, please, Antonio! No!"


"What is taking her so long?" he waited impatiently as his jade orbs glanced at his expensive watch. He looked at the moon through the window, "I hope she's fine."