Arranged

12: Step Three (Part Three)

"Is that him over there?" Mia nods and points over by the large buffet. Kalia followed the direction of her finger to see him standing by the large buffet... talking to Ophelia. And they were not just talking, to her observation, but they were laughing, and he was giving her what Kalia had familiarized herself with as his charming smirk, before planting a short kiss to her hand and leading her to the dance floor.

Kalia felt a small pang of something unfamiliar in her chest and she didn't know why. It was a bitter feeling, but she should be ecstatic, she thought to herself – after all, this was her plan all along. Still, she couldn't help the small unpleasant weight that heaved within her chest. She supposed, deep down, that he would have the courtesy to not reject her so blatantly, out in the open, at a ball, with so many people there to witness it.

"The devil himself," Kalia nodded in response, causing Mia to give her an odd look. They were so used to Kalia being her cheerful self. Clearly, acrimony didn't suit her.

"Damn," Ana whispers, earning a punch from the ever-so-loyal Lisa. Kalia was thankful that Lisa could still think clearly after taking a simple glance his way, unlike the other two girls.

Mia turns back to their little circle, breaking the moment of silence and gawking, clearing her throat. "So, you say he's arrogant. All you have to do is kill his ego."

"Are you so sure that's a good idea? I mean, look at him! He seems nice, and is definitely gorgeous, and... a prince!" she gushes.

Lisa slaps Ana dramatically. "Snap out of it! That's what he wants you to think, but he's really here to take Kalia away from us! Think of our summer plans! THINK OF SPAIN!" she exclaims theatrically, arms flailing, and the rest of the girls share a look with mirrored wide eyes. "I mean... you know, think of Kalia."

Kalia suppressed a laugh. Lisa was probably hopped up on all kinds of caffeine, she thought to herself with a smile, but appearance wise, at least, she hid it well. The mention of Spain and the recurring realization that it might not pan out the way Kalia had wanted, or the idea that it might not pan out at all along with all of her other future plans, had her heart clenching uncomfortably in her chest.

"Maybe Ana's right..." Mia counters, causing Kalia's head to turn. "Like, damn, are you sure you want to give that up?"

Kalia gives her a look that goes against everything she just said.

Mia continues, "Okay, but imagine you let him go by and he marries some other random, irrelevant princess? No sane woman would let a man as fine as him get back on a plane and head back to where he came from without a fight."

Ana nods eagerly in agreement with Mia's statement, her eyes basically forming hearts. "And you don't even need to fight. Just be yourself. He seems smitten already."

Kalia stands there, gob smacked. Is she mad? Did she not just see him with Ophelia, or was that just her crazy imagination? She thought to herself, her brain hurting just speaking on the topic of that man she was growing to hate with every fiber in her mind.

Before she could respond, she spotted her mother ushering over to where they stood. A string of curses floated across Kalia's mind like subtitles at the bottom of a foreign film.

"Ladies," Queen Lania greets once she reaches the four girls, smiling, but Kalia knew she had a hidden agenda from experience. She was her mother, and the Queen of all of Britain, after all. "You are all looking lovely as ever tonight."

"Thank you, your highness," they say and bow. Kalia suppressed a giggle. They were so past that point that they were practically family, she thought to herself, but of course it was respectful to do so. Kalia disliked those formalities among people close to her, but they were a norm in the world of royalty, and weren't to be cast-off at just one princess's will.