Twisted

III

 EDIT: I have rewritten this chapter and I like it so much more now! It has triple the word count oops... enjoy!

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King Lasane was wearing a well tailored, maroon suit, with a cape that draped over his shoulders and followed him at every step. Ladies all around the hall were swooning at the sight of him, which made Helenia cringe. No doubt he was dashing, with his almond shaped maroon eyes, tall refined nose, wide lips and swept back dark hair, but no matter how handsome he was, his personality made her sick. To her surprise he looked almost proud of the happiness in front of him. If she didn't know better, she could have easily mistaken his expression for kindheartedness, but she could see that the false kindness was just slyness in disguise. She completely forgot that Aidan was next to her until he enclosed his hand around her arm and gripped hard.

"Ow!" She exclaimed, trying to stay as quiet as possible, "why did you do that?"

"You're staring." Aidan replied and he was right, she had been staring at the king. She inspected the situation and understood that, to stay safe, it would be best to not pay any more attention to the king than she already had. Drawing her attention back to the image in front of her- Aidan conversing with a guard, she never realised that he was as eye-catching as he was. His form was well built, muscles protruding from underneath the tight suit he wore underneath his sunset orange cape, the colour of his stone. His strength could come in use but she needed to be wary. However the attention from all of the maidens in the room he was about to receive was not something she wanted to be a part of. Snapping back to reality, she had to take one last glance at the king and at that exact moment he decided to turn around and their gaze locked. The king's stare was deadly and intimidating. Helenia had to quickly turn away before his glare shook her core. Big mistake.

*

The night passed as the hall was filled with voices and music. People around Helenia were dancing, their gowns twirling with every move mirroring the colours of their family's stone. No two gowns were of the same colour, each a different shade which appealed to Helenia. She loved this uniqueness in the Aestelle kingdom. The only person allowed to choose their colours was the King, so instead of sapphire blue he usually opted for maroon to match his piercing stare. The deep blue of Sapphire would have smoothened his edges and made him look less tenacious, which was the King's worst fear.

The elegance and grace of the dancers made it almost hypnotic. Helenia had never learned to dance properly, but she loved to practice in her room, humming and swaying to her own tunes. She observed the people who were eating, their bites tiny and posture like steel. The giggles that she heard were all contained and polite that they sounded fake. There were smiles splattered across every face in the hall. A beautiful lady and her lord started to dance in front of her and for a second she wished that she could join in with the couple that gracefully moved across the floor to the rhythm of the music. Many people would've dared to ask, but her position in this castle made her seem very unapproachable. Every so often she caught people stealing glances at her, some in awe, few in fear. But none had the courage to even speak a word. For this reason, she didn't have any friends, but for her they weren't necessary, she thought they were just liabilities. But she did wonder from time to time what was it like to have someone you could talk to about everything.

For the next hour, she sat in her seat, slightly dozing off, half listening to Aidan talk to his soldiers. Helenia was sure that she was going to drift off to sleep until the king rose from his throne and cleared his voice. In that instant, the crowd went dead silent, they still knew who was in charge. She could hear Aidan sigh and tense. Her own straight posture grew even taller, as she sucked her breath in and put on an unreadable mask.