Imagines and One-Shots (Book Two)

The Last Dance (Marshall Traver) - Part 1

It wasn't that you didn't want to be at the party, it was just...

Okay, you didn't want to be at the party.

You were 18-years-old, just graduated high school, and were looking forward to the summer vacation before you started college. But all the plans you had changed in a second.

The week after graduation, you were visited by your grandparents on your mother's side. You hadn't really spoken to them – your mom and dad divorced when you were a baby – but they did send you gifts every birthday and Christmas. Of course, that didn't change the fact that they never so much as called you to see how their granddaughter was doing.

And when they visited you and hit you with the news that you were next in line for the throne of their country, you honestly thought it was some sort of sick joke. They had never told you they were royals, and you even resented your dad for a while for not telling you as well.

But after the shock sort of wore off and you had time to think about whether or not you wanted to go to college as planned or move to the country you were apparently set to be queen of when your grandparents stepped down, you chose the latter.

The King and Queen of Raylea – a country a few hours away by plane – had invited you and three other princesses to their castle for a few months just to get away from your own countries for a while and relax. Your grandparents insisted you accept the invitation as they weren't really able to help you in ways they would like. Your grandmother did assure you that she knew the Queen very well and she knew you'd be in good hands with her, her husband, and her son.

You found it strange that you had been in the country for nearly four hours now – and in the palace for most of that time – but hadn't met any member of the royal family or the other princesses yet – officially, at least. You would see the princesses in passing when you were all given tours of the castle by the maids assigned to tend to you throughout your stay, and it would always confuse you when they would give you dirty looks or make snide remarks to each other under their breaths.

Needless to say, you didn't exactly spend a fair amount of time with them.

So now, here you were, standing in some random room in a palace after sneaking out of the ballroom.

There was a welcome party being thrown for the visiting princesses, but honestly, it was a little too overwhelming for you on your first night there. You hadn't even been to a ball in your own country – you didn't know why you thought you could handle attending this one. Not to mention the dress you were put into before the party started was really starting to get on your nerves.

Marshall's POV

Marshall chuckled softly upon watching you in the corner of the room, roughly pulling at your corset with an annoyed look on your face. Though he hadn't officially met you yet, there was no denying you were the most beautiful girl he'd ever meet – he wasn't blind, obviously. He could tell you were uncomfortable – not just with your dress, but also with the whole idea of attending a royal ball.

He remained in his spot for a few more minutes, his eyes focused solely on your face, before he was interrupted.

"There you are, Marshall!" his best friend Cody – the Prince from a neighboring kingdom – sighed, "You've gotta stop hiding, man. Princess Naomi has been asking everyone where you are."

When Cody didn't receive a reply, however, he finally looked at him, following his gaze and finding you. He then nudged his arm, causing Marshall to jump slightly, his head snapping over.