On The Other Side Of The Castle

Chapter 7

        Cathy smiled as the prince swept her through the ball room floor. She hated dancing when she was little. But this was on a whole new level. She let out a shriek when he suddenly twisted her around."Jerk!" She snapped, knowing she never really meant it. He simply chuckled, amused by the whole thing."Ouch!" He yelped as Cathy "accidentally" stepped on his foot."My bad!" She said sarcastically, a smile edged on her face. He rolled his eyes and continued dancing with her. Her eyes flew around the room and she curiously asked,"I've never seen anyone in here before? When was the last ball?" The prince sighed and twirled her around as he said,"Well, no one has really been here since my mom died. This ball room was her favorite place. She hosted them at least once a month. But once she died, well, Dad kinda got mad and we haven't had a ball since." Cathy frowned."That's sad. What were they like?" The prince let a smile spread across his face as he continued,"Wonderful. There was music. And dancing, and delicious foods and drinks! It was great. Delilah used to love the dances more than anyone." Cathy dropped her jaw and mockingly put a hand over her heart,"Not Delilah!" She gasped. They both laughed and he nodded,"Yes. It's true." Cathy smiled and sighed,"I wish I could've seen it." Alex smiled sadly and nodded before giving her another twirl. She stopped dancing for a moment and admired the room. The prince watched her, smiling and tugging her back to dance. Suddenly, her face lite up like it was glowing and her eyes sparkled as she turned to the prince. He gave her a lazy questioning smile as she grabbed his hand and cried,"I have an idea!" He frowned and pulled her closer as he asked,"What?" She grinned and said,"We're going to host a ball! It will be like an apology from the King! All the people will be invited, and your dad will have to see that it wasn't their fault." The prince had to force a smile on his face as he stiffly nodded."Uh huh. That seems great and all." Cathy scowled at him and continued,"But." He sighed and let go of her hand,"But, it won't work. My dad won't allow it and the people won't accept the invitation." She frowned and tried to explain,"Yes they would! They would know how sorry everyone is! So they would come here for a peace treaty." The prince sighed again and turned away,"Its not that simple to-" he was cut off by the sound of the door opening. A guard scurried in and stopped in front of the prince,"The King would like to see you, immediately." The prince gave Cathy a apologetic look as he started toward the door. But stopped once he saw the guards expression."I can escort you back, miss," he said flashing Cathy a smile. She frowned at him and answered cooly,"No thanks. I think I can manage." The guard started to speak again, but the prince had already joined Cathy and snaked an arm around her waist. Much to her delight, he said,"Nope. I'm escorting her back." The guard narrowed his eyes and stated,"But the King requested to see you." The prince rolled his eyes and pulled Cathy to his chest as he walked to the door,"I'm sure he can wait a few minutes. To an hour." He muttered the end so only Cathy could hear. She blushed all the way from her head, down to her toes. Alex smirked at her and that made her blush even more. The guard glared at him as he left. Once they exited the room, he loosened his grip on her and growled,"I hate that guard!" Cathy rolled her eyes, but smiled secretly."Possessive much?" She teased under her breath. He smirked at her again, clearly hearing what she had said."Your not very good at whispering darling." He muttered in her ear, causing her to shiver involuntarily."Come on. I'm supposed to be escorting you to your room then see my dad." He said tugging her along. She shrugged and wrapped her arms around his neck."Yeah, but knowing you, you won't do that will you?" He laughed and shook his head, letting a lock of hair fall into his eyes."Nope. But I do have to escort you back." Cathy puffed out her bottom lip and pouted,"Your no fun!" He laughed again and pulled her along saying hautily,"Oh I can be lots of fun. You just wait." She snorted and looked away,"What's that supposed to mean!" When they finally reached her room he let go of her and smiled,"Well, I guess I'll see you around lunch." She nodded and opened the door, stepping inside. Just as he was about to leave, the prince heard Cathy gasp. He immediately opened the door and barged in,"Cathy? Are you okay?" He asked his eyes meeting her's. She held a beautiful bouquet of handpicked wildflowers, bound together by silk lace."Yes. I'm fine. You better hurry or you'll be late." He frowned at the flowers and asked,"Where did you get those?" She smiled down at them and murmured,"They were on my chair. They're gorgeous right?" His frown turned into a scowl as he said,"Who gave them to you." Cathy fingered a small notecard attached to them and whispered breathlessly,"Jack. He's so sweet! Maybe I'll visit him." The prince crossed his arms over his chest and answered cooly,"I don't think that's a good idea." She finally tore her gaze away and met his angry gaze,"Relax. I thought maybe I'll go have lunch with him or something." He still kept that look on his face as he continued,"No. You're staying here, just give me a minute and then we can have lunch together. As soon as I'm done talking with my father." She put the flowers down and sighed,"Just let me go. I hadn't had a chance to talk to him yet. Alone." The prince tensed when she said alone, but finally gave in."Whatever. Just go." He snapped walking out the door. She rolled her eyes when he was gone, he could be so dramatic sometimes. Gosh. A smile tugged on her lips as she picked up the small card attached to the bouquet. It read:

Cathy, meet me by the meadow next to my house for a lunch picnic if you can. I hope you enjoy the flowers!

~Love Jack~

Hello hello! Thank you for reading once again! Please comment and vote, although you never do........😢 but thank you anyway and I'll try to post soon.

                                 -Author😊