The Missing Piece

Chapter 20

With the day ending soon and the night just beginning, more and more people started to arrive at the castle for the Royal Ball. Still trying to stay calm, Nick slowly made his way back to the ballroom from afar. He was not good in crowds, especially in ones he knew he didn't belong to. Glancing around, he could see the jewels and more formal attire that the couples were wearing. The couples being men and women only, older and younger pairs. That only made the knight's anxiety rise immensity, since he was the odd one out, like always.

Once he gradually entered the ballroom, his eyes were enlarged by how graceful and appealing the area was shown. Silver and gold ribbons were wrapped around the marble poles that were on the sides, holding the room together. The tiles on the ground were in a glossy brown wood. There was a polished band playing nearby. As he glanced at the scenery, The knight's eyes immediately stopped towards the very back of the room, where the love of his life was sitting with the king and queen. Mesmerize, Nick's feet automatically moved him forward to his destination.

As his eyes scanned the room, Jake also started to feel nervous. 'What if he bailed? He wouldn't do that, would he? He's probably late... especially with all of these people around.' the prince's mind was filling up with questions and scenarios. but he stayed still, just in case.

A gentle touch was placed on the prince's hand, startling him a little. Turning his head, he relaxed as he saw his mother smoking warmly.

"It's okay Jacob, no need to be nervous." she softly told her son, to hopefully calm him down.

A smile formed as Jake took a deep breath and nodded as he gained some confidence.

"Besides, you wouldn't want your partner to wait any longer would you?" his father suggested.

Raiding an eyebrow, Jake followed the gaze towards the front and seeing his charming knight kneeling down on one knee. Noticing how grand and... just so handsome that his lover was suddenly astonished the prince as he gasped in awe. He just couldn't stop looking at his knight, making him blush red. Quietly learning his throat, Nick prepared himself to ask the question.

"Prince Jake, may I ask you to dance, with me?" he asked, so properly that Jake just couldn't turn away.

He glanced at his parents for a moment for their approval. Their smiles widen as they both nodded, letting their son go into good hands that they can trust.

The smiles that Jake was hiding finally appeared once he was approved. Looking back at the knight who was still in his place, keeping his eyes on the prince and trying not to get too nervous.

Without waiting any more precious time, Jake excitingly jumped out of his seat and grabbed his lover's hand.

"I would love to my sweet knight!" he replied before hurting off towards the floor, bringing along the stumbling knight.

As they made their way through the crowd, Nick held onto his lover's hand to hopefully not lose him in the sea of people. When he glanced up, many eyes were glancing down at him. making him shyly turn red with embarrassment.

Once they were out of the maze of people and to a clear spot for them to dance together peacefully, Jake turned to face his knight, who was still nervously glancing around. But the gentle touch on his face brought his face back towards his true love who was showing that beautiful smile. Nick had to smile as well, happy to be back with his prince that brought him love and peace.

The moment Jake placed his arm in the proper stance, Nick slowly followed suit as he tried not to mess up and make a fool out of himself. But as he looked up and saw Jake smile wide. Nick's heart leaped, excited to actually be with his prince on this special occasion. Sure there were confused and upset glances towards that two but none of that mattered since they were in their own little world.

With the music shifting the tempo, Jake and Nick started their dance together. Even though Nick had just one dance lesson, Jake was pretty impressed to see how well his knight was handling it now. Without them splitting eye contact, the two danced as one thought the whole song. As the song came to an end, they both stopped in place but still stared deeply into each other's eyes. There was commotion amongst the people but that didn't fright the two as they continued to smile deeply.

"I'm impressed by your dancing skills tonight. You must have an excellent dance teacher." Jake commented, trying to hide his giggles.

"Only the best," Nick replied, his smile widen as he leaned in to kiss his prince's lips that he missed dearly.

Responding, Jake kissed back gently, moving closer towards his knight as his arms wrapped around his neck.

An abrupt gasp was heard nearby causing the two to pause their romance and glance towards an aggravated civilian. She was an older woman in purple with disgust on her face.

"How dare someone from the Royal Family show such sin in the castle! You two should be ashamed of yourselves for being in public like this!" she screamed in antipathy.

The two just looked at her puzzled but the prince had an idea that brought a smirk to his face.

"Well I'm the Prince of Cardiff and I say if you have a problem with my boyfriend and I being in public in my castle, then you can just walk away grandma! There's the door!" he confidently told off the lady, pointing towards the closest door.

Nick couldn't help but chuckle that grew into a laugh as the elder lady's expression change to shock. As she turned her head sharply and stomped away, the two shared a glance and laughed out loud together again.

"They don't call me 'Prince Sassy' for nothing!" Jake proudly commented.

Still laughing, Nick looked over at his prince and smirked at him before wrapping his arms around him and leaning him down at an angle towards the floor, with them still hearing eye contact.

"And that's what I love about you." Nick complimented his prince before kissing him again, still holding him in his arms.

Jake automatically kissed him back, bringing his hands up to his lover's cheeks to feel the warmth and melted in the sensation.

They didn't care if people saw them, they were finally happy together. Even though to took them awhile for them to find each other's feelings, their journey as one brought them closer than anything else. In the end, they eventually found their missing piece.

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(( I'm planning on making one more chapter, just for a bonus. But I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed making this story! It took 2 and a half notebooks to write (it really did) and even though there might be some spelling mistakes (my bad...), I hope you all liked reading the story! Thanks! ^_^ <3 ))