String of Fate

Chapter Ninety Two

I resisted the urge to put my head in my hands as I watched the girl in front of me complain and throw her third hissy fit in the past ten minutes. She was being very fussy about the shoes she had to wear with a specific dress. I did not understand how a fifteen year old could be so fussy.

Then again, she was a princess.

This was a regular sight when it came to the Princess Evangeline getting ready for one of the balls. She would pick a dress and shoes the day before, then, while she was having her hair styled, she would decide that she didn't like the shoes, or the dress, and complain for a solid half an hour until she spotted the right outfit or decided that the original outfit had been the perfect outfit all along.

The maid holding the shoes had no idea what to do as the princess stalked away, towards her shoe closet. Her lacy dress fluttered behind her as she walked to the centre of the shoe cupboard and eyed up all the shoes that she owned. She spotted a pair above her head. "Gerald, pass me those shoes."

"Yes, Your Highness." I replied, making sure not to stand on her dress as I walked past her and pulled the selected shoes from the shelf, immediately kneeling down to let her put them on her feet. She slid her dainty feet into the shoes and went back over to the mirror, checking how her feet looked. Then, she turned to me, waiting for me to tell her how I thought she looked. As she always did. "Breath-taking, Your Highness."

She seemed happy with that result and I would have rolled my eyes if she hadn't been able to see me in the mirror. Instead, I maintained the composer of the loyal butler and tried to keep the disdain off my face. I did my usual zoning out as she continued to check her reflection until I heard her voice as she spoke to one of the maids. "Maria, will Prince Gideon be there tonight? I asked father to send him an invitation for the ball. I'd like for him to accept at least one of the invitations."

"Sadly, he rejected the invitation that your father sent. He sends his apologies, your Highness." Maria explained, hoping that it wouldn't cause the princess to have another hissy fit.

I was surprised that Evangeline shoulders slumped a tiny amount and a wave of sadness washed over her face before she sorted herself again. She turned back to the maid, placing her practiced smile back on her face. "Hopefully, he will accept one of the invitations soon. It would be nice to meet him."

"I should think so, your Highness. You are to be married after your sixteenth birthday." The maid told her, checking that the Princess' hair was still in place. "I hope you do meet him before the wedding, and that you like him."

"Thank you, Maria." The princess replied, checking the intricately designed clock on her mantle. Then, she turned to me. "Gerald, do you think that it is time?"

I also glanced at the clock, thinking that the princess was right. She had a ball to get to. Not that it was that far away. The ballroom was just on the other side of the castle. The princess just had to walk to it. I nodded. "I suppose it is, your Highness."

I stepped forward and offered her my arm to help her walk to the ballroom. The one thing I noticed about the princess was that, especially when she selected shoes, she didn't think of the practicality of the outfit. I frequently had to help her on the journey to the ballroom – and then wonder if she would fall down the steps or trip over while dancing.

Sometimes, I didn't know if I wanted her to fall over or not.

After a walk through the whole castle, she released my arm before the double doors opened and she walked into the ballroom unaided and as graceful as she always did. I slipped around and entered through one of the side doors as usual, slipping into the shadow of a pillar and standing against the wall. As usual, I watched the princess dance and flirt with the men who had actually agreed to come to the ball.