To Dance with a Prince

Untitled Part 1

London England

Prince Oliver adjusted the collar of his Irish Guards Guard of Honor uniform as he walked down the hall that led from his wing of the castle. His father King Robert was holding a garden party which was a tradition his mother had started when she was the Queen. The guest list was vast and Oliver sighed a little as he thought of all of the upper-class women that would be trying to vie for his attention. It was always exhausting. He decided to take the back stairs and slip out one of the side doors of the garden. He knew his father would be upset that he was not announced but tonight he did not care.

He made his way past the kitchen, his eyes noting the hustle and bustle taking place as caterers hurried to plate their creations and waiters and waitresses dressed in crisp white coats and pants carried the delicacies out to the waiting guests. Oliver paid them no mind as they were paid well to work the venue unseen and he took a deep breath before slipping out the French doors to the garden.

The lawn was already crawling with the wealthy and upper class of London and Prince Oliver plastered on a perfunctory smile as guests started to notice his presence. He made his way slowly through the guests complimenting the women on their hats and shaking the hands of the men dressed to the nines in top hats and vests. Everyone was dressed in their Sunday best and as the first of the elite tried to introduce him to her "niece" he gave them his usual polite smile, kissed her hand and then shrewdly moved on his way.

Growing up as the future King had been a burden that Oliver had carried all of his life, but being blessed or cursed, whichever way he chose to look at it that day with good looks made it an even harder burden to bear. Every single woman within London society vied for his attention at every gathering and it slowly was becoming a frustration he wished he could avoid. It caused him to find ways to escape even if for a few moments and he looked forward to when he could do that here.

Oliver had been mingling for about an hour when he saw his father speaking with the Earl of Windsor and so he slipped down the lawn toward the tree line hoping to catch a moment of reprieve. As he hurried along the stone fencing, he noticed a small figure standing by the small koi pond at the bottom of the lawn slope. The person was dressed all in white, similar to what the wait staff was wearing and Oliver stopped for a moment not wanting to be seen. If he wanted to admit it, he was a little annoyed that he did not have the pond to himself. He wanted to escape not run into some waiter or waitress that would stumble over their words when they saw him approach.

However, when he stopped, he heard crying, a soft sound that sounded broken and alone and Oliver could not stop it from touching his heart. He had felt that alone before and he did not wish the feeling on anyone. He saw the person look up out over the water and his breath hitched slightly as he saw blue eyes that rivaled the sapphires that adorned his mother's favorite broach. It was a woman. She was petite with blonde hair that had been pulled back into a loose bun and he saw her wipe her eyes before slipping a pair of dark framed glasses onto her face. She was beautiful and he felt a pull in his chest as he wondered why she was so sad.

He walked slowly toward her and when their eyes met, Oliver felt a jolt of awareness unlike anything he had ever experienced.

Felicity wiped her eyes placing her glasses back on her face. The cry had been good but she was embarrassed that she had broken down her first day on the job. However, everything in her life had finally overwhelmed her and as she had walked around these beautiful happy people with a tray of the finest shrimp, it had been the final straw. She just hoped she could sneak back before her boss noticed she was missing and she got fired. To be able to work the Royal Garden Party had been a dream come true for her both in terms of seeing the beautiful grounds first hand and the money she would earn. She couldn't afford to lose the opportunity as she might never be asked again.