Royal Affairs

Chapter Three

The man's voice instantly snaps me out of my happy trance. Vincent and I simultaneously let go of one another, stepping back and both turning to look in the direction the voice came from.

"The Queen instructed me to come find you, Princess. She asked me to tell you that she has a dress waiting for you in your room."

The voice belongs to the male guard that Xander brought with him. He's young, but incredibly intimidating. His hair is dark and cropped short to reveal his striking face. A single scar cuts through the monolid of his right eye, adding to his rough look. His eyes dart between Vincent and I. Hoping to avoid any confrontation, I give a nod towards Vincent to signal that he should leave. He hesitates, but does so anyway. "I will send Danielle up to help you, Kat."

"Thank you, Vincent," I say, turning to look at the guard once more. His gaze settles on me and I can't seem to read his expression. Anger? No. Suspicion? A strong maybe. "Is that all?"

"Hm. It's a little strange that you and that-"

"Theo! There you are. Cameron said you had gone this way," Xander says, rounding the corner of the hallway. He comes up and claps Theo on the back, Theo's mood instantly changing. He turns to Xander with a smile.

"Excuse me, Prince Xander. The Queen simply asked me to inform your Princess here that she needs to get ready for the ball tonight. As should you."

"Now, I think I look absolutely exquisite. What do you think, Theo? Am I not already the finest hunk of man you've seen today?" Xander grins cheekily and motions down towards his body.

"Dashing, your Highness."

"That's what I like to hear, buddy. Now, let's go ahead and get settled in, shall we?" Xander turns towards me and bows slightly. "I'll see you tonight, Kat."

And just like that, Xander pulls Theo back down the hall which they came, effectively saving me from the guard's suspicion.

Letting out a breath, I leave as well, heading up the stairs to my room. I open the door to find Danielle already fawning over a dress on my bed.

"Kat, it's so freaking cute, look at it!" Dani smiles energetically and motions to the blue lace.

"It's a pretty one," I say, stepping closer to her.

"So are you. Now tell me about your alone time with Prince Sexy." She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively. I snort and bump her with my hip in retaliation.

"Says you. And it was tolerable."

"Oh come on, he's a hottie. I mean, Vinc is too, but have you seen the prince's face? Damn."

I snort and roll my eyes. "He's not awful, but he's no Vincent."

"Yeah, yeah. You're in love and all that. But seriously, all of the Troyden visitors are hot as hell. The prince? Scrumptious. The guards? Arrest me, please. Slam some handcuffs on me and—"

"What about the blonde?" I cut her off before she can go on with whatever atrocity she was about to spew.

"He's cute, but probably not my type. He seems a little... soft."

"Oh, whatever. He's adorable. I'm gonna set you two up tonight."

"Don't you dare, Kat. I can find my own love interests. I might have my eye on that broody lady guard, anyway."

"She's pretty, but women are just so exhausting in relationships."

"You've only had flings with annoying girls from the kingdom. This guard seems different."

"Different how? You've seen her once."

"Well, to begin with, she's definitely got a lot of experience, if you know what I mean."

"Okay! Great, you have fun with that. Moving on," I burst out and grab at the dress to change the subject. "When are we having this ball anyway?"

"Forgot to tell you, whoops. It's at 6:30. What time is it?" We both look to the clock on the wall. It reads 6:13. "Shit! Go, go, go. Dress on right now."

"I'm going!" I laugh and kick off my heels, reaching back to start pulling at my corset. "A little help, please!"

"Here, here!" Danielle giggles and unties the strings, pulling the dress down off my body. I feel her hesitate a little bit before dropping the fabric to the floor. She assists me in getting into the new lacy gown, pulling the corset snug.

"Annnd, done!"

I turn to look in the mirror and grin, the blue fabric cascading in pretty waves down my body. "Thank you Danielle."

"You're welcome. You're beautiful, Kat."

I smile softly and move to look at her, quickly pulling her in for a hug. She tenses up at first but quickly returns the affection, squeezing me tight. "You're the best friend a girl could ask for. Now come on, let's go get another look at our visitors, hm? Who knows, maybe the prince will take a liking to you instead."

"Ugh, I wish."

•

Having dressed and gotten ready with some blush and lip gloss, Dani and I make our way into the main hall, all eyes landing on us. The prince and his entourage stand center, my mother, Vincent, some guards, and a few staff members spread out around them and talking amongst themselves. Xander's head turns towards us at the sound of our footsteps, his eyes lighting up in approval.

"There they are!" My mother calls out as the rest of the party's eyes drift to Danielle and I. "You both look gorgeous."

Finally amongst the group, I smile and give my mother a nod. "Let's get this ball going, shall we?"