A Crown Of Deception

Chapter Six

 Prince Oliver bowed and reached for the hand of the Princess, kissing it and said lowly:

"Would you do me the pleasure of having this dance beautiful?"

The Princess appeared shook but curtsied gracefully and muttered a quiet

 "My pleasure "

Prince Oliver took the lead and glided over the middle of the ballroom. Slowly, they started moving with the soft tunes.

The Prince had to admit that the girl was definitely gorgeous. Taking hold of her hand, he grabbed her slender waist and twirled her across the room.

She was of a mesmerising beauty. 

Blending perfectly in this environment.

Prince Oliver almost forgot about the other ladies surrounding him. His attention was solely focused on this beauty in front of him, in his arms.

After a few dances, Oliver was sill not ready to let go of the Princess hand.

The soft song filling the room stopped abruptly as the King held one hand in the air.

"It's been lovely to get the opportunity dance with you all but  now it is time to appreciate the dinner."

His clear and authoritative voice rang across the huge hall.

Everybody bowed and scurried to the nearest chairs aligning the elongated table, which seemed to never have an end.

But apparently it did had 2 ends. The King and Queen, themselves, sat on the two opposite ends of it. The two Princes sat in the middle of the table, each facing the other.

It seemed kind like a compass though. 

King to the north, Queen to the side, Oliver to the right, Caspian to the left.

 The only remaining member of the family was lost in the overwhelming crowd of Princesses. 

Prince Oliver had a rather overcrowding amount of ladies ready to sit besides him. But the Prince had other plans.

He pulled the chair besides him and looked through the crowd when his eyes caught another pair.

He cockily motioned to the chair while extending his arms forward. It seemed like every person in the room were holding their breath, waiting impatiently. 

A beautifully manicured hand gracefully engulfed his own. The girl quickly sat herself down on the chair pretending to be shocked. But to those who noticed, the small hidden smirk gave it all away.

Prince Oliver's eyes met the seated Princess' eyes. Confusion clashing against adoration.

Oliver didn't recognise this lady. Or at least he thought so.  After getting a good look at her beautifully sculpted face, he quickly retracted his hand from that of the girl.

Of course he knew this girl, who didn't ? Plus it would have been hard to forget this face.

Cunningness hidden behind a mask of almost natural beauty.

This was the only  daughter of the king of France, King Louis , Princess Adrienne. 

You know how French is said to be the 'language of love', well then Princess Adrienne was known as the 'definition of love'. She was listed as one of the most beautiful ladies in the world.

Needless to say, she had boys falling for her everywhere she walked.

But well, let's just say some Princes were not too fond of her. That list may or may not include Prince Oliver.

A few years ago, she might or might not have sexually aggressed his cousin. When the latter did reveal this to the public, Adrienne went running to her daddy. Let's just say it wasn't pretty after King Louis got involved.

Oliver was deep in thought when the clanking of glass broke his train of thoughts. Everybody had their glasses raised in a toast. He glanced around the room frantically, searching for a particular someone. Eyes darting from one face to another, he sighed in desperation when he couldn't spot the person.

The King cleared his throat and tapped his fork lightly against his flute glass catching everyone attention for the second time. 

Personally, the members of the royal family were not that dramatic when it came to these stuffs. So the Princes were sure that if had not been in front of so many people, their father would have never bothered to do something so elegant. But as for that drumroll earlier, that would totally have to be blamed on their mother's overdramatic sense of humour.

"Your attention please. I wanted to say something. Oliver, I was around your age when my father organised the ball to find me a suitor. At that time, I was not particularly fond of getting married but I had no other options but to agree. The first time I saw this lady, she was just like the others. Weirdly enough, each passing minute that day, I found myself looking in the crowd, trying to find her. The one thing that attracted me was no doubt her attitude. She could stand up for herself but also knew the limits and was very approaching. Till now, I can proudly say that I did the right thing by choosing her to be my queen. These characteristics of hers have helped our Kingdom achieved more than I could ever imagine. So the only advice that I can give is that choose your partner carefully, this mistake can either ruin your entire Kingdom or can be a gift to you."

After getting settled in his huge chair, the King took a bite of his food. The other members at the table were more than happy to follow his lead.

Meanwhile, Prince Oliver was in very confusing situation. His dancing partner seemed to have been gone in thin air. He was so stupid as to not ask her name. Now he feels like Cinderella 's date, but he didn't even had a glass shoe. This cousin-harassing Princess was sitting in that chair next to him.

 And as if it wasn't enough, his father's speech put a weight down his shoulder. One wrong move and the whole empire will probably be doomed but he didn't even know what game they were playing to start with. 

Oliver pressed his thumbs against his forehead, massaging his aching head. All these thoughts were leading to a headache. But observing the looks of adoration and lust from the severe eligible ladies, his cocky smile was on display. 

He would deal with all these confusing things later, now he could just live in the moment.

But surely at the end of the day, the most bewildered and confused person in that whole kingdom would no question be Prince Caspian.

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A/N: Wow I can't believe I have written 2 chapters in under 24 hr. Way to go mamacitas. 

07 May 2020

-YOLO