Love Me Harder

Chapter 3

The show begins. Roger takes me around the ballroom and introduces me to the guests. All of them come from a noble family, you can see that clearly by their appearance. Everyone's frames are covered in diamonds and expensive fabrics which envelop their entire body. But it's not just that, how the way they talk and behave is so classy, high class, and also.. pretty boring. I see too many handsome and wealthy men but none of them are able to captivate my heart.

"What do you think of them, my dear? Is there someone you like?" the Queen asks after I decide to take a break for a couple minutes. We stand right next to the stage.

"They are nice, but it seems like I haven't found him yet, my Queen."

The Queen smiles and looks at the King's face, and captures the King's eyes. "He's indeed difficult to find, but if you open your mind and your heart, you will find him." she says softly.

"Fresh air may be able to calm your mind." the King suggests. Yes, that's all I need right now. I need to get away from this situation as soon as I can or my mind will blow up in any minute. Better be alone than  be stuck in here. I bow and obey his words.

I walk towards the garden followed by Eve and Trudy. It's very difficult to find a quite place because the guests are literally spreading in a whole area of the castle just like a virus. 

"Is there anything you want, princess?" Eve asks as I sit down on one of the garden's benches.

"Maybe a cup of tea would be fine." Eve bows and walks back towards the castle.

It's very cold out here but still, I prefer being out here rather than being stuck inside. My eyes can't stop looking around the garden, just admiring how beautiful it is in the dark. The starlight has been defeated by the hundreds of lights littering the garden. 

"It's so boring out here, isn't it, Trudy?" she just smiles instead of answering my question.

"Would you like to walk with me?" I ask her another question.

"Of course, princess." we walk through the garden while talking about simple things, such as her family, our interests and many things like that. It's pretty nice to have someone to talk to at this moment. 

"Princess?" a man's voice calls from behind us. I immediately turn at the direction of the voice that interrupted us . There's a very tall man standing in front of me. Based on his looks, he's around my age, maybe a little older. It seems like he's one of my guests. He greets me with a very soft smile which is very attractive. His eyes are looking gently at me, they're  so warm and beautiful to watch.

"What are you doing here?" he asks politely. At the same time, Eve comes while her hands are carrying a cup of tea and a hot looking pot. 

"I, uh, I just wanted to get some fresh air." I say before sipping my tea.

"Too bored inside?"

"You tell me." he chuckles. 

My world stops and it feels like the present is moving in slow motion. Everything freezes and my eyes are focused on one thing only, the beautiful creature standing before me. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. Woah, what happened to me? The way he wrinkles his nose when he's laughing and the sounds of his chuckle gives me the creeps...in the best way possible. 

"Would you like to walk with me, princess?"

"Of course," I'd be an idiot if I didn;t agree to his kind offer. "I will meet you in the castle." I say to Trudy and Eve, giving back to Eve the cup of tea I was previously holding. They nod and walk back towards the castle.

We begin exploring the garden. The atmosphere becomes quiet and calm. Why isn't he saying anything? My brains running out of topic and I can't figure out what to say. What do boys like him enjoy these days? Politics? Maybe. But I hate politics, I've been trying so hard lately not involved with anything concerning politics. I don't have any interest towards it whatsoever and I'm sure he prefers anything other than that bloody shit. But what? Money?

"So.. what are you doing out here?" well, at least I tried. This is the best one that my brains could come up with.

"Same as you," he smiles while his eyes keep wandering around the garden. "I must to say that I'm amazed by the beauty of the garden."

"Indeed, it's so beautiful and also this is one of my favorite places to spend my free time, just to cool off my mind." the more we walk, the cooler the air gets and I notice that no one's out here except us and some guards.

"Wait, your nose is red. Here, wear this." he shrugs his suit off and puts it around my shoulders. My heart beats, knowing what just happened. 

"No, I'm fine." 

"I insist. The air is very cold and I don't want you to get sick."

Again, I'm flattered by his words. Why does he keep doing that?

"Thank you." aside his good looks his attitude is kind. He's like, every woman's dream man. My eyes glance to his hands, searching the diamond ring on his finger. He must be taken. 

"So?" he suddenly asks. 

"Huh?" did he notice my actions?

"Nothing. Forget it." he chukles and looks away. What did he ask before?

Time is running fast, without even noticing, we reach the end of the garden. I can see Trudy and Eve walking towards me from the distance. Why now?

"I think it's time for you to come back inside, princess." he seems to notice Trudy and Eve's sudden appearance. I can see them only few meters from me. This girls need to slow down.

"Yes, are you coming?"

"Maybe later, I need a couple more minutes."

"Alright, here," I say, handing him his suit back. "Thank you for tonight."

"It's been my pleasure." we bow and I turn my back in order to follow Trudy and Eve back to the castle.

"Wait," I suddenly say. I turn my body the other way and just like what I hoped, he's still standing there. " I don't even know your name." I must say, I feel stupid  and rude admitting that I hadn't even asked his name earlier. 

"Zayn. Zayn Malik."