Lilac Gaze

A Lover's Waltz

The prince woke up in his room, wearing his nightshirt at dusk. It seems that he had just awoken from his afternoon nap. His brother, Roland, was asked by their eldest brother, who just came home from his visit to the walls, to wake him up.

"River?" Roland called softly, making sure not to be so loud.

River sat on his bed, looking at the window to see the setting sun. His initial thought upon waking up was, 'What just happened?'

"Wait, where were you, Roland?" River asked his brother, "Ronald and I searched for you throughout the kingdom!"

Roland could only tilt his head, "Both you and Ronald took an afternoon nap," He explained, "I was tasked by Reginald to look after you two because you seemed to have cold sweat."

"Is that so?" River couldn't believe what he was hearing. 'This must be the work of that witch...'

"Brother, please change, the guests are arriving..." Roland told River before leaving his brother's room. Leaving the latter questioning himself in his room as his mind wanders, pondering upon the fact that the dream felt so real.

"I must not be mistaken..." He pinched himself. "That hurt..."

He hurried changing into his red habit à la française, making sure he looked at a mirror before presenting himself. He ran out of his room, looking for at least one of his brothers, almost hitting at least one butler or maid in the process. He arrived at the top of stairs beside his brother, Rex who mumbled to him, "Where have you been?!"

He whispered to Rex, "It was hard putting this on by myself you know."

They sat on their thrones with four sons on each side of the king and queen. From left to right, they sat: Remus, Roman, Rex, River, the queen, the king, Reginald, Raegan, Ronald then Roland at the far right. The king proposes a toast to his youngest sons, Ronald and Roland for they celebrate their days of birth on that day. Everyone rejoiced, the orchestra played beautiful tunes and the dancing was started by the twins.

River's eyes wandered, looking at the sea of people present in that hall. He noticed a woman wearing a lavander southern belle hat, holding a lilac fan. He felt his heart skip a beat then he mumbled under his breath, "It's her..."

He waited impatiently for the first waltz to end so he and his brothers could start dancing. Once the music ended, a round of applause was heard and before he knew it, his legs were taking him somewhere he was nervous to go to.

After squeezing through the crowd, he lost sight of her. His brothers instead were the ones to find him. He looked around to see nothing but the starry nights and the empty courtyard beyond the open doors of the castle.

A hand was placed on River's shoulder and when he turned to see who it was, he flinched to see his brother, Raegan, smiling at him. He was uncertain of what his brother wanted from him. If there was one thing that terrified him, it clearly was Raegan smiling at him for the second son of the king barely smiles, let alone show emotion.

"Raegan...?" River asked.

Raegan tilted his head, "Why don't we get back to the ball?"

"I... I can explain..." River stuttered.

Raegan's smile slowly faded then he crossed his arms, "Then spill."

"I..." River lowered his head, "I am looking for a girl..."

Raegan's eyes widened in shock. He knew that the last person to actually find someone to like would be River and it surprised him that his younger brother has found someone that piqued his interest. He smirked at him, "Why not tell you older brother who she is... I might offer you my assistance."