Su Wang was in the carriage when her stomach started to throb, she bit her lip to suppress her scream. luckily she was riding alone or else the dark glow through her white dress would be noticeable by anyone who took sight of her. She twisted and turned as she felt as if a thousand needled pierced through her stomach. The pain spread from her mark to other parts of her body making her shake violently.
"Make it stop.." she whimpered tears threatening to fall. This was not the first time this had happened to her but this was the first time the pain came as one fierce blast.
She took deep breaths trying to calm her racing heart and then suddenly the pain ceased as if it was no even there before. Su Wang sighed in relief as she looked at her stomach not even wondering how the pain stopped suddenly, she was used to it, the pain came and went.
Suddenly, the carriage came to a halt, had they arrived already? The door was opened and looked at the darkening sky.
A two hour journey passed without Su Wang noticing. Sighing, she climbed down from the carriage just like the dozens of other girls from honourable families which had been invited. Clutching her invitation she walked into the courtyard, girls had gathered into groups discussing amongst themselves.
"Su Wang! Su Wang!" a voice called her, causing her to whip her head around to see where the voice was coming from. It was Lu Man from the academy, Su Wang's only friend.
"Lu Man," she said in greeting looking at her friend's appearance. She was adorned in a burgundy dress with gold embroidery on the silk material.
"I thought they wouldn't let you come."was the first thing she said. Even though Lu Man was Su Wang's friend, she had always jealous of her impeccable beauty and the thought of her not attending the ball created more chances for Lu Man to become queen.
"They forced me actually," she said with a laugh not knowing her friends jealousy.
"Hmmm," she hummed trying to find a way to keep her out of the prince's vision. "Let's go inside."
"Okay," Su Wang answered looking around, "Did your parents not escort you?"
"They did," she answered with a shrug, "They must be around, what about you, where are your aunt and uncle."
"They came in a separate carriage," she replied casually following Lu Man into the castle. They entered the grand ballroom which was elegantly decorated. Burgundy drapes adorned the windows as well as the table tops and white cloth was utilized to make the room more welcoming. White lilies were placed on top of the tables along with some plates and silverware. Lu Man was filled with excitement upon seeing with the burgundy decorations, she even abandoned her plans of sabotaging Su Wang.
Meanwhile, Su Wang was deeply irritated with the extreme use of the colour but upon seeing Lu Man's excitement, she relaxed and hoped that the prince would choose her friend.
"The Prince is about to arrive!" Lu Man gleefully said jumping in excitement, "I'll join my parents now." she said walking towards Minister Lu and his wife.
Su Wang's arm was jerked in the opposite direction making her stumble as she walked. She was then led to a table where her aunt forcibly sat her down.
"Do not mess this up!" she gritted squeezing Su Wang's arm, her nails digging deeper into her flesh. "The introductions will start as soon as the Prince arrives, Behave!"
Su Wang only nodded wearily, she had no plans of marrying the Prince, she was planning on running away after the ball, since she took a different carriage from her uncle and aunt. She thought of leaving during the ball but she gave up on the idea as the palace was heavily guarded.
"ATTENTION LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" a voice boomed throughout the ballroom, "HERE COMES HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE CROWN PRINCE!"
All the noise in the room died at the beginning of that statement, the men deeply bowed and looked as if they were about to fall while the women held their skirts in deep curtsys' their heads lowered and facing the ground.
Two pairs of footsteps echoed throughout the room and an air of dominance radiated from the presence of the prince making everyone tremble in their stances. This was even worse for Su Wang as her body itched with restlessness and a strange desire grew. Out of curiosity, Su Wang lifted her head twisting it so that she could clearly see the prince. Two men walked side by side, one in front of the other, they both were extremely handsome that Su Wang felt her heartbeat quicken at the sight of the men, the walked with graceful and determined strides towards the throne. The man in front wore a black suit that fitted him perfectly tracing his perfect build, while the other wore a royal blue suit that showed that he was a man of great sophistication but could not be compared to the man in front, his appearance lacked and he certainly looked a few years younger than the man in black.
A sense of familiarity grew as she studied the first man again, the air around herself changing and becoming stronger but she did not notice the shift. His long nose, perfectly molded face, his ink black hair. All this seemed familiar, she had seen this man before.
As the prince walked, he felt a foreign aura taking over, his eyes started scanning the room filled with bowing subjects until his eyes landed on a girl who had her head held high unlike the other maidens who lowered their heads. His feet changed their course as they were drawn to the location of the girl. Han Xulian was puzzled upon seeing the prince change course but he did not question him but followed closely behind.
Su Wang grew restless as she saw the prince moving closer to her with the other man following closely behind. His eyes studied her face closely, drinking in every detail of her face. The entire ballroom itched with curiosity as the noticed the prince change the route to his throne from the corner of their eyes.
Behind the prince, Han Xulian gasped, "It's her," as he also studied her intently and from a single glance, he knew it was her.
Qin Yifan was totally perplexed as he looked at the beauty before him, she held nothing but innocence and purity as she stood before him in the white dress she wore. She looked delicate and fragile in his eyes that he refrained from reaching out, afraid he might taint her with his darkness.
Everyone felt their bodies ache and some even fell to their knees as they could not afford bowing whilst standing any longer. With their heads lowered, many slowly fell to their knees watching the prince intently.
Su Wang bit her tongue to refrain from speaking, she had heard of the wrath of the prince before and did not want to be among those who suffered a fate worse than death.
With a deep breath, the prince turned around, surprising Han Xulian and himself. She was here but he was turning away, why?
Before the prince would fully turn around, Su Wang grabbed onto his arm and announced, "You're him."
Su Wang looked Qin Yifan directly into his eyes, silently challenging him to deny her allegations. The prince wanted to look away but instead his pupils transformed to dark pools and Su Wang felt as if she was looking into the depths his soul and all she could find was darkness.
At that moment, the two got enchanted by one another unknowingly, the spell that linked their souls together grew stronger and would soon become irresistible.
Qin Yifan freed his hand from her hold and briskly moved to his throne but Su Wang was not willing to let go easily she pledged to herself that she was going to get her answers.
"Rise!" the Prince barked and the entire ballroom got to it's feet, many casting curious glances at Su Wang.