Between the assassination attempt and his fiancé's attitude towards him, Claude was stressed. He could live with assassins, they came with being a royal after all, but Lillian not returning his affection was disheartening. She even went as far as to attack him when all he tried to do was make sure she was safe. Though he must admit her power was very seductive. He was confident that he was right in picking her to be his queen. Though there was something else that drew him to her. She was a mystery that he was excited to solve.
Head general, Theodore, sat with Claude in the study as they went over the papers for the attack against the merpeople. The sea dwellers had started to drown many of his people when they went along the neutral zone to collect seafood at low tide. Claude's thoughts were on other things despite Theodore's best efforts to keep him on track.
"If you had a lady friend, you were trying to court, how would you go about it?" Claude asked, trying to sound casual.
His general looked at him horrified. "Don't tell me you are breaking your engagement for another woman?" He countered aghast.
"No, no, no. Lady Lowe is the one I have in mind. She doesn't seem to be very receptive to me. Each time we meet, she is very dignified or cross with me. All the other women just throw themselves at me yet she remains uninterested. I am charming, I am a prince! What more could I be?"
"She probably isn't impressed by your title. You said she had many suitors come to court her. The only reason she agreed to a marriage with you is because you are the first werewolf to ask," Theodore offered, "now back to the matter at hand…"
Claude thought back to when he first met the lady. She was in a human shopping center. Lillian wasn't interested in clothes, though, she bought a human noise machine. She didn't have one of those here. He could buy her one and offer it as a courting gift. Women loved gifts. It would surely win her affection.
"I leave the plans to you, Theodore. There is other business I need to attend to," Claude declared, rising from his seat.
Theodore was befuddled with his prince who, in his eyes, was abandoning his duties for something so frivolous.
~~~
"Lady Lowe, I present to you a gift to show you my affection," Claude declared as she came into the private sitting room that the royal family used.
He revealed an ornate gramophone to his love and enjoyed seeing her face light up with delight. She looked so happy with his present to her. This had to have influenced her opinion of him.
"Thank you so much," she finally said, regaining her voice.
He watched her as she began to play with the contraption and he couldn't help smiling widely. She looked so beautiful as she delicately touched the needle to the round disk. Music began to fill the room. Lillian began to sway to the beat. Claude watched her, memorized by her movements. He reached out to touch her when she suddenly stopped the music and turned to him.
"Thank you again, Prince Rawls. I am extremely grateful for this gift," she told him as she gave him a polite bow.
"It's my pleasure. I'm pleased you enjoy it," he replied, giving her a genuine smile.
A knock at the door drew their attention away from the moment. A soldier came to collect Claude for training. He mentally cursed his poor timing and said his goodbyes before leaving.
~~~
Claude now felt like he had hit a wall again. What else beyond gifts could he do to gain more of Lillian's affection? Once again he was ignoring Theodore who was trying to gain his attention to the matter at hand.
"How would you gain more of a lady's attention?" He asked.
"I would suggest you spend time with her," Theodore replied, knowing trying to sway his boss back to the work was impossible.
"But how? She seems to only ever tolerate my presence," Claude moaned.
"Why not do something she likes to do? Lady Lowe enjoys chess and is teaching your sister it. You could play a round with them," he suggested in his monotone voice as he was rather peeved with the prince now.
"Hm, that is a grand idea. I know you already have things sorted out, so I will leave this matter to you," Claude declared.
He left the room leaving Theodore by himself to evaluate plans for the upcoming attack.
~~~
Claude sat in on the lesson and watched the exchange. To say it was boring to him was an understatement. Chess was a game of strategy for which he had no love. He felt it was overly complicated for no reason and the only people who could possibly find it fun were those who loved torture. He had been lost in his thoughts when that soft voice drifted into his ears.
"I thank you for coming but you can leave. I can tell you aren't enjoying this," Lillian told him.
"No, no, continue. I'm just watching," he said absent-mindedly.
"Princess Rawls has left already to go see to other matters," she replied.
He looked around, saw that his sister was not there, and shot her a smile as he got up. She was unimpressed by his charm and folded her arms across her chest.
"Why stay if it bores you?" She asked, genuinely curious as to what his goal was.
"Because I wanted to do something with you that makes you happy," he explained.
Lillian looked at him befuddled. While chess was her favorite game, seeing someone so bored with it took away any enjoyment she had for it.
"If you truly want to do something with me that I enjoy, I want to waltz," she demanded, "or does that bore you too?"
"No. Waltz sounds like a grand idea," he replied, flashing a toothy grin.
~~~
Lillian started to play a rather upbeat waltz on the new gramophone. She flashed a quick smile before returning to her usual neutral face. Even though it was fast, Claude was pleased that he was able to see such a pretty sight.
The music drifted around them as they moved to the music. They kept a respectful distance as they danced around the room. A small smile came to Claude's face as he watched his love. She was always so serious but when they were dancing her face was relaxed and the corners of her lips were turned up in the slightest smile.
Lillian caught sight of Claude's gaze and pulled away from him.
"W-why are you watching me?" She asked, unnerved.
"You are absolutely beautiful," he told her.
Lillian sputtered with her face turning red. Even after all this time, she was still caught off guard when he said things like that.
"I'll see you at dinner! Good day, good sir!" She yelled flustered.
Lillian left Claude in the room with a big grin on his face. He thought she was even more beautiful when she was flustered.