"May I have this dance?"
~FlashBack~
3rd person pov:
"Kanae!!"A voice calls out, whining as the older female was running away from the voice.
"Hehe, Catch me if you can, Shinobu!"Kanae grins as she ducks around a corner.
"Haa...Just where did she go..."Shinobu had lost Kanae after that corner and was now thinking where she could be when a voice calls out to her.
"Shinobu! What did I say about running in the hallways!"The voice booms out, bouncing off the walls as the male approach her.
"Sorry, Father..."
He sighs before asking her to come with him. They reach the dining room to see Kanae waiting for them.
"This was where you were?"Shinobu grumbles as Kanae playfully smiles back.
"Anyways take a seat, we will be discussing your Hand In Marriage today."
"You know I don't want a husband."Shinobu crosses her arms as she looks away with her eyebrows furrowed.
"You have called this discussion off for months now, You don't have a choice."
"And I keep telling you, I don't want to get married!"Shinobu lashes out in anger as her father has been nagging her for months now to take a prince to married.
The Butterfly Kingdom was well-known to be one of the best in medical knowledge and treatment, however, they suffered a massive blow when a flood had wiped out their greenhouses of herbs and plants used for medicine.
So now the king needs to get their main source of income back in business before anyone notices, being the prideful man he was, he didn't want to outright ask for help so he went for the marriage path.
Shinobu took a deep sigh as her father releases them both after the tense conversation.
"He knows that I don't want to marry yet he still wants to force us! I can't believe him!" Shinobu screams in anger as Kanae gently closes the door to her room.
"Now now, I do think that he was our best interest in mind."Kanae gently pats Shinobu's back as she starts to calm down.
"Best interest? I don't want to marry one of those snobbish princes who thinks that they are entitled and above everyone else!"Shinobu puffed her cheeks in annoyance as Kanae sighs.
"You know that not all princes are like that, there are some good ones you know!"Kanae cheerfully smiles at Shinobu deadpans back.
"Of course I know that, Your fiance is one example."She scoffs as she thinks back to the day where the princes were presented in the ballroom for Kanae's birthday celebration.
Only one group was decent in her eyes, 3 males, each had striking hair colours, gold-red, peach and white. The male who greeted them first was the first prince of the Flame Kingdom, Kyojuro Rengoku. He had an upbeat tone and a smile that could blind everyone in the room then as he said his formalities.
Next was Sabito, the first prince from the Water Kingdom. He had a serious gaze as he greeted us next before joining the gold with yellow tips coloured hair male.
The one who was engaged to Kanae after a lot of thinking was the first prince of the Wind Kingdom, Sanemi Shinazugawa. Politely and respectfully greeted us with a small smile before joining the other princes.
I guessed his attitude was that caught our attention as the main event came along, Ballroom Dancing where every candidate would ask for a dance with Kanae.
Most males had rushing to eagerly ask for a dance, before getting turned down when Sanemi stepped in when he saw how uncomfortable Kanae was.
"Sorry to barge in but you can see she is uncomfortable with the lack of personal space so please step back."He seemed to force a smile as he walks over with this air of confidence and coldness yet holds calmness in his eyes as the other princes step back in fear.
"Have fun~"I whisper as I lightly push her towards him.
She blushes lightly at my actions before putting on a calm face used for parties like these.
"May I have this dance? But of course, you may decline."He whispers as he held out a hand for her to take.
"Thank you."She whispers back as she held his hand.
He lightly smiles before leading her to the dance floor where everyone could watch them. I watch as she giggles from time to time when he whispers something to her.
'I'm glad she found someone that can take care of her.' I smile as they skillfully dance to the music.
'Oh but if he were to think to hurt her in any ways, I'll beat his ass up.' I internally smile as I begin to think of the punishments if I ever see Kanae cry.
"Anyways I still don't want to get married. I am only 19 years old and I have lots to see and experience, I won't be tied down to a marriage!"Shinobu yells, throwing a pillow across the room.
~End of FlashBack~
Shinobu Pov:
And yet here we are, In the large room used for my birthday party. I sigh deeply as the announcer spoke in a loud voice that the participants are arriving.
The theme was chosen to be a Masquerade Party where everyone was told to wear a mask to conceal their identities, making it harder for me to see which princes to avoid specifically.
The room light dimmers as the guests started to come in, having a spotlight when they were introduced.
"Hopefully no one notices that I am the princess as I hide in this dark spot, "I mumble as the people increased over time.
My hope jinxes me as a taller blonde man came over to strike up a conversation with me.
'Okay, This is a prince from the mask used..' Father had briefed me on what masks the princes would be wearing if they were candidates.
Black masks with white feathers on the right side, butterfly designs on the smooth material used.
"Hello there~ What's a pretty lady like you doing in such a dark area?"He sweetly smiles at me.
I don't know why but his smile sickens me even though I had just met him, my senses were telling me to run away from him.
"And you are?"I eye him cautiously as his lips formed an 'o' shape at my question.
"How silly of me, I am the Second Prince of the Ice Kingdom. Douma, it's a pleasure to meet you."He does a slight bow as he introduces himself.
"Ice Kingdom? I never heard of it."
"Oh, but of course, We tend to keep to ourselves than to minge with other Kingdoms but we are a half of a Kingdom you see."He explains in a cheerful tone.
"Half of a kingdom?"I raise an eyebrow at him.
"Yes indeed, Our other significant half is called the Lava Kingdom. We are often called the Icy-Hot Kingdom."
"So someone from the Lava Kingdom is here too?"I glance at the crowd.
"Mm, I do recall hearing that the first prince would be attending. But enough about that, May I have a dance?"He steps closer towards me.
I uncomfortably move backwards until I hit the wall, signalling that I was trapped.
'This is why I didn't want to have this stupid party..'I prepared myself to hit him when he comes closer when a voice calls out.
"Sorry to interrupt, But May I have this dance?"A gloved hand reaches out for me to take.
I only have a short amount of time to look at this new person before taking their hand but they wore the same black mask the Princes would wear.
'Okay, so it's either this new person or the Ice prince.'I glance at Douma and his sweet smile, deciding I would take my chances with the new person instead.
"Follow my lead."They whisper to me as they lead me to the dance floor.
'This person is really skilled...'They gracefully dance to the beat of the music, letting me follow as we dance under the darkness of the room.
"I hope I didn't interrupt anything important with that man from before?"Their voice was gentle as they spin me around.
"No, in fact, He was getting too comfortable with me. So thank you for noticing me."
"But of course, Who wouldn't notice such a pretty princess in a dark corner of the room?"They chuckle at me.
"You knew I was the princess?"
"Only the princess wears the mask your wearing right now, making it easier for us to find you in this crowd."
"Oh.."I awkwardly shift my eyes downwards as I was embarrassed.
"Fret not, I don't think he would be coming after you, not after you turned him down like that."They let go as the music was slowing down, indicating it was time to stop dancing.
"Hopefully you would visit the 'Icy-Hot' Kingdom one day."They whisper before flashing me a small smile, disappearing into the crowd easily.
"Wait!"
But just like that, I lost them in the darkness.
.
.
"Any that caught your attention?"Kanae comes into my room after knocking on the door.
"Mm.."I murmur as she sat down next to me.
"So who's the lucky guy?"
"Well that's the thing, I don't know who they are."I puff my cheeks in annoyance.
"They didn't even give me a name! Only about their Kingdom..."I sigh tiredly as I flop onto my bed.
"Oh cheer up Shinobu..At least you could track them with that!"
"What do you mean?"I raise my head to look at her.
"They gave you their Kingdom's name no? So all you got to do is drop over to their Kingdom and ask!"She excitedly shouts.
"Hmm, I guess you're right...Okay! I'm going to ask father tomorrow!"
"That's the spirit!"Kanae pats my head before leaving my room.
"Can I really meet them again?"I stare at my ceiling before slowly drifting off to sleep.