All members bowed when Prince Rayko entered; it was a common courtesy for the royalty.
"May eternal glory be upon, Callous," everyone said in union.
"You may lift your head." Prince Rayko said with his usual cold expression plastered on his face.
They all lifted their head as the party continued; Rosanne turned back to face Sir Alastair, smiling slightly.
'I have to avoid them at all costs.' she thought, feeling the fear creeping back.
"Shall we have a walk in the garden?" she asked as her fragile frame slightly shook at the thought of the memories.
Sir Alastair noticed her sudden change of mood; he kept his grin and nodded in agreement. Before they both could exit the ballroom, Prince Rayko grasped Rosanne's wrist, tightening his grip.
"Are you not feeling well, lady Rosanne?" he asked.
"No, I am fine, your highness. Sir Alastair and I were going to go get some fresh air," she said, not making any eye contact as she slowly removed her hand from his grip.
"Excuse us, Your Highness," she said before giving a small curtsey and wrapping her hands around Alastair's arm before leaving the room.
Prince Rayko watches as they leave, balling his hand into a fist and feeling an unusually heated sensation growing in his chest. Meanwhile, April watches the scene from the sideline as she takes his hand.
"Is everything alright, Your Highness?" she asked with a sweet, squeaky tone.
"I'm fine, stay here. I'll be right back." Reiko said, leaving her behind.
Rosanne and Alastair quietly walked around the garden. The stroll was quiet; it was nothing awkward, just a comfortable silence.
"I'm sorry, sir Alastair, for ruining your evening." Rosanne suddenly breaks the silence.
He patted her head gently, "I'm having fun right now, trust me. It's better here with you than staying in that ballroom with all the dukes trying to set me up with their daughters. Plus, I only came here to see you." he said.
She looked up at him, blinking in confusion. "Me? Why is that? Do you have something important to discuss about the headboard meeting?" she asked, confused.
A low chuckle escaped from his mouth as he shook his head, responding, "Nope, I just wanted to see you, that's all. no reason behind it, but I was also hoping if you would like to have tea with me from time to time?" he asked staring down back at her.
Rosanne thought for a moment, and before she could answer, Prince Rayko pulled her back.
"Sorry to interrupt your little date; however, I need to talk to lady Rosanne," Rayko said, glaring at Alastair.
Alastair had a slight smirk planted on his face as he slowly pushed his hands inside his pockets, "Right. well, I'm taking that as a yes then, Lady Rosanne. It was nice seeing you, Your Highness." he said before walking the opposite way from them.
A low sigh left her lips as she turned to face Prince Rayko, "what is it you'd like to discuss, your highness?" she asked.
"Well, the thing is.. the thing I was going to talk to you about is uhm.." Rayko mumbled through his sentence, not making any sense to Rosanne.
"ah! Right, it's about the plans of the attack against Gantric," he said, the only thing that first popped into his head.
Her eyes lit up hearing about the plan. "Your Highness, does this mean I can participate and help assist?" she asked.
Rayko cleared his throat, shaking his head, "No, I just wanted to tell you since you had given us a major piece of advice," he said.
"Your Highness, why can I not assist?" she asked sadly.
He responded, "Because it is dangerous for you, and your body is weak."
Rosanne bites the inside of her cheeks. "Then, let's make a deal: the day of my coming of age, I'll fight one of your strongest knights, and if I win, then that means I can go with you guys, and if I lose, then I'll just continue the Regina contest." she proposed.
Rayko thought for a moment, knowing it would be impossible for a small, fragile girl like her to beat one of his men, "Wouldn't it be a win-win for you then. You might get selected to be a regina; that's a total win. if you lose, I get a wish." he said.
She let out a slight hum, "fine, it's a deal. but first, tomorrow in your free time, I would like to have tea with you." she said.
'hehe, why suddenly ask for a wish when you're a prince who can get anything you want? It sucks to be him. I'll have to make a contract during tea so no seals will get broken.' she thought.
Rosanne plopped in bed feeling exhausted as her feet were sore from wearing heels all day. 'Training starts bright and early tomorrow morning. I can't waste any more time. I have to act fast so no one can get hurt by the hands of that bastard of a prince,' she thought as many started to pile in her head. She shook her head and buried her face into her pillow, trying to fall asleep.
Before the sun had risen, Rosanna was already doing some laps around the house, and before you knew it, she started her combat training with her brother's knights. Although they disagreed about letting her train, they finally gave in when she did her puppy eyes to them. She trained before dawn until the sun went down daily for the past few weeks; it was finally the day of the bet. However, after all the training, she had overworked and caught a cold.
"my lady! It's not a good idea for you to continue the duel. You're not feeling well," Margret said worryingly.
"Don't worry, Margret. I need to win this so everyone can be safe.." Rosanne mumbled, and her vision got blurry as soon as she stepped onto the battlefield. Before she could fall, Prince Rayko had caught her, picking her up bridal style as he rushed to bring her into his chamber.
She lifted her eyes slightly, seeing Rayko with a worried expression, then him yelling for the doctor before everything went black.