"I finally found you…"
A sweet voice, a trembling hand, and the eyes of so many people make me think that I should have left Mireya to walk on this path alone.
So many people looking in my direction, I have no idea if they show envy or surprise, the only thing in front of me is a person who cut me off and surprised me without knowing what to do, captivating me only with one word: "I finally found you!". He held my hand tightly as if he didn't want me to go, like a desperate man full of joy after he achieved something with fatigue and toil. I could see somehow pain and happiness at the same time in those trembling eyes, but I could not show any emotion towards him.
'Who is this person?'
I had prepared myself that before entering the hall. I believed that the reaction would be something that would push me to behave like someone I was not, but closing my eyes and ears, it would be the same as if I was not there. But I never had the idea that I would face such a person from the beginning, someone I would not know how to respond to, even if I wanted to answer. And to stand stiff in place looking at his face blankly just saying, "And you are?", was the only thing I could think of in those moments. And the reaction I saw from the other people in the hall made me rethink the way I expressed myself, and if I had made a mistake without realizing it. But what did I do wrong, I was not the one running through the hall like a madman and holding a stranger's hand out of the blue, so why is the mistake falling on me?
'Sight! I was so happy that the long-awaited day finally came and we could both win a title, so how did it end up like this ?! '
I was just walking towards the room where we would meet his grace with Mireya. I was nervous but still glad that Mireya was in a high spirit, it was her birthday after all, even though I lied and made it so we could celebrate on the same day.
"Well, when we get out of here all eyes will be fixed on us and some may wish you a happy birthday. So before they spoil it, I want to have this moment all to ourselves and wish you properly. "
In those memoirs I did not ask for anything more than what was in front of me, I didn't know what would happen even though I was prepared for a negative reaction, but to hold her hand forever was the thing I asked for most. The only thing that could make me feel human.
"I can't get sad with you even if you didn't! You have done so much for me, even this is thanks to you. So I want you to enjoy this moment as much as you can! Because you deserve it more than me!"
'I don't want to let go of this hand, I really can't! But if someone sees how much I care about her, even if they want to hurt me, all the hate is going to affect her too. Because these are the consequences that come after opening this door.'
And that's how it went! After meeting his grace, he gave us some advice on how the party would go. We had to wait for a few moments until he came out in front of the guests and showed the reasons for this ceremony. We had enough time to talk to each other, but I wanted to create some distance from Mireyas before we headed out. Seeing that she was looking for some support and was starting to feel nervous. I felt bad that I was behaving like this, but the thought that this was the best thing to do didn't allow me to act, and Mireya also had to understand it herself.
[Child, is no going back now, how do you feel?]
'A little nervous and my head feels heavy, but now is not the time to think about this, what interests me most now is what is happening in the hall. '
As his grace said, this was a great event! Aristocrats of all ranks had come to see with their own eyes the heirs of Duke Phelter, who had neither wife nor children. While Raelian and Mireya were waiting in the room, the people who had gathered in the hall were also waiting for the appearance of the duke and meanwhile divided into two groups, on one side the men and on the other the women, were talking to each other if the words were true.
"Oh, marquez Verona I did not expect to see you tonight at such an event. I guess even a man like you, cares for the new generation of our society. "
Marquez Verona Dormer. A person of few words and who never appears in public. A typical introvert, but who owns a large number of lands in his estates in the east and is a close relative of the queen.
"Pleasure to meet you too Edi, but now if you excuse me!"
Viscount Ediron Mazor, a young aristocrat from the south and childhood friend of the Marquis of Verona. He does not have a good reputation among other aristocrats because he lives a savage life, this makes them all address him in an informal and inferior way even though he is part of them.
'Hmm, I see! It looks like the duke has made quite a huge event by inviting so many aristocrats. Not to mention known families like the Dormer, Corttes, Belgar and even Akriste. I don't think this reunion of key families is just to show off his new heirs, so what is this man's purpose by gathering us all here? '
"Brother, the ceremony is about to start. It is crowded here, we should probably go into the corners so we can have a good view of the duke and his heirs. "
"Jonathan, as a prince you have quite a humble thought of yourself. We can't stay away from the crowd or even get away from them, but this method is good too since I do not like being here surrounded by so many people."
His grace, duke Xerox Phelter, was at the top of the stairs talking to everyone in the room. The atmosphere that a little while ago was filled with the voices of more than thirty people, was now quiet in respect and curiosity for the words that the duke would say.
All eyes on him, in complete silence, duke Phelter began to speak, making his audience even more curious.
"I thank all those who came to this important event for the Phelter family. Families from all over the kingdom who found the time to share such beautiful news with me, today I will present my two daughters who will follow the path of the duke title… ".
The hall filled with whispers, it was unexpected that he not only had chosen two heirs, but also that they would be both girls. But this turned out to be good news for many others. Because by marrying one of the duke's daughters, someone would have the opportunity to either benefit from the duke's help or win his title.
"...One is my eldest daughter Mireya who today has her coming of age ceremony. She is kind and pure, my joy in any aspect. And my second daughter Raelian, is brave and strong, who I am proud of and I am confident that one day she will ascend to the duke's title."
'So the time finally came! Even though his speech just now sounded more like he was trading us in an audition, I have to go out and act like a normal aristocrat girl. '
"Mireya, Raeliana you can come out now!"
On the way to the door of the room, Mireya approached me and somehow wanted to cheer her up, but I had made up my mind that outside that door we have to be distant to not bring suspicions around us. So I opened the door and slowly walked towards his grace, he reached his hand to me and Mireya who looked upset but was still coming after me. My heart started to beat faster, I felt happiness and fear at the same time. I was looking at all the people below me and they were looking at me and Mireya, who were now in front of them. That was the feeling of my success, it felt so good with what I had achieved. But right after the show was over and we needed to go down and let others meet us, I felt the eyes of so many people judging me, yelling at me in silence for the reason why I was there. Maybe because they felt threatened and couldn't probably do something right after his grace speech.
I did not want to be among them anyway so I didn't lose my composer and let them be, as long as I had achieved my goal and the banquet was just a formality, they were just part of a game I had played together with grace his. And so many familiar faces were there, so I didn't want to bump up to Nasya or that girl from the Belgar family, they knew me so they without a doubt would cause a scene if they saw me, so I decided to leave. But my bad luck got in the way again.
The noise of people pushing or bumping into each other, a hand that gripped my elbow and pulled me towards it. A young boy who was barely breathing and was looking at me with his shining blue eyes called my name, "Raelian, I found you, I finally did it!". Then I didn't care what was happening in that room anymore, I was so focused on him that I could not back away from his gas, wondering if this person really knew me, or was confusing me for someone else. I can not say that I felt safe with that person. If I were to imagine the world being a big clock and everyone being a gear in that clock, he should definitely be out of that circuit. Someone who is not playing his role well from the original history, and probably knows more than I do!