Arvcan too eyed his father from the corner of his eyes. No official pronouncement had been made but with this little gesture, His father was shouting to the whole world his intentions to make him King.
Was it a blessing?
Probably.
Did the news bring him Joy?
Definitely not!
What Joy could ever be gotten from being set in the eyes of people? Definitely not joy but an immense feeling of walking on ice in a valley of thorn.
His father might have found being the King easy but he knows for him it would be as hard as walking through a path of pins. That is exactly what he would be doing, living like he was walking on pins. Being a Rylican Prince had even been through tremendous efforts, he could only imagine what he would have to go through to be the King. He might just have to swim through sweat and blood.
"Everyone is expecting you both, go ahead and open the dance floor" King urged the two of them, grudgingly Arvcan took her hands and led her to the dance floor.
The music started and so did their movements. As Gwen danced, her mind was filled with the words of the Queen. Her words still made no sense, How could she have asked her to help her remove Arvcan? was that just a test?
'what could have been her real motive?' Gisele thought and subconsciously stared at Arvcan as she was thinking. What was the relationship between Arvcan and the Queen?
"You must be elated" his voice reverberated in her ears.
She scoffed "elation is something I can't afford"
Her Kingdom was neck deep in schemes but it surely wasn't the only one. She had just come to Rylica yet she could smell the secrets interwoven in the palace air. Most of the stories she had heard in Greecia turned out to be just half the truth. As much as she hoped She wasn't, she knew it was inevitable, she was bound to be robed into one or two palace secrets and conspiracy.
Her position as the Crown princess was an express ticket to such circumstances. This was probably why Queen Jordyn had made her impersonate the Princess.
They went back to being quiet as they continued dancing, each ignoring the other even when they were held unto each other.
The music came to an end. They stopped dancing and bowed to each other. Gwen moved to walk away but her hands were captured by his.
He pulled her forcefully and she came spiralling into his arms.
"What are you doing?!" She seethed through gritted teeth.
"Shouldn't we give the people a piece of drama to look at? I'm sure my father is waiting to such" He pointed out making Gwen to glance at the King's direction, she could see he was staring at them and there was a hint of expectations in his eyes.
Nothing too hopeful but one that had clear meanings.
"What sort of drama?" She retorted.
Arvcan joked "perhaps beauty meets beast. A grand show of affection"
A grand show of affection?
Gwendolyn's face contorted in disagreements. There was absolutely no way she was acting affectionate with him in public!
She took a step back but his hand reached out in time and grab into her waist.
"Don't act righteous. It's nothing you've never done before" He snorted. His hot breath blowing into her ear.
Gwen shivered uncomfortably. Her eyes flung open in annoyance.
This again!
He indirectly called her a slut!
Before she could refute, her lips were engulfed by his. She would have pushed him away if she wasn't conscious of the tons of eyes feasted on their body. All she could do was standing there like a wood, with her mind cursing his nine familial lineage. The ones that obviously would never come from her.
The soft cheers and sounds of awe from the crowd filled the air as they watched the Prince and Princess express their 'love' on the dancing floor.
The Kiss was probably over a few minutes and then it came to an end.
Like Couples in love, they gave an apologetic smile to the people in the room but in truth Gwen was glaring at Arvcan while he wasn't even looking.
He pulled her along and went to seat at their designated sit. Gwendolyn couldn't bare the metal pressure of sitting next to him so she made up an excuse of relieving herself and left the room with her maids in waiting.
King Vuk and Arvcan watched the girl angrily leave the room.
"Don't push her to the wall. You might end up pushing her to your enemies" The King leaned to the side and whispered to his son.
Arvcan didn't put his father's words to his heart. He gave a confident smile and replied, "you asked me to keep her in check and that is exactly what I'm doing"
King Vuk shook his head and went back to discussing with the Nobles next to him. His son was enjoying this, he could tell. He must be enjoying channelling his frustrations to someone else.
The Princess must be like an anger absorber to him. He wasn't afraid, he trusted Arvcan to not go overboard with his actions.
He didn't wish them bad either. If the Princess would really stay loyal to Arvcan then he wishes them all the happiness that marriage could offer. But if not...
Before he leaves this world he would dry her out till there are only bones left.
....
Gwendolyn returned to the Chambers and locked herself in the bathroom. She picked up an object and motioned to toss it at the mirror in the bathroom but changed her mind eventually.
A tear found it's way down her eyes, she wiped it off before it could even reach her chin but after that one came another and another and another. Although she kept wiping them off they kept falling back down.
"Why won't they stop!" She complained frustratedly.
Hot tears continued finding their way out of her eyes.
Why was she crying? Even she had no idea, they just kept coming out and spilling on her dress. Her face was buried in her palm but it didn't take long to leave her palm flooded with tears.
She was Angry. Angry enough to want to kill someone, at the same time she felt frustrated. She missed her mum.
The thought of her mum got her crying even more.
She was not used to this kind of living. Pretending she was something she was not, hiding her facial expression and thinking on her toes cause her life depended on it. She missed going to pick wide herbs and feeling the meadow wind in her hair.
She missed being incognito.
Now she had the eyes of the whole world on her. People watching her every move even when she was breathing and when she wasn't, counting her words for her and waiting till she said the wrong thing, people waiting to see if she acted out of etiquette or was Noble even in the way she blinked.
Sigh!
She was even more tired of this, having to lock herself up just to cry to her hearts contents.
She didn't stay long in the bathroom anymore. When she was done crying, she tidied up her face and stepped out.
"Princess are you okay?" Amelia asked concerned. This is the second time she was seeing Gwen leave a ball to go cry.
Everyday that passes presented her with a new reason to see this Princess in a new light. She couldn't understand why she had changed, and she didn't hate her new self, it was just that she couldn't help feel uneasy.
How did the Princess go from being a haughty bitch to being a pitiful mess?
"I'm fine, let's head back"
She went back and joined the ball, this time she didn't say a word, she just sat down next to Arvcan till the ball came to an end and everyone dispatched.