~Laith~
"The holy Incirion has arrived. All rise to pay your respects," the page announced my arrival.
With Rhon three feet behind me, the doors to the royal ballroom opened. My cue to go inside. The masses of anyone who was titled in Liradia lucky enough to receive an invite to the party got to their feet to greet me.
King Midir and Queen Rosalinda of Liradia are no exception to the grand greetings from the people. They gently bowed their heads in greeting, the crowd following their movements.
"Greetings to the holy Incirion," they all chimed.
"Holy greeting to you all," I responded half-heartedly.
Tonight they all bowed to me with respect but tomorrow they were more than capable of coming at me with pitchforks.
The people gathered in the ballroom were the voices of different parts of Liradia. They commanded the mass with words unlike anyone else. Their support meant the masses's support and vice versa.
I marched forward to my seat with grace. It was when I got seated down that the king and queen dared to take to their seats. The crowd followed shortly.
The orchestra played soft romantic music in the background. No doubt to celebrate the joyous news of the engagement between Prince Caelan and Princess Zakishi.
"You look lovely tonight," Caelan whispered a compliment to my ears. In a tone that only I could hear. "We need to talk, Laith," he enunciated.
"Is there more you wish to say?"
Without sparing him a glance I inquired of him. His silence spoke a lot of the words his mouth refused to utter. In a matter of a day, he had redefined me as a person in ways I didn't think possible.
"We got off on the wrong foot earlier. I need to explain," he expressed. "I know I've caused you a lot of pain with my decision. But you must try to understand where im coming from."
He placed his hand on my thigh. He was lingering close to my heart. Playing at the strings of my heart to get me to fall for his excuses.
His actions were like sharp daggers crisscrossing my heart. "Don't touch me," I tried to yank his hand off but he grabbed my hand instead. Intertwining his fingers with mine. Holding on to me tightly.
His hold was forceful and a bit painful. Unlike the Evil one's hand that's never hurt me.
"You are hurting me," I locked eyes with Caelan.
"Finally, you glanced at me," he smiled. His free hand slid up my dress, touching my bare skin. I tensed. He raised his eyebrows suggestively at me, rubbing his thumb on the back of my hand.
I swallowed hard. A day before, his actions would have melted my heart and seized my attention to him and only him. His hand on me would have sent my heart racing in all the wrong ways.
Tonight, however, his actions reminded me of the moment he proposed to Princess Zakishi. The heartbreaking moment in the garden when he broke my heart without hesitation. The shattering span when he called out someone else's name and gave them the right to stand by his side.
His actions made clear my place by his side. I was nothing more than his side piece, his dark secret that he would never reveal to the world. Someone with whom he can play pretend under the tables when no one is watching.
My left hand clenched into a fist. Anger and hatred coursing through my veins for him.
He left me in the garden alone with tears in my eyes. Never looked back to check to see whether I was right or shattered beyond repair.
I must have been so blinded before when I allowed my heart to sway for him. He made me make a fool of myself in the worst way. The version of him in my head wasn't true in the slightest.
"I've not forgotten you, Laith. I could never forget what you mean to me," his utterances touched the broken pieces of my soul. Not to heal them but to further break them apart.
A dark thought crossed my mind. I wanted to set the whole world on fire with Prince Caelan on the front lines of my flame. To end the lies and deceit that only aided to stain the purity of my being.
The truth that I denied all along rubbed itself on my face. Loving him was my undoing. He was the bane of my existence. The reason that I lost most pieces of who I used to be, now, I'm terrified of what I was becoming.
"You are everything to me. My soul rejoices in you, Laith," he confessed. His eyes glimmer under the light of the chandelier. Honest or not, his words were the last thing I needed to hear. "I apologize from the bottom of my heart for the heartache you've had to endure," he lowered his voice. Tears welled up in his eyes.
His tears couldn't compare to the ones I'd had to shed in the last twelve hours. They don't hold a candle to my bleeding soul. One which he ignored until now.
All he speaks about are his feelings and his situation. For someone who claims to care for me, he hadn't even taken a moment of the time to inquire about me.
'How are you doing, Laith? How are you holding up? Is your heart okay? I hope my choices didn't have any permanent damage to you.'
These are the choices of words one would expect from someone sorry. Not more sugar-coated words uttered with lips laced with honey to seal the deal. He was gaslighting me, to overlook his mistakes and pretend to be as we were before.
"Don't you think that it's too late to apologize to me," my tone took a turn. Sounding darker and colder.
"Master, you should calm down," Rhon's voice came into focus. He bent down and ushered my eyes to the bracelets. They glowed a light shade of purple color. The same color as Zephirin's eyes. "Your bracelets are glowing," Rhon voiced out seeming worried.
"These will keep your darkness from reflecting on you. Every time you tap into that dark part of you, the dark energy will travel from you to me through the bracelets. I'll be here to shield you," the deposed crown prince's words replayed in my head.
I pulled my hands back from Prince Caelan. My heart was racing, thundering against my chest, threatening to jump out and run off.
I had no clue whether the darkness flowing from me to Prince Zephirin would harm him in any way. It scared me to see the bracelets glow.
My eyes scanned the room. Trying to catch a glimpse of him to confirm that he was alright.
The bracelets protect me and shield me from being exposed to the world. Had it not been for Prince Zephirin, everyone would have witnessed the shade of my clothes changing when I lost my temper with Prince Caelan.
The devilish prince didn't explain how the bracelets worked on his and it frightened my soul.
"Is he alright?" I asked Rhon. The worry in my heart grew deeper with the continuous glow of the bracelets.