The day that followed, Evelyne found herself sitting in front of a large oval mirror with other maids attending to her.
Even though her eyes stared at her own beautiful reflection, her thoughts were elsewhere. She had not seen her family in a month now and oddly enough, she did not miss them. It felt as if her emotions had died the very day she was sent here.
As the other maids continued to beautify her, she did not utter a word and instead, she let them do everything they wanted to do.
Her emarald eyes looked dull but that did not alter with how ethereal she looked. Once they were done with all her preparations, she stood up and turned around to face the two maids. Though they had performed their tasks diligently, that did not erase the look of disdain in their faces and before things would turn out to be more uncomfortable, prince Daceus made his appearance.
His midnight coloured hair had been combed backwards to which she could see his features more clearly. Perfect almond shaped eyes that showed nothing but dominance, and then his perfectly shaped jaw.
He was a pure definition of what she knew was a male attractiveness and snapping back to reality, Evelyne averted her gaze.
Once the maids had left, she heard him say.
"Let's go. The carriage is waiting."
With him being the first one to step out of the room, she soon followed and trailing behind him, she just hoped that things would go well.
The previous day, the prince had warned her that if she thought of escaping, he would kill Emily. It was not just a threat. It was a promise that held nothing but worries in her fragile heart.
As they made their way towards the main gates, she did not fail to notice how she received glances from the other servants but with prince Daceus around, none of them tried to comment.
With the journey that took them two days, they finally got to her home country. While her eyes continued to explore the place through the carriage window, she could not help but notice the sharp contrast between her own kingdom and Zeuphean.
When it came to development, Zeuphean was far ahead. Another difference she noticed was that of weather. While Zeuphean was warm, Ramset was chilly..
While her sight was on the view outside, the prince had turned to look at the girl who sat next to him. Her short golden blonde hair had been tied securely whereby a few strands of it freely fell on her temple.
She looked young, naive and very oblivious about all the things around her.
When she turned her head to her right, prince Daceus did not look away and instead, his gaze on her intensified making the girl tense.
Before she could avert her gaze, he finally broke the silence.
"You will need this veil for today but tomorrow, you shall wear a mask during the whole celebration. Make sure that no one notices you. Do you understand."
His words carried authority that compelled her to nod and taking a veil that he was handing over to her, she made sure to secure her lower face.
When they got into the palace, the night had already dominated the land of Ramset and just like all the extinguished guests, the two were welcomed with the highest respect.
"Your highness, we are so happy that you acknowledged our invitation letter." It was princess Damaris who happened to be a year older than Evelyne.
With them sharing the same father, some of their features were similar. The colour of their hair, only that princess Damaris hair was long.
When the princess turned to the veiled lady, prince Daceus was the one to introduce her.
"Meet lady lynna. She is my escort."
When he said that, both ladies held different reactions. Evelyne's face turned pale and if it was possible, she could have punched the prince on the face for saying such a thing.
Princess Damaris on the other hand was relieved to here that and offering the prince a smile, she said.
"You should not have bothered with such things my prince. We have a couple of beautiful ladies here who would be more than pleased to offer themselves to you."
At her remarks, prince Daceus asked,
"Would you be willing to offer yourself to me."
For a fleeting moment, the princess's face brightened and then blood rushed onto her cheeks.
She would have loved to warm his bed but with her being a princess, there were rules that she needed to adhere to.
"I.. I'd rather not answer such a question my prince. The rules here do not allow such things."
Saying that, she coyly tucked a strand of her unruly hair behind her ear only to hear him say,
"What if there were no rules. Would you?"
He had met many women in the past and knowing well the status he carried as well as his heavenly looks, many women drooled over him and princess Damaris was not different from them.
Seeing how she shyly averted her gaze, he got bored with the conversation.
"My escort here is very tired due to the long journey and I would also want to take a rest. Would you get someone to lead us to the guest room?"
"Of course."
When they were being led by a maid to the guest room, Evelyne who had been quiet all this time finally broke her silence.
"Why would you introduce me as an escort?"
She was angered by such an introduction because she knew that she was far from that. Not once in her life had she ever desired to be a palace whore and when he had said that she was one, she got really offended.
On the other hand, prince Daceus who had sensed her anger since the beginning grinned and then slightly turned his head to face her,
"They would never believe me if I said that you were a maid and if I was to call you my partner, a lot of people would become intrigued to which everyone would soon find out who you are."
"A distant cousin would have been believable." She muttered angrily and the prince who heard her slowed his pace so that she could walk next to him.
"Stop dwelling on that and focus on your task Eve."