It was really her, Prince Arthur said to himself as he stared down into her eyes. The same woman that has kept him awake for an entire night. Not in a million years would he have ever imagined that he would get to meet her at a place like this.
"Let go of me." Lady Audrey cried out, suddenly snapping out of her trance and finally able to pull herself away from the depths of his eyes.
"Are you sure about that? You're the one holding onto me." He replied and that was when she realized that she was the one holding onto his shirt to stop herself from crashing to the ground.
A gasp slipped from her and she unintentionally released his shirt, she was about to crash to the ground again when she felt something wrap underneath her waist and pulled her forward.
Her palms were now pressed against his chest and they were both so close to each other that they both became scared that the other person would hear how fast and loud their heart was beating.
He was staring down at her eyes and lips and the urge to taste how soft it was became too strong, coupled with the scent of her perfume.
Everything about her was intoxicating and Prince Arthur wasn't sure why he felt that way for her.
Lady Audrey on the other hand felt his chest underneath her palms and staring up at him made some sort of fluttering feeling explode inside of her. His arms felt so secure around her and she had never felt so safe before in her entire life.
"Don't worry, I caught you." He whispered in the most reassuring manner, his eyes holding hers with such intensity that they both felt like the entire world had suddenly faded away.
Suddenly, his voice changed and he stepped away from her,
"You should apologize." He said gruffly and Lady Audrey who simply refused to back down without a fight shot him a glare.
"Apologize for what? You never apologized after that day so let's just call it even."
Prince Arthur stared at her in silence for a second or two as she hurried to straighten her clothes and return to keeping her face hidden under the cloak. He wanted to tell her not to do that, that for some reason he was comfortable seeing her face but he knew it would sound odd plus the girl was already too stubborn headed to just listen to whatever he had to say.
Taking a good look at her at that moment, he realized just how much she had been in his thoughts and how badly he had been looking forward to seeing her again but there was no chance of them meeting ever again, at least that was what he thought until that festival night.
One couldn't even tell she was the Governor's daughter, especially not from the way she was dressed. This was the first time he would meet a girl from a wealthy background that wasn't stuffed in a ceremonial dress at an event like this.
Women always wanted to look extremely beautiful in flamboyant dresses, especially women like her so why was she in a place like that and dressed like that?
She was definitely unpredictable, Prince Arthur thought to himself.
"What are you even doing out here and dressed like that? Festivals like these are for people to meet their potential partners, you know, so how do you intend to meet anyone in that cloak and not a perfect gown for the ball."
"Well… I won't be wearing any dresses tonight so if you don't mind, I would like to enjoy the rest of the festival alone." She responded curtly and was about to walk away when he grabbed her arm and refused to let go.
"You really should apologize." Prince Arthur insisted even when he knew deep down that her apology wasn't really why he was holding onto her, a part of him didn't want her to leave.
He had been so hung up on seeing her again that he couldn't just let her walk away even when he was constantly telling himself that she was only getting on his nerves.
Everything about her amused him and left him in awe of her personality.
"I do not have to apologize to you Prince Arthur, it was a simple mistake and it has been clarified already so I do not see why I should apologize."
"You slapped me for no reason and called me a pervert, the least you can do is apologize." Prince Arthur jumped to his defense almost immediately.
"Well you deserved it. You assumed I was nothing but a prostitute that wanted to jump into Prince Nolan's bed on the very first day that you met me, so yes, you offended me and I offended you, let's just call it even and move on from it." Lady Audrey clapped back, refusing to back down while Rose just watched the both of them go back and forth without any clue about what was going on.
Lady Audrey knew she had to get away from him as fast as possible, it was odd enough that the man made her feel some kind of way but the fact that he wouldn't stop reaching out to hold her made it so much worse. His touch lit her entire body up in flames, in a manner she could never explain.
Knowing he was standing so close to her made her breath get stuck in her throat and the apprehension of where he would touch next on her body was insane, and exhilarating all at the same time.
"You should really let go of me now." Lady Audrey said to him softly.
She was surprised that she had not roughly pushed him off and walked away. That was so unlike her. A part of her didn't want to stop feeling his touch on her arm and a part of her didn't want to stray far away from him so whenever he reached out to stop her from leaving, her heart leapt in excitement but she was really good at masking it.
But then, the stubborn prince kept insisting she apologized.
"I won't let go until you do what you must."
"You're one hell of a stubborn prince, aren't you?"
"And I can tell you're quite a rare type of Governor's daughter, considering even the maids are dressed to impress for the festival and you're here like this. Do you not have any intentions of finding a suitor or are you here with an ulterior motive?" He asked.
"I can say the same for you. For a prince, you're here alone and dressed like a commoner, you should tell me what the deal is with you, you don't even act like a real prince."
"How does a real prince act?" Prince Arthur leaned forward, genuinely curious and with a look of amusement on his face.
"You should know that, you're here without a single guard and in such a time like this when you could be in real danger if something shouldn't…"
"Prince Arthur," someone familiar suddenly whispered behind Prince Arthur and he turned around sharply to find Steve standing behind him.
He had been so invested in her that he had not noticed someone walk up to stand behind him. He was never like that, he was always so conscious of his surroundings.
"There is an emergency and you have to get back to the palace right now." Steve added and Prince Arthur frowned lightly as he asked,
"What happened?"
"An assassin got into the palace."
That was all he needed to hear before he turned on his heels and rushed out of the festival with his guard following on his heels.