Levi x Reader || One Shots And Short Stories

Worlds Apart: Judgement

The woman was beaming at you; she was quite stunning, the more you beheld her. Her honey-blonde hair was done up in an elegant up-do and laced with jewels, her amber eyes bright with what appeared to be excitement, and her intricate, red dress fit her form perfectly. You noticed she could not have been much older than yourself.

To you, she was a true lady of the court, in all her grace and aura that she possessed.

"Is that...?" you trailed. The sprite-like woman flashed you a grin, throwing you off completely. You had not been expecting that.

Levi glanced over at the woman in question and tugged you in the opposite direction. "That's Petra, yes," he replied, guiding you through the throng of people. "Don't think about that right now, though. I need you to focus."

You remained silent, returning your gaze forward while trying to ignore the continuous flashing lights of cameras around you. Your heart could not take much more of this.

"Now that our guests of honor have arrived," you heard a familiar voice call out over the hall, which caused the crowd to quiet immediately, "we may proceed with our customary charity waltz."

Your stomach lurched at the king's announcement, the hall bursting to applause.

"Good lord," you whispered to yourself.

It was strange how everyone seemed to clear the way for you, bowing their heads respectfully as you both passed. You knew it was solely for Prince Levi, but it was never a sight you ever expected to experience. After a moment, you found yourself in the middle of a large clearing of people surrounding an oak wood floor. You could only assume that this was the dancing floor for the evening, as the rest of the hall was marble. Your eyes fell onto a string quartet sitting patiently across from you, waiting for the signal to begin playing music.

Levi left your side to approach his father at the opposite side of the floor near the musicians. You wished he hadn't, because now that he no longer had his arm linked with yours, you were a thousand times more aware of the judgmental stares and the hissing amongst the crowd. You felt as though you were now a show dog with everyone eyeing you with heavy disdain, surprise, or even pity. You hated how this much attention made your confidence waver in its place, the way it made your nerves quiver and shake.

The prince lowered his head respectfully to the king before saying something too quiet for you to hear in his father's ear. It had only been a minute, but it felt like eternity having so many pairs of eyes on you, so many cameras and video recorders trained on your every move. It was becoming extremely hard to breathe, let alone trying to keep your legs from shaking from your nervousness.

You quickly ran through the waltzing steps that you had learned only hours ago in your head. If you were to forget a step, it would be disastrous.

Finally, Levi returned his attention to you and you froze.

"What did you say?" you hissed when he was within an arm's length.

Levi shook his head. "To instruct the quartet to play the song you learned to waltz to," he replied just as quietly.

You blinked in surprise but before you could reply, he turned his head to nod towards the musicians. Once he faced you again, he bowed. You hastened to curtsy just as the beautiful melody provided by a violin filled the air.

The prince offered his hand and you took it while trying to quell the anxiety building within you. It wasn't until your bodies were close and your hands were in their proper places, he spoke in your ear.

"If you do not trust in your own feet, than trust in mine," he whispered. "Just relax."

A flush of heat graced your cheeks, attempting not to meet any of the nobility's eyes behind him. He had spoken so gently.