Assassins Crown

Chapter 20

Torian watched as Nicole fled into the crowd. He had been pleasantly surprised by how gracefully the Crowned Prince and Nicole danced together. They were very admirable and envious. Most people actually noticed and stepped aside to watch them dance. Nicole was beautiful in her purple dress; she seemed to almost fly. The Crowned Prince--Aaron, he recalled--was vibrant with his all white attire. It was actually interesting to see the only all white suit and the darkest color of dress in the ballroom dancing together. They were the only beautiful thing in the room.

            People crowded around to watch them dance together. After all, people recognized their Crowned Prince and wanted to see who he was dancing with. Only a select few realized it was Nicole.

They were magnificent. They glided across the entire floor with grace, as if it was effortless. Whenever Nicole would spin or do a quick turn, there was an audible gasp of admiration as her dress flared out.

But even with the gathered crowd, Nicole and Aaron barely seemed to notice, in fact, they seemed totally oblivious to everything surrounding themselves. It just added to the beauty of their dance.

He and Rosily had danced nonstop. At first, Torian and Rosily went off dancing just like Nicole and Aaron, with hot passion, but now they were just dancing with the comfort of dancing with each other.

            It was almost time.

            As he danced, he saw several people he knew. He nodded to each and every one. He knew who they were because all of them had a black bracelet on their right wrist. They were people with strong ties and power. He made sure he acknowledged them.

            "What are you smiling about, Torian?" Rosily asked him.

            He turned and smiled at her. So innocent, so oblivious Rosily. He loved spending time with her; it almost made the life as a lowly guard bearable. He loved her blazing red hair and her selflessness. She looked stunning in her green dress that he had to hold himself back from kissing her.

            "Tonight is an amazing night, Rosily. Don't you think?" he said to her.

            Rosily smiled.

Winston couldn't believe how slippery Nicole was.

She was there one second and then she was gone the next. He had only glimpsed at her every now and then, but he soon found that if he leaned against one of the pillars and waited, after a while he would see another glimpse of her.

But now he was just stalling.

            She was in the shadows of the pillars to the right of him, almost invisible with her dark purple dress. She seemed to be checking the windows.

            She was so beautiful. How could he take something so beautiful away from the world? She was just 16, only a few years younger than him. The rest of her life would be taken away from her.

            Because of him.

            He glanced at Queen Taliea on the throne to see that she was already watching him. She had a dark look in her eyes.

            He had a choice. The faces of his family popped into his head.

His mother who was selfless.

His father who was always smiling.

His sisters who were always arguing with each other.

Winston crept toward Nicole.