Saving the Stranger Prince (The Stranger Prince Series #2)

Chapter 19: What Are You Thinking?

"He'll choose you. He'll always choose you."
- Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard.

♚

"Attention, everyone!"

The call from the front of the room temporarily averted everyone's attention from them, and Sebastian was relieved to feel lesser eyes now fixed at the both of them.

Her arm was still around his. She was closer to him than she had been in so long, it was as if he had forgotten how her warmth felt like.

It... it felt like home. Like a young bird, forgotten his nest, he had been wandering around. Was this what he had been finding?

She met his gaze, as if she could listen to all the thoughts raging in his mind. Forming a mess of different thoughts which he just couldn't begin to understand.

They remained like that for a second, and what he saw in her eyes was devastation. Devastation from deep within, over what he had been making her go through since the past week.

But he knew she was uncomfortable. It was as if he could feel all the eyes which were fixed on her as well. And he knew she hated all the attention.

"We're honored by the presence of each and every one of you. There was no better way to celebrate the well being of our young Princess than here, amongst all the people who love her." The speech was read out by a man who had a script in his hand.

The King and Queen of Archensheen sat right behind him, in the middle of the room. They looked pleased, pleased in a way he hadn't seen them look in a long while.

It was as if they had all done this just to reassure themselves this was real. That she really was alive, with them.

He didn't know if she realised, but her arm tightened around his as the man went on and on, praising the Princess in every way possible.

"Long live our Princess!" He ended his speech, and the crowd erupted, repeating the names. There were claps all around the hall, and she stepped a bit closer to him, as if she wanted to hide.

But she kept smiling. A smile only he could look through. The one she reserved for everyone she didn't like.

And at the moment, it seemed like she hated everyone of them.

Everyone cheered and drank from glasses of wine, and soft music played, everyone going off to talking amongst themselves.

The ones who didn't have anything to do just came up to them. No one particularly cared about him, who would when this whole event was about the Princess right beside him?

"Why did they take so long to come up with a cure?" A woman said, her eyes sharp as they never left Adela, "They always say Archensheen's medics are the best ones you can find amongst all kingdoms."

"Also, how can the guards be so irresponsible as to let a stranger enter into the palace, and let him get as far as poisoning the Princess and then escaping?" A man from a minor Kingdom wondered aloud.

"Poor girl, must've been so hard for you. What did you feel like when he poisoned you?" A curious lady said, her face too close to Adela's.