You were absolutely thrilled at the prospects for the day when you awoke. The events of the previous night were all anyone could talk about. Even Elias, who never seemed to smile anymore, seemed content with the prince's interest in you. And when Elias informed your mother? Oh, she wanted to throw her own ball on the spot! A prince? Interested in a Covington? Why, that's something no one would dare forget! And should you marry him? After being called simply divine by not only Her Majesty but also His Royal Highness? You may as well be elevated to goddess status! To think, she would've been content with you marrying an marquess! A marquess! But, now, you had yourself a prince! Oh, there was nothing a mother could for more.
She did seem to grow anxious, though, when he wasn't among the first to arrive when time came for you to entertain potential suitors for the day. You kept whispering to her that the prince didn't seem to care for time, that he even arrived to the ball late. What was time when you were to be a king, after all?
Still, that meant you had to entertain more men than you cared to see in one day. At least they seemed to be more...charming than the men who spoke to you last night. The prince's interest in you, coupled with the Queen's comment during your presentation, was enough to make your value as a future bride skyrocket. And, well, you'd be a fool (and rude) to not entertain them until the real prospect for your hand arrived.
This, however, quickly soured Elias's mood.
Every man who arrived that morning brought a gift of some sort. Fresh flowers, baked goods straight from the oven, sparkling jewelry. Still, none of it seemed to impress your brother. He turned his nose in the air, scoffing so only you and your mother could hear about how he thought in some way or another the gift was cheap. Your mother was quick to hush him, knowing his tendency to scare other men away.
Still, much of your mother's efforts went to waste. Sure, the men never heard Elias's snide comments. But they'd have to be blind to miss his darkened glare, the way he stood a little too close, towering over the potential suitor. How he kept you close, how he stayed slightly in front of you to create a barrier of sorts between you and the suitor.
At one point, you had to wonder if the man you were speaking to was a bad person or if Elias was in some way trying to make it clear he intended only for one person in particular to earn your hand in marriage.
Regardless, it was all becoming a bit too much for you liking.
You long side lost count of how many times you'd have to give a man a kind smile before excusing yourself, pulling Elias to the side and telling him to lay off.
"You need to stop this foolishness, Elias," you hissed when he nearly fought a potential suitor.
"He wasn't worthy of your hand, sister," he snarled back.
"You have no right to say that. He seemed a fine enough man!"
"Fine enough is not good enough!"
"You should not meddle so much, brother," you snapped. "No man is perfect! I need to have room to breathe and figure out who is good for me on my own! Let me figure out who I think is worthy of my time before you chase them off for the most minor of flaws!"
"Very well, sister."
But he didn't listen. He never listened, at all, really. Perhaps that was a benefit of being a man. Men didn't have to listen to anyone if they didn't want to.
Eventually, the suitors all left, seemingly not...too upset at your brother's behavior. At least that was an improvement from last night.
You and your family waited in the sitting room for some after that, just in case the prince did decide to grace you with his appearance. It seemed unlikely at this point, though. It was nearly noon. Surely, if the prince was going to come, he would've by now?
You'd learn not to underestimate royalty, though.
For, as you began to retire to your room until lunch was ready, the butler opened the door to the sitting room, holding the largest bouquet of flowers you'd ever seen.
"His Royal Highness, Prince Cole of Liberdon, has arrived," the butler announced, handing off the flowers to your mother.
As she went to set them atop a table, shifting around the now less-than-stellar bouquets from the previous men, the prince entered the sitting room, a smirk on his face and a jewelry box in hand.
"Pardon me," he said, "for being so late. I couldn't decide between what gift I should bring."
You looked over at the flowers, then back at him, smiling ever so slightly. "No apology is necessary, Your Highness."
"I told you, you can call me Cole. And the same can be said for you, Viscountess. I'm no fan of formalities and I would hope for my future in-laws to be comfortable enough to speak freely around me."
"Bold of you to assume I'd allow you to marry my sister," your brother said.
"ELIAS!" you and your mother snapped at the same time.
Fortunately, though, the prince didn't seem too offended by your brother. In fact, he was...laughing? What?
"Thank you for your candor, Elias. I hope to prove that I am good enough for your sister so that you would allow me her hand in marriage."
"You have a lot of work to do then, for he's personally chased away most men who's come in here today," you said, shooting your brother a glare.
"Then I suppose I should begin the groveling now?" Cole turned his focus to the jewelry box in his had. He smiled to himself, before opening the box to reveal a gorgeous diamond necklace that was so dainty and intricate it almost looked like lace. "I hope this is to your liking, Y/N."
"It's beautiful!"
Cole smiled. "I'm glad you like it. May I put it on you?"
"Of course," you said, turning and pulling you hair away from your neck.
Your brother was quick to move closer to you. "Don't get any funny ideas, Your Highness."
"Elias!" your mother snapped as Cole laughed, "You worry too much, Elias. I would never take advantage of your sister, if that's what you're suggesting."
"And I'll make sure you never do," Elias said, his eyes narrowed as he watched Cole clasp the necklace. "Alright, you've put the necklace on her. Now step away like a gentleman."
Cole quirked a brow. "I don't need to be coached on how to be a gentleman. But thank you for reminding me, regardless."
Elias frowned, looking as though he was ready to turn the dispute to something more physical. But you knew he wouldn't. At least, not with you and your mother present. You'd both have his head on a spike faster than the Queen could have him sentenced to a life-time in the royal penitentiary.
You could only hope this day could go smoothly, because if he ruined this for you, you were going to be sure to spend the rest of your life ruining his. And that was something you swore on your father's grave.
Thankfully, the day went off without Elias attempting to fight the prince. He managed to leave your home unscathed, though probably had some mental wounds to recover from as your brother didn't hold back from giving the prince a piece of his mind over, well, everything.
But that wasn't the only thing to come from the prince visiting you.
As luck would have it, nothing in Ironmere remains a secret for long, as the town had quickly learned of his visit. By the time you and your mother had gone to pick up your gown for that night's ball from Devyn and Xepher, the entire town was alight with the news. To not only have the Queen's approval, but the prince's as well? All of Ironmere, and soon all of Liberdon, would know that you were likely going to be the lady to finally get Prince Cole to settle down.
Still, this news seemed to only excite the other eligible men in high society. By the time you walked into the ballroom of the Duke and Duchess of Kirkwall, you had nearly a dozen men trying to fill out spots on your dance card.
Thankfully, you were quickly saved by your lifelong best friend, Lady Amber Scholl.
"Excuse me, boys," she said, looping her arm through yours, "I'm afraid us ladies need to go gossip. But worry not, I'm sure Miss Y/N here will have plenty of dances left for the lot of you!"
And, without so much waiting for them to protest, she pulled you off to the farthest corner of the ballroom, where you could talk with little interruption.
"Thank you for that," you said. "I was worried they were going to start duking it out in the middle of the dance floor."
Amber laughed. "Y/N, dear Y/N, you need to learn to have a firm hand with these men. They think they can take, take, take, and you need to remind that you are not just a prize to be won. If it helps, pretend they're Elias."
You wrinkled your nose. "I'd rather not pretend my potential suitors are my brother."
"Potential suitors? And here I thought you were practically already engaged to His Royal Hotness," Amber smirked.
"Oh, stop it! He hasn't even begun properly courting me yet."
"But you are the first and only woman he's interested in." Her eyes fell to the necklace you wore, and her smirk broadened. "And it seems like he's practically branded you as his."
You dissolved into giggles. "Seriously? A necklace is a branding now?"
"He went out of his way to buy you something special. It may as well be a branding," she said. "And a gorgeous branding at that! How much do you imagine he spent on that?"
"Oh lord, I'd rather not think of that," you shuddered, the dollar signs swirling around your mind.
"Very well." Amber paused, then said, "I regret that I didn't get to see your debut. I heard you made quite the impression on the Queen."
"Oh, not that! I already have to deal with everyone else in this town telling me how special I am!"
"Fine! You choose the subject, Miss Elias the Second."
You wrinkled your nose again, before saying, "I hope you don't mind my asking, but I've always wondered, why have you not married yet?"
Amber rolled her eyes and gestured at the masses. "Look at these men. Not a one of them are good enough for me."
"But do you not want to marry? How can you keep delaying the inevitable?"
Amber shrugged. "I like my freedom. I like that I can spend my money and not answer to a man. I like that I don't have to worry about raising a child. I'm not interested in that sort of thing."
"But that's what you're supposed to do."
"No," she corrected. "That's what they tell us to do. I only come to these things to appease my mother. But, if I had it my way, I'd be sitting pretty on a pile of money, not listening to anything these vultures had to say."
You frowned. "You know, they say no man wants to marry you. That you're an unlikable wench who'll die alone."
"Why, I could get any man I want," Amber laughed. "Even that little prince of yours. I just don't want to."
"But wouldn't you want a husband eventually?"
"Hmm...No."
You began to question how she could be so bold, when a high-pitched ahem! interrupted you.
You turned, seeing a tall, slender lady eyeing you. She wore a look of absolute disgust, like she had bitten into a rotten apple. "Are you Y/N Covington?" she asked, turning her nose to the air.
"I am," you said. "And who are you?"
"Lady Serena Wharton," she said, as though you should've known who the woman was.
"And how can she help you?" Amber jumped in, looking ready to claw Lady Serena's boring blue eyes out of her skull.
"No one was speaking to you, hedge whore," Lady Serena sneered.
Amber gasped. "Why I outta—"
"Excuse me, don't you dare insult my friend!" you said, your voice was as dark as Elias's did when he was ready to knock the daylights out of a man. "Now, say what the hell you want to say or go back to whatever dungeon you tumbled out of!"
She stalked up to you, getting so close you could smell her bourbon-laced breath. You cringed, wondering how the hell a lady of high society could get her hands on such a drink. "Stay the hell away from the prince."
"Excuse me?"
"If you know what's good for you, you will deny the prince's advancements."
And before you could argue, she turned on her heel, making sure to smack your face with her hair as she stalked away.
You held your hand up, stopping Amber from chasing after the strange woman, and said, "Not now. Not in front of everyone."
Amber ground her teeth together. "Then when?"
"When there's no one to come up with more horrid rumors about you." You gave her a smile, trying to tell her you were fine and that she didn't need to defend you this second. "You might not care about what society says about you. But I do, and I don't want you to be relegated to a life of loneliness defending me."
"Y/N..."
"She's probably no one, anyways. What could she possibly do to me, anyways?"
Little did you know what was in store for you.