Throughout the rest of dinner, Noah worked to take the documents down. He sent me to the banquet where King Lionel, Violet, Alexander, and my parents entertained the guests. According to Noah, the King, Violet, and Alexander had been told of the security breach. However, despite the urgency, they couldn't shut the banquet down. If that happened, it would look like this was a bigger deal than it was - which it was, but I think they were trying to play it off as false.
Pulling my fingers, I quietly entered the banquet hall. Servers walked around bringing meals out. I spotted my parents at the front of the room. Violet and King Lionel were nowhere in sight. Jayla had touched up my makeup and hair before letting me return to my job. If it weren't for her, I'd be a mess right now.
Walking through the room, I forced a polite smile on my face. My parents looked up from their meal as I approached.
"There you are," Mom began.
"We thought you ditched us," Dad said.
"Sorry. I had . . . some stuff to take care of."
"You okay?" Mom asked. "You look pale."
"Hungry," I told her.
"Let's get you something to eat," Dad said, catching a server's attention.
As I sat, I looked around for Alexander. I didn't see King Lionel or Violet. Alexander wasn't in the room either. A wave of disappointment surged through me. I wanted to see him and make sure he was okay.
"Miss me?"
I turned and found Alexander sitting beside me. My body breathed a sigh of relief.
"Are you okay?" I asked. "Noah -"
He smiled. "Let's enjoy a nice meal together with your parents."
Almost immediately, a waiter brought me dinner. A plate of chicken cordon bleu was placed in front of me. Alexander whispered something to the waiter, and almost immediately later, she brought a glass of what looked like tea.
All through dinner, Alexander chatted with my parents. It was so normal. Alexander smiled, but it never reached his eyes. I grabbed his hand under the table and squeezed it whenever I could. He held on to it tightly.
Eventually, my parents finished their dinner and returned to their job. As dinner winded down, they moved the guests to the dance hall. I stayed with Alexander as the staff started removing the remnants of dinner off the tables. His eyes were closed, and his head lowered. Tentatively, I rubbed his back. Alexander leaned into me.
"What do you need from me?" I asked.
He shook his head.
"I'm here for you," I told him.
All of a sudden, Alexander sat up straight. "Want to dance?" he asked.
A lump formed in my throat. I bit my words back and nodded. Hand-in-hand, we walked to the dance hall. The orchestra had started playing by the time we entered. Many guests enjoyed their drinks, finger food, and dancing.
Alexander led me to the dance floor and joined in on the song. It was a whirlwind of steps, and I was sure I wasn't doing it right. But it didn't matter. I was here for Alexander, and right now, he didn't want to worry about the fallout of the security breach. With every dance, he held me tightly. I could never get a clear look at his face. By the thirty-minute mark, my legs began to tire. At forty-five, my shoes pinched my feet. I took a sharp intake of breath with every step. My knees wobbled. I needed to work on my dancing stamina.
'Miss Borek,' came one of the event planner's voice from my earpiece.
At this point, I couldn't remember their name.
'Crown Prince Rothchester is being summoned by King Rothchester.'
"Alexander," I began.
"I heard," he told me.
He took me by the hand and led me to one of the tables at the edge of the dance hall. As I sat, Alexander kissed the back of my hand.
"Wait for me."
"Okay."
Worried, I watched Alexander walk away. It hurt that I couldn't do anything to help him. I reached into the pocket of my dress and pulled my phone out. I did a quick search on the security breach. #theprinceishuman was trending on social media, and the news outlets were having a field day. As I dug deeper, many images and videos weren't loading. Some websites were down. Noah was hard at work trying to stop this from spreading.
I bit my nail. What could I do to help out? What influence did I have? It wasn't difficult to answer my questions. No one knew who I was, so convincing people wouldn't be easy. It helped that Alexander had reverted to being a vampire again.
As I sat there, it dawned on me that there was something I could do right now. And that was to entertain the guests. I had to do my job. But, first, I needed to treat the blisters on my feet.
Ten minutes later, I walked around the dance hall, checking in with the guests. A little past midnight, some of them had started to depart. I met them at the door with a complimentary gift bag. The majority of the guest list was staying at the hotel. A handful were flying out after the event, but I wasn't in charge of transportation, so I didn't know all the details. I didn't miss the constant looks my way. There was no doubt in my mind that in a few hours, there would be talks of my relationship with Alexander.
Eventually, I joined my parents at the refreshment table. Their faces were flushed, and they talked excitedly.
"There you are, sweetheart," Dad said.
I turned away, hiding a yawn. "I think it might be time for me to call it a night," I told them. "I've only stayed up this late when doing homework."
"Heading home?" Mom asked.
I shook my head. "I have a room in the hotel," I said. "I want to stay there tonight and go home tomorrow. Are you also staying?"
"We could stay," Mom replied. "It's been a while since we had a night out."
"Okay. See you tomorrow."
I kissed them both before walking out.
My room was on the highest floor, where the royal family was also accommodated. My guards accompanied me to the door and checked the rooms first before departing. I gave them my earpiece on their way out. The first thing I did was kick my shoes off. Then, I sent Alexander a message. I didn't want him to look for me in the dance hall. There were too many eyes on us. We wouldn't be able to speak easily.
Once that was done, I sat in from of the vanity. One by one, I took the pins out of my hair. My scalp screamed with relief at the release of tension. The jewelry came off as well. I used make-up wipes to clean my face.
Sighing, I cleared away the vanity before wobbling over to the bathroom. I tried zipping my dress down but couldn't reach the back. I looked at the shower, and I looked at my dress. I'm sure Jayla would kill me if I showered in it. I tried again, but my arms weren't having it. A surge of embarrassment, excitement, and nervousness washed over me. But I needed help.
'Need help with my dress,' I sent Alexander.
I didn't have much faith in him appearing after this sh*tstorm.
Once again, I reached for my dress. Like before, I couldn't zip it down. All of a sudden, I felt a presence behind me. I glanced behind me briefly before turning around, blushing.
Alexander was here.
"I heard you need help," he said.
Taking a deep breath, I faced him. He was missing his coat, and his tie was gone. The top two buttons of his dress shirt were undone, and his shirt was untucked.
"Yeah," I told him. "Do you mind?"
"Not at all."
I turned, waiting. Alexander took the zipper and pulled it down. As the fabric loosened around me, I stopped the top from slipping. I glanced at Alexander.
"How bad is it?" I asked.
In response, he shoved his hands in his pockets. "I thought you were showering."
"Only if you join me."
Saying that I slipped out of my clothes and stepped into the shower. Underneath the warm water, I hoped the ground would bury me. The invitation hadn't come out the way I wanted it to. But I couldn't take it back. I didn't want to. I closed my eyes. Maybe I shouldn't have asked him. Sure, I'd be disappointed, but I didn't want to force him.
"If you're busy," I began.
His arms curled around me. His chin rested on my shoulder.
"You feel nice," he said.
"Thanks for the compliment."
He chuckled and sighed. "I honestly don't know what I would do without you."
"What do you mean?"
"When I'm with you, I forget everything I'm worried about. You give me peace of mind."
This time, I did blush but for different reasons. "I haven't done anything," I said. "I can't even help with this crisis. I can't do anything."
"You being here is the best thing you can do right now."
I leaned against him. "Since we're giving each other compliments . . . Thanks for making me feel safe."
"I do try," he muttered.
He caressed my shoulder with his lips. "I should go."
"You could stay."
He nodded. "I'll stay."
A/N
Sorry about that wait. I'm back to working my full-time job, and it's been kicking my butt. I do have some good news coming soon. Until then, please enjoy.