The music is playing, and I'm on guard, as always. But this time, my guard senses are tingling. My eyes are darting all around the room, looking for any sign of danger, but they stop when I see a figure walking towards me.
It's a blonde girl that I noticed the princess with earlier.
She has a delicate, porcelain-like complexion with fair skin that is punctuated by rosy cheeks and a small nose. Her most notable feature is her wide-eyed facial structure, which consists of large, almond-shaped eyes that are emphasized by her full, dark eyebrows. Her long, blonde hair is a signature aspect of her appearance, though.
The girl stops a few feet in front of me, staring up at me. "Hello, Princess Elena's bodyguard," she says slyly, giving me a smile.
I don't react to her words or her smile; I'm just waiting for her to elaborate further.
"I haven't seen you around before," she states coyly as she takes a step forward and puts her hand on my chest. I don't move an inch and remain silent, my face expressionless, which only seems to annoy her. "Maybe I should have a closer look at you," she adds, taking another step towards me.
Who the fuck is this girl, and why is she getting so close to me?
"What's your name?" She asks, her voice low as she runs her hand along my arm.
Is this her attempt to seduce me? Because it's failing miserably, she must think I'm stupid.
"Alexander West," I respond, showing disinterest in my tone. "And you?"
"Princess Ava von Habsburg," she replies as she takes her hand off my arm, smiling widely and casually. "Eldest daughter to the Emperor of Austria." She cocks her head to the side.
Of course she's a goddamn royal. All these brats think they have the whole world wrapped around their finger.
"And what do you want from me if you don't mind me asking, Your Highness?"
"I have nothing that I need from you," she answers, her smirk never leaving her face. "In fact, I don't think I'm getting anything here, period." She twirls around once and then turns back to me. "I was just wondering who the new handsome bodyguard was."
She might just be the most annoying royal I've ever met. God, how I'd love to wipe that smug look off her face. I have manners, though.
"I appreciate the compliment, Your Majesty, but this is highly inappropriate. And I also have a girlfriend," I state sternly.
"A girlfriend, you say?" Princess Ava snickers, putting on a surprised expression. "I'm sure she's a very lucky girl." She moves in even closer as she speaks, and her face is mere inches from my own.
Why the hell is she standing so close? Is she trying to intimidate me?
"We'll see about that," she whispers, leaning in and gently kissing my cheek. I tense up and look at her in shock, my whole body going rigid as she pulls away and flashes me a playful smile.
"Your Highness." I grit my teeth and clench my jaw. "With all due respect, you are invading my personal boundaries. Please leave, or else I will not hesitate to have you removed from this ball."
Her smile fades away, and she glares at me. "Elena was right. You really are an uptight mess, aren't you?" She sighs, and her playful smile is once again present. "I can change that..." She starts to stroke my hand.
Why can't this girl learn how to take a fucking hint?
I pull my hand away from her quickly and step back. "Last warning," I reply in a low and threatening tone.
She finally steps back, her smile dropping once again. "Message received," she murmurs. "Jokes on you; I didn't want you anyway." She huffs and turns around, walking away.
Good riddance.
I roll my eyes and then look around for Elena, but she's nowhere in sight.
Where the fuck is that girl?
I walk around the ballroom in search of the princess, but I can't find her anywhere. And then I realize. I just got played like a fiddle.
Groaning, I decide to approach Princess Ava again. That little brat has to know where the princess is.
"Princess Ava," I say, my voice sharp to show my annoyance and anger. "Where is Princess Elena?"
Ava turns to me and grins. "So you finally caught on, huh?"
"I will ask you one more time. Where. Is. The. Princess?" This is that little bitch's final warning.
The blonde princess rolls her eyes. "If you must know, Elena is having the time of her life."
I didn't ask what she was doing; I asked for her goddamn location. My patience is running very thin at this point.
"I have been very patient with you because of your royal status. However, I don't think the King will be too thrilled to learn about this, and I think that he may just let me do whatever I want with you once he learns about your shenanigans. Now answer my damn question." I narrow my eyes at her, letting her know that I am not one to be messed with.
She stiffens and gulps. I've made her nervous. "She's on the balcony!" Princess Ava blurts out, groaning after she realizes her grave mistake.
"That wasn't so hard, was it?" I ask sarcastically. I don't have time to waste on this meaningless conversation, though, so I walk away without another word.
I head up to the balcony and see Elena there with two other people, whom I assume are her friends.
"Princess." I lean against the doorway with my arms crossed, glaring at her.
She turns to me. "Oh, Alex, hi." Her face is glowing, probably due to her having so much fun. How can such a small princess be a giant pain in my ass? "What are you doing here?" she asks, taking me off guard. She tilts her head slightly, and I notice the slight sparkle in her eyes. I wonder what she's up to now.
"I told you to stay close to me," I grumble. "What are you up to?"
My suspicion is growing by the minute. For the time being, I ignore her friends, who are just observing the conversation silently.
She sighs. "I was bored, okay? You have to keep such an exhausting eye on me all the time that even breathing feels forbidden to me. There's only so much a girl can take before she needs to do something drastic!" There's a flash of anger in her eyes. "And that something was to sneak out without you knowing!" She seems to be growing more frustrated with me as her voice becomes more shrill.
I clench my jaw and then look towards the two other people standing next to her. "And who are they?"
"This is Duchess Isabella Valeros and Prince James Wellington II," the princess replies, gesturing to her friends to introduce themselves.
Prince James waves, while Isabella nods in greeting. Neither one of them appears to hold the same anger that Elena has toward me.
"Pleasure to meet you two." I bow formally and then spin my head back to Princess Elena. "Come along."
"Why? So you can throw me in a prison cell?" she asks, sarcasm present in her tone.
"That can be arranged," I reply, my mouth curving upward slightly. "I'm serious, though. Come. Now."
"No," she says simply, her voice unusually firm.
I sigh and walk up to the stubborn princess, picking her up and throwing her over my shoulder. "That's fine."
"PUT ME DOWN!" She kicks and struggles against me, but I continue to carry her out of the balcony and through the hallways.
"You are going back to the ball, Princess; end of discussion. You are almost eighteen; start acting like it," I respond sternly, carrying her through the hallways.
"Put. Me. Down. Right. Now!" She demands, wriggling furiously against me as we pass by a few servants. They seem startled by the whole situation, but they don't dare do anything about it.
"You can't just carry me like this! It's a violation of my status—"
I don't let her finish her sentence. "Your status doesn't mean anything right now, and that's something you'll have to get used to. I take orders from the king and the queen, not you."
When we reach the entrance to the ballroom, I put her down before opening the doors so she can walk in.
She takes a step back from me, dusting herself off. "Fine. I understand. But if you think for a second that you can put limits on my freedom, then I'll just make you regret it later on."
I take a deep breath to calm myself before we enter the ballroom. Her comment only makes me feel more tense around her with each passing moment. I should be in control of the situation, yet she holds all of the power.
I need to figure out a way to regain my authority so that this never happens again.
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・
authors note: nothing much to say except don't forget to vote & comment! have a good day/night if ur reading this 🤍