The Midnight Masquerade Ball is hosted by the royal family of Italy, of course. What's different about this particular ball is that it's open-invite, meaning anyone could show up. It also happens once every decade before or after a huge event, and it's held on the night of a full moon.
The only thing I could gather from this is that royals sure do love to party a lot.
I hate it.
"Can you walk any faster?" Elena groans, pulling on my arm. I snatch it away quickly before she ends up ripping the body part off completely.
"Can you be more patient?" I retort. "Besides, I'm in no rush to get there." The only thing I hate more than parties with tons of people is being surrounded by a bunch of bratty royals. While Princess Elena has grown on me a bit, the others definitely have not.
They're all monsters.
The princess seems clueless to my disdain as we roam the corridors of the palace. It's honestly better that way. She doesn't need to know the terrible things her parents do behind her back. She's innocent—she shouldn't have to know what the people who train at the Royal Academy have to go through every day.
After a few moments, we finally reach the ballroom. It has been transformed into a magical wonderland, adorned with sparkling lights, ethereal curtains, and shimmering fabrics. There are colorful flowers, twinkling candelabras, and glittering decorations, and the air is filled with the scent of blooming roses and sweet-smelling jasmine.
The civilians and royalty all wear their finest evening wear, with the ladies donning gorgeous gowns and the gentlemen sporting ornate suits and top hats. The atmosphere feels lively and energetic, with music echoing through the room and couples dancing under the shimmering lights.
"Dance with me," Elena suddenly says.
I shake my head in disbelief, not knowing if I heard her right. Why the hell would she want to dance with me? "What?" I ask, just to be clear.
She rolls her eyes. "Don't take it to heart. I'm just asking you because I can see Marco staring at me from across the room."
I let out a quiet chuckle through my nose. That definitely seems more like it. I take her hand and lead her to the center of the ballroom, where everyone is dancing. My arms are securely wrapped around her waist while she puts hers around my neck. Behind her, I can see Prince Marco scowling. I give him a dirty look before noticing something else.
Someone else.
Camille.
"Excuse me," I whisper in Princess Elena's ear before gently letting go of her. She looks surprised at first, but then she just sighs and hides from Marco amongst the crowd of thousands of people.
After making sure she's safe, I quickly walk over to the blonde. She's holding a shot glass while talking to some of her rich friends, but I just cut in. "Cami? You didn't tell me you were coming."
She glances at me over her glass and rolls her brown eyes. "Oh, please, Alexander," she responds irritably. "This was a last-minute thing." Her head twists to the side in her friend's direction, and she whispers something in the lady's ear. My gaze shifts to the small hickey on her neck, though.
Did I leave that there?
A smile spreads across Camille's face as she notices where I'm looking. "I forgot to cover it." She pauses and flashes me a playful wink. "How about we get out of this place and have some fun?"
I looked her up and down for a moment before grabbing her by the waist and pulling her close to me. "I'm at work. Don't pull any of your bullshit here," I whisper sharply in her ear.
She giggles and presses herself against my chest. I can tell she's not taking me seriously. She never does, and it pisses me off. Sometimes, I wonder if she even loves me.
"Oh, calm down, babe," she replies, leaning into me even more. "It's a party! Don't you get any downtime?"
I clench my jaw, visibly angry. But I know she won't listen to me if I get mad. Maybe a different approach would work. "Please, Cami. I really would appreciate it if I could just focus on my job," I sigh.
Groaning dramatically in response, Camille pulls away from me and lets her eyes roll almost all the way to the back of her head. "You literally hate royals. Why do you even work for them?"
I tense up immediately, my neutral expression turning into a complete death stare. "You know I don't have a choice."
Cami sucks in through her teeth, looking away from me. "Right. Touchy subject. Forgot, sorry." She apologizes with so much ingenuity that it's surprising how insensitive she is.
"Whatever," I grumble. Standing here with her just reminds me of how miserable my life really is when the princess isn't around.
Shit. The princess.
I push Camille aside gently while my head whips around all over the ballroom, looking for any sign of Elena. Relief floods my brain when I spot a familiar red satin gown in the crowd. It's hard to miss her; she simply stands out from the rest of the people here.
"Hey!" The blonde huffs after being pushed to the side and then catches up to me. "Where are you going?"
"To guard the princess," I tell her as she walks beside me now. I don't have time for her games, so I don't even bother looking at her.
Prince Marco stops us in our tracks and looks at Camille with narrowed eyes and a faint grin. "Bodyguard, who's this?" Looking her up and down, his grin widens. "She's beautiful."
She flashes her pearly white teeth at him and bats her eyelashes playfully. The prince is already easily taken in by her charming smile and flirtatious behavior. "Camille Duquesne," she introduces herself, extending her hand towards him. "And you are?"
What the fuck is going on?
Darting my eyes back and forth between the two and watching them talk grosses me out. Not only did I think my girlfriend would never meet Marco, but the fact that she's entertained him this long is strange. Yet for some reason, I'm not really jealous. If she wants him, she can have him. I don't care.
He chuckles and kisses her hand. "Marco Antonio de Rossi, Prince of Spain," he says, leaning in and whispering. "And I'll make your dreams come true tonight."
Someone buy me a gun so I can shoot myself.
Cami's eyelashes flutter again, and she smirks. "I believe you could." Her eyes twinkle with mischief as she looks up at him, biting her bottom lip.
I've had enough of this. "He's sixth in line," I point out.
That works because Camille immediately jumps back in disgust, shuddering. "Ew. Not good enough for me. Let's go," she huffs, snootily walking away.
Marco's jaw drops, and I can tell he's not used to being rejected like that. It's actually a pretty enjoyable sight, but then I remember that I don't have time for that. I have to get to Elena.
Looking around the ballroom again, I spot her dress in the corner and walk over there immediately. My stomach drops when I realize Camille has gotten to her first. I sigh, knowing I have to formally introduce them. I doubt they'll get along, but hopefully they don't talk much. "Cami, this is Princess Elena. Princess, this is Camille—my girlfriend."
Elena tilts her head and narrows her eyes. I can tell right off the bat that she wants to say something snarky. But to my surprise, she holds her tongue. "Hello, it's nice to finally meet you," she says in an oddly polite tone. She even holds her hand out for Camille to shake.
Camille declines the handshake and looks the princess up and down with a judging expression on her face. "Hi," she mutters, not even trying to hide her annoyance. "Is there something you want?"
"Excuse me?" Princess Elena asks with a raised eyebrow.
"You heard me," Cami replies, rolling her eyes. I don't have to spend all my time talking to you." She scoffs, and the way she says the last word is dismissive.
My head snaps to my girlfriend, and I give her a look of disapproval. Even then, she doesn't seem to care. She's being a bitch for no reason. When I look back at the princess, it's evident that she wants to put Camille in her place for her blatant disregard of Elena's royal status. However, she does not.
"You have got to be kidding me," I mutter under my breath.
I gave Camille an icy look and let out a sharp whistle. She glares at me as I point back down to the hall we just came in from and gesture at her to come with me using my other hand. "Now, Camille," I demand lowly.
She rolls her eyes but follows me out into the hallway after a few moments. "What?" she asks irritatedly, her tone infuriating me even more.
"That's the princess you're talking to," I tell her flatly. "Your lack of respect is absurd. You have the nerve to be a sarcastic and disrespectful bitch towards her? Do better."
The blonde's mouth goes agape, probably not expecting such a response out of me. "Do better? I don't have to talk to her if I don't want to," she retorts.
I've had enough of her bratty attitude. "If you ever disrespect the princess like that again, you can forget about this relationship."
The blonde scoffs. "It sounds like you're choosing her over me."
"Over a brat? Any day. Have some fucking decency—this is your last chance," I snap back.
Camille huffs and looks at me in disbelief before letting out an angry chuckle. "Did you forget what those stupid royals did to you? Who was there for you when it all happened?" She scowls now, her face turning red. "You'd be nothing without me, Alexander." With that, she turns around and storms off in an enraged manner.
I let out a deep sigh as I watched my girlfriend walk away, frustrated with myself. It had to be done. I was getting tired of putting up with her attitude and disrespecting everyone close to me, especially my princess.
"Well, that was awkward," a voice mutters behind me. I turn around to see Princess Elena peeking her head out into the hall.
"Very awkward," I agree, nodding. "I apologize for my girlfriend's behavior. She's a bit... difficult."
Elena's eyes darted to the door where Camille disappeared. "Don't," she tells me. "I don't let insignificant people hurt my feelings."
I roll my eyes playfully and walk over beside her, leaning back against the doorway to the ballroom. Camille definitely knows how to get me exhausted, but no matter how tired I am, I must always protect the princess.
Princess Elena breaks the silence again. "Is now a good time to tell you that you should break up with Blondie?"
I sigh and run a hand through my hair. She's right, but it's hard to let people go for me—especially when I've become so attached to them. "It's not that easy. I know she's a bitch, but I love her."
The princess nods slowly. "Somehow, I doubt that what you're feeling is love. After all, she does seem like the master manipulator. You sure she's not just playing with your feelings?"
Taking a moment to consider what she's saying, I realize that she's right. If I actually loved Camille, I wouldn't let her flirt with guys like Prince Marco. I'd also defend her instead of the princess, but that wasn't the case at all. But even though I don't actually love Cami, I can't just get rid of her. It's too hard for me. I miss the old her.
"I'll think about it," I finally say, my voice a quiet murmur.
The princess smiles and then tugs on my arm again. "Well, in the meantime, you still owe me a dance."
I still keep a straight face, but I would be lying if I said that I was fighting back a smile right now. "Of course." I take Elena's hand and whisk her away to the ballroom floor.
.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.・。.・゜✭・.・
authors note: best thing about writing is i can just take someone i hate and make them a villain 😊 which is exactly what i did to camille