Some things to take note of:
-There will be some violence. There is no longer smut in this story as of 12 July 2020 as I find it disrespectful to have written and posted such depictions.
-I have no idea what genre is this. Horror? Romance? Whatever.
-Author's notes within story will be bolded, italicised and presented in brackets.
-I might change the cover of the story but rn I honestly don't know what to put there. Do you like the current one?
-This story was inspired by a monster written by R.L. Stine
It's Halloween today. What costumes are you guys wearing? I'm dressed as a fangirl. By that, I mean I'm not wearing a costume. My country doesn't really celebrate Halloween. :(
Happy reading!
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Princesses and daughters of rich men twirled across the ballroom floor with their extravagant ball gowns sweeping along with them. Men of wealth and status led their wives in exuberant dances. Carriages pulled by horses brought more of the party guests to the palace. King Niall had invited everyone in the kingdom to the ball, along with hundreds of royals from neighbouring kingdoms. However, most of the common folk dared not to show face in the castle in their rags, especially during such a formal event. Resultantly, the party guests were made up of mostly the rich and royal. King Niall had doubled the servants for the night. He had ordered a big buffet table, full of delicacies from around the world.
Prince Louis stood in the corner of the ballroom in the outfit that the tailor had so carefully made for him. It was ironed such that there was not a single crease to be seen before Louis put it on. Louis' hair was styled neatly such that every strand fell perfectly into place. His eyes sparkled with excitement and nervousness as he surveyed the people at the party.
It was for Louis that King Niall organised the dance. Louis was King Niall's only son. King Niall is very eager for the heir to his throne to walk down the aisle. He thought that it was a splendid idea to throw a party for Louis to meet some new people instead of being cooped up in his room all day doing- God knows what!
Louis glanced over the faces of every man and maiden that walked in but not one caught his attention for longer than a couple of seconds. They were all decent-looking but nobody had anything special about them that would catch Louis' eye.
What did manage to spark an interest in Louis were the chocolate fountains at dessert table. There were three chocolate fountains, dark, milk and white, all about a metre in height, with delicious chocolate fondue cascading off each tier. Just looking at it made Louis' mouth water. He wiped the saliva off his face quickly before anyone caught him drooling. That would have been extremely awkward. Louis took a few strawberry kebabs and dipped it into the chocolate. He arranged them neatly on his plate before turning to find a place to devour them.
As Louis turned around, he slammed into someone. He did not even see them standing next to him before he collided into them. "Oops!" Louis blurted. His plate was glued on the other boy's jacket with chocolate. Louis' eyes widened in horror as he saw he had ruined someone else's outfit.
Louis pulled the plate off the boy and apologised profusely. "I am so sorry," He said as he got a few napkins to clean up the chocolate. The boy remained quiet and let the prince clean the food off him. The boy pressed his lips together. His eyes wandered around the room as people eyed the two. Whispers were heard from the party guests, who were not-so-silently judging them from not-so-far away.
"Hi. Um, your majesty, Prince Louis?" The boy with chocolate on his clothes stammered, tapping Louis on his back. "You can- uh- stop. People are- um- staring." Louis stood up. His cheeks were pink with embarrassment.
"I can get it cleaned. It's alright." The boy told Louis but Louis still felt conscience-stricken.
The boy picked up a strawberry kebab, stuck it under the chocolate, spilling in the fountains, and handed it to Louis. "Don't look so sad. It's fine, really." The boy coaxed. Louis took the offering of the tasty treat from the boy. Louis took a bite of the strawberry, letting the chocolate melt on his tongue.
"I work in a bakery." The boy said, taking his dirty coat off and folding it neatly. "I'm used to getting chocolate on me." Louis stared at the boy in curiosity. For someone dressed so well, Louis thought for sure the boy was a prince or, at the very least, someone wealthy, but the boy was merely a baker.
"You aren't a royal?" Louis questioned.
"You got a thing against bakers or something?" The boy raised an eyebrow. Louis quickly shook his head.
The boy brushed a hand up his own arm. The translucent white sleeves off his shirt hugged fittingly around his biceps. "I feel a little out of place. I think I am going to go outside." The boy stated. He did look awkward, being the only person in a white shirt when the other men were wearing shirts and jackets with intricate designs that probably took days to embroider.
The boy headed into the palace gardens. Louis self-invited himself along. The boy leaned on a rock to balance himself and stood with his hands holding his jacket in front of him. Louis leaned on another rock, slightly further away from the boy.
"What brings you to the palace?" Louis asked. He finished the last strawberry on the kebab and twirled the stick in his hand as he chewed the fruit.
"Am I not invited to the party?" The boy shot back cheekily. "First, a thing against bakers. Now, you're unwelcoming me to a public party? Damn! I know whom I'm rioting against when he takes the throne." The boy brought a hand to his mouth as if he was shouting at someone far away and yelled, "Pa, get ready the pitchforks!"
Louis squirmed. "No, I don't mean it like that!"
"Calm down," The boy said with a chuckle. "I'm just kidding." The boy shoved Louis' knee lightly. It was a small brushing motion but it was enough to make Louis' leg tense up.
The boy pointed out that the sun was setting. A lovely combination of pink and orange shades painted the sky and the sun proceeded to hide behind the horizon. The boy was enjoying the scenery but Louis had his eyes on something even more beautiful than that.
Louis admired the boy. The boy's emerald eyes twinkled. His curly locks ruffled as the wind blew past them. The boy had a pair of adorable dimples that showed every time the boy smiled. The boy was also in killer shape. He looked as if he could lift a horse- No, two horses, at once!
The boy caught Louis staring at him. Louis turned away, blushing heavily. He tried to hide his smile but did a terrible job at it.
A cold breeze passed. The boy shivered. "Are you cold?" Louis asked, quickly removing his jacket and draped it over the boy's shoulders. Louis' heels clicked against the stone tiles as he got up. The boy refused, "Your majesty, I'm fine." The boy took the coat off.
"I wrecked your jacket. It is only fitting that I lend you mine." Louis justified but seeing that the boy still had his arm stretched out with Louis' jacket in his hand, Louis crossed his arms in dismay. "If you do not take it, I will get my father to ban baking in the kingdom." Louis threatened.
"Abusing your power already? You are not even the king yet!" The boy shook his head. The boy smirked at Louis and said, "If you ban baking in the kingdom, how are you going to wake up to waffles every morning? You would not have bread to be served with your soup at lunch. There would be no cookies to go with your tea. I can find another trade but I think you will die without chocolate cake, your majesty."
Louis scoffed in displeasure. He pouted and crossed his arms. The boy rolled his eyes and wrapped the coat around his body. The boy asked rhetorically, "Are you happy now, you spoilt brat?"
"Now, is that any way to be talking to the future king?" Louis asked.
"There you go again. Up on your high horse about how you are royalty. Not everyone was lucky enough to be born blue-blooded." The boy sniggered. Louis bit his lip and decided to abandon the argument.
Louis asked the boy about himself. The boy shared his stories. Louis listened to the boy's deep voice. Each word enchanted Louis as they rolled off the boy's English tongue. The boy had an accent that sent Louis into a hypnotic state even though Louis had an English accent of his own.
Louis did not know why he was laughing. The boy was honestly not even that funny but to Louis, his bad jokes and weak humour were enough to make him crack up. His laugh ended up in an awful wheezing sound. Louis brought a hand to his mouth, self-conscious about the noise that left his lips.
The boy teased Louis about his laugh. Louis wanted the Earth to open a hole in the ground for him to crawl into and hide. His face was positively red with embarrassment. Louis covered his face with his hands.
The stars shone brightly against the dark blue sea that was the night sky. The light from inside the ballroom glowed. The boy asked Louis for the time. Louis peered at the clock tower which he could see from the garden. "Eight o'clock," Louis read.
"Oh, I have to go." The boy said getting off his bum. Louis stopped the boy, by grabbing his wrist.
"Wait, why?" Louis asked.
"I just have to!" The boy insisted, taking off. Louis chased after him. Louis' shoes hurt his toes. He cursed that he had chosen to wear such uncomfortable footwear. His shoes made distinct clicking noises as he ran.
"You know, Cinderella was nice enough to stay until midnight!" Louis hollered at the boy. To which, the boy simply responded by yelling back, "In case you haven't realised, I'm not Cinderella."
The boy fled into the forest. The tree trunks shielded him from Louis' view. Louis stepped into the darkness of the forest, away from the bright lights of the palace party. In the blackness of the night, Louis could barely see beyond a few metres of him. He squinted, straining his eyes in search of the boy.
A pair of glowing red eyes were staring back at Louis. A soft gasp left Louis' lips as he noticed. Louis backed away slowly, taking small, quiet steps, but Louis was not looking where he was going. His foot landed on a small branch. The twig snapped with an audible cracking sound.
The creature roared menacingly. It stepped out of the darkness to reveal its green-tinted skin. Its eyes focused on Louis. Rows of razor-pointed teeth were sticking out of the fleshy pink gums of the monster. A low growl sent a chill down Louis' back.
Louis' heart stopped beating for a brief moment. He looked around for the boy who seemed to have disappeared. It appeared that Louis feared for the safety of the boy more than his own despite being the one confronted by the horrendous beast present before him. Louis gulped down the lump in his throat.
The creature stood on two legs like a man, straight and tall. It staggered around Louis, jerking with each step. The beast circled Louis like a hawk, waiting for the precise moment to attack. Louis remained still and silent. His heartbeat rang in his ears.
Louis sized the beast, deciding to fight the creature. He took his sword out of his scabbard. However, as soon as the shiny blade was in sight, the monster retreated hastily. It lumbered unsteadily as it hurried off into the woods. Louis did not give chase. The creature had a bark worse than its bite.
An uneasy silence fell around Louis. He returned his sword into its sheath. Louis headed back to the castle, coming to terms that he had lost the boy and the beast.
Louis stalked back into the ballroom. A frown was pasted on his face. King Niall gestured for Louis to come closer. Louis approached his father. Niall questioned Louis' whereabouts but did not give him sufficient time to answer before introducing Louis to someone. The young princess bobbed a curtsy, which Louis returned with a respectful bow. When she left to join the other guests in the dance, Louis turned to Niall. Louis told his father about the boy he had met. Niall was delighted that Louis had found a potential consort. It was much to Niall's displeasure when Louis confessed that he had let the boy slip away.
"My boy, why are you so stupid? If you have found someone you love, you should hold onto them tightly." Niall chided. He rubbed his left ring finger with his right hand.
Louis stared at the ground. He closed his eyes and nodded at his father's words. "I know," Louis muttered.
"Tell me more about this boy! I shall help you find him. What is his name?" Niall asked.
"Um, I don't know." Louis stuttered, realising that he had forgotten to ask the name of the boy. "He works in a bakery," Louis started, recalling anything the boy had told him. "He once scarred his foot when he dropped a hot tray of freshly baked meringues."
"Wonderful! We'll check the feet of every gentleman in the country." Niall exclaimed. He called for Modeste, his personal assistant and advisor, who had been shamelessly eavesdropping on their conversation. Niall was about to make the declaration when Louis stopped him.
Louis suggested, "Or we could throw another party. The boy came today. Who is to say he wouldn't come again?"
"Me, Sir." Modeste inputted. "The baker would be far too poor to afford to visit the palace again."
"Nonsense!" Louis cried out.
Modeste ignored Louis and continued, "Also, are you sure you want to marry the baker's boy? You could be married to any of the lovely women at the party. What about her, Eleanor? She's a princess from the neighbouring country. Or her, Briana! She's- Um...... I think you will like her. Or what about that wonderfu-"
"Oh, Modeste, do shut up." Niall interrupted, pressing his fingers to his temples to show that he had enough to hear from Modeste. "Louis is the one getting married, not you. Feel free to take your pick from the trail of broken hearts Louis has left behind but leave his choice of wife- I mean, partner- to him."
Modeste scoffed silently and Louis stuck his tongue out at her. She wanted to lecture Louis to watch his manners but in the presence of the king, Modeste held her tongue like it was made of glass.
So it was decided that there would be another ball.
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