The last leaming rays of sun shine through the glass windows of Valora's room. It catches the gems and decorations sewn into her ballgown perfectly. The light makes the jewels protrude to any eye, but I can barely find the sense to pay attention to the Princess.
These days, I'm worried about everything. First comes the mission at hand and how Nik and I are going to concoct a solution, then Valora's threat and how she may use this event to her advantage, and then last comes Eyva's warning and all its dreadful glory.
Eyva stands in the corner of the room with a dangerous look in her eyes. Her brown eyes flicker against the backlash of the sun on the jewels, making her eyes glisten with streaks of purple. She glances at me, but I don't look away. I want to try to see if I can figure her out. Hopefully, read her eyes to find the actual meaning to her vague warning.
We're staring at each other for a few seconds, seconds before Valora calls Eyva to her side to fix her hair. I've been here for thirty minutes, waiting for a command so I could finish and be done with it, but Valora hasn't spoken a word to me. The only thing I've gotten is sudden glances fueled by utter resentment. I suppose I deserve it.
The other girls and Eyva are done getting the Princess ready in no time. For this occasion Valora has abandoned the blue, replacing it with a bright purple gown. It's an off-shoulder dress with puffed-up plum sleeves. The front bodice is embroidered with jewels and gold-stringed designs that swirl in everything direction but don't create a mess. Instead, it creates a royal crest, the Lavon family crest. It's nice to know she won't abandon her family, even in Bavia where she'll soon enter another.
I'm still in the corner when she steps off her gilded platform and makes her way straight past me and to the door. The other ladies follow suit behind her like always, but I don't join their group. Instead, I curtsy to her as she passes. I can almost feel Valora's glare weigh me down like a brick. Although my eyes are down, I can still see and feel the monstrous tension.
Within seconds, Valora is out the door with the others and I'm left to the deserted room. I know the worst has yet to pass, but for some reason I find myself catching my breath. I pang of relief passing through me.
~
Cliara led me through the halls strapped with carpet and up to the glorious ballroom doors. The guards upon us opened them, revealing the ballroom and all its specular eminence.
Night had beseeched the castle, flooding the ballroom and everything in it, with its moonlight against the bright candles. The contrast together makes the room gleam as I've seen before. Everywhere I turn, everywhere I look, there's gold. Pure gold. There's gold railings and vases, candle holders and platters. It never occurred to me how rich House Bernanos really was. If I didn't know before, I and everyone else, certainly knew now.
The announcer standing beside the door declares me and Cliara's by our titles and last names. Cliara goes first, proudly looking over the rest of the ballroom as she revels in her title. Without me, she makes her way down the marble stairwell and into the swarm of nobles and courtiers.
Peering down at the crowd, I can't spot any of the royals. It's surprising to me since Valora was ready well before I was. If she wasn't here, and I couldn't spot the King or his sons anywhere, where were they?
I notice I'm wasting time and I line of people have cluttered behind me, practically pushing me to walk down the stairs so they can have their moment in the spotlight. I make no argument and listen, gliding down the steps with the olive gown trailing behind me.
By now, Cliara has found her brother in the crowd and stands by him. With nowhere to go and Nikoloas nowhere in sight, my only option is to accompany the twins.
The three of us carry on with casual conversion while music plays in the background. I'm there for barely ten minutes, but already I feel like the odd one out in the conversion.
"So," Galien starts, aiming the question towards me, "What do you think of your first royal ball?"
"Well..." I begin to say. But there isn't really much to comment on. This definitely wasn't my first ball, and so far nothing had made this one worthwhile.
"Not the same without Nikoloas here?" Cliara teases me and winks. I have to refrain from frowning and walking away.
Instead, I roll my eyes, "No, no. It's lovely even without him," I try to persuade them but the copper-eyed twins aren't falling for it.
"You want to know where he is, don't you?" Galien asks.
I nod, "Them," I lie. The two of them know what I mean, despite my attempt to cover it. In truth, I did want to know where Nik was. He had been one of the reasons I agreed to come, one of the reasons I was looking forward to this event despite the blade hanging over it.
"He should be coming soon," Galien explains. "He told me he had to stand in for some official announcement."
Makes sense. Royals were always late to their own parties. I know that firsthand. For some reason, it always brings attention to them, making them seem more powerful than they really are.
Suddenly, the string of guests stops and all the nobles are crowded into the ballroom. I hear a trumpet play in the near distance, and then the doors open only to bestow the royals and their small but powerful family.
Prince Josson stands next to his betrothed, Valora's hand in his. I can almost see their...discomfort. It's eminent how much love actually stands between them. Nik stands at his brother's side, silent and steady with his father in front of them all.
The King goes on about the celebrations and the victory from weeks before. Standing next to Cliara and Galien, I have to give it my all to keep my composure and myself at ease.
King James basks in the glory of claps and cheers as he reminds his subjects of the sirens now put to rest. Nikoloas stands still in all of this, not even breaking his position to clap for his father. It surprises me. I didn't think he'd actually catch on this fast.
"On the contrary to this celebration," The King says. "We will be having a royal wedding soon!" The King declares.
For some reason, I feel my heart skip a beat and I'm forced to catch my breath. Cliara turns to me, a warming smile plastered on her face, and places her hand on my shoulder.
"A month from now, on the 20th, my son, Prince Josson, will be joined together in marriage to Princess Valora Lavon!" King James announces. I finally can breathe.
At the prospect of a royal wedding date, the nobles, along with the servants cheer and clap once again. For this one, Nik claps too and congratulates his brother for something they both probably already knew.
The music begins again when the King is done speaking and the royals finally include themselves into the rest of the party. Nik travels to us first, completely ignoring the other nobles dying to talk to him.
The first person Nik looks to is me. He scans me up and down, probably astonished by the gown just as I was. The olive gown rests on me easily. Complimenting my features better than any other dress ever could. My brown hair is tied up in a bun, raised to the middle-back of my head. Two locks of hair hang from both sides, creating an elegant but annoying hairstyle. Nik's eye never waivers.
Galien shoves him, breaking him from his gaze. "It's not polite to stare," he teases.
Nik's cheeks flush red, embarrassed by his actions, "Right. Um, you look beautiful, Lianna."
I smile, and I feel Cliara push me further to him. "Thank you," I reply. Nik is dressed in a black suit with a navy-blue sash traveling from his shoulder to his side. His hair is styled to the side and his skin glistens under the candlelight. To me, he looked handsome, and the setting we were put in only admired his appearance. "You don't look too bad yourself," is all I can muster up the courage to say. By my pinkness of my cheeks, everyone can tell I had more to say than that.
A servant approaches the four of us, a golden platter in hand, filled with four glasses of wine. Cliara is the first to take one, which initially makes the rest of us go after them. I sip the red liquid cautiously.
Song after song plays, and eventually, this ball becomes more of us watching Cliara flirt with every other young man she gets her eyes on. Galien's hot on her tail, being the overprotective brother I never thought he'd be.
In the midst of it, Nik pulls me away from the crowd up to the side of the stairs instead of the middle of the room. "I have news," he says.
"About?" I reply.
"I hired a scientist. Maybe he could help us figure out an antidote." He tells me. I should be overjoyed that he'd actually go out of his way and think this far, but all I am concerned about is this new person. Could we trust this so-called scientist? I want to ask him.
"And you trust him?" I say. It's almost too low against the sound of music and dance.
He doesn't hear me. We've been away from the public eye for too long, and now other noble girls have swarmed around us. Trying desperately to even get a minute with the Prince. By the tune and direction of the melody, I can tell the orchestra's song is ending soon. The other girls must want the next dance with him.
I stand still with my hands clasped, waiting for him to do away with the others in some way. Instead of what I thought, he turns to me and extends his hand out, "Lianna, would you like to dance with me?" He says in front of the whole crowd of girls. Instantly, they frown and start to scatter.
"Good call," I whisper in silent praises.
"I'm serious," he says and repeats his request again.
I remember last night, the closeness we shared and the source of comfort the simplicity of dancing brought me to. It took away the stress this horrid mission had put me under and replaced it with love and happiness. Part of me wanted that again. Part of me wanted to dance the night away with him by my side. Part of me just wanted to look into his eyes again and see Nikoloas for all he really was. Flaws and all.
But another part of me wanted to deny all of that. I knew what I was doing, knew the game I was playing with him was wrong. Any feelings of the sort were forbidden, and anytime I talked to him they only grew stronger.
"Stay away from the royals," Eyva's voice echoes through my brain like a blaring warning siren.
"Heed my warning, siren. I will ruin you," Valora shouts from the back of my mind. On top of my own dilemmas, I had the two of them to fear.
"Lianna?" Nik calls for my alias.
He doesn't even know my first name. The calling of it makes me want to crawl deeper into my thoughts and never climb out.
"Of course," I reply, despite the voice telling me not. It doesn't feel like a mistake.
I take his extended hand, and he leads me away from the stairs, past the congregations of people, and into the center of the open ballroom. It seems like -after all those thoughts- I'd chosen to give into my heart. I wonder how long it'll take before someone rips it out.
A new song starts to play as we enter the open space. From the corner of my eye, I see Valora pull Josson into the ring of dancing. Her actions must be out of pure spite, never would the two of them want to dance with each other.
When enough people are gathered, and the orchestra starts to play music, Nikoloas places his hand on my waist and I hold his shoulder. Before our queue in the song comes, I have only one question. "What if I fall?" I ask, my anxiety getting the best of me.
"I'll catch you," he responds instantly, with such firm certainty. "But you don't need to worry about that, you'll be fine."
For some reason, his words calm me. I take a deep breath before anything else, and finally, the dance starts.
With the sound of the rhythm blazing through my ears, I've never felt more at peace in the strain of song. Nik and I have abandoned the basic steps he taught me, and instead, we're gliding through the ballroom with a steadied grace. Despite everything around us, and the hordes of people twirling and spinning, my gaze never leaves from Nik's eyes. I notice that we're doing it again. Getting lost in each other's eyes like it's a deep, undiscovered abyss.
With the music playing around us, it only enhances the mood. The music sways us through the crowd around us, making us drift like a bird scraping the sea. Before I know it, I can't contain my smiles and I'm grinning wildly.
The mesmerizing acoustics has captured us both whole, pulling us closer to each other by the second, but I don't even feel the hum of song anymore. Instead, I can't hear a thing. I can only see, and my eyes are set on the handsome Prince in front of me. It feels like I'm enchanted, enchanted and beguiled by his very presence and touch.
Ironic how quickly the tables can turn. I never realized humans held the ability to enrapture someone as we did. But even without song, he managed to charm me.
Nik pays me back a smile and twirls me around suddenly. My world spins like the movements, but it doesn't ruin the feeling or dance. In fact, everyone else around us has their partners in the same state, the only difference is the distance that separates them. When I'm still again, Nik pulls me close to him. I don't know if it's by accident, but before I know it, we're pressed against each other. It's closer than I've ever been to him.
By now, our hands have returned to the starting positions: his hand on my waist, mine on his shoulder, and our hands fastened to each other at our sides. But neither Nik nor I am moving, we're both at a pause. A pause with no end. None of us tries to initiate the prospect of dancing again. Instead, we do nothing. Absolutely nothing but stare into each other's eyes.
My body swirls with all kinds of mixed feelings. First, there's happiness- this unending, raging happiness. Then there's the overwhelming heat in my cheeks, the feeling of butterflies fluttering around my stomach, and the curiosity and intrigue that feeds it all.
The small difference in our height creates a minimal barrier. But with him peering down at me, and I looking up to him, I notice the gap is not that hard to fill.
All of a sudden the orchestra comes to a staggering halt. I hear the chatter of people get louder and I have to look away. In the air flies an arrow, an arrow sharpened to kill. It's heading straight for the King; I'm not sure if I should do anything.
From the corner of my eye, I see a guard rush to the King, having too spotted the danger. By now, Nik has spotted it too, but both of us are too far away with limited time to act.
The guard gets there just in time, pushing the King out of the way so the arrow would only pierce him a bit. The arrow gashes open a piece of the King's pants, striking the flesh under it and leaving a wound on his leg. King James yelps out in pain.
By now, the room is in gasps and shredded by panic. Nik stands by me now, and a line has been drawn between us. His eyes are opened wide and his expression screams that he's frightened.
"Stay away from the royals," Eyva had said. This is what she meant. She didn't want me to get in the middle of all this. But why pity me? I didn't understand her reasoning.
Guards and other servants scurry over to help the King, and soon Nik is running to his father's side. After a moment of hesitation, I decide to follow after him.
"Her!" I hear an all too familiar voice announce with an urgent cry. Instantly, I find myself swinging toward the ruckus. Valora glares at me, and immediately I can match the voice to her. Valora continues, "Her!" She declares and points straight to me. It's disgusting how easily she can mold her voice to be laced with such horror, shock, and hatred that it's believable. "She did it! She's an accomplice!" Valora states for the whole ballroom to hear. The bystanders gasp.
Valora has escaped from the cage of people now, and instead, she stands in front of me. Yielding the confidence and strength in her words to convince anyone. I turn to look behind me, and by now Galien and Cliara have surrounded Nik. All he does is stare at me, but not like before. He's trying to understand it all, decipher if I really did play a part in this.
The remaining people of the ball have moved to stand behind Valora, simulating who they really believed. I had argued with the Princess that no one would believe her, turns out a title speaks louder than I thought.
"I'm not," I respond in turn, "none of this is my fault." It's one of the most sinerce things I've said in weeks. Again, in the corner of my eye, I see the King be carried away from the ball, I assume to the nearest physician.
Valora places her hands on her hips, "Then you'll have no problem being arrested. Since you have nothing to hide," she purposes and I can hear the footsteps of guards start to gain on me.
Nik doesn't waste time any longer. Instead, he tries to enter the conversion. "You heard her," he enforces my words, "she didn't do anything."
Valora only rolls her eyes, "Of course you'd say that."
While they argue, it buys me time to arrange a way out of here. But I feel no water around me, singing to everyone here would be impossible, and running would give myself away. No, I had to fight this battle differently.
Josson approaches the scene, cautious but enraged all the same. "Your not lying?" he asks his fiance.
"No. I heard her speaking about it earlier this evening," Valora answers, another lie.
Josson weighs his options, I could imagine he's hardly considering his brother's words, being he could have motives behind them.
"Arrest her," Josson commands and the guards behind me grab hold of me immediately. I see Nik boil up with fiery.
I want to scream, tell them that it's all a lie Valora created to get me out of her sight. But then arose another reason.
While they restrain me, sealing my arms against each other, the bracelet slips from my wrist. It falls off my hand like a slipper, and pullmets to the ground, the pearls scattering from one another.
The magic works as intended, and my glamour comes off. I no longer look like Lianna Northwell, but rather the siren princess no one knows I am. Again, the crowd gasps, and I find Nik isn't protesting for me anymore. Instead, he's stopped. Just paused. Shocked by the reality of who and what I really am.
At first, I'm biting both my lips to partain myself from saying anything more that could be used against me. I hear Valora yell again, this time right in her accusations. "Siren!" She screams, proclaiming for all to hear and the crowd draws back.
My first instinct is to try to break free from their grasp. I struggle and wiggle against them but stop when I catch his eye.
Nik is glaring at me. Anger, and fear, and betrayal is only the beginning of what I can read on his face.
I want to tell him everything. Explain to him why I had to lead him astray. Explain why I'm really here, tell him everything we had wasn't fake. But the guards hold me firm, never letting me go despite my movements.
Nik turns away from me, heading towards the nearest exit, embarrassed by our encounters. Now, I didn't need to mask my siren abilities, and I try to use any remaining strength to fall out of their grip. "Nikoloas!" I call for him, it's the first time I've ever used his full name but I'm desperate for help. I repeat it again, but it only makes him move faster. He's truly turned his back on me. What else was I expecting?
I've become too much for the guards to hold onto and soon I hear a bottle pop open. I know exactly what it is. I guard places the bottle of Aegunic in front of my air space, making me breathe in the tonic in spite of the never-ending oxygen. Before I know it, before I can take another breath or blink or do anything; I'm falling. Weak and limp and numb. I can't feel my legs or the rest of my body and all of a sudden the world goes dark. There is no sign of the lights turning on again. All I see is the pure darkness as I'm forced to surrender myself to my captors.