It was the day of the dinner party. Erik and Marc weren't allowed to come see me today. Father didn't want me to look tired for tonight. Mia and Ali were sitting on my bed, deciding on what to wear.
"Guys," Ali frowns. "I have no idea what to wear."
Someone knocks on my door. I ignore, thinking it was food. I point at my closet and they look at me weird.
"Go see if you guys like any dresses." I laugh.
They get up and rush to my closet. I hear knocking again. I groan and get up. I open the door.
"Erik!" I pull him into the room.
"Elle, I had to see you." He looked upset.
"What's wrong?" I ask, worried.
"I can't just not see you today." He whines. "You have this weird magnetic personality that makes me want you. I'm in l-" He was interrupted.
"ELLE!" Mia cries out.
I look at Erik and he walks out of my room. I shut my door and head back into the closet. They were frowning.
"What's wrong with you guys?" I laugh.
"WEAR THE TAN DRESS!" Mia holds a long, beautiful tan dress.
"Okay." I giggle.
"Me and Mia are going to head to our Castles. We'll be back tonight. We'll also bring our guys, don't worry." Ali pulls Mia out of the closet and heads out.
It was only a few hours until the dinner party. I sigh and that's when I heard more knocking. I put the dress on the closet door, shut it, and head to open the door.
"Erik, get in here." I pull him in here, looking out in the hallway.
"Elle-" I interrupt him.
"Erik, you can't keep sneaking like this. You're going to get in trouble. I'm going to get in trouble." I lock the door and sit beside him.
"You're beautiful." Is all he says.
"Thank you." I giggle.
"How does this dinner party thing work here?" Erik asks.
"Well. We introduce ourselves to any new guests, we eat, we dance, we chat, and it's just like a regular party." I explain.
I smile at Erik's dreaded reaction. I look outside, watching the sun begin to set. I sigh and look at him. He nods, stands up, and bows.
"I'll see you tonight." He mumbles and walks out.
Laya comes and does my hair. She does my makeup and makes sure everything is perfect. She adds little flowers on the sides of my hairstyle. She picks shoes out for my dress and hands them to me. She hands me the dress and I put it on. Mia and Ali show up with their things. Laya did their makeup and hair. They put their dresses on and they looked stunning.
"We have to wait a little bit. The guys are still going to have to get ready." Mia adds, putting on her shoes.
"Oh. So, are you and your guy here? Like I can meet him?" I giggle, joking with her.
"Jason is here. Yes." Mia looked serious.
"Is Yale also here?" I look at Ali.
"Yes. He's here." She laughs.
"I finally get to meet the men you girls will marry." I sigh and Laya ties my dress.
We all talk about tonight and we were both called to go down. We walk down the stairs, our heels giving our presence away. We head towards the dinner room. Laya fixes us up before we go in there.
"You girls will do amazing. Especially you." She looks at me.
We all walk in there. Erik and Marc both look at me in astonishment. I had no idea which guy was who. Well, up until they were introduced to me.
"Princess Elle." Jason bows.
"Jason." I curtsy.
"Elle." Yale bows.
"Yale." I curtsy.
I look around for Erik and there he was. Right behind me. He takes my hand and kisses it. He leans down, to my ear.
"Tonight will be more than perfect." He whispers.
He walks away and Marc comes to greet me. Marc kisses my hand and he walks away. Father was busy handling the dinner plans. He would be back in a little bit.
"ELLE! MIA! ALI!" I hear a very familiar voice call out.
Prince Wade and Gabriel walk in... sweaty. I put my hands on my hips and shake my head. Wade comes to hug me and then Gabriel. They greet me and then head over to the others. Mia looked mad for some reason.
"Mia?" I nudge her.
"Erik's rude." She spits out.
"No he's not. He's nice to me." I look around for Erik.
"He left with Jason and Yale." She groans.
"Oh. Is this why you're upset?" I hold a laugh.
"YES! I WANTED TO BE WITH JASON!" She whines and walks away to Ali.
I greet everyone else that came. Father finally comes out and greets the rest with me. He greets everyone he missed also. He dismisses me to find Erik. I take my heels off and run to the garden. I stop.
"Honestly, I was just going to marry Elle for the idea of being King." I hear Erik say. "She can't rule the Kingdom by herself. It'd just fall to dust. She needs a strong and powerful man."
My heart drops to my stomach.
"Well, what about now?" Jason asks.
"What do you mean? I still want to be King-" I left as soon as he said King.
I run back into the dinner room. I forgot I was supposed to go and get the guys. I groan and turn back.
"Erik. Jason. Yale. Come on, dinner is almost ready." I couldn't bear to look at Erik. "We're just talking right now."
"So, Princess," Erik's voice whispers in my ear, wrapping his arm around my waist. "Are you going to save the first dance for me?"
I push his arm away and had no choice but to nod. I walk away, trying hard to not let everything spill out of my mouth. I sit down beside Mia. Erik sits on the other side of me.
We all enjoy our dinner. I could feel my father's eyes on me. I shove food in my mouth. Mia and Jason were have a side conversation. Yale and Ali were silent through the dinner. Wade and Gabriel kept trying to kick Mia. It was honestly pretty funny.
Everyone was finished with dinner by the time dancing begins. Father really wanted me to dance with Marc and Erik. I decided to dance with Erik first since I told him yes.
He puts his hand on my waist, tangling his hand with mine. I put my hand on his shoulder and look up at him. He pulls me closer to him. He looks down at me, smiling. His eyes were filled with love and care.
"Are you mad at me, Princess?" He bites his lower lip.
"You're using me just to become King, aren't you? You and Marc both are." I frown, my voice cracking.
His expression softens even more if that's even possible. He stares deeply into my eyes. He looked hurt. Very hurt.
"I... I was but something happened." He looked away.
"Sure. I'm sure you're still using me. You know what? How about you find some other princess to tease and play with. I'm done with this." I snap at him.
I walk away from everyone, not caring about what my father has to say. I could hear Mia and Ali running after me. They wrap their arms around each of my arms. Wade and Gabriel also ended up following.
"Elle, since when did you become a volcano?" Wade asks, chuckling.
"Wade. Stop." Mia holds a laugh.
We all sit at our usual spot in the garden. I begin to cry. Mia holds me, rubbing my back and telling me it'll all be okay. I cry more because I have such amazing best friends.
"Elle, what happened?" Ali asks.
Gabriel and Wade were play-fighting. I watch them for a moment and look back at her. I bite my lip and sigh.
"Erik and Marc are both using me for becoming King. I just want someone to love! I want someone to love me! How is it that hard?" I cry.
"Elle, not every guy comes with love. There will be times of heartbreak and love. You've got to fight through it." Mia says.
"I agree. You're strong! Don't let them bring you down." Ali smiles.
"If you girls don't mind, can you tell father I'll be in my room?" I ask, standing up.
I walk away and head to my room. I take down my hair and take off my shoes. I sit on my bed, fiddling with my fingers. I walk out onto my balcony after beginning to feel dizzy.
"If there is such thing as true love, please send it to me. Send HIM to me." A tear escapes from my eye again.
"Princess Elle." I hear someone call my name after some time.
I look down and see Erik down below my balcony. I turn away.
"Come down here. I need to admit something to you. I'm going to tell you everything I told Yale and Jason." Erik pleads.
I sigh and head down. After some time, I finally see him. Erik takes my hand and pulls me close to him. We were in dancing position. Music was playing in the background.
"Erik, explain." I say.
"I don't really know how to explain my feelings, Princess." He grins and looks down at me. "All I can say is that... you've done something to me."
"What're you saying?" I snap.
"What I'm trying to say is that I love you." Erik admits.
He leans down and presses his lips against mine.
"Princess. If you choose me, I promise that I won't leave your side. You have done something to me. It's unexplainable and hard. You make me happy and feel free... Don't you feel the same way about me?" Erik frowns.
"Erik, I don't know. I'm still not set on the thought of who I want ruling with me..." I look away.
He turns away in embarrassment, "I just confessed my feelings towards you and you don't even pay your feelings back. That's selfish, Princess."
"Erik, I... I can't just choose you because you actually love me. For all I know, that could be a lie. I just don't trust that you could be the right decision." I look away, guilty.
"Pfft. You can be so blind and stubborn." Erik says while walking away.
I hold back my tears until I go to my room. I shut the door, lock it, and begin to let everything I have out. Of course I love Erik, but is he really the one for MY Kingdom?
I wake up early in the morning, swollen eyes and a tear-stained face. I wash my face and head downstairs. Father was asleep in his bed. Erik wasn't IN his bed. Marc was up so I went in.
"Good morning." I wave.
"Good morning." He bows.
"How'd you sleep?" I ask.
"Well, I slept alright. How-" I interrupt him.
"ERIK WASN'T IN HIS BED!!!" I shout and rush out of Marc's room. Then I go back, "I'm sorry. I'll talk to you soon." I rush back out.
I tie my robe, put father's boots on, and head outside. I look around for Erik. He wasn't at the stables, he wasn't in the garden, he wasn't anywhere! I could feel my heart begin to tear in pieces.
"Princess Elle?" I hear Laya say my name.
I turn to her and sniffle. She holds her arms open and I hug her. I cry on her shoulder, regretting what all I said last night. Erik's gone. My first love is gone and won't come back. I messed up big time