I stared at her, wondering why she was asking this all of a sudden.
"It's a secret because her race is rare." Came the reply of Nate and turned to Lady Alice and smiled. "Very rare." He said calmly. At that moment, I found myself admiring Nate for speaking up for me.
Lady Alice beamed at Nate before turning her attention to me. Her eyes sparkled with interest as she asked, "That's amazing."
I felt a hand sneaking at my waist, and suddenly, I was pulled towards Nate. I looked and saw him wink. It wasn’t his typical flirtatious wink but more of a 'let me handle this' kind of gesture. He returned his gaze back to Lady Alice. "Actually, she's a rare one, so she really can't answer that question at the moment. But personally? I think she's charming in her own way regardless of her race." he said and leaned in to whisper at Lady Alice.
Whatever Nate had said, Lady Alice giggled, making me curious.
I grabbed Nate at the back of his coat and pulled him back. "What did you say to her?"
Nate only gave me an innocent smile which made me all the more curious. "Nothing."
"Princess Rose?" I shifted my attention from Nate to Lady Jay, who was looking at me hesitantly. And just by looking at her, I could tell that she wanted to ask me something. I smiled at her as I released my hold from Nate. "Yes?"
"Um...if you don't mind me asking, the ladies and I are just a bit curious about..." she hesitated and bit her lips as if what she was about to say was bad. And I feared that it might be some kind of rumor about me or something.
Great, a few minutes in the ball, and I'm already the talk of the night.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Well, it's optional whether you answer this or not...but....we're just curious...." She stopped and looked over at Nate before she pulled me towards her and led me to the other ladies, and they formed a protective circle around me.
"What's going on? Why are we in a circle? Are we playing a game or something?" I asked as I looked around, only to find myself surrounded.
"We just don't want Prince Nate to hear our conversation." Said Lady Honey and looked back towards Nate, who was cocking his head to the side as he looked at us.
"Why?"
"Because we wanted to ask you something that only us girls should hear." Added Lady Holly.
"Okay? What is it that you wanted to ask me?"
All the girls smiled at each other and giggled excitedly before looking back at me. Finally, Lady Sabrina spoke. "Who's your favorite prince?" she asked. Her question caught me off guard that I stared at her as if she grew another head.
"Say what?" I replied and scolded myself for saying that because it wasn’t formal.
"Living in a castle with five handsome and popular princes? Surely you find one of them attractive." Added Lady Jay.
"I...Uh...." I was out of words, and I couldn't seem to find my tongue. Fangirls. I just know it.
"Is it Prince Frederick?" Asked Sabrina. "I saw him putting an arm around you earlier while you guys were talking to Lady Rebecca and Lady Solace." Behind her, I saw the rest of the ladies leaving the other princes to join the conversation. Lady Alysha, Lady Kylie, Lady Solace, and Lady Rebecca joined the circle.
"What about that one twin? We saw you two talking comfortably earlier." Lady Alysha commented as Lady Kylie added.
"Yeah, the way you two talk seems like you two are well acquainted." The other ladies then nodded in agreement.
"That's true, but Prince Renevier is her escort. Surely that could mean something, right?" Inserted Lady Honey is making the girls have another argument. "Or was that Prince Dan?"
"So Prince Dan is the one wearing the cape, and Prince Renevier is the one without the cape?" Lady Jay asked and looked at me for confirmation.
"P-Prince Ren." I managed to say despite all the states.
"Did you say Prince Ren? Are you on familiar terms with him?" One of the girls said, and they all squealed excitedly.
"Girls, let's not forget about Prince Nathaniel. The way he pulled her towards him by the waist when she seemed nervous was pretty cute." Lady Holly pointed out, making a few girls giggle in excitement as they begged Lady Holly for details.
"What about Prince Ace?" Asked Lady Alice to make the girls stop and look at her as they processed her words.
"Yeah. They do seem close." Lady Solace wondered out loud and placed a finger at her chin. Lady Rebecca nodded in agreement with her. "I think so too. They were joking around earlier." I snapped my attention to the three girls, Solace, Alice, and Rebecca. My jaw dropped at their words. Are they serious? They really think we were joking?! We were practically biting each other's heads off!
I peeked behind them and saw, with dread, that the princes had gathered and were looking at us curiously. At least 4/5 of them are. My gaze quickly went towards Ren, Dan, and Nate. Werewolves and Vampires have sensitive hearing. My heart sank at the sudden realization, and I quickly turned towards the girl, panicking.
"Ladies, I think we best not discuss this right now, not when there is a chance of the princes hearing this conversation," I told them politely—hoping against hope that this might also end this discussion. Sadly, it didn't. Instead, Sabrina, Jay, and Holly smiled at me knowingly.
"We have already thought of that," Holly said and gave me a comforting smile.
"Yes, Princess. We have put a small amount of magic so they wouldn't hear our conversation." Added Jay while Sabrina winked at me and said, "The only thing they will hear is us talking about girly stuff like hairs and makeup."
I was staring at the three witches with my mouth slightly agape. Amazed at how well they had planned everything. They were beaming at me and waiting for me to say something. "W-What is it?" I asked nervously.
"You haven't told us your favorite prince! Who is it?"
My eyes darted from one face to another. They were looking at me with full attention as if they wanted to memorize everything I did. I gulp. "I- '' I started to say but stopped when I saw Lady Alice looking behind me and her eyes going wide in horror. She quickly nudged the girl beside her, Lady Rebecca, and pointed behind me. Lady Rebecca followed her gaze. Like Lady Alice, her eyes widened, and she made a shushing sound at all of us. Everyone didn't speak then.
I was about to open my mouth to ask them when I figured it out myself when I heard the voice behind me. "Excuse me, ladies." I turned 180 degrees and saw that the princes were now standing there in front of me. Fred nodded at me before looking at all the ladies. "I don't want to interrupt your conversations, but the banquet is about to start, and Princess Rose is needed to sit with the Queen." Behind me, I heard the ladies permitting him to excuse himself, and I wonder if life in this world is always about politeness and good gestures.
Fred stepped aside as he let Ren offer me his hand. I took it and let him lead me towards the table where the Queen and King are. I heard behind me for one last time as I saw that the ladies were grinning at me wickedly; some were even winking while the others were giggling in the background. I faced front again and thought, for a brief moment, how similar the ladies were with my friends back home. Hmm, I guess this world isn't as different from my world after all.
We were able to locate our table. It was round, and the King and Queen were already seated and waiting for us. Ren drew a chair out for me to sit in. The feast soon began, and our table was served food. Wines and other delicacies were on the table. Ren was sat on my left, while Nate was placed to my right. I caught his glance while eating and saw him smile approvingly at me since I didn't make a mess of my plate. In the room, there were just a few whispers. Soft music played in the background, adding to the charm of the meal. The cuisine was wonderful, far superior to what I normally have on my regular days at the palace.
The music then changed. It started to send waves through my skin because I already knew what was coming. The music was all too familiar for me, having played it every single day for the past week.
Men started to rise from their seats. Princes and Dukes that I am about to meet rose from their seats, made their way to the ladies and offered their hands. Fred, Nate, Dan, Ren, and Ace also got up from their chairs and began to spread out. Ren shifted his gaze towards me, offered me a smile, and reached out his hand for me to take and let him pull me up. The others did the same, and I watched as Fred, Dan, Nate, and Ace approached some ladies and offered them a dance. I saw Fred offering a hand to Lady Sabrina, who was a bit stunned at first but took his offer nonetheless. Nate used his charms and offered Lady Holly a dance in which she accepted. Dan had a smile plastered on his and said something to Lady Solace, making her laugh and offering her a dance in which she gladly took.
As for Ace...well....let me tell you that he neither smiles nor talks. He just stood there and stared at Lady Alice, making her uncomfortable. Finally, with a sigh, he offered his hand to her with a frown. And by some miracle, Lady Alice accepted his offer either because he was handsome or because she was scared of Ace. I'm betting on the latter part.
"Ready?" I looked up at Ren, smiled, then nodded. "Ready."
The floor was then gradually filled with gowns that swayed to the music and flowed throughout the room. Ren took me to the dance floor, where we synchronized in a waltz, which I later learned is a traditional type of dancing. We continued to sway with the others, one hand on his shoulder and his other on my waist.
"Having fun?" he asked me as we glided through the dance floor. My soft golden gown flows with each movement, and Ren always has to watch himself in case he might step on it.
Ren seemed to frown inwardly as we danced.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"My wolf is grumbling for some reason. I think it's broken."
I chuckled and thought for a moment."Hm, so far, so good. Nothing terrible has happened." I said and immediately frowned. "Well, almost. If you exclude my encounters with Ace."
"It's PRINCE." He corrected me and immediately caught himself. Wow, not saying Prince before Ace is getting to us. It's all that guy's fault.
I gave Ren a pointed look. "Don't get me started on the whole PRINCE thing, Ren," I warned him. He laughed in return. "It's not even funny!" I blew the stray strand that was covering my face. "Seriously, have you noticed him today? He seems a bit more cranky than usual."
Ren grinned. "Clearly, you're still ignorant of the politics in this world. He doesn't have a choice."
My eyebrows drew closer to each other in confusion. "Of course he has!" I argued. "He's a PRINCE!"
Ren almost choked on his laughter when the words left my mouth. "Princess, just because we're princes doesn't mean we have that much freedom." His gaze darted towards his brother, who pretended to weep when Lady Solace accidentally stepped on his foot.
What a loser.
His gaze shifted back to me. "Prince Ace doesn't have a choice because by not going to the ball, it will mean disrespect and showing dislike towards you."
"Um, I don't get you. Ace and I already hated each other. Why would he try to hide it by coming here?"
He looked away and sighed. I feel like it is going to be hard to explain. "In a ball, every family member must appear to show respect to the host of the ball or towards the person whom it is held for. In this case, since the ball is for you, we are showing you a sign of respect by coming here."
"But we're not family members. What does that have to do with anything?"
"But we are living under the same roof. And as the candidates for the next king, we give you our approval the moment we enter the room." He explained. "And because of that, you earned a huge reputation for getting 5/5." He grinned. "Congratulations!"
"Are you telling me that this is like some sort of test?"
"A test if you are deserving to be recognized by these nobles? Yes."
"I-" Before I could say anything more, it was already time to change partners. Ren gripped my hand and twirled me for the exchange. He twirled me once and handed me to the next guy.
"Don't you think Princess Rose and Prince Ren look cute together?"
I heard Dan saying something to one of the ladies, but I couldn't quite hear. They both chuckled one last time before switching partners. Dan unconsciously held his hand out to me, and I grabbed him.
"What were you guys talking about?" I asked once Dan, and I were in position. Dan looked surprised and looked down at me.
"Oh, you're my next partner? Interesting. You danced with the same face twice. It must be fate!"
I gave Dan a long and hard look before I glanced at the musicians. "I wonder when the next pair exchange will happen."
Dan let out a very long and dramatic gasp. "How dare you?" He accused me. "You even blew our cover. Telling the girls that Ren is not wearing a cape. It made it easier for them to distinguish us."
"I thought you guys want people to recognize you?"
Dan shook his head. "Tsk tsk tsk. I want them to recognize me because of my looks tonight. I want to hear something like, 'Isn't that twin with the cape more dashing than the one without?' THAT kind of recognition."
"Dan...You guys are a mirror of each other. It's your personalities that differ."
"You mean I am the more kind and adorable twin?"
"You're the annoying and insane twin." I deadpanned.
Dan suddenly slouched his shoulder and let out an insane laugh. "Because I know something that you don't." He said in a very creepy voice.
"What do you know?" I rolled my eyes.
Dan let out a menacing laugh. "Oh, Princess. We, beast men, can imprint on people to become our potential mate. There would be several signs of it for the beast men. The recipient only needs to accept the sender's feelings for them to become our mates."
"Thanks for the trivia?" I said. Unsure what a fool is talking about. Suddenly, the music was changing.
"Oops. Time to change pairs!" Dan called out. "Good timing. The weather here was getting dense. See ya!"
And with that, he aggressively twirled and pushed me away.