“Scared you’ll be rejected publicly?” Justin asked him.
“No,” Dylan answered, exaggerating the word immaturely. “The girl I’m interested in isn’t one for over-the-top gestures. She likes heartfelt stuff. I want it to be meaningful,” he told the table, pumping out his chest with pride at his thoughtfulness.
“That’s sweet, Dylan,” I told him, feeling slightly sorry for the boy as he was questioned and teased. He was making an effort, and it was charming coming from the over-exuberant puppy. “I hope she says yes.”
“Me too,” he smiled. “Anyway, you guys are just jealous you don’t have anyone to send an invitation to.”
“Maybe some of us are hoping to receive an invitation,” Jasper said.
“I second that,” Ana agreed, lifting her box of orange juice up high.
There was a sudden burst of cheering as a couple of servant students in golden blazers entered the café. The servant at the front carried a piece of black card with silver stars and writing that I couldn’t read from my seat. The servant behind her held a black tin decorated with gold and silver stars.
“That’s the first invitation,” Justin stated over the noise of excited students. “It’ll be chaos with this nonsense until the ball itself.”
I watched as the students in gold, House Halvorsen colours, walked through the café towards the large panoramic bi-folding, open doors that led to the outside tables.
They stopped beside a table, and I could clearly make out Lord Halvorsen as he stood from his seat and took the black and silver invitation from the girl that held it. I knew immediately what I was about to watch. I didn’t know she was already in the café. I hadn’t seen her arrive. I’d been too caught up in speaking with my friends that I wasn’t even aware of the time passing, of when I should have expected her.
He knelt beside the chair, where the Princess sat with her back to me, long waves of black hair perfectly falling over her shoulders. It was like a proposal. Although I could not hear their interaction, I knew when she accepted his invitation by the wave of cheering that followed. I watched as she stood, and he took her in his arms to kiss - producing more excitable cheering from the watching crowd.
It was too much. I couldn’t watch the display of happiness, of love, she put on with him. From where I sat, it was very convincing. She said she only wanted a political alliance with House Halvorsen. But she had kissed him at least twice that I knew of, she sought him out privately at the equestrian centre, she’d rather spend her time with him than me, and now she was allowing him to wrap her up in his arms and kiss her like she belonged to him.
I had to leave.
It was easy to slip away from the table. Everyone had already stood to get a better look at who was receiving an invitation. I would walk home. She would find me if she bothered to look. Either way, she had to come home herself eventually.
I didn’t care if she was upset with me for leaving the café without her. She hadn’t told me when she’d arrived. She obviously didn’t want my company right now.
“Percy!” I turned to see Dylan chasing after me, but decided to continue walking rather than stop for him. He reached me as I entered the grove that led to the royal residence halls and grabbed my upper arm.
“Percy, stop.” He breathed heavily.
“What do you want, Dylan?” I asked him. I wasn’t in the mood for him or another argument.
“Are you okay? Why’d you leave like that?” he asked, catching his breath.
“I didn’t want to be there,” I told him.
“Why?” he asked, letting go of my arm.
“You know why,” I accused. Wasn’t it obvious how much I cared for her?
“You love her,” he stated, his tone soft. It wasn’t an accusation, only a simple statement of fact.
“Yes,” I answered and felt my bottom lip wobble embarrassingly.
“Percy. You can’t love her,” he began.
“I can, and I do,” I told him defensively. Who was he to tell me who I could love?
“I didn’t mean it like that,” he sighed. “I mean, people like her, Percy, they don’t love like we do. All they care about is power and status and keeping bloodlines pure. You can’t love someone who can’t love you back,” he explained and looked at me with such sincerity and pity that his look physically stung me. I turned away from him.
What he said could be true. The Princess had told me she wanted a political alliance, that House Halvorsen was strong and capable. She didn’t want a soul match. If her mother hadn’t been murdered and she didn’t fear for her safety, she would never have come for me.
“But I can’t help it,” I told him. I couldn’t help loving her. When we were alone, she was different; she was funny, playful, kind, and caring. She treated me in a way that made me feel valued and special - like I was important to her. I’d never been so captivated by another person.
“You deserve better. You deserve someone that will love you back. You deserve someone that would put you first, always. Someone that would do anything for you, change the world if they had to,” he told me. I turned back to look at him as he took a step toward me and closed the space between us.