From my place on the balcony, the ball seemed small, irrelevant. Yet it was the largest gathering of kingdoms in years. Royals from all over the continent came to socialize and meet for everything from military meetings to courting. Though there where many, all eyes where on King Adrien of Gathe, the hosting kingdom. He had recently ascended the throne after his mother, the queen, died unexpectedly. Also the last of his bloodline, which was why he had taken the throne so young. He was now looking for a bride to rule beside him. All the ladies, of all ages, where eager to impress him, for his kingdom was the most powerful on the continent. They had conquered the most land, had a flourishing economy, and their bloodline had a powerful magic going back decades.

I was here as the Princess of Milsglade, the northern most and smallest kingdom of the continent. My parents and brother where busy keeping the peace with the constantly warring lords of our territory, so I had come only with my lady-in-waiting and lifelong friend, Beatrice.

The warm summer air billowed through my hair, further tempting me to stay forever just outside the ball. Sadly, I couldn’t stay forever. With an inhale of breath, I stepped into the crowded ballroom.

—————

I leaned against the far wall, away from the dance floor. These people where too close, the music too loud. Beatrice was somewhere in the crowd, probably courting some noble man or lady. All I wanted was to curl up on my couch in front of the crackling fireplace, maybe with a book and hot tea. Alas, alliances would be beneficial to Milsglade, and I was my responsibility as its single representative to form them.

I sighed. This party was like my brother’s voice, intolerable.

“Not enjoying the ball?” I jumped. I wasn’t even aware of the man that had slid up beside me. “Apologies, I didn’t mean to scare you. I can leave if you’d like?”

“No! No, it’s fine. I just didn’t see you.” I laughed nervously. Well, this was going great. My first shot at an alliance and I had already messed it up.

“Good.” He smiled at me. It was a warm smile, the kind that made you all warm and want to smile back. Which I did. “It’s quite stuffy in here, is it not?”

“Quite.” I agreed.

“You wouldn’t by chance like to escape this, would you? I know I would. It’s been a very long night.”

“I’d love to.” I said without a second thought. Why not? It could lead to a fine alliance. He outstretched his hand, leading me out a side door and into twilight lit gardens.

————-

“It’s so beautiful out here.” I said with amazement. I had never seen anything like it. Flowers of every color bloomed in the moonlight. At home our flowers where small survivors of our cold environment. They were pretty, but not like this. These flowers opened wide and reached for the sun like it was a long lost friend. Not to mention, the man’s eyes as I walked with him were an added bonus. He looked upon this garden with such love in his dark eyes.

“Yes. Few things in this world can match the beauty of these flowers.” He stole a glance at me. Butterflies erupted in my stomach. Was he talking about me? Did this mysterious man think I was beautiful? I quickly shut out those thoughts. I was here to make alliances, nothing else, I reminded myself. I looked away.

“I never got your name.” I asked asked as we rounded a bend that revealed blood red rose bushes.

“You can just call me Ad. And what would yours be?”

“Ismae. Princess Ismae Liefde of Milsglade.” ‘Ad’ seemed an odd name, but I didn’t question it.

“Ah, Milsglade. Not much is really known about your kingdom.”

“We prefer to keep to ourselves.” I responded.

“And are you here alone?”

A bite of pain crossed my heart. I loved my family, but I knew they had a duty, just like me. I steeled my heart with armor. “They had matters to attend to at home. It’s just me and my lady-in-waiting.” I couldn’t say much about those ‘matters’ which where the rebelling lords, that would give away weakness to possible enemies. But enemies was and odd word. Ad, and his warm smile and kind eyes, not to mention good looks, didn’t seem like the type to invade my kingdom. But you could never be to sure, so I didn’t say much. “What about your family?”

Sadness crossed his face, bit he quickly hid it. “It’s just me.”

He was so young, yet had already lost everyone? My heart ached for him. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. I’ve learned to come to terms with it.” His eyes said that even though he had accepted these losses, that didn’t make then any easier.

We walked in scilence for a bit, before the castle glowing castle came back into view. “Well, it seems like we’ve arrived back at the ball.” He said as we stoped before the side door we had originally emerged from.

“It seems we have.” Though we had just only met, I was saddend to be leaving him so soon. “We’ll have to do this again sometime, Ad.”

He smiled. “We will.” He handed me a rose I hadn’t notice him carrying. He must have picked it when we walked by the rose bushes. My heart fluttered. “For you, Ismae. It was nice walking with you.” He brought my hand to his mouth, kissed it tenderly, smiled at me warmly one last time, and walked off back into the ball.

I stood there for a while, calming my heart. Who was this man, Ad, and what had just happened? I could still feel the sparks of where he had kissed my hand pulsing through me. And that rose…… oh, it was almost too much. I felt as though I would combust this very moment. And the way he said ‘we will’ with such assurance in his voice…. I couldn’t wait for our next walk.

———————————

I really enjoyed writing this, so I hope you enjoyed reading it!!! And if you stayed to read the whole thing, thank you, because I know this is pretty long compared to what I usually write. Who knows, there might be a part 2 coming in the near future…..❤️❤️❤️