ARTHUR
“H-HOLY crap…”
Captain Alan was the first to break the silence.
The chandeliers glowed in the ballroom. Gold and gems glittered on gowns and around limbs, the white marble blinding under the lights. My mind was spinning amid the sweet perfumes, the crowd’s excitement…and that red dress. I couldn’t manage to close my mouth, convinced I was dreaming.
“She looks lovely…” Vice Captain Eric murmured, entranced by the princess’s elegant dancing. I fared about the same.
None of us could look away from Princess Pride and the man she was dancing with. She’d looked gorgeous already, dancing up there with Stale. I was pretty sure I hadn’t blinked the entire time. As her imperial knight, I’d watched her dance with people before…yet every time, she stole my breath away all over again.
I couldn’t contain my awe. “Yeah, she’s amazing…”
She’d moved on to her next partner after Prime Minister Gilbert—someone I’d never seen dance before. I was starting to wonder if the whole thing really was a dream after all.
Princess Pride twirled when her partner lifted his arms, her bright-red dress fanning out around her. He supported her through a dip, drawing a cheer from the crowd before he pulled her back to her feet. I could have watched them dance forever.
“Commander Roderick’s actually doing really well,” Captain Callum said. “Vice Commander Clark too.”
He’d left the rest of the guests to join us knights, and we all nodded in agreement. Princess Pride was dancing with my dad, the commander, while Tiara was partnered up with Vice Commander Clark.
My heart nearly leaped out of my chest when the princesses first approached our group. I’d assumed Princess Pride would choose Captain Callum, but I had offered my hand like the rest, even though it almost killed me to do so. Thankfully, they’d chosen Dad and Clark. The crowd cheered at that, just as they had for Leon. Dad’s eyes widened, like he thought this was some sort of joke. Clark just smiled and gave Dad a light shove before heading onto the dance floor himself.
Stale joined them with Seneschal Vest’s wife. His eyes flitted from Dad to me, and he chuckled. The last thing I ever expected was to see Princess Pride dancing with my own father. Not only that, but Dad and Clark were both amazing dancers!
Sure, they’re both a little cultured, but neither of them have ever danced in front of us! Why the hell does it have to be them?!
At least, that was what I thought at first, but the more I watched their incredible dancing, the less I fretted. Dad and Clark were perfectly in sync. It was like watching the same person dance with two different partners. They matched Stale’s pace as they led Princess Pride and Tiara through their steps. The princesses seemed to be enjoying themselves, and Clark was having a ball too. Even Dad cracked a grin.
Princess Pride chatted with Dad as they danced, just as she had with the other guests. I couldn’t hear a thing over the music, but whatever Dad said made her shake her head, expression shifting from a half-hearted smile to pleading. Then she even blushed a little.
Before I could guess why, her face went stiff. Had Dad scolded her? But soon after, she smiled and said something that had Dad furrowing his brow suspiciously. He twirled Princess Pride in her bright-red dress—and suddenly all the questions building up in my head vanished.
When the dance ended, they smiled at each other, hand in hand, and bade each other farewell. The whole thing seriously had to be a dream.
Dad bowed to Princess Pride, then joined Clark in heading back to us. Princess Pride and Tiara were following them, so I knew it was probably Captain Callum’s turn. All the guys offered their hands as the princesses approached. Although they knew they weren’t going to be picked, just attempting to attract the notice of the princesses was enough to make their palms sweaty, same as m—
Princess Pride took my hand. “Shall we dance?”
My breath fled as she looked me straight in the eye and smiled warmly. A murmur rippled through the crowd as my eyes boggled. Even when she gave my hand a squeeze, I didn’t take a single step forward, still struggling to parse her words. She wrapped her other hand around mine and tugged me toward her.
“It’ll be all right! Just leave it all to me,” she said.
There was no resisting Princess Pride. Her hands, her words, and her smile conspired to draw me in, convincing me to move. We walked under the bright lights, but I couldn’t look at anything but her. The sound of our shoes clacking on the marble floor echoed in my head. My eyes were glued to our overlapping hands as the fire rushing into my face scorched away every other thought.
Once we reached the center of the ballroom, she changed her grip. Our palms met, the warmth of her skin lapping against mine. I couldn’t speak, but Princess Pride placed her other hand on my shoulder—her gentle touch sending my blood pressure to deadly levels.
“Follow my lead,” she told me.
Her soft voice drained every thought from my mind except one: I can’t embarrass her. I focused on that singular ambition as I squeezed Princess Pride’s hand and placed my other hand on her waist. The smooth fabric of her dress hugged every contour of her body. My heart jolted violently against my ribs.
As the music began, we swept into our first steps. I matched her movements, dredging up past dance practices in my mind. But I was still terrible compared to everyone she’d already danced with. While the thought was sobering, it at least allowed me to raise my eyes from the floor.
Stale was partnered up with a young noblewoman, one I didn’t recognize, while Tiara danced with Captain Alan. I’d stood next to him throughout the whole party, yet I hadn’t even realized he was on the dance floor with me. He looked a little nervous, but was holding his own pretty well.
“You’re so good at this, Arthur,” Pride said. “Have you danced before?”
Pride’s kind words snapped me out of my daze. I rejected her compliment, muttering that knights received the bare minimum in etiquette training when we joined the main forces. “But it’s my first time dancing with someone like this…”
My first dance was with none other than Princess Pride. I couldn’t possibly ask for a better partner. When the knights taught me, I assumed I would never use this skill; now I could’ve fainted from the relief of knowing I had the basics down.
“You’re doing amazing for your first time.”
Her Highness lifted my arm and twirled beneath it. Up close, her beauty dazzled me, blinding me with her radiance. She could probably hear my heart pounding in my ears… The embarrassment of it nearly killed me. Internally, I screamed at my body to calm the hell down.
“See? That’s great!”
She smiled and heaped on the praise even though she was obviously the one leading me. I merely had the privilege of gazing upon her gorgeous face, putting my hands on her body, and watching her twirl. I was so flushed with joy, I could have died on the spot.
In fact, I was so captivated by her, I realized I’d totally forgotten to respond. I tried to focus but flailed instead. She stared up at me expectantly as we swayed.
Damn, I was being rude. Just as that thought struck me…
“You’re so cool, Arthur,” she said with a giggle, another lovely smile blooming on her lips.
My heart erupted and my fingers stiffened. I nearly jerked to a halt, feeling like I was on fire. I couldn’t deal with my body’s betrayal in a place like this. I kept my feet moving out of pure reflex while I struggled to get my mind in order. She spoke to me from so close, our bodies pressed together, lost in a secluded world where I was the only one allowed to touch her. Those feelings threatened to devolve into burning desire if I couldn’t rein them in.
Princess Pride didn’t notice. “When Tiara finalized her plan for this event, I knew I wanted to dance with you no matter what.”
She said such unbelievable things with a giant grin on her face. Someday, that habit of hers would burn me to a crisp.
“How come?” I choked out.
The princess spun and said, “I mean…” She landed in my arms, and her smile turned teasing. “I want to show off my incredible knight to the whole world.”
Her beauty suffocated me. I locked my knees to keep from collapsing, but I was so dizzy that I couldn’t even make out her expression anymore. Even if she was just being polite, to hear I’d become a knight she was proud of nearly overwhelmed me with joy. I wanted to cry. I was just so happy to be her knight.
She was so important to me. I yearned to pull her into an embrace.
“I think…you’re incredible too.”
It took an effort to wrench those words from my lips. Serving as her knight was the honor of a lifetime. Knowing she was proud of me, I could hold my head up high for the rest of my days.
Princess Pride squeezed my hand tenderly. Sparks shot up my arm, burning me from fingertips to shoulder. We swayed together until the music wound down. She lingered in my arms, beaming at me. If this was only a dream, I prayed I would never wake up.
Regrettably, the music stopped. Princess Pride and I bowed to each other. The crowd applauded, reinforcing the idea that this was all some sort of crazy dream.
“Thank you, Arthur.”
I should’ve been thanking her, but she beat me to the punch. I wrestled control over my tongue to reply, “Thank you very much.” With that, Princess Pride gave me one last wave goodbye.
Once I regrouped with the other knights, Princess Pride finally began her dance with Captain Callum. Tiara took Vice Captain Eric. The crowd stirred, recognizing what an honor it was for the princesses to choose every attendee from the royal order.
My chest hummed with warmth as Princess Pride led Captain Callum to the dance floor. I was simply far, far too happy to be that woman’s knight.