Flora walked down the hallway with Helia until they made it to the large oak doors, the entrance to Lynphea's grand ballroom.
The other girls and boys entered until it was time fore Flora's grand entrance.
"I GIVE YOU, HER ROYAL MAJESTY, CROWN PRINCESS FLORA MARIGOLD OF LYNPHEA, ESCOURTED BY COMMANDER OF HER MAJESTY'S ROYAL GUARD, SIR HELIA ACACIA." The announcer called down the guests.
Flora held her head high and descended down the marble stairs with her hand around Helia's arm.
All eyes were on her and she had to show them that she was a well-behaved princess who would be a good future leader.
Once the two of them made it down the steps, Flora felt a little better. She always worried she would trip and fall down the stairs in front of everyone.
People cleared the way as Helia and her walked through until they were standing in front of the king and queen sitting on their thrones.
Flora let go of Helia's arm and gave her parents a curtsy while Helia bowed. They both came up and Flora's parents gave them both a nod. Helia then took Flora's hand once again and started walking her out to the dance floor.
Both took their positions. It was a tradition of Lynphea for one of the royals to start off the first dance. The orchestra positioned themselves and soon they began the first notes of a waltz.
Helia knew how Flora got nervous about dancing in front of large groups of people. "Don't worry princess, just relax." He whispered in her ear as he took the lead.
Helia's words instantly comforted her and she quickly followed his steps. The two moves smoothly through the complicated steps, neither making a misstep.
Flora looked up at Helia. He looked like he was enjoying himself and relaxing but she knew the truth. He was constantly scanning the area, always on the alert for something out of the ordinary.
Soon the song ended and everyone applauded. The two separated and gave a bow/curtsy to one another. Helia took Flora's hand and kissed it. "You dance magically princess."
Flora blushed lightly but the moment was soon broken when a new song started and another man asked her to dance. Not wanting to be impolite she took the man's outstretched hand. The dance floor was soon crowded with people. Flora passed some of her friends on the floor. Sure to his word, Nabu was dancing with Aisha and she was smiling the whole time and so was Nabu.
Just by looking at the way that Nabu twirled Aisha, Flora could tell how much he loved her. Nabu had asked Aisha out about a year ago but Aisha was a little stubborn about it, after some persistence she finally admitted that she liked him too and they have been dating ever since.
The man spun Flora around and she then saw Riven leaning against a pillar. He didn't look too happy. He had a deep scowl on his face. Flora could only guess that he and Musa had some kind of fight. They bickered constantly but Flora knew that behind every fight and every comment was a lot of love. Musa just wasn't use to opening up to someone and Riven had trouble expressing his feelings. It would take some time but those two would figure things out.
Flora twirled around again and saw Bloom dancing with Sky and Stella with Brandon.
Those two couples were a lot alike. They weren't afraid to let the world know about how they felt for their significant other. Stella and Brandon were especially loud about their feelings while Bloom and Sky were a little subtler.
Flora continued dancing around the dance floor and then she spotted Timmy and Tecna. Those two were an interesting couple. They were standing next to each other but not talking face to face. They were more comfortable talking through their technology. But Flora knew better, behind the constant texts there was this strong bond between the two.
Flora had always wanted relationships like her friends. Something that didn't seem like it would truly work out but love kept them together and made things perfect. But she would never get the chance to experience it, instead she would spend the rest of her life with a stranger, only hoping that they could love each other or at least be friends.
The song soon ended and Flora gave her dance partner a curtsy. The man bowed and went on his way. Deciding it might be a good time for a break, Flora headed for where the food and drink were set on display.
"Having fun Princess?"
Flora was so startled she almost spilled her drink but caught it in the last minute. She turned around to see who was talking and she was surprised when she saw a man with long black hair tied in a ponytail, almost grayish skin, a scar over his left eye, and he was wearing a gaudy outfit of purple and black with feathers.
"Um…yes I am, thank you. How are you enjoying it sir?" Flora didn't know why but the man gave her the creeps.
"It's alright, a little to bright for my taste, but this ball isn't for me." He smiled and Flora and she wanted to cringe.
"I see."
"Well I must be off, hope to see you again soon your majesty." He then bowed and gave Flora's hand a kiss. She immediately wanted to wash her hand. She watched as the man walked away when she realized she didn't know his name.
"That was odd."
Flora turned and saw Helia standing next to her with a serious expression.
"Yes it was, I'm not sure who that man is but he sure does give me the creeps."
"I agree, I'm going to need to find out more about him."
"You can do that later, right now can we just have fun?"
Helia looked down at Flora and smiled. "Of course. Anything for you." He took her hand and they headed back to the dance floor. The song had changed to a slow paced song.
There was not much movement to this particular dance. The two people just swayed to the music. It was a chance for people to be close to their partner. Flora was more than happy that she would be able to dance it with Helia.
The two started to sway to the music slowly. Helia was holding Flora's right hand in his left and had his other hand placed on Flora's hip and she had her other hand on Helia's shoulder.
"What do you think of the ball so far?" He asked.
"I think its going pretty well. Nothing disastrous has happened."
"Be careful, you might as well just put a curse on us." Helia joked.
Flora giggled. "I just hope my parents don't make any crazy announcements."
Helia nodded, knowing exactly what Flora was talking about. "I've been keeping my eyes on the look out for anyone who might be your potential husband."
Flora made a face. "How about we stop thinking about him. Instead let's enjoy the evening. You don't always have to be on duty."
"You have that wrong. I'm always on duty. I don't want anything to hurt you."
Flora looked down, trying to hide her blush. Flora laid her head against Helia's chest. Feeling relaxed and happy with him. He always made her feel safe. She still did not believe that he had been in her life for two years. It feels like yesterday that she had met him.
Flashback
Flora was walking the grounds with her father and mother. The royal guard surrounded them as they walked. Flora had gotten use to the guards always being around and accepted them as part of her life for a long time. As her family was walking the grounds they came across the special Royal Guard training barracks. The Lynphea Army had their own training area, but this one was for the RG specifically. The Army's duty was to Lynphea, while the RG was to the royal family. Flora looked at all the men fighting. Some were using swords and shields while others were using special guns. One particular fight caught Flora's eye.
There was a group of five men, all of them were surrounding one dark haired man.
"Mother look over there." Flora pointed to the group of men.
"Oh my. That poor young man."
Cordatorta smiled. "Don't you worry your highness."
All of us watched as the five men started their attack.
The dark haired man dodged a barrage of attacked from a blonde swordsman. The dark haired man jumped out of the way before a sword sliced him and then it looked like strings came out of his glove. While the blonde was trying to get his sword out of the ground the dark haired man used his glove to tie the blonde up. The now tied up blonde fell to the ground and the dark haired man took his sword. He used it to block two other men with their swords, one with red hair and the other man with brown. He pushed them back and then went on the offense. Swinging the sword each way, keeping the other two men on their toes. The barrage would have continued if some sort of magic didn't stop the dark haired man's stolen sword.
Flora looked and saw another man with braids using what looked like a magic scepter to hold the sword away from their opponent. He was chanting some kind of spell.
It seemed, though, that the dark haired man expected this and did not hesitate as he used his string glove to grab the magician's scepter. He pulled it away and took it in his hand. The man then started to chant himself and took away the other mens' swords, leaving them defenseless. He once again used his string gloves and tied the men up. The braided man tried to get is scepter back by going against the dark haired man in hand to hand combat but he was no match and he too was tied up. The only other man left was a scawny boy with a disc gun. The dark haired man came running at the gunman. He panicked and started shooting his disc. The other man jumped and dodged the discs. He then kept running when he suddenly ducked and slid under the gunman and he used his string glove and wrapped it around on the gunman's legs and brought him to the ground. He stood up and wiped his uniform off and looked at all of his defeated opponents.
He turned when he saw people applauding him, three of them being the royal family.
King Asher walked up to the man and patted him on the back. "That was magnificent young man. You have true talent and skill. Please tell me your name son."
The man bowed. "My name is Helia Acacia, your highness. And your praise is greatly appreciated."
"That was impressive Helia. You have the skill of a man who has been on the battlefield many times but yet you are so young." The queen said.
"Thank you your majesty. Many thanks goes to my uncle for my skills in fighting."
Cordatorta walked over and patted Helia on the back as well. "The famous Sir Saladin."
"Saladin you say. Why he was a wonderful guard." The queen smiled. "I did not know his grandson was in the royal guard."
"I'm not part of the guard just yet your majesty. I'm only trying out."
"Well I think I saw more then enough to pass you with flying colors. In fact, that little demenstartion gives me enough confidence to name you commander of my darling daughter's royal guard."
Everyone around the king had a look of shock on their face.
"Sir, are you sure? I am not saying that Helia is not qualified but to make him commander…" Cordatorta tried to reason with the king but he put his hand up which silence the general.
"You yourself just said he is qualified. I just saw his skill and was impressed and as you know general that is not easily done. Not to mention that he is the grandson of one of Lynphea's best generals. My decision will be final."
Helia took a deep bow. "I am truly honored your highness. I feel that I am unworthy of this honor but I will do all that is in my ability to keep the princess safe."
"That's what I like to hear. We will take care of the formalities some other time, for now why don't you get to know the princess." King Asher turned to his daughter. "Come forward Flora and meet Helia."
Flora slowly walked through the small gathering and curtsied to Helia. "It's a pleasure to meet you Helia and I look forward to having you as my guard."
At that time, one of the first things that Flora thought was how cute Helia was with his dark hair and bright eyes.
Helia bowed and kissed Flora's hand. "No princess, it is my pleasure to meet you and I am honored to stand as your guard and put my life on the line for you."
"We will let you two get to know each other while we finish our stroll." With that, everyone followed the king as he walked off.
Flora looked at the ground, to bashful to start the conversation.
"If you don't mind me asking your majesty, who else is on your Royal Guard?"
"Oh! A…well…actually…that would be all the guards that you had just beaten." Flora pointed to the men who were getting untied and cleaning themselves off. "Their names are Sky, Brandon, Timmy, Nabu, and Riven."
"Well this is going to be awkward."
The two shared a laugh.
"It might be a little bit. Good luck with Riven, especially, he is what we call extremely grouchy and a poor sport."
"I'm sure we will work things out. So princess, would you like to walk around with me so I can get to know you better." Helia took a bow.
Flora smiled. "That would be lovely."
And from that point on Helia and Flora quickly became friends. They realized that they had a lot in common. They both loved nature and thought that fighting should be used at a last resource. Flora couldn't imagine her life without him in it. He was more then the commander of her guard he was her best friend.
"Are you okay Flora?"
Flora broke out of her trance and looked up at Helia. He had a concerned look on his face. That was when Flora realized that the dance had ended. She quickly pushed herself off of Helia when she saw a few people giving them stares.
"I'm quite alright. Thank you for a lovely dance." She gave Helia a curtsy.
Helia smiled, seeing Flora back to normal and bowed back. "The pleasure is mine."
Flora walked through the crowd to grab herself a drink.
As she was sipping her punch, she couldn't help but overhear some young women talking.
"Isn't that Helia soooo cute?"
"I know. He's so strong and handsome. A knight in shining armor."
"He is getting pretty old. He should be looking for a wife soon."
"Oh I hope it's me. We would look so good together."
The group started to giggle.
Flora felt a surge of jealousy coming over her. She couldn't imagine Helia with any of those silly girls. He needed someone with character, someone sweet, passionate, and kind. Not some girl that stood around gossiping.
"Get a hold of yourself Flora, Helia is his own man, and a smart one at that. When he does get married it will be someone perfect."
But for some reason that didn't make Flora feel any better.
Flora was broken from her thoughts when she heard the announcer calling everyone to be quiet. Once there was silence everyone turned to where the King and Queen were standing in front of their thrones.
"HELLO EVERYONE, I HOPE THAT YOU ARE ENJOYING THE BALL." There was amount of clapping from the crowd. "THERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT WE ARE CELEBRATING TONIGHT. THE FIRST BEING THAT MY WIFE AND I HAVE JUST FOUND A NEW ROYAL ADVISOR, AND HE HAS ARRIVED TONIGHT."
"Royal Advisor? How come my parents haven't told me about this before?"
"LET ME INTRODUCE SIR RADCLIFF."
A man made his way though the crowd and walked up to stand next to the king and shake his hand.
Flora gasped. It was the creepy man that Flora had seen earlier at the drink table.
Radcliff turned to the crowd. "I LOOK FORWARD TO HELPING LYNPHEA PROSPER AND BECOME THE GREATEST KINGDOM WE HAVE EVER KNOWN." The crowd applauded but Flora did not. There was something about him that she did not like. Even his smile gave her the creeps. She made a note to talk to her parents about him later.
"AND NOW FOR MY NEXT ANNOUNCEMENT, AS YOU ALL KNOW, MY LOVELY DAUGHTER IS NOW EIGHTENN AND WILL EVENTUALLY TAKE OVER THE CROWN."
"Oh god, he's going to announce it to everyone."
"BUT SHE WILL NOT BE ALONE IN THE GREAT RESPONSIBILITY. FLORA CAN YOU COME HERE PLEASE."
Flora made it through the crowd and went and stood next to her father as he went on with his speech.
"WE HAVE WONDERFUL NEWS THAT CROWN PRINCESS FLORA IS NOW ENGAGED!"
The crowd broke out into murmurs. Everyone wondering who the person was.
"NOW, NOW, EVERYBODY PLEASE BE QUIET FOR LET ME INTRODUCE YOU ALL TO THE FUTURE KING OF LYNPHEA…."
