WOO! Fast update! Within the same hour...? I dunno. I felt that I couldn't just leave you guys with only the last chapter, especially when I haven't updated in months...
Anyways, this chapter finally gets into a little action!
The prince and princess made their way from the table, and into the forest. Their steps landed softly across the soft soil of the path they walked on. When far enough from their parents, to the point where they can faintly see them, Ness found this the perfect time to talk.
"..." Ness continued walking, but looked at her while doing so. Being looked at, Paula looked back at the boy. Their gaze met, and stayed.
Find something to talk about... Ness thought. "Nice garden, isn't it?" He smiled genuinely at her. Even though their meeting was forced, and they're destined to be 'together', Ness wanted to make the best out of this moment. He wanted to make friends with her, this is probably the first chance he's ever gotten to make a friend, at least, with someone his age. This moment was special to him.
Being encouraged by his smile, Paula smiled back. "Yes, it is. I like all the flowers, they are very pretty...!" She tried harder to speak with more courage.
"You like them?" Ness thought about that. "Hey... by any chance do you want to pick any?"
Paula looked at him with surprise. "Your mother will not get mad?"
"Not really, she won't even notice a few are gone. I mean, have you seen this garden? It's huge!" exclaimed Ness. Paula giggled.
"Well, if you say so!" Paula then let go of Ness' hand, and set off. Momentarily, she skipped, but then stopped and resumed regular walking. She looked over at Ness, who followed. "Oops, I'm sorry..."
"For what...?" Ness said in confusement.
"Skipping..."
"Uh, is that supposed to be a bad thing, or...?"
"Nn, my parents always tell me to stop that, and that young, mature women don't skip. It really saddens me sometimes..." she said.
"I know that feeling," Ness emphasized. "Parents, especially if they're king and queen of the land, don't let you do much..."
Paula began picking flowers, and gathered them in her hands. "Ugh, I know! All I've ever wanted was to make friends! But no, my parents say that royalty can't be friends with commoners." She pouted.
Ness' eyes widened. "Hey... me too!"
"You want to see what it's like on the outside too?" Paula looked at him in amazement. "I always thought I'd be the only one in the royal family to ever think that way!"
"I also thought that way too!" Ness smiled brightly. Finding someone else that felt the same way as him brought comfort to him. He even felt somewhat thankful. In the process of thinking that, he bent down and picked out a pretty white flower. Carefully, he tucked it in between Paula's ear.
"But I guess I'm the not the only one anymore," he told her. The girl blushed heavily, but giggled.
"I guess not!" She laughed. Ness joined in. Nothing was funny. But the pure fact that they could relate on a somewhat deep level brought happiness to them. From that point, they ventured even deeper into the garden and spent their time talking together, getting to know each other better. At first, Ness thought he'd have to like Paula because they were going to get married anyway, but now... their relationship together was truthful. Maybe Ness would get to like her after all, and become friends. Before they knew it, 45 minutes flew by like seconds as they went through the garden.
"Princess Paula!" a distant voice called.
"Prince Ness!" another voice called.
The two looked stopped in their tracks and looked at each other.
"Who's that?" asked Ness.
"I think our parents are calling us." Paula listened carefully. "A voice sounds similar to my mother's."
"Oh," Ness said, hiding his disappointment. "We should get back then."
With that, Ness led Paula back through where they have came. He knew this garden like the back of his hand, no way he could ever get lost in there. This garden counted as one of the places he'd go to for alone time, just to think about things. So without trouble, the two made it back to their parents, who were standing next to the table. The silent butler was gathering the dishes onto a tray, and bringing them back into the castle.
Immediately, as if having to, Paula and Ness went their separate ways, and stood near their parents. The adults looked at their child, and smiled.
"So... Ehem... How'd it go?" Ness' mother whispered to him.
Ness couldn't help but smile back. "She's really nice, and fun to be around with!"
The mother nodded satisfyingly at that, and looked at her husband, who was biting his nails. She secretly gave him the thumbs up, which caused the king to give a sigh of relief. The king smiled in achievement, feeling as if he made Ness feel better indirectly.
The queen of Polestar cleared her throat. "Ehem, well, it'd be in all truth when I say that this brunch was magnificent! The food and scenery were simply marvelous! And what good character you rulers of this kingdom have! Especially... your son's," she compliments. She talked with her daughter as well, about her time with the prince. The woman looked over to Ness, who politely smiled back.
"Oh no no no! It was a pleasure to have you guests over!" The king remained modest. He was just about to continue on, when the butler arrived to his side. The butler showed him his pocket watch.
"Sir, the time has come. There is work to be done," he reminded him.
"Ah, yes! Almost forgot about that. Thank you," the king replied. That was when he made an announcement. "My dear guests, I greatly appreciate the time you have spent to come over for this little visit. However, now, we must return to our work."
The Polestar king nodded. "We understand. We also have things of our own."
"Agreed. Come, now. We have an escort here for you." The king gestured to a man. The man bowed, and signaled them to follow him. The three set forth, and followed, waving goodbye to the remaining people.
However, before they left, the queen turned around and gave the Eagleland rulers a warm smile. "I cannot wait for the ball tonight!" Then she turned, and left.
Afterwards, Ness and his parents nodded at each other, as if they've finished a hard, yet, rewarding task. Then they, too, went their separate ways. The queen had to finish her work on the ball, directing everyone and making sure everyone had something to do. As for the king, he had his day filled with constant paperwork, and keeping the village on track, making sure his kingdom had everything it needed. And lastly, Ness. Even a prince of Eagleland has things to do of their own. Such as being home-schooled (they were canceled the past few days), practicing the arts (Ness is advanced in playing the piano, and certain sports), and having to learn the history of Eagleland and its traditions that are not to be forgotten.
The clock striked 7:00 p.m. The sun faded away, as the moon and stars were beginning to take its rightful place in the dark sky.
"Make him dazzle! Shinier, shinier, shinier!" The brunette from this morning, insisted. "This morning was just the warmup, now it's the BIG TIME!"
"I'm trying, I'm trying!" shouted the blonde.
"Ow, ow, OW! You pinched my arm! I'm sensitive there...!" complained Ness, in a nice way.
Right now, the two ladies were refreshing Ness' neatness that he had this morning, as well as adding slight improvements to his look that they came up with.
"Sorry! I am just getting a little, fidgety about your looks. We all know who the blame will go to if you show up looking like you haven't got a servant in the world!" the brunette told him. Ness just nodded on and dealt with it. About 15 minutes later of careful checking, making sure there was no flaw on the prince, they gave each other the thumbs up, and faced Ness towards a mirror.
"What do you think?" asked the blonde.
Ness examined himself, posing often. "I like it! Thank you, ladies. You sure know how to beautify people," he compliments.
They giggled.
"Oh, no problem! We are happy to assist you on your special day!" said the brunette. "Now, run along, Your Royal Highness!"
"No, wait!" The blonde quickly dug into her pocket and took out a golden chain bracelet. It had a simple decoration. A thin, yet, strong golden chain and a plate that connected to it. On it was engraved, "I believe in you, Ness."
"...What's that?" the boy asked.
"For you. Your father wanted me to deliver this to you."
Ness scoffed. "Keep it. I don't need it." He was just about to turn and leave, until the blonde stepped in front of him.
"Your Royal Highness, please. Just take it." She looked at him with sorrowful eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Ness replied, "...Fine. I'm not going to wear it though." He rudely snatches it out of her hands and sighs. "What does my dad think? A small little trinket will just get me to forget everything that's happened? No, it won't," he says to himself, then leaves.
He strolled down the halls without haste, toward the location of the ballroom. In the meanwhile, he held the bracelet. It felt like trash in his hands. Something that he would never, ever wear. Its mere presence pained him. So before he actually went to the ballroom, he took a little trip to a nearby trash can. There, he dangled the golden chain above it.
My dad really doesn't understand anything, does he? Ness asked himself. Then he decided to drop it into the wastebasket. However, he didn't. His hand shook in the process, but it wouldn't release the bracelet.
C'mon... c'mon... Ness tried opening his palm, but it still didn't. Why can't I let it go?
He put in a few more seconds to try and throw it away. But no matter what he did, his body and mind rejected his wish to let it go.
Damn it! Forget it! Ness cursed, gripping the bracelet tightly in his hands. He shoved it deep into his right pocket and made his way to the ballroom. Passing through the rather barren hallways (excluding the guards that never moved), he finally made it. Taking a gulp before he entered the ballroom, he slowly opened the door and went inside.
As expected, no one was there, except for his parents, who were sitting at their throne. He walked up to them, and took his throne that was to the right of his dad, also. In front of the throne was a red carpet for people to walk on. However, despite the space it takes within the ballroom, it barely put a dent in the space remaining.
"Hello, son," the king greeted, smiling at Ness. Ness turned his head and looked at his dad with a blank expression, and then turned back without saying anything. A little hurt by that, the father turned to his wife and whispered to her. "He doesn't seem as happy as he was this morning..."
The mother looked over at Ness, who had his elbow on the armrest and leaned his cheek against his hand. Then her gaze went back to her husband. "I really think it is just you. I'm telling you... just talk it out with him!"
The father immediately brushed off the idea. "No, no... Maybe a little more time is what he needs, with his betrothed!" He smiled to his wife, who shook her head in disappointment.
"I'm telling you..."
"Everything will be alright, I promise. Everything will patch itself up, right?"
The wife looked at her husband's hopeful face, and nodded out of sympathy. "No- well... maybe."
That was enough to give the king the courage to continue on. "Then Ness will be the finest prince there ever was!"
The queen sighed. "You still do not get the point..."
He tilted his head. "What do you mean, dear? That is the point! To make Ness the greatest prince ever!"
She shook her head another time. "No, no, no! What matters is Ness' happ-"
"Your Highnesses." An armored guard stood on the red carpet in front of them. All three of their attention went to him. "The clock reads 7:30 p.m. We shall be letting the guests in now."
The wife composed herself. "Yes. Thank you for the reminder. Dismissed."
He bowed, and went off to open the gate. From there on, once the gate opened, people started coming inside. Nobles and commoners. Usually, commoners don't come to many balls, but this is one. This ball honors Ness and his betrothed. Commoner or not commoner, everyone should know who their future queen will be. However, there are some rules though. Commoners will only enter through the doors on the side of the ballroom. Nobles will have the treatment of walking down a set of huge and wide stairs that are in the middle of the side doors. In addition, commoners also have to look the part. They can't just show up in rags. Suits/tuxedos and dresses only. And the age range is 12 and above, in exception to certain conditions. A four year old can come, but they have to be well behaved. A ball was not a party, it was a classy celebration.
There was also another nick in coming to a ballroom celebration. The first to come inside are the commoners. Next, are the nobles. It came this way so that the commoners could stand to the side as the nobles are announced, and are coming down the stairs.
Here comes the boring part... Ness thought. And it was. From this point, he has to remain in his seat until everyone has entered the ballroom. What made it even worse for him is that he can't lean or slouch in public. Strong and composed is what he had to look like.
More and more people filled in the ballroom. Loads of commoners dressed neatly in the required attire, stood tall and strong. Dresses of many colors and suits of powerful, dominating colors took up the room. They chatted as more and more of them came inside. Some were either sitting down at the tables, or standing. No one was allowed to get food/drinks or dance yet until everyone was here, and the announcements were made.
Long and plentiful minutes have been killed, and ended the arriving of commoners. Next came the nobles.
A man with a clipboard stood at the top of the stairs. He took the trumpet he was currently holding, and blew into it. This caught the attention of everyone.
"Everyone!" he boomed. "Now honoring the nobles of this kingdom!"
All in the room clapped as the first noble came into sight. He was tall with broad shoulders, and a fit body. Next to him was his wife, whose hand he was holding.
"Mr. Clementine, the duke and head of the military! His wife, Mrs. Clementine!" the announcer shouted. Everyone clapped and cheered for the two, as they elegantly walked down the wide stairs. Then they walked down the red carpet as well, bowing to the king and queen. Afterwards, they were free to take a spot in the ballroom for more upcoming nobles. The same thing continued, and with each and every one, the announcer checkmarked their name to assure their attendance.
Throughout the whole thing, the king and queen kept their fortitude and patience. They were used to it. After all, they have been through this type of routine a bunch of times. As for Ness...
Please just end already...! he begged internally. However, his facial expression remained calm and content, to assure no one could read what he was actually thinking about this whole thing.
After a torturing half an hour later, everything was almost done when the final guests arrived. However, they weren't just guests... it was the Polestar rulers.
"Everyone! The special guests! The king and queen of the Polestar kingdom!" the man shouted, not needing to catch everyone's attention, for it was already on them. Each and every one. "And the young, beautiful, Princess Paula!"
All of a sudden, Ness' blank gaze turned alive again. He looked over to the top of the stairs, to see his friend, Paula, walking down.
The three made their way to bottom of the stairs, then down the red carpet like all the other nobles did. Except their arrival was more acknowledged by everyone. Quiet whispers and chatters about them went about the spectating crowd.
As soon as they were in the front of the rulers of Eagleland, the ones at the throne rose. Face-to-face, they bowed to each other, showing their equality of their ranks in nobility. In doing so, Paula threw a friendly smile at Ness, who returned one back. When that was over, Ness and Paula stood in front of the entire audience of the ballroom, joined hands, and held it up.
The announcer that stood at the top of the stairs came down and towards the group of the highest nobles that were near the throne area. He rose his head high, and in the loudest and strongest voice he could muster, he yelled, "The wonderful nobles and hardworking subjects of this land, this kingdom. Here, I welcome you, Prince Ness and Princess Paula! The future rulers of Eagleland!" Those words echoed throughout the whole room.
At first, no one made a sound. That is, until one clap was heard, and more and more built up into a thundering group of claps. Cheers and whistles surfaced also. Because of that, a smile Ness tried to hold back came across his face, along with Paula. Seeing the happy look on his son's face, Ness' father couldn't help but smile too.
"Congratulations, prince!" someone shouted.
"A wonderful queen, she'd make!" another went.
"We believe in you, Prince Ness!"
Ness' smile only deepened. Especially at that last shout out. He had hoped to himself that his subjects would believe in him, and maybe, just maybe they did. Ness felt as if an unknown weight has been lifted from his shoulders as the celebration continued on.
"And in honor of this celebration," the announcer read off of his clipboard, "the first dance goes to the new couple!"
All clapped and cheered once again, as Ness led Paula to the center of the ballroom, where everyone spaced out to make a huge space in between. Nervous than ever, the two joined hands. All eyes were on them now, as the orchestra that took up one corner of the room, played a gentle song.
"U-Uh, N-Ness?" Paula whispers to him, completely terrified. "W-What dance are we d-doing again?"
Ness stood there, staring blankly back. "...Uh." He was just as nervous as she was, but was more capable of hiding it.
"Oh my god..." Paula came to the conclusion that Ness didn't know, or either forgot.
"Wal- WALTZ!" he whispered loudly. That was one that he could remember. "Let's just do that one! I'm leading, just follow what I do."
With that, the two rearranged their hand connections. Slowly, they started off. Counting in beats, Ness led her around gracefully. Jittering a little, Ness messed up at times, but soon picked it up before anyone could notice he has. As for Paula, she almost stepped on Ness' shoes a few times. Other than that, everything was good. A few fantastic twirls were here and then, with a little fun and free movements. The people stared confusingly at the two, trying to figure out what they were dancing. The only conclusions they deduced it to was that they either were dancing an unknown dance, or a really improper version of the waltz. Even so, it didn't look as bad, and the spectating crowd still cheered at their highest when they finished.
Bowing to everyone, Ness and Paula gave a sigh of relief.
"Thank god that's over..." whispered Ness.
"I know... I felt like my cheeks were about to explode," Paula added in.
"Explode? Explode from what?"
Paula's blush that was trying so hard to fade away, returned. "Oh, you know! From the crowd. They were watching us and stuff..." She averted eye-contact.
"Oh! Yeah, me too. But I was more terrified than embarrassed," he admitted. "That was the first time I've danced in front of basically everyone."
From that point, they stopped their conversation when they saw their parents coming forth. They smiled to everyone who were still cheering, and quieted them down.
"This concludes the first dance!" Ness' mother shouts. "Thank you everyone! You are free to enjoy yourselves for the remainder of this celebration!"
Louder and vulgar cheers than usual finally erupted from the commoners, rather than the nobles. However, the nobles didn't let that bother them. They understood perfectly that tonight was the night to have fun and celebrate. If they didn't have the reputation and class to keep up, they'd probably join in with them. So with that, they all went to their own business. Some stood to the sides chatting, some went over to the food table to pile up layers of food on their plate that they could take back to the tables to eat, and some started to crowd the ballroom dance floor for a couple dance.
While that went on, Ness, Paula, and their parents gathered around near the throne area, where no one was allowed near.
"That... er... you two dance very well?" the queen of Polestar asks, rather than states. The rest looked at the both of them, telling them the same thing in their minds.
"We can explain!" Paula says. "We were just so nerv-"
"We were waltzing!" Ness interrupts. "I call it, 'The Waltz... With Improvisions'."
The four adults stood staring. Paula looked away and kept her giggles in.
"Well that was some dance. Where'd you learn it from?" asked his father.
"Me, myself, and I," Ness answered back. From there, Paula and Ness bursted out in laughter.
"Watch out, he's a professional!" Paula added sarcastically. That only tempted the two to laugh more.
"No no, I'm not the professional here." Ness pointed at Paula. "I mean, she is the one who is advanced in almost stepping on someone's shoes."
Paula gave him a look of triumph. "Well I simply do try my best! But what about you? You're great at messing up a few beats at times." She stared at Ness with a serious face, who had one on too.
"..." They stared angrily at each other.
"Woah woah, you two, no use in getting into a fight," the queen of Eagleland advised.
The boy and girl didn't pay any attention to their parents, and instead, held that stare. A few moments later, Ness and Paula sputtered, and laughed even more.
"I'm hungry, wanna head to the food tables?" Ness asked her.
"Sure!" she agreed. Then the two walked off, leaving the parents utterly confused.
"I will never understand young people." The Polestar king announced. The rest nodded. They decided to just let them go though to enjoy their time together.
Meanwhile, Paula and Ness headed for the food tables. There, a couple of commoners and nobles were surprised to see them arriving, but kept to themselves. Some stared though.
"Oooh! Cake!" Paula took a plate and sliced herself a piece of cake. Ness stopped her.
"Isn't it a little bit too early for cake?" he asked her.
"Nothing's too early for cake!"
"...Good point." Then Ness, too, got a plate and dug into a triple-decker strawberry cake. Standing near the table, they went into digging into their cakes while standing. There weren't anymore free tables left, and they weren't going to go to the trouble of demanding a seat from a commoner's family because royalty should always have a seat. But it's not like they were the only ones standing, of course.
"Mmmm... delicious!" Paula compliments. "Strawberry has always been my favorite." She smiled.
"I like vanilla better," said Ness, licking the remaining frosting off of his fork. He looked toward the dance floor where everyone was dancing. Mainly at the commoners. He wasn't looking at how they were dancing, but their complexion. They could be easily sorted out of the royal family. That's not what bothered him though. A man, tall, white, with faint orange hair danced alongside a woman that could be his wife.
Ness had to admit it. He still hasn't gotten over him. Orange hair, green eyes. Orange hair, green eyes.
Why did he have to get away?! Ness thought aggressively. I didn't even get to know him... He looked so... so... Ness couldn't find the word. But he has wished to meet him again. He didn't know why, but his character, the way he slipped away so easily, it deeply intrigued Ness. Like a mystery.
"Ummm... Ness?" Paula brought her full attention to him. "Are you okay?"
Ness blinked a few times, then turned his gaze to Paula. "Oh, yeah. I am."
"Really? You seem distracted."
"I'm not distracted..." Ness covered up with a little laugh as he looked back to the dance floor. "I'm just thinking."
"It's nothing bad... right?"
"No, it's not. At least, I hope it isn't," Ness mentioned. He doesn't know. All he does know is that he wants to see him again. Although, he thought even deeper into the subject. That boy just stole and assaulted him. What if he was dangerous? What if he's some kind of undercover criminal that works for a big evil corporation that neither the king or queen know? This is bad. The random thoughts over the young boy just made him more interested.
Orange hair, green eyes. Orange hair, green eyes. Ness reluctantly repeated in his head as he stared off. His eyes wandered, not sure of what they're looking for. It just meandered in his trail of thoughts. When suddenly, a boy crossed his eye sight. Ness past his gaze across him like wind, barely sparing half a second to stare at him.
However, Ness' eyes went back to him. All at once, his eyes constricted as his breath was nearly torn away from him. There he was. The boy with orange hair, and green eyes.