Halle was tough; hard as nails, even. But after the day she had, her reaction to the stress of it all was perfectly understandable.
She looked around the regal, unfamiliar bedroom she had been dropped off in by Jan, staring at all of the exquisite furniture with tears beginning to well up in her eyes. She was still dressed in the evening gown Prince Roberto had procured for her this evening, and with no belongings on her person whatsoever thanks to the little airport incident earlier today, she realized she was in a situation similar to that of being stranded alone on a deserted island with absolutely no means of escape.
She had won her case today, and then was arrested at the airport when all she wanted to do was go home. Her purse and phone were both confiscated, and any lawyer knows losing your phone is the worst thing that can happen to you, because that little rectangular object controls both your life and your schedule. Then, Alberto had shown up and whisked her away to Nobel Michel Castle, where Halle had then proceeded to scold Prince Roberto for landing her on homeland security's "no fly" list for God only knows how long. And then somehow she had been talked into being Prince Joshua's date for the evening, which seemed to be going well at first, until...
She couldn't forget what horrible things he had said to her just moments ago. She was a tough cookie, but any woman being spoken to so horribly by such a bitter, rather frightening man would be hurt by such cruel words. Halle may seem distant and shallow at first glance, but honestly? She was the kindest person you would ever meet, and you wouldn't find any woman with a heart bigger than hers. So being yelled at and berated by Prince Joshua earlier took its toll on her kind soul.
It wasn't her fault that she had illegally entered his kingdom unintentionally and was now stuck living here at Dres Van Manor until this all got sorted out in the next week or so!
Well...it sort of was her fault, but...that was beside the point!
The twenty-three-year-old let the stress of today finally overpower her, and as the heavy weight sitting on her shoulders seemed to push them down, she threw herself onto the large queen-sized bed. She buried her face into one of the pillows as she sobbed as loudly as her aching lungs would allow her to, hesitantly recalling just how everything had managed to go oh so horribly wrong just a few hours before.
Four hours earlier...
Nothing impressed Prince Joshua. He was a very uptight, serious man who was often referred to as a stick-in-the-mud by none other than Prince Roberto, and he didn't particularly care about women at all.
But wow, did she look impressive in that dress.
Prince Joshua looked stunned as he watched the smiling woman before him descend down the stairs in that glittering, floor-length, champagne-colored dress that had a plunging gap in the back that came down to her hips. The front of the dress wrapped around her neck, and a slit in the right side of her dress came up to her thigh, revealing more of her pale skin. Halle's caramel hair was twisted up into an intricate up-do, but her bangs and a single strand of her curled hair were left out to frame her face. She wore a pair of platform pumps the same color of her dress that rose her height by five inches, and a pair of glittering earrings adorned her ears as well as a diamond necklace around her neck.
"Hello..." Halle awkwardly greeted Prince Joshua at the bottom of the stairs, shooting him a fleeting glance. She felt super awkward being a prince's date, and dressed like this, no less. Halle didn't even know she couldlook like this.
Prince Joshua looked away suddenly as if he had suddenly found something very interesting on the floor to stare at. "H-hello." He awkwardly cleared his throat, almost unable to form a response.
An all-knowing smirk slowly crept onto Jan's face as he watched Prince Joshua's failed attempt at a greeting, and he quickly stepped up to the two. "Your Highness, perhaps we should get going?"
"Uh..." Prince Joshua rose his chin to look at Jan, suddenly pulled from the minor trance he was in. "Yes, of course. Miss Halle, was it?" He pretended that her name slipped his mind as he extended his arm to her, ushering her to take it. "Please allow me to escort you into the ballroom."
Halle wasn't stupid; she understood fully well that Prince Joshua was very uncomfortable being her date for the evening, so she recalled Prince Roberto's advice from earlier as she looped her arm around Prince Joshua's and allowed the Dres Van prince to escort her to the ball.
"Oh yeah, just a tip, Hal'..."
"Robbie, for the thousandth time, don't call me that!"
"Sorry, sorry! Anyways... A word to the wise? Go easy on Josh. He's not really great with women, so try to play nice."
"I will make no such promises."
"Halle...!"
"Okay, okay! I'll behave myself..."
She bitterly smiled to herself as she recalled their conversation that had transpired just shortly before she left to meet up with Prince Joshua. Hah...as if she was the one who needed to be told to behave themselves. She knew her place, unlike a certain caramel-haired prince she knew...
As the doors were opened and Prince Joshua led her inside, any ordinary, "common" woman such as herself would have been blown away by the ballroom.
It was a large, spacious room with white and gold walls, and golden tiles covered the entire floor. Two large, spiral staircases were located towards the back, leading up to the second floor of the ballroom. Little round tables decorated with white tablecloths framed the edges of the room, and the surrounding walls were accented by large windows that showed the outside balcony.
Any "common" woman would have been blown away, unless you were Halle.
This was nothing she wasn't already used to. She had been friends with Prince Roberto for five years now, and more often than not, he had forcibly kidnapped her and taken her to these parties as his date. Initially, she had no idea what to expect when he took her to her first party, but Halle quickly determined that she disliked them very much.
She was not happy about being here right now, but she figured it was smart to make the best of things as much as she possibly could. Being surrounded by a bunch of royals and noblemen who looked down on her just because she was a commoner? Yeah, Halle preferred to pass on that.
Sure, it was a big, glamorous party that she could get all dressed up for, and be accompanied by a prince no less, but...
Halle was no Cinderella; she was a lawyer. She preferred spending her Friday nights at the office working overtime on her cases opposed to Prince Roberto's reckless escapades including lots of drinking and partying every week.
They were just so different, and somehow they became friends one day.
Somehow.
Yeah... How did that happen again? Oh, right... It was that day...
"...are you alright?" Prince Joshua stopped in front of Halle, towering over her slightly even in her five inch heels. He glared at her a little in order to cover up his trace amount of concern for her well-being.
"Oh, sorry." Halle sheepishly grinned up at the prince, running a hand through her hair awkwardly. "I guess I just spaced out there for a little bit."
Prince Joshua gave her the weirdest look ever, unaccustomed to such behavior coming from a woman, or anyone really. "All right... If you say so."
Jan had already disappeared and run off somewhere; probably to assist the other prince's butlers in assuring that the party ran smoothly. Halle's eyes traced over the several couples dancing around the ballroom, smiling and laughing at each other without a care in the world as the gentle music hummed throughout the hall.
"So..." Halle was at a loss for words as she rubbed her arm, very uncomfortable in this situation. This is why she didn't want to come in the first place, damn it all! "...would you like to dance?" She threw the question out there, wondering what she was even supposed to do with Prince Joshua here tonight.
It's not like she had taken a crash course on how to be a prince's escort for an evening... Whenever she was with Prince Roberto, it was easy. She didn't have to worry about saying the wrong thing, since he was so casual and actually asked her to not address him as "Prince Roberto" when they first met, since he thought it was ridiculous. They always had so much fun together, even though he could be an idiot sometimes. When it came down to it, Halle did, in fact, enjoy having Prince Roberto as her friend.
But alas, Prince Joshua was another story. He was nothing like Prince Roberto, and since they were not very well acquainted with each other, it took all of Halle's willpower to restrain her overwhelming personality and act like a proper lady for once.
Well, at least she tried to, to the best of her abilities.
The bitter Prince Joshua visibly sighed at Halle's invitation to dance, slumping his stiff posture ever so slightly. "I suppose... I am expected to dance at least once tonight."
Halle cracked a slight grin at his reluctance, a little amused by his response. "Not much of a dancer, are you?" She took a chance and relaxed her tone a little, letting her playful nature surface.
"I can dance." Prince Joshua quickly reassured her as his eyebrows knitted together, and he glared at her slightly. "I just do not particularly care to indulge in such an...activity."
Halle genuinely giggled at his firm response, amused with how stubborn he was being. Prince Joshua just stood there stunned as he watched that natural, cute smile of hers stretch across her face. She suddenly seemed less tense and was more at ease than she was before.
"I never assumed you couldn't." She took his hand and began leading him out onto the dance floor, despite the grumpy prince's verbal protests. "Come on!"
"I would rather not..." Prince Joshua reluctantly followed her out onto the dance floor, mentally cursing himself for allowing this tiny woman to push him around.
"You said it yourself: you are expected to dance at least once." She stopped and whirled around, placing one hand on his shoulder as she got into a dancing position. "So, Prince Joshua... Why not drop the frown for five minutes and just dance with me?" Her taunting smirk only made a vein bulge from his forehead, causing her to laugh at him, which was something he was not used to. "Oh, come on. It won't kill you."
Prince Joshua's arrogance quickly took over as he grabbed one of her hands and rested his free hand on her waist, pulling her into him as he looked down on her scornfully. "Try to keep up. It would be rather embarrassing for me if you proved to be a useless dance partner after all."
Halle laughed adorably as Prince Joshua began moving to the tune of the mellow music, spinning her around occasionally. She fell into step with him quite naturally, and the two seemed like a good fit to anyone around them.
At least Prince Roberto had done something right: he had found him a date for tonight that could actually dance. Even if she was on the intolerable side of things.
Across the ballroom, over by the table covered with bottles of wine from the various kingdoms, Prince Edward onlooked the sight of Prince Joshua and Halle dancing together with a wistful smile on his face.
"Well, would you look at that." He rose his glass to his lips as his eyes crinkled slightly from the smile on his face. "They have only been here five minutes and she has already got Joshua dancing."
"Prince Joshua is dancing...?" Prince Wilfred looked across the floor in astonishment, and his eyes naturally widened when he caught sight of Prince Joshua.
Prince Roberto looked up from his glass of wine in shock, and his eyebrows shot up into his hairline when he saw Halle actually laughing and dancing with the grumpy prince.
She was laughing. At a party. With Prince Joshua.
There was nothing normal about any of this whatsoever.
"I wonder what they are talking about...?" Prince Edward voiced all of their shared thoughts out loud, watching the friendly exchange between Halle and Prince Joshua from across the hall.
They were conversing civilly with one another alright, but the topic was not exactly what you would consider...normal.
"You seemed to be quite well acquainted with him, and I find myself curious as to where you are from." Prince Joshua reluctantly held the conversation his dance partner had struck up just a moment before; he would be lying if he said this woman didn't intrigue him at least a little.
Halle stared at Prince Joshua quickly. "Who, Robbie?"
"Yes; Prince Roberto." Prince Joshua answered firmly, raising an eyebrow to the way she informally talked about Prince Roberto. She kind of reminded him of the man in question because of the little things like that she did.
Halle bitterly smiled as a dark shadow seemed to haze over her eyes, and Prince Joshua would be lying to himself if he didn't agree it was an amusing thing to see. "Yes... I guess you could say I met him by chance about five years ago, and he's stuck around ever since."
Prince Joshua hummed a tiny response as he smiled suspiciously at the silly look on her face. Five years? Prince Roberto had known her for five years and this is the first he had heard of this woman?
"You forgot to answer my question." Prince Joshua smirked at her in amusement, leading the dance the two were engaging in together. "Where are you from?"
"Where am I from...?" Halle quirked a suspicious eyebrow at his question, unsure of the meaning. Was he asking about where she lived, or her pedigree?
"Yes. Are you by chance of royal blood?" He leaned a little closer to observe her reaction, and he could have sworn he saw her wince slightly at the inclination. "...or perhaps the daughter of a nobleman?"
Halle didn't want him getting the wrong idea, but she wasn't sure if she should just flat out tell him she was a commoner, either. She stayed silent as she stared at Prince Joshua's face, trying to think of something to say to him and coming up with absolutely nothing.
Instead of being discouraged by her silence, Prince Joshua's eyes brightened. "I am afraid that your hiding behind such affectations has only fed my curiosity." His lips curled up into a smile as he bent down to look up at Halle's face that was currently turned down to the floor. "I beg you to tell me to which house you belong." The more time he spent with her, the more he was starting to enjoy her company.
Halle looked away from him with a taunting grin tugging at the corners of her lips. "Perhaps you will never know," she uttered under her breath quiet enough for him to hear her, feeling her confidence rebuilding itself.
"What are you doing questioning her like that, Josh?"
Prince Joshua immediately stopped dancing as he wheeled around, surprised to see that Prince Roberto had just marched right up to him. "I was merely wondering whether she is from a noble house or not."
Prince Roberto crossed his arms as he silently judged Prince Joshua, getting a little defensive on Halle's behalf. "I don't think it's normal to select a dance partner based on their social status."
Prince Joshua's eyebrows twitched in response to these vexingly spoken words. "Then I suppose you are of the opinion that I am not normal."
Halle's eyes darted between the two princes worriedly, thinking to herself that this tension did not look good. She had the impression trouble was brewing, and she spoke quickly. "Robbie, it was just a simple question. Please let it go."
Prince Roberto dropped the tough act and immediately stuck out his bottom lip to pout. "But, Halle...!"
Prince Roberto knew the truth that she was just a commoner, and he wasn't too happy that his attempt at sweeping in to save her wasn't welcomed with open arms.
"It's fine." She smiled kindly at Prince Roberto, dismissing his concern. "Is it not natural for one to be a little curious about their dance partner for the evening...?" She pitched her question to Prince Roberto, looking at him with a sly smile on her face.
"I guess..." Prince Roberto seemed to exhale sharply as he looked a little dejected.
Halle chuckled lightly as she patted Prince Roberto's arm. "Don't worry about me so much, Robbie."
He bitterly half-smiled at her as he rose an eyebrow. "Well that's kinda hard, since you're always getting yourself into trouble."
"Me? Dear Robbie, I think you have our roles switched." Halle took immediate offense to that and scoffed as Prince Joshua looked at her quickly. "And besides, whenever I do get into trouble, it's almost always your fault."
Now it was Prince Roberto's turn to scoff and take offense. "What? That's not true!"
"Oh, the airport incident today was my fault, then?" Halle rolled her eyes as she flickered her gaze over to him. "And how many times have I had to get you out of legal trouble for reckless things such as drag racing, or crashing your car?"
Prince Roberto stared at her awkwardly for a brief moment, and then he quickly dismissed himself from Halle and Prince Joshua as he felt his cheeks color slightly red. "Oh, do excuse me. I have people I have yet to greet..." He made up the first excuse that came to mind as he quickly ran away.
Halle giggled at Prince Roberto's silly behavior, but she quickly stopped when she found that her body was suddenly turned to face the person that had spun her back around: Prince Joshua.
"What was that about?" He stared at her curiously, trying to find the answers in her eyes as they resumed dancing together once more.
Halle smiled brightly at Prince Joshua, not actually having a bad time at a party for once. "Oh, nothing. I wouldn't think much of it." She knew Prince Roberto was a little overprotective of her, but she wasn't about to go explaining that to Prince Joshua.
The corner of Prince Joshua's mouth curled up into a wry smile as he stared at this...eccentric woman. Perhaps he misjudged her at first? She wasn't so bad the more time you spent with her.
Funny this is, she was thinking the same thing about him.
Before either of them had known it, time had passed very quickly. They had been dancing together for what started out as five minutes, and then quickly progressed to half an hour. Pretty soon, the two of them had been talking for an hour nonstop, dancing song after song on the dance floor, which was highly unusual for Prince Joshua. Neither of them even noticed how quickly time was flying by as they were talking to one another.
"So, you are a lawyer?" Prince Joshua tried to keep the conversation going, a little interested to find out more about this witty woman. "I heard you mention it earlier this evening."
"Yes, I am." She stared at him curiously, trying to figure out his angle on obtaining this information about her. "I'm a member of the Altaria state bar back home..." She grew a little wary as he continued to question her. Too many questions might give him the wrong idea, or maybe even get Prince Roberto into trouble.
"Oh, so you are an Altarian?" Prince Joshua's eyes widened slightly, only a little surprised. It made sense that she was from Prince Roberto's country, but for whatever reason, it just didn't come to his mind.
"Yes...? I thought you knew that." Halle blinked a few times, but she was quick to plaster a sheepish smile on her face. "I'm sorry, I probably should have explained that earlier. That's how I know Robbie."
Ah, yes. Prince Roberto again, Joshua thought to himself as he quickly hid it behind his dark eyes. "He said you have known him for five years. Is that true? I have never heard of you until tonight." Prince Joshua bluntly spoke his opinion, not noticing Halle wince slightly at his unintentional rude statement.
"Ah, yes..." She tried not to take offense to what Prince Joshua had said, figuring he was just like her when it came down to being blunt and was the type to just state the facts. It made sense that Prince Roberto had never mentioned her to the other princes before, but it still hurt a little. "Yes, we have been friends for nearly five years now. I met him when I was just eighteen."
"How did you meet?" Prince Joshua was a little curious, actually.
How did Prince Roberto meet such a woman? She didn't seem to be open to putting up with his nonsense from what he had observed so far, so there must be some reason she stuck around the airhead that was Prince Roberto. Perhaps it was because of legal trouble, like she had mentioned earlier...?
Prince Joshua became a little alarmed when he saw that Halle's face visibly fell, and all she managed to say was, "oh." She quickly dropped her hands down to her side and let go of Prince Joshua, and they stopped dancing. "I...suppose I had met him just shortly after my mother died."
Prince Joshua could clearly tell something was wrong judging by her sudden shift in attitude and the distant look on her face. She seemed to grow quiet and a little...sad. Her eyes darkened unnaturally, and she seemed a little more jumpy and she shifted her weight over to her other leg.
"I..." Halle motioned to say something, but the loud gong if a clock striking ten suddenly reached her ears, alarming her. She turned her head to look at the clock, and utter panic began to pulse through her veins.
She couldn't let him keep asking more questions, because if he found out the truth, then...
"I should go!" Halle quickly spun on her heel and began to run away from Prince Joshua in her high heels, pushing and shoving her way through the crowd.
Prince Joshua's eyes widened in complete shock, not expecting her to just suddenly run away from him like this. "Wait! I was hoping to talk with you some more!"
Halle was running so fast that she couldn't really tell where she was going, and she came to an immediate halt when she slammed face-first into someone's chest.
"Ooof! What the...Halle?" Prince Roberto stared down at his friend in shock, confused as to why she looked so upset all of a sudden. "Hey, what's the matter?"
Halle took a deep breath, trying to get a hold of herself. "Robbie, bringing me here tonight was a bad idea... It poses too many questions..."
"I found her, your Highness! There she is over there!"
Halle blinked back her surprise when she saw Prince Joshua's butler pushing his way through the crowd to get to her as well, and her eyes widened when she realized there was no escape now. She saw Prince Joshua in the distance, heading over towards herself and Prince Roberto where they stood in the hall.
"What's going on? Why is Jan here too...?" Prince Roberto looked back and forth between Halle and Jan, very confused. "Did something happen with Prince Joshua?"
A bitter look found its way to Halle's face when Prince Roberto asked that question, and even though she didn't give him a proper answer, he knew that something had indeed happened.
Jan turned to Halle with a delicate smile, and he stood at attention with one hand placed graciously over his chest. "Please forgive me for not properly introducing myself to you earlier. My name is Jan; I serve as butler to His Highness, Prince Joshua." He bowed to her slightly to show respect. "I am pleased to inform you that His Highness has invited you to come and visit our kingdom."
Halle just stared at Jan unbelievably. Of all things that could have come out of the butler's mouth, that was most certainly at the bottom of her list of expectations. "He, I...what?"
Prince Roberto's eyes opened wide in surprise. "He's actually inviting a woman to Dres Van Manor?" Halle turned to look at him, and he looked back with a puzzled, yet worried expression on his face. "He has a reputation for disliking women... I could understand it if you were from a well-known family, but..."
Just after he finished whispering those words to her, Prince Joshua came before them. "Miss Halle, please allow me to apologize for my rudeness earlier..." His eyes quickly fell on her, hoping he could redeem himself for interrogating her a little too much. "Allow me to express my apologies with an invitation to visit us in Dres Van. I hope you will accept." He only seemed to notice Prince Roberto's presence after he was done listening to himself talk, and he widened his eyes and opened his mouth slightly to speak. "Oh, Prince Roberto. I didn't see you there."
"I'm sure you didn't..." Prince Roberto's face visibly fell as he addressed Prince Joshua. "But this is a strange step for you... I wouldn't have expected you to invite a girl like Halle to visit."
Prince Joshua's expression wavered slightly. "R-really?" Was his invitation really that strange? "All I want is for people from other kingdoms to know more about Dres Van." His words were forced, but Prince Roberto seemed to accept this reason as he nodded.
"I see..." His lips curled back up into that typical smile of his. "Well, it couldn't hurt once in awhile." He placed a hand to Halle's back as he spoke. "I shall come along too! I can't exactly have you steal my best friend for who knows how long, can I?" He leaned in closer to Prince Joshua with a teasing look on his face.
Prince Joshua's hard exterior seemed to shatter as he looked genuinely shocked at Prince Roberto. "What do you mean by that?"
"Just as it sounds." Prince Roberto's expression didn't change as he calmly refused to explain any further, being intensely passive aggressive as he kept his hand on Halle's back.
Halle quirked an eyebrow at all of this, suddenly tuned back into the conversation. "Wait, I can't just go to a foreign country on a whim!"
"Why not?" Prince Roberto stared at her quizzically before he patted her on the back hard with a grin stretching from ear to ear. "You did say you took a couple weeks off work to clear things up with your flying situation, didn't you?" Halle's thoughts were in turmoil as Prince Roberto was smiling amusedly. "And is there some reason I shouldn't go...?" He turned his focus back to Prince Joshua.
Prince Joshua frowned as he gave a soft sigh. "All right, you should come as well."
"B-but I..." Halle rose her pointer finger up to protest, but she was silenced by Prince Joshua's unnervingly kind smile.
"I am ashamed of myself as a prince to have been rude to a lady from another kingdom." His usually sharp face was stretched into a soft, smiling expression as he outstretched his hand to Halle. "Please allow me to make it up to you."
...was this the same Prince Joshua she had been talking to all night?
"Th-that's..." The overly-confident woman was at an unusual loss for words, unable to form a proper response.
It was really hard to say no when he put it like that...
"Umm..." Halle tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, staring at the floor of the limousine's interior. "Are you sure this is alright?"
She was sitting in a limousine used by the royal family of Dres Van, traveling with Prince Joshua and Jan in their car while Prince Roberto followed behind in his. Just like how she had been dragged into going to the party, she had somehow been dragged into coming home with Prince Joshua to visit his kingdom.
"Of course." Prince Joshua's smile was so obviously fake that Halle fell silent. She got the impression that he wasn't being very honest.
Jan was next to speak with that irreplaceable grin on his face. "It's no trouble at all. Please relax and think of this as a vacation."
Just then, Halle heard the sound of a loud gong reverberating throughout the city, echoing throughout the quiet night sky.
Jan turned to Prince Joshua immediately. "Your Highness, I believe that was the midnight bell."
Prince Joshua nodded unconcerned in return. "Yes, it is."
"Is it all right for Miss Halle to have arrived before midnight?" Jan quietly asked him before shooting Halle a quick glance of concern.
Halle blinked questionably at the two men. "Is there a problem with me arriving now...?"
Jan saw the look on her face and quickly moved to explain. "When entering Dres Van, all immigration paperwork must be completed before midnight on the day of arrival. To not do so is considered a criminal offense."
Halle's eyebrows immediately shot up into her hairline. "Isn't that a problem, then...!?"
Prince Joshua was calm as he looked at her with a delicate smile on his face. "It won't be an issue. She is a lady of noble status, after all."
Halle's eyes widened as she stared back at Prince Joshua. Was he serious!?
She was completely stunned as she heard Jan's voice echo throughout the car. "Really!?" He quickly sighed in relief. "Please excuse my rudeness." His bright smile lit up the darkness of the limousine. "In that case, everything will be fine."
"I wouldn't have brought her along at this time of night otherwise." Prince Joshua arrogantly looked over at his butler with a smirk on his face, making it clear that he knew exactly what he was doing.
"Of course not. My apologies." Jan quickly apologized, then listened avidly as Prince Joshua opened his mouth to speak once more.
"And according to the law changes that came into effect last week..." Prince Joshua continued to converse with his butler, not noticing the intense look of shock on Halle's face. "A member of the general public cannot enter the kingdom after ten o'clock at night."
"Oh, really?" Jan listened carefully, enjoying the fact that he was learning something new.
Halle heard the anxiety in her own voice as she spoke. "E-excuse me...!" She quickly rose her voice as she snapped out of it, drawing the attention of the two boys to her shocked face.
"It is different for those of royal blood or are associated with the sacred grounds, so this law will not pose a problem for yourself or Prince Roberto." Jan reassuringly smiled at her in attempt to calm her nerves.
Halle looked behind her out the back window of the limousine, noticing a large gate being closed behind Prince Roberto's car. The gate was on the border to Dres Van, and they were now inside it. That loud gong of the midnight bell echoed through her ears as it unknowingly sealed her fate.
"But I am not of noble blood!" Halle finally was able to force the words out of her throat, panicking thoroughly. "I am not someone associated with the sacred grounds either!"
Prince Joshua frowned as that statement reached his ears. "What do you mean!? You said you were of noble blood, right?"
"I never said that!" Halle spoke bluntly as she shook her head back and forth, staring at Prince Joshua unbelievably.
Prince Joshua scowled menacingly at her. "You didn't deny it, either!"
Halle's tone of voice wavered as she realized he had a point. She bowed her head shamefully. "I...sorry, I didn't get the chance to explain..."
Prince Joshua's brow knitted together. "Didn't get the chance?" He scoffed as he spat those words back out at her. "More like you thought you would see how far pretending to be a woman of noble blood would get you!"
Halle drew her head back in shock as she thought how that was such a cruel thing to say. Her eyes were so wide that they were the only feature of her face that were clearly illuminated in the darkness of the car.
Jan dropped his jaw as he seemed to pick up on what she was feeling, and he quickly cut in. "I believe we should think about what we should do next..." He traced his gaze over to Prince Joshua. "What does Your Highness propose we do about her?"
Prince Joshua sighed visibly at Jan's question, slumping his previously tense shoulders. "She will need to reside within Dres Van for awhile."
Halle didn't give him the opportunity to continue as she cut in. "What do you mean?"
Prince Joshua looked over at her with an icy-cold stare as he responded to her question without feeling. "You have just entered the kingdom illegally." Halle lost all ability to speak as Prince Joshua's words reached her ears, and he continued to assail her with his strong words. "You will need to apply for special dispensation before you can leave the kingdom again."
Halle posed her question innocently. "Would I be able to do that tomorrow?"
Prince Joshua's frown only deepened at her utterly ridiculous request. "It's not that easy. It will take at least a week to ten days to get this sorted out."
"So..." Her lip quivered as she struggled to form this thought out loud.
"So as of this moment, you are unable to leave this kingdom!" Prince Joshua snapped at her, annoyed with her stammering. Halle felt a sharp pain in her chest as Prince Joshua made a sour face at her. "There's no point in making a fuss about it now. We have enough trouble to deal with." He sighed deeply as he stared out the window.
First, she was forced to come, and now she couldn't leave!? She should have said something earlier...
A feeling of regret washed over her as she looked toward Prince Joshua's profile, and as these thoughts flooded her mind, her confidence shattered, and she stared down towards the floor. They were getting along perfectly fine earlier, but as soon as he learned she was "just a commoner," Prince Joshua wanted nothing to do with her. And now she was stuck in a strange, unfamiliar country for the next week.
...
Fantastic.
Phew! This took awhile to write... Sorry to keep you waiting, guys! XD for those of you who have been avidly reading this and are always looking forwards to an update, sorry this one took me a little long. I had to work out think kinks in the plot development, and I'll admit I was a little stumped on how I wanted this chapter to go down.
I bet this one posed a lot of questions for you guys, huh? Like, how the hell do Prince Roberto and Halle know each other, and why is our petite lawyer being so secretive about it? Why is Prince Joshua so awkward and serious at the same time? And how the heck does he go from respecting her one minute to not even wanting to look at her the next as soon as he found out she was a just commoner?
It will all be revealed in due time~
Anyways... I'll go ahead and just close this author's note with: read, review, and enjoy! :)
I hope you guys like my story ^-^ please leave me lots of reviews and feedback!