Not a Mistake
"This was the wrong time to come visit," Lucinda muttered to herself in boredom as she stood in the castle's ballroom.
After being away from Dunwiddie with her witch's coven for a year, the young woman had decided to pay the village a visit to see some of her friends. Unfortunately, she arrived to find everyone, including Ruby and Jade, getting ready for that night's grand event: the Villager's Ball. Ruby and Jade had invited her to go with them, and, not having anything else to do, Lucinda accepted, conjuring herself a pretty green dress and forgoing her hat for the occasion.
So here she was, in the royal ballroom wishing she had picked another day to visit. It wasn't that she didn't like the ball. In fact, she thought it was spectacular. The autumn decorations were nice, and the five–layer pumpkin spice cake was delicious. The problem was that every single person in the room—except her it seemed—had someone special. Ruby and Jade were both dancing with young men they fancied. Prince James was sitting at a table eating cake with a girl in a pink dress, whom Lucinda remembered vaguely as Princess Vivian. Princess Amber was off to the side of the dance floor holding hands with a dark haired prince. And Sofia… The witch had to smile when the youngest princess whirled by in the arms of the royal sorcerer. In her opinion, those two were perfect together.
A few minutes passed, and she sighed. I might as well leave, she thought decidedly. I can catch up with everyone another time. She turned and immediately bumped into someone behind her. She started to fall, but a strong hand grabbed her arm, steadying her.
"My deepest apologies, m'lady," a deep voice said. "I wasn't watching where I was going."
She grunted in mild annoyance and looked at the man standing before her. He was tall and athletic with brown hair and green eyes that shone with humor. He wore a suit with a maroon jacket that looked too well tailored to belong to a commoner. "You're lucky I'm a good witch, or I'd hex you right out of the castle."
He chuckled. "And what would a good witch do? Dance with me?" He released her arm and smiled down at her.
Lucinda could feel her face growing warm. He looked so handsome when he smiled, and his eyes were such a gorgeous shade of green… "W—Who are you?" she stammered, inwardly cursing herself for sounding like a wimp.
"Oh, forgive me. I'm Prince Axel of Centucki." He bowed deeply. "I'm here with my baby bro," he added, nodding toward the dark haired prince Amber was now dancing with.
"You actually call him 'baby bro?'" She couldn't help smirking. "I'll bet he loves that."
"He hates it, actually," he said, snickering. "Says it makes him feel incompetent, but I like to annoy him."
"I'll bet," she laughed. "I'm Lucinda, by the way."
"Lucinda." He smiled as he said her name. "A beautiful name for a beautiful witch."
Lucinda blushed and shyly played with the fabric of her dress. She had never been called beautiful by a man, much less a prince who had probably seen many beautiful ladies. And she found herself liking the timbre in his voice when he said her name. Suddenly, she no longer felt like leaving. Sofia had once told her that things always happen for a reason, so perhaps it was the right time to visit Dunwiddie after all.
Just then, a new song started playing. Axel glanced toward the dance floor where couples were beginning to waltz. He looked back at the lovely girl before him and bowed. "Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?"
She smiled brightly, giving him her best curtsy. "I'd love to, Your Highness."
Lucinda and Axel spent the rest of the evening dancing together. There was something about Lucinda that enchanted the prince. Was it her smile? Or was it the way her green eyes sparkled like emeralds? Whatever it was, he knew he wanted to see her again after tonight. As for Lucinda, she felt a bit like Cinderella. She had never thought she would fall in love with a prince at a ball, yet it had happened.
"Aren't they a sweet couple?" Sofia asked, sighing happily as she watched the prince and witch dance from where she sat with Cedric at a table.
"Which one?" The sorcerer looked up from his cake at the many couples in the room.
"My witch friend and Prince Axel." She pointed them out to him, smiling as Axel twirled Lucinda. "They look like they've fallen in love."
"Ah, a witch and a prince. They do seem to be rather enchanting." He had never heard of a prince falling in love with a witch. Then again, Sofia had fallen in love with him of all people, so he supposed he shouldn't be surprised. He pushed his plate away and stood up. "Would you like to dance again, my love?"
Sofia beamed as she stood and took his hand. He led her to the dance for yet another waltz in his arms.
A/N: This might not quite go with Harmony. I had some trouble figuring out what to do with today's prompt. LuciAxel is a ship I have only seen in one other story, and since I like it, I decided to try writing for it. And I had to throw in some Cedfia. LOL! As I said before, Centucki is the name I gave Hugo and Axel's kingdom. Thanks for reading my stories this week!