Prince Alexander stood in the middle of his spacious room, pacing every few minutes. He was nervous for tonight but excited at the same time. The engagement party would bring every important person in the whole kingdom to celebrate the betrothal and he couldn’t help but feel unease.
Pacing again, he let the heels of his shoes clack in a monotonous dull slap, making the quiet room loud with noise. He began prepping himself for the procedures for the evening when a knock slipped him out of his thoughts.
“Enter,” he called out to the unknown outside his bedroom. Timothy came in with his dress suit on, looking quiet lavishing if he said so himself. He observed his friend and gave him a low whistle and a raised eyebrow.
“You looking dashing,” he complimented his friend but it came out in a stiffled laughter. Even though he was handsome with his attire, Alex never thought he’d see the day that his friend would be so dressed up for anything.
“Your father insisted,” Timothy said, gritting his teeth in angst. “But you don’t look quite bad yourself, mate.” His sour face turned into an easy laugh. Alex couldn’t help grinning at that.
“Hmm, what brings you here? Is there something wrong?” Alex asked, looking at his friend with worry. Timothy was always on duty and never let anything get in his way.
“Why do you say that?” Timothy asked, offended but then went into another easy smile which confirmed his sarcasm. “I’m here to escort you to your engagement party.”
“Where’s Annie?” Alex asked but said it only because it was expected. All he could think of now was Izzy. Would she be there at his party? He wasn’t sure but it never hurt to hope. Timothy’s smile set to a grim, meaning business, and cleared his throat.
“Why, she will be escorted separately but the groom must greet the guests first. She will accompany you later with a dance,” Timothy assured his friend. Timothy smiled once more and slapped his friend’s back playfully when he didn’t give much of a response. Alex seemed to be deep in thought but he brushed it off as a case of nervousness.
*****************
Maliki sat at the head table of the big dining room was, accompanied by both kings. King John was sitting at the head, showing his power as host and his father sat at the other end portraying that the two were friends, allies.
The guests were all seated at the other tables all talking and grossed into their own conversations. Maliki watched as his father was talking politics with some noblemen couple seats down but he had no interest to join them. He barely knew of politics as he was never taught and nevertheless he would rather keep to himself.
Instead he observed the room, aimlessly looking around at the lavishing decorations and the many important people the party had brought. His eyes roamed around for a few moments and he realized Izzy had still not met him. He had told her to come find him later but he could place a bet that she had gone back to Timothy to practice more.
For him, it seemed like fighting and protecting was her only life and he wanted to show her that there was much more to life than that. He knew he took everything for granted at first, being a prince but he soon came to realize that life was precious and not to be wasted. That was what inspired him to draw. To fill his head with everything that surrounded him. He wanted to show Izzy that life had more to offer no matter what the social circumstances but she was too revolved around her own ‘destiny’ as she would call it.
“Why so glum, boy. Smile for once,” his father had whispered to him. He gave one more warning look before turning the other way to smile at some other royal couple. They converged in a sophisticated debate of politics that Maliki could not quite follow.
Maliki sighed but did as he was told and lifted his lower muscles upward only to protrude in a fake grin that seemed all to unrealistic but it would do. He was only a background image; his presence was only needed to support his father.
“Anyone can see you are faking it,” a melodic voice rang in a soft laughter. Maliki, who was all too surprised, thought he was dreaming such voice but it called out again politely but with a hint of playful amusement. “Are you shy? What is your name, sir?”
This time Maliki dared to look towards his right and was surprised to find a beautiful young lady whose blonde curls lingered down to her waist. She smiled without holding back any shyness and looked at him with wide almond shaped eyes. Her eyes were a cloudless sky but held a spark of intelligent in them.
Maliki found it hard to answer her and but finally remembered what she had asked him. “Maliki,” he said softly. “My name is Maliki, madam.” Her smile became wider, excited that she had gotten her answer.
“My name is not madam but Elizabeth,” she said in an animated tone that had Maliki pleasantly happy that she had attempted to make a conversation. He looked at her again and concluded that she could be his age or even a year younger. His eyes roamed over and saw that she was indeed a woman of intelligence with the way she held herself and the authority she held just by her strong eyes and personality.
“It is nice to meet you, Elizabeth,” Maliki said, nodding. He didn’t say anything else for he did not know how to converse her in a deeper conversation than a greeting but it did not matter.
“So Maliki, who are you accompanying tonight? Do you have a lady at your side that you are waiting for because I could see you glancing at the doors every few seconds,” Elizabeth observed. Maliki felt the heat rise up to his cheeks and thought about Isabella but he knew that she wasn’t and could never be his.
“I was waiting for the arrival of my sister, Princess Annie,” he found himself say instead. He was almost surprised at how good he was at lying. He didn’t know if it was either a good thing or not but he was saved by further investigation from Elizabeth.
“Oh! You are THE Prince Maliki. I should have known. I am very sorry for my disrespect,” she apologized but her apology did not seem to quite make it to her eyes. They were still dancing with amusement as if she shared her own joke that he did not know about.
“Yes, but no formalities needed,” he said, feeling weary of his title. The title didn’t seem to suit his name as if his mother purposely named him that way. It was the last thing she spoke before she had passed away. He shook away the negative vibe of his mother’s death and focused on Elizabeth which wasn’t very hard.
“You seem very uncomfortable to be here. It does not seem like you are the one to integrate into every political conversation and flaunt your riches, Maliki,” she said, easily adjusting to a first name basis.
“I was not very educated in that area and spent most of my time elsewhere,” Maliki said, pausing. He had caught himself from saying more that would embarrass his father. If anyone knew how he ‘wasted’ his time as his father had said then it would certainly be a disgrace to his family’s name.
“If it is not education you seek for then what is it?” Elizabeth asked, ignoring that it was slightly rude to ask such a daring question.
“You see, I cannot exactly say,” Maliki winked.
At that, Elizabeth grinned. She liked this man as soon as he turned towards him. He looked nervous and shy but something about him made her drawn to him. He was interesting to analyze and his friendly, easy going vibe made it easier for her to accommodate him. “Hm, you are quite a mysterious man, Maliki,” she commented.
“You are quite interesting yourself, Miss Elizabeth,” he said, amused by her forwardness.
“Ah, I see you have been mingling with the Duchess of Macionda, Maliki,” my father interrupted. Elizabeth immediately nodded her head downwards in respect and smiled.
“It is a pleasure to meet you King Henry,” she replied politely.
King Henry seemed to have something more to say but the trumpets blasted for everyone’s attention and a guard shouted “I present to you, Prince Alexander.” Everyone’s head turned towards the entrance where Prince Alexander had made
his grand entrance. There was an uproar of claps as he made his way to the head table to sit next to his father.
Maliki sourly admired the way Alexander had carried himself: bold and confident. He could only pretend he had those traits but it would be only time before he would be too tired to play his part of the act. He was playing it right now, straightening his back and looking like he owned the world because of the pressure of everyone’s eyes on the head table.
“I present to you, Princess Annie,” the guard shouted again. This time there was many whisper as the crowd took in her beauty. Her white blonde hair was flowing down her back and her pale face seemed to lighten up the room. They applauded loudly as she also made her way to the table and sat beside Alexander.
“Wow, she is beautiful,” Elizabeth whispered but it was more to herself.
“Does that mean you find me attractive too, Miss Elizabeth?” Maliki found himself flirting. He felt embarrassed by his unannounced flirtation and looked the other way.
“Do not be so shy, Maliki,” Elizabeth laughed every so gently. Every movement was done in a fashion of gentleness and friendliness that it made her compelling.
“I am not shy,” Maliki argued, not liking the way it hurt his pride.
“Then prove it,” Elizabeth winked and gave Maliki a look that could only mean a challenge. Maliki felt a part of him relax as he sat next to Elizabeth, chatting throughout the dinner and for the first time, he felt more confident, more… alive.
******************
It was dark and cold. These were the first thoughts that came to Izzy when she regained conscious. She sat up straight but felt herself fall when she found her hands were bound behind her back. A grunt escaped her lips as she made a second effort to sit up.
The cold stone floor made her uneasy and with her shoes gone, she could feel the prickling feeling on her feet. Cursing, she tried standing up but there was a manacle clasped on her feet. With a silent curse once more, she finally got to her feet and dragged herself until her fingers brushed the wall. She kept following the wall until a door was produced in front of her.
Excited and yet devastated by the betrayal, she turned the knob but as she assumed, it was locked.
Izzy remembered the dagger she held under her shirt but when she checked her weapon was nowhere to be seen. She checked all her option but there was none.
She could not see what situation she was in or what her location was but all she knew was that she had to protect Alexander.
For now she knew there was nothing she could do. She never felt so powerless and the thought of being trapped and useless made her suffocated. No one knew where she was. No one could save her. No one. No. One.