“Hello, Treyton,” Izzy greeted, blushing at his compliment. She thought she had seen him dancing with another lady just a few minutes ago but the lady seemed to have disappeared from his side.
“I was right. That dress looks absolutely beautiful on you,” Treyton which set another blush upon Izzy’s cheeks.
“Ah, thank you for your gift. You really shouldn’t have done it,” Izzy said honestly. “I would never be able to wear it again. Such beauty is a waste.”
“The person who wears the dress makes the dress beautiful. Not the material itself.” Treyton smiled as another blush fell upon Izzy. She was too easy to please and he was glad for her innocence.
“What are you doing back here? The party is in the middle,” Izzy said, composing herself and keeping a watch on Maliki intently. She knew quite well Treyton was staring at her but she chose not to acknowledge it.
“The only company I will honestly enjoy is wherever you are, Isabelle.” Treyton leaned against the wall with his hands crossed across his chest and he looked in the same direction Izzy was. Izzy didn’t answer and let the silence fill the void as she kept a close look around the people in the room. None seemed to be too interested anymore at Maliki and none seemed to harmful to hurt him.
Izzy finished scanning the room until her eyes set on Treyton’s profile. She couldn’t help but admire his slightly crooked nose that was probably broken many times during battle and the scar that started from the base of his neck towards the back of his right ear. His hair was down and untouched but it still fell into curly locks that stopped just down his neck. His eyes were blue as Elizabeth’s and she never seemed to let go of just how beautiful the color was.
“You’re staring at me,” Treyton said, a grin settling on his face. Izzy quickly looked away and caught Maliki watching her. He winked at her before continuing to dance with Elizabeth.
“I was admiring the couple on our left,” Izzy lied, defending herself. Treyton didn’t even bother to look.
“I know I look pretty handsome but you can admit it instead of hiding like that,” Treyton said before bursting into laughter.
“You are too full of yourself. Too prideful for my taste,” Izzy said, letting out an insult come out of her mouth for the first time. Treyton didn’t seem affected by her outburst and took it in with a chuckle.
“This is only my exterior,” Treyton winked. “There is more to this than what meets the eye. You just have to be submissive to see how I am really like.”
Izzy thought she knew a little about Treyton. She knew he was a good-hearted man despite his cocky attitude. It was evident that it was all just a silly fascade.
“And how do I see this ‘real’ side of you?” Izzy asked, partially curious and partially wanting to get her mind off of Alex. She hated that she kept thinking of him when a man like Treyton was with her.
“Dance with me and you will see just a little taste,” Treyton smiled as he gestured her to get out of her corner.
Izzy hesitated, looking at Maliki but as their eyes met again he shook his head eagerly. Sighing, Izzy let Treyton drag her to the middle. She wasn’t sure about dancing. She hadn’t danced all that much before and wasn’t sure if she could go through one song without embarrassing herself.
“I-I don’t know how to dance,” she confessed as Treyton put his hand on her waist. He pulled her closer and he smiled as he whispered.
“It’s okay. Just follow me and you will get the hang of it,” he said encouragingly. Treyton held Izzy close to him and he swept her across the ball room, helping her glide across.
Izzy began to get used to the feeling and she relaxed as she let Treyton lead her through the dance. She felt like two figure skaters gliding across their ice, hand in hand and loved the sense of freedom she felt.
What they both didn’t know was that people began to whisper amongst themselves, gossiping about the beautiful lady who was dancing with General Treyton. They wanted to know but no one seemed to know the mystery woman. Maliki smirked as he heard some comments while passing by a group of women.
“Seems like your brother fancies Izzy,” Maliki smiled as he whisked Elizabeth to the left. He twirled her and she giggled as they went along, moving across the floor.
“I believe so. I have never seen him so interested in a female being like that before,” Elizabeth agreed. “Sure he had simple affairs with single women but I must agree that Isabelle is doing wonders for him. She is taming him into some sort of gentleman.”
“It seems so,” Maliki laughed and they both carried the smiles of approval while they danced.
Izzy heard Maliki’s laughter and gave a questioning look but Maliki didn’t give away anything. He just smiled encouragingly like he had been doing the entire night.
“What’s wrong?” Treyton said, following Izzy’s stare and chuckled. “It seems like the prince and my sister really approve of us together.”
“I guess so,” Izzy mumbled as they continued dancing. As much as she liked Treyton, she couldn’t stop thinking about Alex. The sheer thought of him crossing into her mind made her crazy. She knew she shouldn’t be thinking of the to-be king in such a sinful way!
“You look beautiful when you are thinking hard. What is on your mind?” Treyton asked, taking in her beauty. He couldn’t help but want to kiss her but he knew she would shy away.
“Nothing, I guess I’m just tired,” Izzy lied and gave him a small smile.
“Do you want to retire for the night?” Treyton offered. “I can take you to your room now. The party should be ending soon anyways.”
Izzy wanted to give in and let him take her back to her room. That way she would be alone and she could get her mind off of him but she knew she had a duty to Maliki so she shook her head.
They danced in silence, letting the music carry them away and Izzy breathed in the peace she felt. There was never a time when she was able to completely relax and enjoy a great wonder like this. Izzy looked around the room, scanning the place again for any danger when she saw a man in full uniform of the king’s army. He was covered in colorful badges and he looked distraught. His eyes seemed to be on them and Izzy felt immediately knew something was wrong.
“Treyton, there’s a man in uniform just across that room near the doors,” Izzy whispered, looking at Treyton with questioning eyes. Did Treyton invite the man?
“In uniform?” Treyton repeated and scanned the room as Izzy had done until he froze for a fraction of a second. “Oh, no. Something does not feel right.”
Treyton led Izzy out of the inner circle of dancers and walked towards the man. He greeted Treyton with a simple nod and stared at Izzy.
“This is Isabelle. Isabelle, this is Colonial Greymark,” Treyton introduced and Izzy gave a short nod in respect. The man seemed to recognize Izzy.
“You are Prince Alexander’s bodyguard,” he remarked with surprise. “I don’t mean to intrude but why are you not with the prince himself?”
“I was assigned to Prince Maliki, Princess Anastasia’s brother while he visited his friend,” Izzy answered and Colonial Greymark seemed to nod.
“It is good to see you then Isabelle because we need you both,” Greymark said with grave urgency. “The Vauldins attacked near the castle and we believe that they are planning to take siege of the castle. King Henry and Princess Anastasia was evacuated immediately back to their kingdom. I am told to bring you back to the king’s court and I am assuming we should bring Isabelle and Prince Maliki.”
“Yes, we should leave immediately. Do you have the carriages ready?” Treyton asked, a serious expression playing on his handsome face. Izzy grew worried at the sudden change in Treyton and saw him in a newly respectable way.
“I did not know the prince was here but I will get it ready while you bring the prince outside,” Greymark said and gave a short salute before exiting the door quickly.
“We should hurry. I must say my farewell to my sister,” Treyton said and waved his hand, looking over Izzy’s shoulder. He relaxed and looked at Izzy who looked astonished. “Are you alright, Isabelle?”
“I am but I need to change out of these clothes,” Izzy said. She knew she could still fight in a dress like this but it would be a huge disadvantage for her and she hated anything that would slow her down.
“We don’t have time for that. If we leave now we should arrive at the castle early morning,” Treyton said and took Izzy’s hand in his. “Don’t worry. I will protect you if it comes down to fighting. You and the prince are my priority.”
“No,” Izzy said, looking up to meet his generous eyes. “I can take care of myself quite well. Please look after Maliki if anything happens.” Treyton nodded although he didn’t like what she had said. Over the last few days, he had become attracted to her and he cared for her so much that he was confused over his own feelings. How could one care for a person this much?
“What’s wrong, brother? You look distraught,” Elizabeth said, interrupting the moment. Izzy quickly dropped her hands but Treyton didn’t seem to look too worried.
“It’s the Vauldins. They have attacked the castle and I must leave tonight with Prince Maliki and Isabelle,” Treyton said quickly, the urgency now apparent in his eyes.
“But Maliki-”
“I will come back but I know I have to go back to the castle,” Maliki said understanding the situation. He was needed at the castle and he was worried for his sister. “I promise I will be back as soon as everything is over. I promise, Elizabeth.”
“The carriage is ready General,” Greymark said, coming back into the room. Izzy looked around and saw that they hadn’t attracted any crowd yet but she was afraid they might go noticed if they stood there any longer.
“We have to leave,” Treyton said, looking at his sister.
“Take care of each other,” Elizabeth said, her eyes watering.
“Don’t worry. I will take care of Maliki with my life,” Izzy promised and Elizabeth nodded, holding onto Izzy’s dress.
“Thank you,” she whispered before Treyton led both Izzy and Maliki out of the room.
They piled into the carriage and were off into the night, back to the castle. Izzy looked out the single window that was allowed and sighed. Her small fantasy lasted for only a fraction of the night but she was thankful.
The only thing that now worried her was seeing Alex again and she was stuck with mixed feelings. Being with Treyton gave her a small sort of what freedom could taste like and he distracted her from thinking of Alex. However, she knew she couldn’t live without Alex. They had gone through too much together to throw it all completely. Ever since they were young, they took care of each other. Despite their constant bickering, they knew they could always rely on each other on anything.
Izzy let out a heavy sigh and felt Maliki’s hand over hers. She looked up and saw him staring at her.
“Is something wrong?” Maliki asked, his eyes filled with worry for his friend.
“I am quite alright,” Izzy responded and she felt like a robot repeating what she had said the entire night. Maliki noted the Colonial and the General talking about battle strategies and took that time to lean close to Izzy.
“You don’t have to lie to me,” Maliki whispered, making Izzy flinch in surprise. Izzy smiled sadly as she knew she could never lie to Maliki and get away with it no matter how hard she tries. Maliki understood she couldn’t say it out in the carriage so instead he held her hand, squeezing it encouragingly as the carriage took them back home.