She kept looking at how his ash-grey eyes roamed the whole ballroom as if capturing and memorising the scene.

His eyes stared hungrily at the plate of appetisers approaching him, carried by a waiter. He took three bite-sized pieces of meat pie and thanked the waiter profusely. The waiter walked away, slightly flushed as he'd never received such appreciation in his life.

He took a bite of the pie. Immensely overwhelmed by its savoury taste, he stuffed all the pieces in one go.

Lilith was amused at the sight. She walked towards him, his back facing her. She lightly tapped on his shoulder. He turned his head to see Lilith looking at him with an earnest smile.

His expression resembled that of a child caught stealing candy.

"Oh... uh, Your Highness!" he said in a muffled voice, due to the pies he stuffed in his mouth. He curtsied clumsily.

Lilith chuckled and the young man gave a lopsided grin. He looked around to see most of the guests eyeing him suspiciously, almost in disgust. He felt obligated to hang his head in shame.

As if sensing his discomfort, Lilith asked, "Would you like to dance with me?"

"Umm sure but I-I'm not good at dancing, to be honest," he replied, somewhat ashamed.

"Oh, that's fine. You can follow my lead. I'm just curious to know more about you," she gave him a reassuring smile.

He looked uncertain. Either about dancing. Or about introducing himself.

He placed his right hand on her waist and took her right hand in his left. She placed her left hand on his broad shoulder. She could feel his muscles tense underneath his coat.

Lilith looked into his eyes. They were the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen. His left iris was an ash grey shade with a small ray of ocean blue, while his right iris was simply grey. He had raven black curly hair which looked incredibly cute on him. He was much taller than her and somehow she felt he was like a protective shield around her.

He followed her steps clumsily, but she had fun dancing with him. His smile was the cutest she'd ever seen— his signature lopsided grin with dimples flashing on his cheeks.

"Who are you? Where are you from?" she asked him while teaching him the minuet style of dance.

"I'm Zayden, Prince of Wales," he replied, somewhat hesitantly.

"Hmm..." she nodded, giving him the benefit of doubt. He continued dancing with her. He couldn't stop wondering how beautiful Lilith looked, just like a Goddess. She was the princess of a prosperous kingdom, yet she was much grounded than what one would've expected from a princess.

He noticed every feature, from her gold-flecked emerald eyes to her lively face and beautiful smile.

Damn. What am I doing? Aeden specifically told me not to fall in love with her!

Now you might've guessed who Zayden was. He was no prince. He was none other than Aeden's best friend who came from Aersberg to distract Lilith from the rest of her suitors so that the spell won't be broken.

But Zayden didn't know the whole story. He was given the opportunity to visit the palace and he simply grabbed it. He wasn't particularly a fan of the nobility, though he admired the King. He wished to visit the palace and understand how different the lifestyle of nobles' was, and if possible, experience it himself.

He did find it weird though, that Aeden wanted him to spend time with Lilith, to not allow her to meet any other prince. He also warned Zayden against falling in love and kissing her. At that time, however, he simply laughed and asked, "You think I'll fall for a girl I'm meeting for the first time?"

Am I falling for her?

He looked at Lilith's face radiating with happiness, as she danced slowly with him. He was aware of how close they were and his heart thumped like it was going to explode any second.

After some time, Lilith said, "Well, I guess I've got to meet the others. It would appear rude if I ignored them. It was certainly nice meeting you."

She curtsied and walked away, dreading an exhausting night of bowing, dancing and exceptionally good manners. She half hoped Zayden would call her back to spend some more time with him.

~Did the cupid work its magic here?~ She definitely thought so.

Meanwhile, Aeden's voice echoed in Zayden's mind.

~Don't let her meet her suitors.~

He contemplated and finally called out, "Your Highness!"

Yes! Finally!
Crackers burst in Lilith's mind, but she composed herself before meeting his eyes.

"If I may be so bold to suggest, would you like to spend some more time with me?" he asked, his signature lopsided grin back.

She looked around the ballroom. Everyone seemed to be occupied in their musings and without giving a second thought, she blurted out, "I- Of course! I'd love to spend some more time with you!"

He blushed but managed to hide it cleverly by turning away. Lilith couldn't resist a chuckle.

She led him away from the ballroom towards the staircase.

"Where exactly are we going?" he asked, looking around nervously.

Is my cover blown?
He started sweating profusely.

"It's my favourite hangout spot, you'll love it!" she motioned upstairs.

As she led Zayden, in her excitement she accidentally skipped a step and was about to fall face first, when Zayden caught her from behind, wrapping her in his secure arms. She was stunned and slightly embarrassed.

Those damn heels!

Her nose and cheeks turned crimson. They both realised that he was still holding her tight. But neither did Zayden feel like loosening his grip, nor did Lilith want to let go of his hug.

"You okay?" he asked after a while. He stared at her effervescent face that made her look like the last ray of sunset illuminating the surface of an endless ocean.

"Yeah," she replied, hiding her blush.

They resumed walking upstairs, and Lilith led him to the balcony.

"Wow..." his voice trailed off. Standing on the balcony, he could see the entire kingdom bathed in white. The famed Valorian coastline was lit by lanterns, making it look like a golden necklace. They could hear the sounds of people laughing and celebrating.

Lilith was happy to see how pleasantly surprised he was.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she asked. He nodded.

She let out a sigh. "You know, I come here to get away from all the chaos. Sometimes I wish I was never born a princess. There are so many expectations from a princess. Perfect clothes, perfect hair, perfect manners, perfect etiquette... Ugh, I wish I could get away from all this."

Zayden smirked. "There are people who wish to be born into royalty. At least you don't have to worry about your house being destroyed by the recurring storms and floods, or about earning at least a meal a day."

"You seem to a lot about your subjects in Wales," Lilith replied. He grimaced. He was no prince.

"Well, I'm not ignorant," he replied somewhat coldly.

"And I respect that. A prince should always understand the problems of his kingdom and work towards solving them," she smiled at him.

He stared at her lustrous red locks falling over her shoulders and her forest green ethereal gown. She resembled a delicate red tulip, whose velvet petals are enwreathed in its lush green leaves with tiny dewdrops embellishing its borders.

Lilith's eyebrows quirked up. "Really?" she asked.

"What?" he frowned.

"I look like a red tulip?" she asked cheekily.

"Did I just say that out loud?" he said, his face flushed. She nodded.

They stood for a long time, looking at the celebrations outside.

"I brought you here to ask you something," Lilith said, shifting her soft gaze from the landscape outside to Zayden's half excited, half nervous face and smiled.

"You're not a Prince, are you?"

Author's note

Did Lilith see-through Zayden and figure out who he was? Do you like Zayden? I definitely find them cute together!

Thank you for reading this far! Like I always say, you are the reason I'm motivated to write more. So thank you for the support!

If you find any mistakes or would like to give me your feedback, please post them in the comment section below or simply pm me:)

Don't forget to drop a ⭐ if you enjoyed this chapter. Recommend this story to your friends and family if you think it is worth it.

Until then, Happy Reading!