He stifled a small laugh, then plucked the flower from his lapel and presented it to me with an outstretched hand. “It symbolizes a request...” His blue eyes asked the question before his mouth did. “It means, will you dance with me?’”
chapter fifteen
I took the flower from his hand with shaking fingers. The amount of eyes on us were unfathomable.The prince just asked me to dance… But he wasn’t just the prince; he was my friend. At least, I assumed he was. Would he still want to be acquainted with me after tonight?Attempting to block out my thoughts of the surrounding eyes, I tried to fix my attention on only him.
“Thank you, Your Highness,” I replied as calmly as I could manage. “It would be a great pleasure to dance with you.” I dipped into a deep curtsey, the weight of the flowers sinking me low to the ground before I rose with as much grace as I could muster under the circumstances.
He offered his hand and I accepted, his expressive eyes beaming with joy. “The pleasure would truly be mine.” He breathed the words so softly, I nearly missed them. Then he led me with ease into the middle of the ballroom.
My bare toes skirted smoothly across the polished floors, and I feared once again that someone would notice my lack of clicking shoes. When we had positioned ourselves for the first dance, the musicians began to strum a slow tune that built into a casual waltz.
I gulped nervously. It had been years since I had attempted a proper dance. My father taught me the basics when I was growing up, but I never had the opportunity to put the practice to use.Now I was dancing… in the middle of a ballroom… with a prince… who I had been writing scatter-brained letters to for the last few weeks.
My skin grew clammy, and the prince must have picked up on my nerves, because he leaned forward to whisper in my ear. “Just follow me.” His breath tickled my ear and I felt butterflies stir within me. “If you make a mistake, I’ll make one, too. That way, no one will think you’re at fault. I promise I won’t let you fall.” He pulled back to guide me through the next step with a reassuring smile.
I felt a slight bit of tension release from my shoulders as I allowed him to lead me through the movements. He glided me across the room as if I was made of air, never once taking his eyes off me. He looked at me as if I were the most precious thing in the realms, and I couldn’t quite understand why. He was a prince, and I was a nameless girl with a second-hand dress. I had offered him friendship and then denied the invitation to his own ball.Wait… He had invited me to his own ball… the ball designed for him to pick a bride...My cheeks grew hot at the thought.
His eyes softened in slight concern at the sight of my tomato-red cheeks. “Is everything alright?” he questioned, swaying me softly in his arms.
“Yes, I’m sorry,” I said a little startled. “Forgive me, Your Highness. This is all a little overwhelming, to say the least.” I cast my gaze to the floor, watching it spin underneath our feet. “Do you not fear that dancing with me for much longer may damage your reputation?” The question was easy to ask when I wasn’t looking at him.
He remained silent until I raised my eyes. His face held such tenderness, I couldn’t make myself look away. “Why would dancing with the most beautiful girl in the room affect my standing?” He smiled, then spun me gracefully, as if to make a statement that he was proud to be dancing with me.
He caught me back in his arms and I felt my breath catch once more. “Beautiful?” I questioned quietly, searching his eyes for answers.No one had ever called me that before…
He smiled proudly, wrapping a gentle arm around my waist. “Stunning.” He dipped me low to the ground, then twirled me once more. As I spun, various petals flew free from my dress, filling the air with the dancing colors. My head spun with my feet as the soft colors danced along with me, filling the space with their sweet fragrance.
When I landed back in his embrace, my feet betrayed me and I stepped hard on the toe of his shoe. The prince winced, but more in surprise than in pain. It was then that I realized I had just given away the secret that I was barefoot. A rush of embarrassment spread into my cheeks, and I looked around the room in fear that someone else had noticed.
Without hesitation, the prince stumbled over his own feet and caught his balance with a laugh. He smiled warmly around the room and the crowd laughed humorously with him. With his pleasant laugh still resonating in the air, he regained his poise and wrapped his arms back around me. I looked at him, awestruck for a moment, and he winked.
“I can’t let you forget who the clumsier one is here.” He grinned. “I do believe our initial meeting was due to my lack of coordination. It only seems right for the citizens to know just how much you outshine me.” He pulled me closer and I could almost feel his heartbeat. It was moving almost as fast as mine, likely from the dancing, of course…
I stared up at him, still in disbelief that he would want to flatter me after realizing I couldn’t even be bothered to wear proper footwear. “But, Your Highness—”
“Jasper, if you please,” he cut me off with a cheeky smile. “It’s what my friends call me, and I do believe that is what you wanted us to be.” He lifted me off the ground for a moment as the song reached its end. As he lowered me back to the ground, I fell into a deep curtsey while he bowed in return. Applause broke out from the surrounding crowd, and he looked up at me as I rose. “Although, I’m happy to extend our friendship to something greater... if you express any interest in this clumsy excuse for a prince.” He flashed his pearly smile at me, and I felt my cheeks grow exponentially warmer.
“Your Highness—I mean Jasper, I...” I paused, stopping to consider my true feelings. This was him, the man I had appreciated so much when I desperately needed a companion. He was my first friend in years outside of my family’s staff.Did I care for him enough to consider what his title would include? Did I care for him at all? My heart constricted as I looked up into his ocean eyes. He looked at me differently than anyone else did…When he saw me, he saw more than just an orphaned noble with nothing to her name. He saw the girl who had made him laugh, the girl who shared his quirky interest in garden facts, and the girl who, despite trying to say no, had still come to the ball. It was no wonder he looked at me like that. Somehow I had gotten the prince to fall in love with me, and I wasn’t entirely certain I wasn’t growing to care for him as well.
As the rest of the dancers flooded the floor, Jasper led me to the side of the ballroom for a breather. The entire time he looked at me with admiration and I felt my nerves ease. It was a new feeling—to be considered beautiful—but I couldn’t let it go to my head. Hedidn’t see the real me, anyway.He could only see what the magic showed him, and I doubted it was anything similar to the real me.
The earlier excitement I felt settled heavily into my heart as I realized the truth of the situation. He couldn’t see me, and he didn’t even know my real name. My thoughts flooded back to the task at hand as my foot brushed the interior pocket of my skirt. Sapphira’s fake letter had included a ludicrous amount of insults directed at Prince Jasper and the king. There was no way I could reveal my identity to him while that letter was still loose. I needed to sneak away and swap the letters, but I had successfully managed to draw the eye of every guest in the ballroom… This was now exceedingly more difficult than it needed to be.
As much as I wanted to remain enchanted by the evening, I couldn’t think about the prince right now, not when Sapphira’s letter was so close. If I didn’t swap the letters, the entire nobility would make me a laughingstock, and there was no way the prince would be permitted to spend time with someone of such low approval. He probably wouldn’t even need to be told to avoid me, and he’d simply take it upon himself to push me away—and I wouldn’t blame him. Sapphira was far too skilled at making me look foolish.
As the prince led me away, I began to consider excuses I could use to slip away from the party. Jasper didn’t seem keen on leaving me just yet, and the rest of the guests still hadn’t stopped watching me. Just when I thought things couldn’t get any more complicated, the prince stopped short of a grandly dressed old man with a sparkling gold crown seated upon his head.
My eyes went wide before I could think to curtsey before my country’s ruler. “Your Majesty.” I addressed him in my most formal tone, keeping my head low to the ground.
“Please rise, my dear. The floor is no place for a lovely young lady,” the king said gently.
I stood quickly, wondering if I should feel embarrassed or honored by the king’s statement. My silence must have somehow amused the king because he began to laugh.
“There’s no need to be so shy. I’m just an ugly old man.” The king chuckled. “You’ll have to excuse my ugly old son’s manners, for he has still neglected to introduce us.” He struck a teasing glare at the prince, who possessed a slightly irritated expression. I withheld a small laugh at the altercation. I hadn’t expected the royals to be so... informal.
“My apologies, my dear ugly, old king.” The prince gave a flourished bow as he emphasized every word. “Please allow me to introduce…”
“Daisy,” I filled in for him. They both gave me an inquisitive look, but I only smiled sweetly in return. “Please, Your Majesty, call me Daisy.” I gave a much smaller curtsey, and the king shared a quiet look with his son before looking back at me.