Dinner Dilemma

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| At the Kingdom of Azalon ~ The Dining Hall |

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"Her Royal Highness, Princess Maelin!" The Royal announcer called out in a loud voice.

All in attendance applauded the presence of the Princess making her way down the stairs, her diamond studded peep-toe ankle strapped platform shimmering, her crop top red off shoulder, long evening two pieces ball gown.

"Wow! She looks beautiful," a male ogled, "what a marvelous beauty!" He exclaimed.

"Her half top knot is splendid!" A Lady admired Princess Maelin's hairdo, as she whispered to her friend, full of envy as her hairdo was in a simple bubble high ponytail.

Princess Maelin raised her head high at the compliment she received, taking her seat beside the King. "Fancy meeting you here, Your Majesty!" She smiled.

"Uhuh!" King Zane nodded in acknowledgement, putting on a smile which diminished as it came, turning his head the other way, talking to some of the dignitaries.

"Hmph!" Princess Maelin scoffed at his indifferent attitude.

"Don't I look lovely?" Princess Maelin flashed a bright smile at King Zane, touching her neckline which was adorned in a three-stone drop diamond pendant.

"You need to eat well!" King Zane missed the whole reason for her showing him her neckline. Turning his attention back to the discussion he was engrossed in.

Princess Maelin's hand froze for a while in shock, a boiling rage about to be let loose. "I can't believe this!" She mumbled, dropping her hands in despair.

°Whose seat is reserved on the other end of the table? Opposite Zane at that! That is meant for a Queen° Princess Maelin wondered as she eyed the empty seat suspiciously.

"His Royal Highness, Prince Mill!" The Royal Announcer called out, as Prince Mill walked past the announcer, his head in his book, making his way towards his seat.

Pulling the chair out with his attention divided, Prince Mill managed to take his seat, a little sloppy. "Oh My!" He exclaimed as he almost missed his sitting, giving a nervous chuckle as attention was drawn to him momentarily.

"You shouldn't be doing that!" Princess Maelin hissed. "People are watching!"

"And that concerns me, how?" Raising his head from his book, Prince Mill raised a brow in question, looking back down, flipping the pages.

"My!" Princess Maelin exclaimed, "Your hair is in a mess!" She combed through his blonde hair with her fingers, which was a tangled mess at some parts.

°What is he reading that makes him so engrossed?° Looking over his shoulder, Princess Maelin tried taking a peek at what he was reading.

"You didn't need to do that!" Prince Mill snapped, shrugging off her fingers, for some unknown reason, he seemed to have deduced her actions and made sure to close the book momentarily.

°What did I do wrong?° Princess Maelin looked in shock once again.

"I'm sorry for bothering you!" Princess Maelin's shoulders dropped drastically in despair.

°I'm not wanted here!° Princess Maelin's eyes blurred in a teary mess.

"Maelin, you know I didn't mean that!" Prince Mill placed the book on his lap, "It's just that it's something I don't like sharing with others, I hope you can understand?" He smiled reassuringly.

"I understand." Princess Maelin sniffled, trying her best to put on a smile.

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"Her Grace, Duchess Vivian of Pyndra!" The distant sound of the Royal Announcer called out.

"Hurry!" The sound of heels making contact with the marble floor, "We are going to be late!"

"We shouldn't be running, Your Highness!" Lady Leah whispered, "You might ruin your hairdo, or worse still, break a heel!" She panicked.

"Nonsense!" Princess Aria shook her head laughing, "That's why I told you to do a one strand braid with long curls, it's made for running!" She teased.

"That's not true!" Lady Leah protested.

"Well it is now!" Princess Aria looked to her side for a moment, grinning ear to ear.

"How can you run in those?" Lady Leah looked on as she was being dragged by Princess Aria.

"I adapt fast!" Princess Aria winked, her breathing strained as she tried to meet up with her imminent announcement.

°A little late wouldn't hurt!° Princess Aria chuckled in mischief.

"Her Royal Highness, Princess Aria!" The Royal Announcer finally called.

*Silence*

Murmurs engulfed the dinning hall.

"Who is this new Princess?" Someone whispered.

"I heard she's beautiful." Another commented.

"Hmph!" Princess Maelin scoffed, closing her eyes she tried shutting out the murmuring around her.

°You started at the wrong foot Princess! Let's see you get out of this one!° She thought in spite.

"It seems she's not going to make it!" Princess Maelin taunted, looking at King Zane's balled fist hidden below the table, his attention at the entrance.

"Shouldn't we move along, I know how you like to keep an uptight schedule." Princess Maelin locked her arm onto the King's neck, whispering in his ear.

"Know your place!" King Zane responded coldly, pushing off Maelin, his attention still at the entrance.

°Is he really waiting for that girl?° Princess Maelin rolled her eyes.

"Present!" Princess Aria yelled, hyperventilating as she blew herself with her hands.

°Phew! I hope we weren't too late° She hoped.

°Is it hot in here? Or it's just these heels?° Princess Aria wiped off beads of sweat which had formed on her forehead.

"Never, I mean never, bring these kind of shoes to my chambers." Princess Aria hissed, internally battling kicking off the shoes and walking down the stairs bare footed right then.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Lady Leah bowed in apology.

"I'm so sorry everyone, my lady-in-waiting had to fix up some things, which got us delayed." Princess Aria gave a nervous chuckled, never meeting the eye of the accused.

"Princess Aria!" Lady Leah mouthed.

°You were the one who caused us to be late° Lady Leah's eyes conveyed.

"Oh! That explains how stunning she looks." A middle aged man gave a hearty laughter, clearing the tension in the air.

"I could say the same about you, dear Sir!" Princess Aria returned the gesture, walking down the stairs on careful strides.

°We wouldn't want to tumble, now would we?° Her attention glued to the stairs as she made her way down, Lady Leah not too far behind.

Prince Mill who had been engrossed in his reading was smacked in the head by a Duke, "You just engulf yourself in reading. Look! isn't she just gorgeous?" He casted dreamy eyes at the Princess who made her way to the table.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!" Prince Mill replied, not giving her more than a glance, his attention drawn back to his book.

Getting to the dinning table, Princess Aria stood a few inches from the table. "So, where do I seat?" She searched for available seats, one besides Prince Mill, the other on the opposite side of the King.

°Did Zane reserve that seat for me?° Princess Aria gave a thought to the seat at the opposite side.

"Princess Aria, care to seat here?" The Duke offered, gesturing at the empty seat beside Prince Mill.

"I-" Princess Aria began as she weighed her options.