Waltzing with Prince Ignis

[Music recommendation: Tchaikovsky - Waltz of the Flowers]

Prince Ignis ordered the palace musician to start the music. When the violinist strummed her string. "Take this as an honour because you are the one I picked as my first dance." Prince Ignis said.

"So, Your Highness never have your first dance before?" Anna asked.

"O—Of course I had!" Ignis replied with a yell, but he lowered his eyes a bit. 'With my royal dance teacher, of course.' He said in his heart.

"Well, good for you, Your Highness, but—" Anna was talking when Prince Ignis' warm palm engulfed hers, and his other hand circled around Anna's waist for the third time. "Your Highness, I can't dance—Whoa!"

Anna was surprised when Prince Ignis suddenly lifted her body effortlessly as if he was lifting a baby. He spun once and put Anna down.

The violin strummed melodious music with a certain rhythm that made it easier to follow. Even someone who never listened to classical music like Anna could follow the rhythm.

"Your left leg first," Ignis said. His left leg stepped in as Anna stepped back in response.

"Raise the hem of your skirt," Ignis said again. Anna followed his instruction and raised the hem of her skirt slightly. She looked up at Prince Ignis, waiting for more instruction.

Prince Ignis grinned in satisfaction. "Remember, left feet, right feet, in medium tempo. And follow my lead."

Anna followed the lead, and she was surprised that it was quite easy to do, or maybe because her tempo and Prince Ignis matched each other smoothly. Soon, they waltzed in perfect harmony as the music flowed.

Anna was wearing a maid skirt, but once she danced with it, the maid skirt looked more elegant than it should be.

The nobles watched how this average maid synced in harmony and got the privilege as the first one to have the dance with Crown Prince Ignis in the banquet. It was not surprising if this maid ended up marrying the prince instead.

Of course, the noble misses were angry at their missed opportunities, but knowing how scary Prince Ignis could be, they would rather shut their mouth before Prince Ignis shut their lives.

Amidst their harmonious dance, Ignis looked down at Anna and showed her a mocking smile. "Insolent girl, you might have the first dance because I do not favour any noble ladies here. But don't wish for too much. I will never fall in love with you and never marry you. This is not a fairy tale."

'Well, it is a fairy tale. But I'm not the main character. The white swan is,' Anna said in her heart. But she replied with;

"Of course, I know that, Your Highness. I'm also quite baffled why would you pick me all of a sudden. Your Highness, you are quite the strange one," Anna commented;

"And I also know my limit, Your Highness. This is not a fairy tale for me, and I'm just a regular maid. Marrying a Crown Prince like you would only incite endless troubles."

"Hmph, what a lie has spoken by a peasant," Prince Ignis negated. He continued dancing with Anna, but his mind started to wonder himself.

He came to Anna so he could shame her for thinking about forgiving his bastard brother. But how could everything turn out to be him dancing with this insolent maid in harmony? Was there something wrong along the way?

After enough time to reconsider, Ignis just concluded this maid's behaviour must've baffled him so much that he got confused.

However, as a Crown Prince, he was not stupid. Marriage for him was just a tool to solidify power and tied the kingdom together, so he would probably marry another high-ranked noble miss.

Well, that was the scenario… if he actually wanted to marry.

He was powerful enough without tying his body with any noble house, so marriage was not necessary.

And about this insolent maid… Well, as long as she didn't try to incite his anger even more, then he would forgive her mistake. He would never fall in love anyway.

Prince Ignis had been offered many beauties in his life, and none of them calmed his heart down. Whenever he saw them with their flatteries and seductive smile, it only made him felt nauseous.

'If I can't fall in love with beauty, how could I fall in love with a maid? That notion is simply outrageous and impossible,' Ignis assured in his heart.

When the music was slowing down, Prince Ignis asked Anna with a proud grin on his face. "You should be grateful for this opportunity."

"No, Your Highness. I am risking losing my job after this dance, rather than grateful, I should start thinking about finding a new job," Anna said truthfully.

Ignis laughed. "Do you know that I own the kingdom after my Queen Mother, right?"

"Indeed, and I know that you are too busy to take care of a random maid," Anna said.

Ignis grinned and nodded. "Well, you are not wrong. So you do understand your place."

The music finally reached the end. They had danced for a while without a break. Because they were in sync with each other, the long dance felt like a fleeting time, especially for vigorous Ignis.

They ended the waltz with Anna leaning her body on Prince Ignis' arm. The guests were silenced out of awe.

Meanwhile, Anna and Prince Ignis stared at each other. Anna said something first, "Your Highness, please give me severance pay after I got dismissed."

Prince Ignis chuckled amusingly. "Well, depends…"

Prince Ignis stared at Anna's pink lips. He had something in his mind. It was an instinct that teased him to be a bit aggressive. Because to end a good waltz, the dance partners should….

Kiss.