The grand ball

"The first princess of the Arventia Empire, Camellia Arventia," the man by the door announced.

The doors opened, the bright light blinding me for a moment. The hall was completely silent as everyone stared at me. The whispering grew as I walked towards the imperial family, seated on their thrones in the most prominent position in the great hall. I didn't allow myself to lower my head, I kept walking with difficulty, but always kept my eyes on my goal. Theodore's mother was standing just behind the emperor, looking at me with a cruel smile on her lips. The emperor looked at me with total disgust, and Theodore laughed openly, to the point of hugging his belly like a child. I felt humiliated and just wanted to get out of that place, to which I didn't belong.

I stopped in front of the lathe, bowed with perfection and grace, as I had been trained to do since I was born. "I salute His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Donovan Arventia. May blessings and Eonora fall upon his imperial majesty," I said, managing to keep my voice loud and firm.

There was no response, so I continued to stand there, bowing with my wounded feet. I couldn't move until the emperor permitted me, but he didn't seem to mind me staying there for the whole ball. My legs were shaking and I was about to fall over when a large man wearing dark clothes appeared beside me.

"I greet His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Donovan Arventia. May the blessings of Eonora fall upon his imperial Majesty." the man said next to me. His powerful, frightening voice silenced everyone in the hall.

"Nobody called you here!" Theodore shouted.

"You may go." the emperor said, so I could get up and leave.

The man next to me was Grand Duke William Valois. He left immediately when the emperor allowed us. I didn't look at the throne because I knew I wouldn't be accepted, even though I was the emperor's real daughter. I walked with difficulty to the corner and sat down. The ball continued as normal. Theodore danced with Isabella splendidly, captivating everyone, including me, in the great hall.

I heard someone say: "Poor thing, she doesn't know how to dress for such an important event".

"Stop, she can hear you," whispered the group of laughing young people, not far from me.

I knew I wasn't dressed properly, but I had done the best I could with what I had. I decided to concentrate on keeping my pride, the one thing no one could take away from me. Furthermore, I saw people chatting and having fun, but I noticed that no one spoke to me or even said hello as if I wasn't the princess of the kingdom. Everyone was ignoring me on purpose. I needed to take action to resolve this, but my father, the emperor, had already told everyone at the meeting that I wasn't a beloved daughter. This was my only chance to find a partner and make myself known among the nobles. But, it was difficult to walk because of my foot injuries.

"Princess Camellia," I looked up, and a group of young ladies approached. None of them greeted me properly, making their contempt for me clear. "My heart is heavy for the situation you find yourself in," said the lady in front, a blonde woman with thick, curly hair. Her dark eyes watched me with the amusement she felt at humiliating me in front of her friends.

I stood up straight, showing how my height and elegance stood out from hers. "I'm grateful for your concern, miss. Unfortunately, I don't know which family you belong to because, as you may know, this is my first ball, and I'm not familiar with the names of noble families yet." Her face turned red, and I could feel the hostility of everyone around me.

The nobles didn't like me, I never received any kind of support from them, not even from my mother's family. I was completely abandoned by everyone, having to live each day in solitude in that huge, cold golden cage.

A commotion broke out, and the Grand Duke approached us. Everyone bowed their heads, and the ladies, before overflowing with hostility, became docile and gentle creatures in front of that man.

"Your grace," the blonde woman stepped forward, standing in front of me and in the Grand Duke's way. "It's a great honor to see the hero of the empire at a ball, as we know you don't like these social events." He just ignored her, walking past her and towards me.

I was completely stunned when the Grand Duke held out his hand to me and bowed slightly. "Would the princess give me the time to dance with you?" his deep voice surprised me as his cold gaze watched me, waiting for my answer.

My body moved on its own, drawn to that mysterious man, and I placed my hand on him, nodding in confirmation. The Grand Duke led me to the center of the hall, where other couples were already dancing excitedly. I was very nervous, as this would be my first official dance. I looked up at the throne, and the emperor's face was red and twisted with anger as he watched us. Furthermore, I trembled and stepped back, but the Grand Duke grabbed me around the waist, pulling me closer to him.

"Look at me, Your Highness." I looked up and met those beautiful blue eyes.

Masterfully, I was led through the hall, my feet barely touching the floor as we spun around the place. The lively music echoed in my ears and, for the first time in a long time, I was able to smile freely at the feeling of freedom this moment was giving me. Unfortunately, the music stopped playing, and we stopped. The Grand Duke let go of me and stepped back to greet me. I did the same, but because of my injured feet I lost my balance and almost fell, but the Grand Duke took my hand in his once again and supported me.

"Thank you very much, Your Grace," I said in a low voice.

"It is I who must thank you, Your Highness," he replied in my ear, making me blush. "May I join you for a moment?" he asked, and I nodded.

We walked under the prying eyes of everyone and the hateful gaze of the Emperor and the Crown Prince. I didn't understand why there was so much resentment. I thought it was aimed at me, for drawing attention to myself, which should have gone to the Crown Prince and the future Crown Princess. The Grand Duke very kindly helped me sit down on a sofa a little further away and stood next to me.

"I don't understand why the Emperor hates His Highness so much," said the Grand Duke, with his arms crossed, and his eyes fixed on the imperial family.

I was saddened to hear this, even though I had always known. "I'd like to understand too, Your Grace."

We sat in silence as we watched the nobles chatting and enjoying themselves. A few people discreetly greeted the Grand Duke and then left. It seemed that the imperial family was excluding the two of us. The Grand Duke was next in line to the throne since Theodore was the son of a concubine, and the Grand Duke was the Emperor's cousin.

"This place is worse than the battlefields I've been on." The Grand Duke's comment made me laugh, with a comparison as accurate as that.

"We just need to use different strategies for different enemies," I said, observing the Grand Duke's inquisitive gaze.

He looked at me and asked: "What would be the most effective approach to fighting such sneaky enemies?"

The Grand Duke smiled, asking my opinion and waiting intently for me to respond. I got very excited and started talking about the tactics used by great historical leaders. I compared them with the strategies the Grand Duke had used in battle. When I realized that I had spoken for too long, I stopped and covered my mouth in shame.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so careless," I said, feeling my cheeks heat up.

"No problem at all, Your Highness. It was a pleasant surprise to hear someone say something fascinating," he smiled.

The Grand Duke was incredibly handsome, but we were as far apart as a great chasm. While he possessed courage and vigor, I was a prisoner inside the palace, trapped in a life I didn't choose. I had no escape from that scenario, but in my heart, I hoped that my father and brother would accept me as a member of the family and lead us to a happy life together.

"It looks like the ball is about to end." I looked into the hall, where the Emperor was already getting up to leave. The Grand Duke stood in front of me and offered me his hand. "I imagine you may be feeling a great deal of discomfort in your feet, Your Highness, but could you do me the honor of a second dance?"

"Your grace, do you know what they'll think if we have a second dance?" He smiled at me and touched my fingers with his.

"I couldn't care less what those cowards might think, Your Highness." His answer surprised me, and I laughed, accepting his invitation.

"That's enough!" the emperor shouted, and the music stopped immediately. "Tonight is a celebration for the crown prince of this empire and his betrothed, the future crown princess. I will not tolerate any scandal involving the first princess and Grand Duke of Valois."

"My father," I said but stopped myself after receiving his angry look.

"Take the first princess away." Two guards surrounded me, all around, whispering and glaring at me. "You've embarrassed the imperial family enough, you must stay in your mansion until I give you permission to leave again."

With that, I was dragged out of the hall, humiliated, and abandoned once again. As soon as I arrived, I discovered that my nanny had been taken away, no one told me where she had gone, if she was alive, or if she had been killed on the emperor's orders. Because of me, my beloved nanny, the only person who had ever shown me love, had been taken away from me. I was alone and didn't know where else to turn.