7 Chapter 6

Crash!

The tray slipped away from her hands and it crashed onto the ground. The sound echoed through the hall and all the guests, along with the royal family turned their gazes in the direction of the sound. Even though she was shocked, Sorine turned away from the scrutiny of the looks immediately. What was this? Did she hear it right? Blindly, she turned to look around discreetly and she could see Mary rushing in towards her direction with a broom and a scoop in her hands.

She slowly absorbed the news into her consciousness and took in a shaky breath. She wondered if her heart made the same sound as the shatters of the champagne tumblers. Is this what he had meant by whatever happened, she should trust him. But what if it was too much for her to overlook? The words that the King just announced rang in her ears as she could hear him speak of it again. The thunderous claps that echoed across the room from the Noble Guests sounded like a betrayal to her ears. What did it mean? His engagement. Of course, it meant that he was going to be with someone else. He was going to belong to Someone else and he was going to be bound by a ring, a band that told her that he would never be hers alone.

She crouched down to pick the shards of the shattered glass and when she dared to peel upward, he was looking straight at her. When he caught the attention of her eyes, he gave her a slow and minute shake of his head. The look in her eyes hardened and she turned away in defiance. For the first time, she didn't understand what he meant. Was he shaking his head in disapproval or was he telling her to keep herself low? She couldn't figure it out and she had the delineation of what he was telling her and the reality of what was happening.

and he had told her that he would make her his queen.

She didn't care much for that. She couldn't care any less of becoming queen or for that matter a part of the royal family. What had bothered her most is the fact that he had promised her something. Now that the reality defied his words, something was rebelling from deep within her. It's all too fruitless, a voice whispered in his mind, it had been quite fruitless from the beginning. This was bound to happen.

She was still in a daze as she quickly cleaned up the mess, wiping away the beverage that had splashed all around with a rag with her head bowed. She quickly walked to the back of the room, and Ila was standing there at the doorway, giving her a hard disapproving look. Instead of walking past the Madam Supervisor, She stopped just as their shoulders were adjacent and she bowed even more deeply.

"I am regretfully sorry." She gravely muttered under breath and with that, she swept past the Madam Supervisor who didn't think she was worth giving a reply to, the wetness of the dirty rag absorbing into her sleeves and she hated it. She felt dirty and muddled inside as well.

She also hated that she doubted him for a moment. What was she thinking? For all, she knew he might have been forced into this whole dilemma. How could forget that he was the Crown Prince? He was bound to take a Queen. He needed a suitable Queen by his side. She passed by the secret hallway for the maids to commute through the kitchen and the procession hall.

"Sorine!"

She was disappointed in herself. she had wavered in her trust for him. It was not in her power that he would take in someone else better as a candidate for his queen. Who was she? She was a nobody he picked up from a dusty market. Sure, they went way back to almost ten years. It had been a decade that she had been with Eric that she allowed herself to get a bit full of herself. She got a little bit too smug, thinking that she got monopoly over who he is-* over the Crown Prince of the country.

"Sorine!" This time the voice cut through her senses in a sharp strike and she was suddenly aware that someone was calling after her. She turned around and saw Mary scrambling towards her, with her gold skirt bundled up in the grip of her hands. She gasped for her breath as she reached near Sorine.

"Are you okay?" She asked with concern glossing all over her face. Sorine smiled and shook her head softly.

"I am fine. I saw this coming."

Of course, she didn't see this coming. It was all weird to her but she couldn't find it in herself to complain. Mary smiled and patted her shoulder as she watched the various emotions flit across Sorine's golden eyes. She looked absolutely heartbroken and Mary didn't know what she could do to comfort her. She was at a loss. Maybe she could organize a carefree night inside their room where they could relax and speak out their woes properly. She couldn't imagine what it felt like to be in love with someone and to hear the news that one day they are going to be engaged to someone else. She can only imagine that it must have been a piece of devastating news to hear. She knew it clearly from Sorine's reaction that Sorine didn't know of this news before it was announced. She looked bleary-eyed and weak. She was clearly lying and Mary didn't have the heart to call her out

"You can always talk to me, I am ready to listen," Mary told her, patting her shoulders and Sorine smiled affectionately at her.

"Thank you, Mary but I still have to process this one before I can talk about it."

"You can always go back to our room and rest. Don't worry about Madan Supervision. I can dig up an excuse for you. If that's what you want. I am good at that."

"It's fine, Mary. I can still work properly. I don't want Madam Supervisor to get onto my or your case. She's probably been waiting for this moment."

"Sure, only if that's what you want. To hell with the Crown Prince. Oh, that's right! He's summoned you but remember, you don't need to go to him."

"How can I not go, Mary? He's the Crown Prince, after all." Sorine chuckled, trying to make light of the situation as she wiped her cheeks to make sure that there weren't any tears. She was glad that she got at least an ally to talk to. She turned, lifted her skirt, and walked towards the kitchen. She knew that he'd be waiting for her there.

When she entered the quiet kitchen, the first thing she saw was the broad back of Eric with the back of his silver hair swept to perfection. She swallowed hard, unable to suppress the emotions arising out of her as she walked into the room. Hearing the clacks of her flat foot across the tiled floor, he turned. There was an expectant look on his face.

"My Sinne, I am terribly sorry." He breathed, as he deftly took wide steps towards her, rushing and grabbing ahold of her face between his hands.

"Eric. I-i... I don't need an explanation."

"No, listen to me. You have to."

She looked over to him with eyes twinkling with tears that threatened to run array across her cheeks. She swallowed hard as she stared into his pleading eyes filled with remorse and pain.

"I am sorry. The king, my father. He ordered it. He threatened to put an end to our relationship. He was going to blackmail me using my weakness. You must understand, I had to agree to it."

"Wait, you knew about this before? You knew you were going to get engaged?"

"Yes, love. But you must know that I do not simply concur with this. It is against my will. He threatened to chase you out of the castle. I couldn't bear that."

"But...you ‌, you could have told me, Eric."

"Darling I couldn't bear the thought of hurting you with my words. It is an unbearable imagination to think of the hurt simmering in your eyes. I feared of the day that I had to evoke such a feeling out of you."

"I am still hurt, Eric. I don't have a choice but now I will have to watch you put a ring on someone else? I cannot bear of that. How could not tell me? You could have at least warned me. We spent nights together and you didn't think of telling me ahead of time?"

"Sorine, stop this. It is only temporary. You know that I have no sentiment for the one that I am to marry. She is only a princess in a political marriage but you, you are my princess. There is nobody else in my eyes but you."

"Eric…"

"But I cannot go against my father's wishes. I must get married to calm the waves of war."

"Watching you with another woman is not one of my favorite pastimes. I agree that you can't help but agree to this. But I would have appreciated a warning."

"Listen, my Sinne—"

"Oh my." A voice interjected, "What a harrowing conversation. Do you mind if I join in?"