It seems like being next in line to the throne has a more significant impact than just being a royal of a reborn kingdom. Because even though Chace and I practically have the same level in terms of rank, he was receiving much more respect than I have.
Hera was the one making it obvious - seeing as how she gawks and forgives him immediately for being tardy.
“I am not too late for class, am I?” Chace smirks.
“Of course not!” Came Hera’s response, which made me grit my teeth in annoyance and crossed my arms over my chest. “You are just in time for the second portion of the dance. Thankfully, we also have another female student without a partner.”
Shivers went up to my spine upon hearing her last statement. No way was I going to get paired with Chace. I was just getting comfortable with NOT dancing!
Damn it, Chace!
I looked anywhere in the room while slowly sliding my way to the exit before they noticed my presence. I’m already tardy as it is. I might as well be absent for the whole day. I can stomach being in the same room as Chace, but being his dance partner? I might just go and do something stupid like my sister would.
I mean, how would you face your childhood friend who constantly sends you marriage proposals!?
“Princess Stella, where are you going?” I flinched as soon as I heard Hera calling my name.
Great. Just my luck.
She and Chace, along with the others, were now looking in my direction. When Chace finally noticed me, his eyes widened. When he spotted me, all of his suave playboy persona evaporated and was replaced by a huge grin.
I averted my gaze to offer Hera a small smile. “I was just thinking that I wasn’t wearing the proper dress. Maybe I should skip class just this time.” I gestured to my school uniform to prove my point.
“I’ll let it slide, for now, Princess Stella, as this is quite important. Prince Chace doesn’t have a partner.”
“Oh, what? So I am not important?” I whispered mockingly and almost rolled my eyes at her. So Chace not having a partner is a problem just because he is the crown prince of the fairy kingdom? I didn’t have a partner just a while ago, and she didn’t care!
I heard Custard whining beside me. When I looked at Custard, I made a mistake because he turned to glare at Hera as soon as he saw my face. He lets out a low warning growl in her direction, and I can already see dark fur emerging from his body. It was a sign that Custard was going to morph in his other form to attack.
I pulled him by the neck before he could go any further and patted his head comfortingly. I keep forgetting that Custard is the only Spirit animal in this realm that can transform without his owner’s magic, which is probably why Rose sent him to escort me. “Custard, it’s fine,” I assured him.
Thankfully Custard stopped his advances and looked up at me with a whimper. He was still unconvinced. I can’t talk to spirits like my sister, so I can’t really tell what he was thinking. But knowing Hera, she wouldn’t take no for an answer and would only upset him more. “Alright.” I retired with a sigh before walking up to face Chace.
“Let’s get this over with, Prince Chace.” I offered him my hand while giving him a stone-cold look.
Chace looked surprised for a moment before he gave me a flirtatious smirk that honestly disgusted me. He bent down and kissed my hand before meeting my gaze once again. As he did, the cold in the room began to seep out of him like a freezer left open. It was his signature gesture in public to impress people and to remind them that he is a rare winter fairy.
Unfortunately for him, I am one as well. And a hundred times better at controlling my magic.
I felt all the cold molecules in the room, gathered them in my palms, and dispersed them. The others in the room seemed impressed by our display that they began to applaud us.
“I thought this was supposed to be a dance lesson and not a talent show?” I questioned him with a had gaze.
Chace was baffled since it was the first time I interrupted his act, but instead of feeling angry, he looked amused. “I can never beat you, can I, teacher?” He used his old nickname on me. He used to have trouble controlling his magic, but I was the one who taught him how to control it. So, if it weren’t for me, this guy would be nothing but a ticking emotional bomb that would explode snowballs and make it hail whenever he can’t contain his emotions.
“Alright!” I was almost relieved when I heard Hera raising her voice. “Let’s resume classes!” At her command, music began to play in the room once again - a soft and joyful tune that was usually played at every party.
Chace moved closer to me and placed his other hand on my waist. I did the same but placed mine on top of his shoulder. Then, like everyone else in the room, we began to dance to the tune.
The ice Prince let the dance while I begrudgingly followed. I twirled away from him, and when I returned, we both placed our left palm vertically against each other. We danced in a circle with me grabbing an imaginary skirt as it is how the dance should be. We were soon joined by another pair, where we temporarily exchanged our partners. But after a few more tunes, we all danced together by joining our left hands vertically together and raising them in the air. After doing one full circle, we changed direction and joined our right hands this time.
As we separated front the other pair, I began to notice that Chace was looking at me with a huge beam on his face.
“What?” I raised a brow at him questioningly.
“Aren’t you having a good time?” He cocked his head to the side, making the few strands of hair covering his face follow his movements. When I didn’t respond, his smile slowly faded. “Why don’t we stop this, Stella? We were so close when we were little. Why should this time be any different?”
I stared at him for a long time, wondering if he was joking. When I was sure that he wasn’t, I frowned. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Is this about the marriage proposal?” He asked. “Stella, I didn’t send that-”
“You know that I was getting pressured with all of that marriage crap. And you certainly know that I didn’t grow up in this realm where I have to be betrothed as early as 16! So, why do you still send those letters? Are you pressuring me? Aren’t my rejection letters enough? Chace, you are basically advertising that you and I are going to be the end game because of all the gifts that you send to us.”
“Stella, it’s different. My mother wants you to become my bride. Do you think that she’s not pressuring me as well? I was only doing that so she won’t bother you as well.” He pleaded, looking ashamed. “Plus, I thought that it would help to chase out the rest of the competition. Stella, please. You know my true feelings for you, and even though I am not sorry for my affection, I will apologize if my actions seem too constricting for you.”
I pondered over his words. By the looks of it, he does seem to regret his actions. “I don’t know, Chace. Simple words of sorry won’t cut it.”
“What do you want me to do, Stella? I just...I just want us to have the same relationship again when we were kids.”
His regretful demeanor reminded me of his old uptight self—the Chace who used to be my friend and not the arrogant playboy he is now. To be honest, I miss him too. And though I hate to admit it, I kind of understand him too because I once had feelings for a certain boy a long time ago.
As I thought about how similar our situations were before, I was beginning to understand his action slightly. Maybe I should give Chace a second chance. I mean, feelings do make people do stupid things.
Just look at my sister marrying a temperamental elf!
“First thing that you can do is to stop sending me marriage proposals,” I told him.
Chace blinked for a couple of seconds before his lips drew into a wide smile when he understood what I meant. “Of course. I’ll be sure to tell my mother to stop harassing you. She’s the one who’s been sending the proposals on my behalf most of the time.” He chuckled, making the room’s temperature drop a bit.
The others seemed to notice the temperature drop as well, and they began to shiver. I sighed and dispersed the cold molecules around the room before returning my gaze to Chace.
“Second, you should really learn how to control your magic when you are emotional,” I told him.
Chace gave me an embarrassed smile. “Sorry. I guess that I am still nothing without my teacher. So, what’s the third condition?”
The music began to die down that we had to part ways and do a curtsy. As we lifted our gazes back again, I offered him a small smile and a shrug. “I’ll have to think about it.”
Hera announced the end of the class in the background, and I took that as my cue to leave. Not because I was in a hurry to avoid the awkward tension between Chace and I, but because I still had a lot of bloody homework to do.