A Lover and A Liar

"May I have this dance, my Lady?" Little Alina froze when she realized the young wolf Prince was referring to her. She peeked past her shoulder, trying to understand if he was talking to somebody else, to some other Lady. At the end, Alina wasn't really a Lady, but the Prince didn't know that of course. He shouldn't know. "Y-yes, Your Majesty," she stuttered, feeling the weight of everyone's gaze on her. One of his hands rested on her waist, and the other took her hand on his. Alina had absolutely no idea about the way the royals danced, but she tried following his lead as best as she could. However, it didn't take long before she stepped on his foot, making the Prince wince a little in pain. "I- I'm so sorry, my Prince, I―" "Shhh, it's alright. No one noticed." He flashed her a smile and little Alina's heart skipped a beat or two. His smile was beautiful, addictive even. And the dimples... She shook her head. She shouldn't feel anything like that for him. Not for him. Alina was here for a job and she wasn't going to mess it up. Her grandmother's life depended on it. "Your Majesty―" "Julian," he cut her off. "Call me Julian, please." Her eyes widened in surprise. "I can't call you that, you're the Prince." At least that was what Katherine had repeated to her times and times again. 'Never call the Prince by his name. Never do something that might make him think you aren't a noble witch Lady'. "But I, the Prince, I'm asking you to call me that." She felt her face burning just by the tone of his voice, or the way his emerald eyes looked down on her, warm and almost flirty, if Alina could admit that to herself. She wasn't shy, a fifteen-year-old orphan witch, without a coven, who had to survive by herself couldn't allow herself to be shy, but it was something about Julian that caused flip-flops in her stomach. He was just so charming, Alina was sure there wasn't a female their age in this ballroom that didn't hate her right now. Why he had asked her on a dance, Alina wasn't still sure though. Wasn't he supposed to dance with Katherine? "You look lost. Are you thinking about me, Alina?" Her heart didn't skip just one bit this time, it went on full racing as soon as she heard her name leave his lips. "How... how do you know my name?" She questioned. "Katherine told me. That you're her childhood best friend." "Oh," Alina was only able to say. So was that lie that had made him ask her on a dance? Alina couldn't understand why she felt disappointed. Julian placed his lips on her ear, almost making her tremble by the proximity only. "You look bored. Do you want to get out of here?" He whispered. She let out a gasp. "It's your birthday. Your father's going to notice!" He shrugged, casually. "I might get a few lectures tomorrow, but it'll be worth it." Julian gave another one of his smile to her. "I want to get to know you, Alina. Out of here, where we can be only you and me." For a few seconds, that were maybe to long to stay still in the middle of the ballroom, Alina stood and stared at him. Why did he happen to be this sweet, for the love of God? Why did he have to make this more difficult for her? "I..." she hesitated, "alright. If you say so." Without thinking twice he took her darker hand in his and leaded her outside when everyone was too busy to notice the Prince would be missing. Perhaps only his sister, but the Princess pretended she wasn't looking. And Katherine, of course. She gave her a look full of jealousy, and one that ordered Alina to finish her job tonight if she wanted to see her grandmother again. "So, you live in the witches' Royal Court, right?" That was the lie Katherine had came up with, and strangely Julian didn't doubt it once. Maybe it was the big gown Alina was wearing, which still made her feel strange and stuck, or maybe her curly hair that were for the first time tamed and tied up beautifully. "Yes," she simply lied, too focused on the warmth his hand was giving her. It was not only the warmth that came from him being a werewolf, but it was the same fuzzy feeling she had on her chest. Mixed up with guilt. And desperation. "And you're the daughter of one of the Queen's lords?" He continued. "The daughter of a wizard?" Alina nodded, forcing a smile on her face. How much she wished it to be true. How much she wished for her father, and her mother to be alive right now. She wouldn't be stuck in this situation if only she had someone to protect her. "You're pretty." Julian stopped abruptly, and Alina almost tripped on her foot. Wearing gowns sucked. But she blushed crimson as soon as she made sense of his words, averting her eyes away from his gaze. She couldn't understand how a sixteen-year-old boy could be that flirty, and charming, and give her a sense of safety at the same time. One no one had given her before. "Thank you." Her voice was no more than a whisper, and that made Julian chuckle. "Cute," he whispered underneath his breath, thinking she wasn't hearing. Alina tired to hide her smile. "So where are we going?" "To the lake I go every time I want to sneak out of here. When I'm tired of being surrounded by servants." She wanted to laugh at that. If only Alina had the same problems, she would have been lucky. But all thoughts left her mind when her eyes fell on the view in front of her... Simply breathtaking. The full moon was reflected on the surface of the lake, and there was a comfortable silence everywhere. Alina felt like she wanted to stay there forever. With him. "What do you think?" He sounded like he would be happy if she liked his place just as much as he did. "Beautiful." She smiled. "I can't find another word." Chuckling, he went to the nearest tree, taking a few blankets from there. It seemed he used to come here a lot. One of them he opened on the ground, and the other he threw on their shoulders. Alina had no choice but to get even closer to him, and for some reason she wanted to just snuggle to him, hide her face in his chest, and cry. Cry for all she had been through as a child. For what she was about to do to him. He didn't deserve it. He was sweet, and loving, and caring, he deserved a real chance at love. Alina would never be able to forgive herself, she knew it. "What is it, Alina?" Julian asked her, but she had no choice but to swallow down the guilt. "Nothing. I was just thinking." "Then tell me about yourself," he suggested. "Your life, your hobbies, everything." That made her blink back some tears, but fortunately, Julian didn't notice. Nor did he notice the lie after lie of her supposed fancy life Alina told him, but it was better this way. It was better if he remembered her to be perfect, instead of a young lonely witch that would cause him the worst in his life. They talked maybe for hours, but it felt like only minutes. Julian had something about him that made the time stop, made her forget everything but him. "Let's get into the lake," Julian suggested, grinning at her. "Now?! It's the middle of the night, Julian!" Alina protested, knowing the reason she couldn't go. "You go, I'll wait for you here." Thankfully, Julian didn't insist much, so as soon as he was inside the lake, she ran to hide after a few trees, took out a few candles and her grandmother's grimoire from the purse she had everywhere with her, formed a circle with them on the ground, and started repeating the words written on the witches' language a few times. The dark magic penetrated her veins, until it reached her soul, and Alina felt it take a part of her soul, make it darker. By the time she said the last words, she could feel it had worked. It was over, she had ruined Julian's life herself. The darkness hadn't allowed Julian to see anything, and by the time he was out, shirtless, approaching her, Alina had hidden the candles and everything else and had returned to the blanked they had been sitting together. She had wiped away the tears too, but she knew if it was daylight, he would have noticed her red-rimmed eyes. The bright green on his eyes was vanishing, but Alina was well aware it was only caused by her dark spell. "Julian," she whispered his name. The urge to tell him everything was almost overpowering, and it was only the idea of her grandmother, lying dead on her bed that stopped Alina from talking. "Thank you. This night was amazing." "I'm the one who should be thanking you." The words pierced her skin like little knives. He approached her and left a small kiss on her cheek. "Two years from now. When I turn eighteen, please come back here, Alina. I have a feeling..." he trailed off, shaking his head. "Nevermind. Just please come back. Exactly two years from now." She turned her back at him, and bit her lip to hold back her sob. "I will, Julian." "Julian!" Alina called, opening her eyes only to realize she was in her old, small room. Letting herself cry, she leaned back on the pillow as she wrapped her arms around her gathered legs. There hadn't been a night in these past five years she hadn't dreamt about him. About that cursed night that had changed his life forever. But it was not a dream... It was the sin of her past.