Once Upon Many Times

Night of the Celebration, Part 1

The day had arrived, Brielle’s coming out party was underway. The staff have decorated the great hall in her favorite colors: purple, gold, and white. The large table on the left side of the hall was covered in a white satin fabric, platter after platter laden with various forms of food are on display, as well as a small section of the table for beverages. There is another table that is set up for the gifts the young princess will receive from the gathered invitees, with a few gifts already placed upon it. Smiling as she watches the staff hurriedly performing last-minute touches, Brielle is excitedly waiting for the hall to fill with people, in hopes of being able to see Adam. Her stomach feels as if it were filled with butterflies like the last time. Her anxiety is high when she sees the Seer’s apprentice, a shiver running down her spine. She wishes her mother hadn’t extended an invitation to her, but knew she couldn’t exclude her as her mother was a friend to Seer. Watching as the apprentice walks about the great hall, her fingers languorously, trailing over every aspect she touches. There is even a look of longing, desire in her eyes, yet her face shows signs of contempt. Not truly sure of why, Brielle walks towards her to ask, but is stopped in mid stride by a well-wisher from a neighboring pack. When the greetings were done, Brielle quickly turned to look for Athelyna, but she was nowhere to be found.

Giving up the search, Brielle finds her parents at the entrance to the hall, waiting for her to join them as they greet all the newcomers to the party, thanking them for accepting the invite and to enjoy their time. As the hall begins to fill with party-goers, Brielle still searches for Adam, looking at all the males with dirty blonde hair, knowing that he will be here tonight as he had said a few days ago, so she continues her search. She then excuses herself when she sees Julia from the Frostbane Pack, a young she-wolf she had met during a summer break and became fast friends with her. She considers her only friend, as the other girls had only wanted to be her friend because of her royal status, and Julia was just as lonely her, having had a hard time making friends.

“Alpha Blake, welcome. Thank you for coming. And who have you brought with you tonight?” asked Queen Amberleigh.

“Queen Amberleigh, King Ambrose, thank you for the invite. I have here my Beta Roman, Gama James, and our Alpha heir, my son, Adam, as well as a few of our unmated members. And where is our Princess?” Alpha Blake asked, as he looked around the hall and noticed his own son moving further into the hall himself.

“Oh, she was called away by a few of our guests. She will greet you, but do enjoy yourself while you are here. And tomorrow, we can have a discussion of an alliance after breakfast, if that works for you,” King Ambrose proposed.

“That works out well for me, my King. Now, gentlemen, let’s mingle,” said Alpha Blake, as he, too, moved further into the great hall.

The party is in full swing; groups of dancers entertain the other party-goers, while others are involved in deep conversations. There had been a few new couples formed as mate bonds were found and created. Celebratory sounds could be heard throughout the hall with a multitude of congratulations to those paired. While many have found their mate, there is one amid them who is still on the hunt, her eyes surveying all around her.

Finally, she spots a male who fits Adam’s description. Making a bold decision, she walked towards the figure and heard the most beautiful voice of the man she had formed a crush on.

“Adam?”

Turning quickly towards the voice often found in his dreams, Adam seeks the young lady. Instead, his eyes align with the Princess, confusion colors his eyes, and he stares at her. Not sure what is happening and trying to reconcile the voice with the person before him.

“Aria? You’re dressed...like a princess?” he asks, hesitantly.

“Adam, she IS a princess, she’s Princess Brielle,” said Gamma James.

The look of shock on Adam’s face gave Brielle a minute of pause, concern etched deeply on her own face. Worried that this may cause Adam to remove himself from her presence, she reaches out to him, her hand landing softly onto his arm.

“Adam, could we talk somewhere quietly, and alone?”

Nodding, Adam walks away from the group of people he was with. Brielle follows behind, keeping Adam in her sight. When they finally reach an empty hallway, Adam turns towards her, a look of frustration on his face, but he tempers himself as he doesn’t wish to cause his pack problems with his disrespect to the princess and the royal family. Understanding the cause of his anger, she walks towards him, her hands up in a sign of surrender, trying to give a sense of calm.

“I know, I’m sorry. I kinda lied to you, but not really. My name is Brielle Aria. I know I wasn’t dressed as you see me. I don’t normally like dressing all pompous-like, it’s too prissy in my opinion. I was raised with my two older brothers, we played together, fished, everything. My brothers never treated me differently and I loved it. Not my parents, per se. They want me to be who you see right before you. I wanted to tell you my name, but everyone treats me differently. I could never truly tell if they liked me for me or for who they could hopefully, one day, use just by being my friend. I actually only truly have one friend, Julia, and it took a bit to trust her, but I finally did, and I’m grateful, happy I took that time. Please, please give me a chance. Let me make it up to you.” Brielle says this, hope in her eyes as she looks longingly into his. She had taken a step towards him, taking his hands into her own, wishing he would take her into his arms and hold her.

Adam looks at his hands, a tingling sensation traveling up from his fingertips throughout his body. He knows what this tell-tale sign is. He remembers his parents telling him about it as they recalled their own love story. It was the mate bond. The princess is his mate! It’s weird to think of Aria as a princess. He knew that she was his mate, Aria, but to find out that it was actually Princess Brielle, he doesn’t know how he really feels about that. He told her that he didn’t care about the princess when he first met her. Oh, for the love of the Goddess!