The Last Monarch

Chapter 5

It was nearly night fall when I returned to the Ainsworth Estate. I was hoping to enjoy an undisturbed night, but sadly I was greeted by an unwelcomed guest from the palace, the Royal Messenger. The poor man reached me as soon as I entered, with beady sweats on his forehead. It must have been a load of work sending messages on behalf of the royal family to the entire kingdom. The messenger was a man in his late forties, no more than a few strands of grey hair on his head, but wrinkles more than enough to scar one’s face. As always, Ronan sat in his seat by the tea table in the entry chamber. His face was stern with concern, obviously caused by the unwelcomed guest in his presence.

He cleared his throat, before nodding, “Anna, it seems we‘ve been invited to the Crown Prince’s birthday ball tomorrow. Isn’t it marvelous? He’s turning eighteen.”

My eyebrow twitched at the mention of the prince. Whatever concerns the prince clearly does not concern me. But there was nothing I could do but fake a smile back at him. I put on my usual act whenever an outsider is present in our circle. I smiled as all the ladies would upon receiving news concerning the prince.

The messenger seemed convinced with my act as he took a deep breath before saying, “Lady Anastasia Ramos, I’m sure the Crown Prince would be delighted to have a lovely lady like yourself attending his birthday ball. Surely, you must come, the Crown Prince is choosing a lady to be his betrothed during the ball. You wouldn’t want to miss it, would you?” His eyes beamed with light at the mention of the Crown Prince. And it beamed even brighter when he asked of my acceptance for the invitation.

I could feel chills tingling down my spine as he stared. I eyed Ronan who was sitting behind the messenger, he shook his head lightly, which made me confused. He is asking me to accept the invitation. Why didn’t he let me refuse it as I usually would? Questions popped in my head like flocks of clouds, but there was no time for me to mind the silly confusions in my mind with the messenger standing right in front of me.

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. It would be my greatest honor if I were to be chosen as the Crown Prince’s betrothed.” I replied.

The messenger nodded greatly, before storming out of the chamber hurriedly, leaving his presence heavily imprinted. The maid closed the door behind him, making me blew out a soft sigh of relief. I turned to Ronan immediately, desperately hoping for a reasonable explanation. Instead, Ronan held out a hand, stopping me before I could act.

“It would be futile to refuse the invitation, if not, it’ll only cause more suspicion. Think about it, what will the court think of a maiden who refused her only chance to be chosen as the prince’s betrothed. The entire kingdom is expected to adore the royal family, Anna.” He explained.

“Well, I don’t. How do you expect me to?” I answered, my voice quivers. Why would I ever adore someone who single handedly killed my entire family, who rid me of the position I rightfully have. No one in their right mind would. But it would seem I do not have much choice in this situation, I could only accept what was given and be prepared like a noble lady would to a ball.

With a great sigh, I replied, “Don’t worry, Ronan. I’m going anyway. I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

“No, you don’t.” Ronan stared, emotions deep within his eyes. A hint of relief flickered across them, accompanied by a tint of fatigue as well. He is tired. Tired of hiding, tired of pretending. And that makes the both of us.

X X X

At the night of the ball, Ronan and I rode on a horse carriage deployed by the royal family. Both of us were silent along the way to the palace. My palms were drenched with cold sweats resulted from my extreme nervousness of the appearance I was about to make inside the palace for the first time in the four years. I never could bring myself to enter the palace after the escape. It would mean defying my sister’s wishes, it would mean total exposure, it would mean any risk of me being recognized. My life is hanging on a thread tonight, whether or not it would tip off balance, I would have to make sure I got out of the palace alive.

Sitting opposite of me, Ronan seemed to unease as well, he has been shifting his position in the seat for a while now. He was as uncomfortable as I am going to the palace. He would be acting this way if he was going alone, but it was different tonight. This time, I was with him. Noting his discomfort, I reached his hand and held it.

With a tight grip, I assured him, “It’ll be okay, Ronan. You’re not supposed to be more nervous than I am. Besides, it’s a masquerade ball tonight. I’ll be alright if I keep my mask on and blend in as much as I could in the crowd.”

Hearing my words, he leaned towards me, returning the grip. “Make sure you stay by my side tonight, Your Highness.”

We arrive at the Royal Gate not long after we left, our carriage stopped on the concrete floor of the bridge separating Greenwick town from the glorious capital city known as, Wilhelm Capital. The palace was located in the center of the capital. The gigantic building loomed marvelously in the middle of the rich vast land. Its wall embedded with flawless marbles and silvers. As the carriage rode closer towards the palace, its silhouette grew bigger by the moment, like a nightmare intensifying with no end. There were a few carriages in front of ours, so we had to queue to wait for our turn. Inside the palace grounds, lights were beaming everywhere, illuminating every nook and corner of the palace. But underneath the warming beam of light, the thought of returning to the palace shed chills down my spine. Never would I have thought that one day, I would be returning to this place, a place I could never call home again. We rode up a broad path in glittering gravel and bordered by rows of elegant trees. To the left and right, stretching into the distance, I could see manicured gardens, rich with dark green of a rainy night. It took quite a while before we could finally arrive at the entrance of the spectacular building. As soon as our carriage stopped, a man in proper attire came to open the door of our coach. Like the gentleman he is, Ronan stretched out his hand for me to hold and guide me out of the carriage. He continued to lead me to the entrance chamber of the palace. I drew back a breath as I entered, the atmosphere of the palace still felt the same as it was four years ago, yet the past was nothing compared to the present. King Cyrus went all out to impress the nobles with the wealth in his hands. The decorations in the entrance chamber were all embedded with either gold or fine jewels. Unlike the blue gold wallpaper I had once known, the walls were all painted in red and gold. Bloodlust and wealth, if one had to guess the meaning behind the colours. Ronan led me towards the ballroom which was a few steps ahead. As expected, there was a man with protruding belly standing in front of an opened double door. Further ahead the door was a flight of stairs for us to descend once our names are called upon. The man took one glance on us and returned his gaze to the parchment on his hand.

He then called, with a bright voice, “Sir Ronan Ainsworth and Lady Anastasia Ramos.”

My breath quickens as my name echoed across the spacious hall, it took all the restraint I had not to run away. I felt burning gaze upon me as soon as I entered the ballroom. I noticed almost immediately that I was out of place. The ladies were all dressed in brightly coloured gowns whilst I wore a black lacy gown, not to mention the raven coloured mask as well. Many of the people sneered as I passed, some of them even bickered, “Look! That girl is wearing black. How disrespectful indeed. It’s the prince’s birthday after all.”

I gulped, pulling myself closer towards Ronan for comfort. Right this instant, I would die for any chance to hide my presence from their notice. Before we could blend into the crowd, I nudged Ronan in the rib, silently asking him to accompany me to the table of food located at the far edge of the room. There were only a few people eating as most of them only bothered to gossip. Instinctively, I took up a glass of champagne in my hand, hoping it would calm down the nerves. But before I could gulp down the golden liquid, the wine glass disappeared from my hands. I turned to find the glass in Ronan’s hand as he put it back on the table.

“You can’t drink that.” He explained. “Besides, you’ve never drank one of these before in your life.”

I chuckled at his words, my hand landed on another glass beside me. “Clearly you’ve underestimated me, my dear uncle.”

We stood side by side silently, not one of the nobles had approached Ronan, obviously, he had never been the sociable type. The only interest he has was in protecting the ones he loved. Any other luxuries would be pointless without them. I took my time to observe every inch of the ballroom as much as I can. From where I stood, it appears that the guests were separated from the honoured hosts. The monarch sat in their bejeweled throne on top of a heightened platform. A stair case wrought in gold and silver trailed down the platform and at the end of it stood two heavily guarded men. Based on the drastic decorations they had made for such occasion, it seems one has to act royal to be royal, even if their blood denied them of their false rights.

When the guests have all arrived, the lights in the room dimmed. As the music died down slowly, the attention of the room focused on the seated royals. A man in short blonde beard stood up from his throne, his mask shone in golden hue, ensuring the people’s acknowledgement of his power. He raised a hand and immediately, the crowd bowed. I followed, not wanting to draw needless attention. While we rose to greet his Majesty, a young man appeared beside him, his golden hair a remarkable resemblance of his father’s. The young man was masked in blue, his medaled uniform suited his body perfectly, showing hints of toned muscles here and there. Among the crowds, I could hear low whispers of shriek. The ladies were swooning over him hopelessly and I could not refrain myself from rolling my eyes. Woman, such easy creatures to fool with just one stare, if only they knew what monster hid behind those covered masks.

From afar, I could see the King nodding towards his son. After nodding back, the Prince descended the flight of stairs to the base where we stood. The man from before, who announced the names of the guests, rushed to his Highness’ side.

He opened his mouth and with a clear voice shouted, “His Royal Highness, Prince Alexei Deighton.”

The crowd clapped and cheered, giving their wishes to the birthday prince, I followed along. When the crowd quiets down once again, it was time for the Prince to choose his partner for the first dance. His gaze shifted across the sea of crowd, searching for the ideal lady of his first dance. I locked my gaze on Ronan’s shoulder, hoping that I would be eliminated from his selection if I did not catch his gaze. However, only after a brief moment, did his charming orbs lock its place. I did not know who that unfortunate lady was, but I certainly hope it was not me, I got more attention than I deserve today, any more would put my identity at risk. His footsteps tapped as he walked, each pace hitting harder on my heartstring. When he finally reached his selected partner, Ronan’s arm tensed, and that sent a twisted feeling down my core. To my dismay, his pressuring presence loomed over us and I had no choice but to look his way. I put on a charming smile as I turned, before curtsying before his Highness.

Up close, his blonde hair shone flawlessly behind his intricate mask. And for a brief moment, I am reminded of the man I met in the woods. But the thoughts disappeared as quickly as it appeared. What would a royal prince like him have anything to do in the woods. He is too noble for that. And the man was too kind and sweet to ever be a monster as vicious as the Crown Prince.

“May I have this dance, my lady?” A tender voice snapped me out of trance. And I immediately realized I was still in the ballroom and not in the dark woods with an unknown man. My hands freed themselves from Ronan’s arm and slipped shakily into the hands of the Crown Prince.

“It would be my honour, Your Highness.” I answered and walked together with him to the centre of the ballroom. The music restarted, melodies were sung as we started dancing. I tried my very best to match my footwork with the Prince’s but to no avail. For a few times in a row, I found myself kicking and bumping into him. Realizing I was dancing in front of a thousand people, I could not hold back the blush. I threw an awkward smile and an apologetic look towards the Prince, he only shook his head lightly and smiled back.

“I’m very sorry, Your Grace.” I apologized.

“Why wouldn’t a pretty lady like you know how to dance?” He asked, with the edge of his lips lifted.

Feeling offended, I replied almost without thinking, “Why should a pretty lady like me know how to dance?”

“Huh, interesting. What would your name be, if I may ask?”

I hesitated before answering him, “Anna, Your Grace. My name is Anna.”

As the corner of his lips lifted, he chuckled and said, “How coincidental.”

“Pardon, Your Grace?” My eyebrows creased as I ask, wondering about the reason for his words. But he never did reply his answer. He only shook his head and carried on.

Moments after we started dancing, the crowd followed in a cheerful manner. They formed a great big circle as they danced, turning and twirling with every step. Even with their masks on, the happiness in their hearts still bursts with every move they make. The dim room started to lighten up slowly and we were no longer the center of everyone’s attention. Surrounded by a large crowd, finding Ronan was almost impossible. My anxiety peaked at his absence, for a moment, my vision blurred. And it took a while before the prince’s voice fades in.

“Do you want to go somewhere else?”