章 14: Preparing for Battle

Prince William stopped in his tracks upon entering the bedchamber and seeing the princess in the window seat.

Sweet lord, he thought to himself. This is a fucking disaster.

She had looked lovely the previous day but now she was utterly breathtaking, clad in a cream satin dress that made her glow like an angel. She wore her diamond necklace in her hair like a coronet. The rest of her hair was left loose to tumble down her back in glossy ringlets.

William thought about what it would feel to run his fingers through it. Would if feel as soft as it looked?

"I guess this is what all the bards and poets were fussing about." he muttered to himself. He flinched with discomfort when he felt the blood rushing down to his groin and stifled a curse.

Oblivious to the effect she was having on him, Princess Camilla rose from the window seat and bowed. "Good evening, my lord." Her eyes flitted away after greeting him, completely uninterested.

Her reaction irritated William, who was used to being fawned over by women. Since he had been about thirteen, the ladies and maids of the court had all cooed over his golden good looks and fought for his attention. But the Moraigthian princess looked at him as if he were some tedious task she had to endure.

"We must go. The banquet has already started." His words came out harsher than he intended, but the girl barely reacted. Instead she quietly followed him out of her rooms and down the corridor, which was lit with torches that cast shadows on the stone walls.

He offered her his arm as they approached the doors to the banquet hall so that he could escort her properly to the high table. After hesitating briefly, she slid her hand around his arm lightly, as if she were afraid to touch him. His irritation rose.

The guards were about to swing the giant oak doors open and announce their arrival when the princess called out to them, "Wait!" in a shaky voice. William turned to look at her in surprise.

Her face was blanched white from terror and he could see her trembling slightly. It suddenly dawned on him how difficult her position was. Barely more than a child, orphaned and now surrounded by strangers, who would all stare at her with suspicious eyes and whisper that she was probably just as faithless as her father and brothers. He felt a surge of pity for her.

The malicious side of him though, felt a small stab of joy. William wasn't cruel by nature but it gave him a sliver of pleasure to see the princess wasn't as self assured and confident as she acted. She was just a scared girl, so why should he be intimidated by her?

"A little nervous, are we?" He leaned over and whispered with a cheeky smirk.

Camilla stopped trembling and shot him an incredulous look, biting her lip as if to hold back a retort.

He then watched her transform before his eyes. She straightened her shoulders and raised her head high. All traces of fear left her face and were replaced with a steely look, as if she were about to face an enemy.

"No!" she hissed at him between gritted teeth, refusing to look at him any longer. In the same cold voice, she commanded the nearest guard, "Announce our arrival."

The doors swung open and they stepped forward, the guards calling out their titles. The crowded room suddenly went quiet as hundreds of eyes turned towards them. William grudgingly admired how the girl refused to lose her composure and ignored all the whispers as she glided serenely towards the king and queen at the centre of the royal high table. She bowed to them both.

King Edward bestowed her a broad smile as he leaned forward across the table and looked her up and down. "Magnificent!" he exclaimed. "A pretty maiden is always welcome here. You shall be a most decorative asset to our court, Princess. No doubt by next week, all the ladies here will have cast away their veils and started wearing their hair unbound." William noticed a breeze of critical whispers and frowns work work its way through the ladies of the court at the king's remarks.

Camilla smiled politely as she was introduced to those at the head table - Queen Celia, the princesses Violet and Blanche who were married to the king's eldest sons, as well as the the king's younger sons, Rufus and Thomas. She then took her allocated seat to the left side of King Edward and gazed quietly across the room as the servants started bringing out dozens of lavish dishes from the kitchen.

William had been seated on Camilla's left side but she refused to even glance his way. His irritation reached fever pitch and he gulped down the wine in his goblet, barely tasting it. He noticed that in contrast, she drank sparingly and only picked at the delectable food before her.

"The king and queen will take it as a great insult to their hospitality if you don't eat." He whispered to her. As he leant closer to her, her caught the scent of her hair, which made him feel a little dizzy. Roses, he immediately thought.

Camilla aimed a quick glare at him but nevertheless placed another piece of fruit in her mouth. He stared at her full lips, fascinated. What was wrong with him? Why was he staring like an idiot when the court was full of pretty girls, all vying for his attention? William clenched his jaw and waved a servant over to refill his goblet. He took another gulp to distract himself and when he looked up he noticed a lady boldly making eye contact with him from one side of the hall.

She looked somewhat familiar, though William couldn't remember her name or anything about her apart from her being the sister of one of Prince Leo's knights. She gave him a coy smile and he smiled back. He stood up just as a lively ballad started to fill the room. The king was fond of music and his banquets always concluded with dancing well into the night.

"Do you dance, Princess?" He looked down at her, a challenge in his voice. She didn't look even slightly tempted, her expression flat as she adamantly shook her head. Not even a flicker of interest, he noted with chagrin. William bit back a snide remark as he turned to look again at the lady across the hall.

"Suit yourself, then." he remarked over his shoulder at Camilla as he walked towards the dance floor.

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