Stay Away From The Prime Minister
What was more embarrassing than sneezing on your partner’s face right in the middle of a near kiss? Falling sick right after. Elora had felt like a teenage girl scared to have her first ever kiss. For goodness’s sake, she was past twenty years of age and it was only just a kiss.
Additionally, it was with her husband and it wasn’t an improper thing to do. Yet she’d been nervous to death and had even sneezed right on his face. So embarrassing and unladylike was this that she wished she could switch the hands of time. Now, even after a whole night had passed, she still couldn’t bring herself to face the Prince.
“My lady. We must go now, the prince is waiting, " Lia's voice resounded from behind her. The servants angled the tall mirror in her direction and her mouth fell open once she saw her reflection in it.
She was clad in a stunning black off-the-shoulder ball gown with the corset tied so tightly against her waist, she could barely breathe. Her hair was tied in a low bun crowned with a silver tiara and her hands were covered with black silky gloves.
“It…it is not my birthday celebration,” she asked, amazed by her appearance. But it looked like it was her birthday instead of the Prime Minister’s. She hadn’t even met him yet, nor was she family or a friend to dress this way.
“His highness had picked this dress,” Hila informed.
Her gaze lifted. “He did?” Her hand traced over the silver stonings on the black fabric.
“Yes, my lady. His highness has such good taste. We must leave now. The prince must be waiting already.”
She nodded and after a sigh, turned around and began to walk out of the room.
Elora halted the instant she stepped through the mansion’s door. Her gaze settled upon the man who stood beside the waiting carriage.
He wore a dark fitted shirt and then an overcoat over his shoulders, the collar of the fabric in red. His silver-black hair was slicked back, gleaming beneath the evening glow. Leaning against the carriage, he looked like a god.
Clearing her throat, she began to walk again. Her face burned as his gaze trailed over her form, from her head down to her red shoes before finally settling back on her as she reached him.
“Your highness,” she lowered her knees and greeted.
She took his outstretched hand and climbed into the carriage with him following behind her. They sat opposite each other and Elora fixed her gaze outside the carriage to avoid staring at him. She noticed the tiny flickers of green grass and trees in the forests as they moved. For a whole hour, silence reigned between them.
Why wasn’t he speaking to her? She thought. She wondered what he thought about her after the previous night.
“Did you have a good night's rest?”
She tore her eyes off the window and replied almost immediately. “I did.”
He nodded. “I see. And your dress?” He questioned, “Is it to your liking?”
Her head bobbed up and down. “It is. Thank you. I like it.”
“I am relieved that you like it. You look heavenly.”
She blushed, her hands fiddling with her dress. “You…you look splendid as well.” Like a god.
She saw his lips curl into a small smile. The carriage became silent again and only the sounds of the trots and snorts of the horses echoed in the lone road. Her cheeks burned further when his eyes remained on hers, not caring about anything, just fixated on her, and with only just that look, she felt her heart skip a tiny beat.
“You are going to stay away from the Prime Minister.”
“Pardon?”
“You will stay away from the prime minister at the birthday party. When you see him coming from the other side, turn the other way. In fact, do not leave my side. Do you understand, Princess?”
Elora’s face settled into a frown. “But it…it is his birthday. He might suspect something.”
“Have you forgotten why we’re attending?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t.” They had a mission to find out the reason for the princess’s death.
“Good. If you find anything suspicious, do not go close to it. Tell me, immediately. Do you hear me?”
She bobbed her head up and down.
“Use your words, princess.”
“Yes.” With each gallop of the horses outside, her nervousness increased.
“He is a dangerous man,” he stated, his voice carrying a hint of hatred that made Elora wonder what was between the prime minister and her husband.
“You…you seem to dislike him a lot.”
“Believe me, I truly do. He is undefeatable, extremely powerful, and a damning, cunning thwart.”
At his words, she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Although she hadn’t even met the prime minister, the mention of him caused her great unrest. He seemed like a really terrible person. It made her scared. Did she make the right decision by coming to the celebration with him? He was asking her to beware of a damning undefeatable vampire but the thought of being in such a man’s presence alone was gut-wrenching.
“Stay by my side and you’ll be safe,” he concluded.
She gave a low nod, still deep in thought. Before any of them could say anything else, the carriage suddenly swayed and a sudden force pulled her off her seat. She let out a shriek as her body was all of a sudden flung to the opposite side. Her body fell against his, her hands settling on his shoulders as he wrapped a hand around her waist.
Her heart grew a second away from exploding when her eyes fell on his.
“Are you okay?” He whispered.
She opened her mouth to speak but no words fell out of it. Their faces were so close, she could barely think.
Their gazes broke when the carriage came to an abrupt stop. In an instant, he switched their positions. She sat in the position he once occupied while his hands instantly drew out his sword from its sheath at his waist. In the blink of an eye, he pushed the carriage’s door open and barged out.
Elora wrapped a hand around herself. We’re they in danger?
She heard the hushed voices outside before Rafael jumped back into the carriage, his sword already back in its sheath.
“Are…are we in trouble?”
“It was a pothole. We shall continue the journey.”