Royalty

Rosemary could feel all the stares on her as she reached for Louis’s hand, which made him jump. She smiled at him before she turned and started back down the path towards the seats, stopping right at the steps. The room had gone deadly silent, and she looked at her parents with a small smile on her lips before she turned back to the crowd.

Louis’s hand was warm and slightly rough , but it felt nice in hers. “Ladies and gentlemen,” she greeted. Being the King’s daughter, she had the same effect of demanding a crowd’s attention, though her voice was much lighter and sweeter. Of course, everyone’s attention was already on her, and her eyes traveled slowly over the crowd before she used her other hand to motion towards the man beside her.

“I welcome the very last competitor for my competition, Louis Tomlinson,” the crowd was still very silent, but there was a soft clap from beside them. Her eyes slowly traveled from boy to boy before they fell on the blond who was clapping his hands and had a small smile on his face. Zayn slowly followed, and he nervously clapped his hands together as the crowd joined in with the applause as well.

Though Rosemary took a quick glance at Louis, who was extremely nervous and was bowing repeatedly before she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder to stop him, she couldn’t help but look back at the two other boys. Harry was definitely displeased, though he was trying not to show it as he tried to join in with the clap as well, but she could see the scowl that was slowly appearing on his lips. Then, there was Liam, who didn’t even seem to care and was disinterested in everything as he studied the ceiling.

“Now,” she murmured softly as she looked up at Louis, and his eyes quickly met hers in a frantic, “you have to present yourself to the King and Queen.” She could see the panic grow in his eyes, and Rosemary smiled as she slipped her hand out of his and patted him softly on the arm. She walked slowly away from him and up the stairs as she went to take a seat next to her parents. She could feel the crowd go silent again, and her parents’ gazes were focused on her before they looked to the man with the chestnut colored hair slowly spoke up.

“I’m, uh,” he paused for a moment, stuttering, “I am honored to be picked by your daughter to compete in this competition, your Highnesses. I am truly sorry for my deed, and I’ll try to make up for it.” He bowed and kept his head down, and Rosemary could see the tenseness in his shoulders as he looked down at the ground and his feet.

It was quiet for another moment before she heard that hearty laugh and a loud clap from her father. “I will admit, son that I am disappointed in you for you actions, but, as I have always said, my daughter knows best. If she believes you are worthy and noble enough to compete for her heart, then I shall allow you to do so. Do you have any objections, my darling?” he turned his head to his wife.

For a second, Rosemary was worried because she could see the frown lines in her mother’s face and the disapproval as she stared down at Louis. It was just a second, though, before a warm smile spread across her lips, and she said, “I have no objections, my King.”

A laugh left the King’s voice again, and he stood as he smiled at the crowd. “Now, we have all the competitors for the competition, I will announce the first battle. Each one of these boys will be spending one day with my daughter. It is a simple task. From morning to night, they will be in each other’s presence. At the end of day five, Rosemary will announce the boy that she has enjoyed most. Is that fair?” the King looked from Rosemary to the boys, and there were no objections.

With a smile on his face, he nodded his head and announced, “Now, let’s have a grand ball.” The crowd cheered, and the band started to play music. Rosemary sat still in her seat, and she had a soft smile playing on her lips as she watched people pair up and dance, while others talked and ate on the snack foods available. Her parents were speaking softly among themselves, and she watched them until she heard a soft clear of the throat. It seemed to be for her, and she turned her head to see Harry standing before her with his hands behind his back.

He had that adorable smile on his face, and his dimples were shown off like always as he took a bow before her.

“Princess,” he greeted, “will you take this dance with me?” He held his hand out for her to take, and she smiled as she placed her hand in his, slowly standing up.

She curtsied before him as she said, “Of course, Prince.” Harry seemed overjoyed, and he started down the steps to the dance floor. Rosemary laughed softly, and she followed after him as her eyes traveled around the room for the other boys.

It was easy to spot Zayn, who stood off to the side. His head was down as if trying to not be noticed, and she could tell that he was rather near her seat as well. She wondered if he had gone to ask her to dance as well.

“Have I told you that you look lovely tonight?” Harry’s voice snapped her attention back to him as she placed one hand on his shoulder and kept the other in his hand. His voice was raspy and deep, and he talked slowly like always. She didn’t mind it all too much, though.

Rosemary was sure her face was a cherry red by now as she looked up at the boy. His green eyes reminded her of one of her favorite dresses that sparkled and gleamed when she stepped into the light, and his eyes were exactly like that. They seemed to sparkle with joy and a bit of arrogance, and they seemed even brighter as they looked down at her.

“You haven’t actually,” the Princess smiled up at him as they swayed a little, “but thank you for telling me so.” She could see the gleam of his teeth and the sparkle of his eyes as he twirled her. She could feel her dress flow out from her before it returned, and she was facing Harry once again. Her breath seemed to have disappeared the whole time, and she was blinking up at him as he chuckled softly.

“Princess,” he murmured softly as he leaned down. He was leaning so close, and her brown eyes were growing so wide as she watched him come closer and closer. “Princess,” he hummed, and Rosemary hadn’t realized that she had closed her eyes. She could feel his hot breath against her ear, and she suddenly felt his large hand that was pressed flat against her back. “Princess Posy, I’ll make sure to win this,” he whispered, only inches from her ear before he placed a soft kiss on the base of her neck where it met her shoulder.

It was such an old nickname that she was almost confused when he whispered it into her ear. Posy was a name that he had made up when they were younger since he had stated in that Rosemary was too long and hard to pronounce. When he pulled away from her, he had a tiny little smirk on his lips. Her eyes were wide as she looked at him before she realized that there were many, many people around her, watching her.

Composing herself, she devilishly smiled herself, “You have to show me then.” The song ended before he could say anything else, and she took a step away from him, curtsying before she was offered another hand. Her eyes followed up the hand, the arm, the shoulder before it reached the face and the shy smile that lingered on it. His caramel colored skin seemed to have flushed with a pink color spreading across his cheeks, and, unlike Harry, his smile was close lipped as he nervously waited for her.

“Will you have this dance with me, Princess?” he asked softly, almost breathing it out, and she placed her hand in his as she set her other on his shoulder.

“It would be a pleasure, Sir Zayn,” she replied, and she could feel his other hand rest gently on her side as they slowly twirled around the dance floor. Up close, she could see his jaw structure and his cheek bones. She could see the honey color that tinted the brown eyes he had, and she couldn’t help but see how long his eyelashes were. If she was honest with herself, she would say that he was the most handsome person she had ever met, and he seemed to be the most humble as well.

The smile that was already adorning her face seemed to stretch just a bit more as she looked up at him. “You’re a blacksmith, correct?” she asked, and she could see that twinkle in his eyes, the gleam that showed his love for his work. The way his smile spread to show his teeth as he looked down at her showed that he was slowly opening up a piece of himself to her.

“I am,” he nodded, “my family line is full of blacksmiths.” He chuckled softly at this, and Rosemary couldn’t help but smile even wider if that was even possible. The way his eyes squinted, and his teeth gleamed from the lights made her want to simply stand there and watch him forever. “How about you, Princess? Do you have any secret talents?” he asked, seeming to have more courage now.

Rosemary scrunched her eyebrows at this as she tried to think of something not many knew. With a small smile on her lips, she looked up at him as she said, “I know how to cook.” It wasn’t common for royals to know how to cook seeing how they had chefs for that, but it was such a fascinating thing to watch that she wanted to try. “It’s quite fun once you know the basics, but if you try anything fancy your first time around, you might set a fire.” She giggled softly at the memory of her almost burning the kitchen down before she looked up at Zayn, seeing his stunned face.

His eyes were wide, and they simply watched her face before a small, content smile spread across his face. She felt something funny tickle the inside of her stomach as he continued looking at her like that, and she couldn’t help but bite her lip, though she knew it wasn’t appropriate for a princess to do such a thing. It was just the way he was looking at her that she couldn’t bear not biting her lip like any other girl would have done.

“Princess Rosemary,” he said, and she swore his voice had dropped a few octaves lower, making her heart skip. Though she could see the tips of his ears reddening, she could tell by his eyes that he was so incredibly serious. “I hope you’ll choose me as the winner by the end of this competition.” With that, he slowly pulled himself away and bowed as the song came to an end. He offered one last, shy smile before he walked off towards the snack table, where Niall was coming from.

She could see him still chewing as he started towards her, trying to swallow as fast as he could as he brushed his hands together to get any stray crumbs off his hands. He seemed to have succeeded in swallowing the rest of his food down because he had no remaining food in his mouth once he was in front of her.

“Princess Rosie,” he grinned, having given her that nickname four years ago when he had first met her, “your cheeks are quite rosy.” He ran his index finger softly against her cheek, and she could feel the flame that he left along her skin. He chuckled softly as he held his out for her, which she took. Rosemary was familiar with Niall. The way his laughter seemed to spread throughout a crowd so fast, and how he was very skilled at swordsmanship, a thing he was proud about. She knew that his eyes crinkled when he smiled with that big smile he was always seen with, and she also knew that he was serious about his job, even though he was almost always joking. It was something Rosemary liked about him. He always seemed happy, and he always made other people happy.

“I see you’re off duty,” Rosemary stated with a gentle smile gracing her lips as Niall grinned down at her. His eyes were full of life, and his teeth, which he took so much care of, didn’t have a single yellow spot.

“Well, of course,” Niall nodded as he laughed a little, trying to be soft, though he was never successful, “I have to put my full attention on winning the Princess’s heart.” The way he said it, so casually, made her heart race and her palms grow sweaty. Niall laughed a little louder at her expression, and he smiled at her gently as he added, “It’s alright, Princess Rosie. It’s just Niall.” She smiled up at him slowly as she nodded her head, but she couldn’t help but realize that he was no longer just a knight. He was competing to be the King, her husband, and she couldn’t help but wonder how she was ever going to pick from so many good hearted boys.

“Niall,” she said as she giggled a little, “must you always be eating?” she asked as she lifted her hand away from his shoulder to brush the crumbs around his lips away. Her fingers softly skimmed over his face as she let the crumbs fall from his face. “You should at least clean your face after you eat,” she scolded as if she was his mother, though she was joking of course. His eyes had turned a different blue, a lighter one at that as he watched her. His smile, which was often wide and silly, was just as big, but it seemed to have a different emotion. It wasn’t silly, but she also wasn’t sure what the emotion was as he chuckled and shrugged his shoulders at her question. Rosemary looked at Niall, still seeing the little boy that they had brought into the castle. He had been so scrawny then, and she didn’t think he would get any bigger at all, but she was very much wrong. As Rosemary looked over his face, seeing how he had changed so, she couldn’t believe that she hadn’t notice before that he had grown into a man, that he was no longer the little boy.

“I’m a big boy. I must have a big meal,” he told her with one of his famous loud laughs, and she laughed along as well as she nodded her head at this. “I’m a big boy, Princess,” Niall repeated with a softer voice now, though his smile was still as goofy and wide as ever, “so please look at me as a competitor and not the little boy I was four years ago.” Niall always seemed to be doing this. It was like he could read her mind, and it was so strange because he would simply saw it so casually, her thoughts, though she doubted he knew that she was thinking that. Niall brushed his fingers along her cheek again, and she could hear the last notes of the song fade away as he stepped back and smiled at her once more before he walked away.

It took a moment for Rosemary to feel the pain in her feet, and, once it hit her, she was begging for the shoes to get off her feet. She made her way off the dance floor, greeting people with smiles and waves as she started out of the ballroom. The foyer and staircase were practically empty, and she started around the staircase towards the small little hallway that led to the kitchens to take a seat on the bench there. It was a bit darker with only a few lanterns lighting up the halls, and it took her eyes a few seconds to adjust before she realized that someone was already in the hallway, staring out the tiny window at the end of the hall.

His posture was more relaxed, though still tensed, as he leaned against the right wall. His eyes seemed focused on the woods right outside the castle. With soft, quiet steps, Rosemary sat down and slipped off her shoes as she set them gently to the side. She could tell since she first lay eyes on him that he was a quiet man. It wasn’t in the way that Zayn was, who didn’t seem to know what to say or was too nervous to say it. It was as if he was simply observing and keeping the things he saw to himself.

As the Princess crossed her ankles on the bench, she smiled a little as she said, “I did not get to introduce myself to you yet.” She could see his whole body go rigid before he suddenly turned around to face her. She could see his eyes and feel the way they looked at her. They held some kind of distaste in them, and she patted the empty space next to her, though she doubted he would actually sit next to her.

She was correct in guessing that he wouldn’t because he stood where he was with his arms crossed. “Princess,” he said sternly, and she looked back at him with her own brown eyes as she rested her hands onto her lap.

“Liam,” she responded as she stood, letting her bare feet hit the cold ground. She walked down the hall, and she could tell that his whole body was freezing before it calmed as she walked past him, “you can simply call me Rosemary.” She glanced out the window, feeling the chill of winter through it as she pressed her fingertips against the window. She looked back at him and saw the light brown facial hair lining his jaw.

“Princess,” he repeated again, and she giggled softly as she turned her head away and looked down at the snowy woods.

“I always thought this window had a great view,” she stated. “When I was little, I would always ask my guards to lift me, so I could simply look outside because it was just so pretty especially when sunsets happen. From this window, it’s extremely gorgeous.” She could hear the silence, and, for a moment, she thought he had left. It wasn’t until she heard the soft intake of air that she knew he was still there. “Why aren’t you with the others at the party?” she questioned as she glanced back at him. He looked away, and she felt a bit of impatience strike her before it quickly went away.

“I could say the same about you, Princess,” he responded in that same monotone voice he held, and she wanted to huff in annoyance at how he wouldn’t simply look at her.

Rosemary kept her ground as she turned away from the window to look at him before she pointed at the shoes she had set aside at the bench. “I had to get away because the shoes were killing my feet. I usually don’t wear shoes, but when I do, they are aggravating,” she told him. From where she stood, she could see the side of his face, and she thought she had saw a twitch at his lips like he was about to laugh. It was probably a figment of her imagination, though because it was gone as soon as it came. There seemed to be no budging on Liam for the moment, and she sighed as she walked passed him again. “It was lovely to speak with you Liam,” she sat back down on the bench as she picked up the shoes from the ground. She pulled them onto her shoes as she looked at him.

“I hope we can get closer,” she told him, but he had turned his attention onto the view outside. With that, she stood up and started back to the ballroom. Just as she was passing the hallway on the other side of the stairway, she could see a person lying on the bench there. She stopped and stared into the hallway with curious eyes, wondering how she had missed the person in the first place. As she got closer, it was clear that whoever the person was, they were sleeping. She could see the steady rise and fall of the person’s breathing, and she could see the light brown hair they had.

Rosemary slowly sat on the floor, so her face was right in front of his. It seemed he had ventured out of the ballroom, and she guessed it was to get away from the lingering eyes of everyone. With the previous incident, there would be eyes watching him like they watched her except they didn’t hold any adoration for Louis. With a soft sigh, she held a gentle smile on her lips as she watched him sleep.

Even though he was slowly growing a beard, sleep seemed to have taken a few years off his face. His face was now relax, and his cheek rested against the side of his hand. She could hear the soft inhale and exhale of him breathing, and she couldn’t help but let her hand reach out and slowly run the tips of her fingers gentle down the side of his cheek. It went from right below his right eye down to his jaw, feeling the rough, tickling feeling of the stubble there.

There was no logical reason of why Rosemary had allowed him to join the contest. He was a thief that was stealing from the castle, and that was a big crime to commit. That didn’t seem to have any meaning, though, not when you watched him sleep. The worries that had been clear on his face like words in a book seemed to have disappeared, and there seemed to be happiness on his face now. She could see the hints of a smile coming to, but it was just his tips that were turned upward. It was unlike earlier where he had been such a spluttering, nervous thief that had been caught because, now, she couldn’t help but just think that she had made the right choice.

As Rosemary ran her fingers through her hair, she couldn’t help but look at his light brown hair. It seemed like feathers on a bird, soft and gentle to the touch, and she wondered if they really were. She was tempted to run her fingers through it, and her fingers slowly reached out to run her fingers through them. His hair was soft and gentle. They were better than a bird’s feather, and she couldn’t help but blush as she realized that she was running her fingers through a man’s hair, which was highly inappropriate. She slowly retracted her hands, and she was preparing to leave Louis to his rest when she felt a hand slip around her wrist.

His eyes stayed closed, but she could see the hand that was wrapped around her wrist now, not allowing her to leave and return to the party. She could feel the soft tickle in her stomach from earlier with Zayn turn into an explosion as if a cage full of butterflies had been released ands set free, and she sat again as she placed her other hand on top of his.

“I’ll be right here, Louis.”