Chapter 912: The Banquet
Rowena smiled at Prince Liam gently. "If I were in your place, I think I'd also be hesitant to leave. It's easy to fall back on your family and know that they're there for you and that's not bad."
She was telling the truth. If she had parents who seed to love her even just a tenth of what Liam's parents showed, she might not want to leave in the first place. However, Rowena didn't have anything to keep her in Ashland.
She never knew her mother and her father didn't love her. King Draco only saw her as a tool to achieve his goals. It was futile to try and get him to love her back
"Thank you, Rowena. Even just having a conversation with you is incredibly wonderful." Prince Liam looked at Rowena with an earnest expression. "Uhm... it makes think that letting you go is quite a sha."
"What did you say?" Julian interrupted with a frown.
"Don't disturb him." Rowena elbowed Julian slightly.
Prince Liam awkwardly smiled and stepped away from them. "I'll see the two of you at the banquet tonight. I have so things I need to take care of... but you owe a dance right, Rowena?"
"Of course."
"What about ?" Julian motioned to himself. "I know the two of you spent a day together, Your Highness. But you're forgetting about ."
"And you?" Prince Liam looked at Julian with a small frown but nodded slowly. "Well... let's just share a drink together. I'll bring you sothing nice."
***
King Xander was in no way a perfect man.
He tried to be a good king, but even he had his failings as a person that he deeply regretted. One of them was the fact that he had slept with Serena during his intense grief after his first love, Gabrielle, died along with their newborn son.
He was at a vulnerable point in his life at that ti, but he wished that he hadn't given in to his desires and slept with Gabrielle's sister simply because he missed his wife terribly and sought comfort.
Gabrielle was the person who made him wish to be a better person, a better man and he had been looking forward to the birth of their son.
However, two decades had already passed by and he was still succumbing to grief and pain.
He wished that he was a better father, a better husband, and yet he couldn't quite get over the fact that it felt like his chance for happiness was stolen away from him.
It was why when it ca to Queen Serena, despite all of her emotional outbursts and own issues, King Xander did his best to be understanding of her.
She was Gabrielle's sister and he wanted to ensure that the sa way that Gabrielle cared for her sister, he would also do it for Serena.
Which was why even though it was outrageous to et soone in the morning and then hold a banquet for them at the sa ti—he went along with the quee
n's wishes. Whatever made Serena happy.
This was the least he could do for them.
"Thank you to everyone who has joined us on this quite short notice," King Xander smiled wearily and greeted all the people close enough to attend the banquet.
He needed to stay strong for the family.
"Yesterday, my son, Liam had graced us once again with one of his beloved antics of running away from the palace, and yet during his ti in the city, he encountered two people who brought quite a surprise to us and even played along with the prince's escape."
Prince Liam was seated close to his mother and looked at him with a smile.
"It is why we would like to introduce to you the main guests of this fine banquet, Harlow and Julian," King Xander announced.
Both Julian and Rowena didn't expect this kind of treatnt, but as the double doors opened and the guests' gaze fell on them, Rowena smiled confidently and shared a look with her best friend.
The two of them descended the staircase and entered the ballroom together.
The voice of the guests echoed in the room, they looked at the table of King Xander where Prince Liam was seated and then looked back at Julian with shock and amazent. The guest looked so much like their own crown prince. No wonder the king was so welcoming, they thought.
Everyone was taken for surprise and thought it was so kind of trick of the light, but then they all applauded as the two arrived in the ballroom.
Prince Liam imdiately stood up and walked towards Rowena, he offered her a hand and asked. "May I have this dance?"
The music imdiately sounded as the musicians started their violins and other accompanint.
King Xander thought it was quite sudden for his son to take Princess Rowena away imdiately, but he understood that when a man was infatuated and attracted to soone... they could do irrational things at tis.
Julian was left awkwardly at the center as if he was quickly thrown into the spotlight that King Xander was about to gesture for one of the available young ladies who attended the banquet to co over, but Rowena did sothing surprising.
Instead of taking Prince Liam's hand and accepting a dance between two partners, she also took Julian's hand and then made a small circle. Now, the three of them were dancing together.
"Very unconventional."
"What are they doing?"
"That's incredibly strange, who are these people?"
Several questions already started in the ballroom and Queen Serena looked particularly annoyed at what was happening.
She threw a look over to King Xander and quietly hissed. "Do sothing about this, they're embarrassing our son!"
King Xander looked over towards the musicians and
contemplated asking them to stop, but luckily, he didn't have to.
.
.
.
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From Missrealitybites:
I just realized that Harlow's story is almost 200 chapters in and yet... there is no snusnu written so far. OMG! Thank you for staying despite that. XD
I do wish to write that part since snusnu is a good way to celebrate the love between the lead characters, but we are not there yet. Anyway, we are close to Rowena's and Raphael's reunion and then marriage and, finally, the story will reset and go back to Harlow.
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