The Rival Lovers

Far away, in a land called Sirine, there lived a princess named Jewel, with dark brown hair and grey-green eyes. Jewel lived with her parents and younger brother in the royal palace.

That night there was to be a ball. Jewel had just finished getting ready when there was a knock on the door.

“Who is it?” Jewel asked.

“Keven, I have come to escort you to the ball.” A boy’s voice said.

Jewel glanced in the mirror, and then opened the door. There, standing in the doorway, was her fifteen-year-old brother, Prince Keven.

“Jewel, you look lovely!” he exclaimed when his eye fell on her.

“Thank you.” Jewel said, with a soft smile.

Keven held out his arm, and Jewel took it. A moment later, they stepped into a room. Queen Kayleen and King Ronald, their parents, were standing there, waiting for them.

“We are going to go greet the guests.” Queen Kayleen told them.

“All right. We’ll be right there.”

Queen Kayleen and King Ronald left the room. Keven and Jewel were just about to follow them, when a page came in.

“Prince Leos is here.” He announced.

In came the prince, he was the younger brother of the King of Noto, a neighboring country of Sirine. Prince Leos was tall and quite handsome.

“Ah, Princess,” he said, “May I have the pleasure of escorting you to the ballroom?”

Jewel hesitated, and Prince Leos took this as affirmative. He removed her hand from Prince Keven’s hand, and off they went.

“Jewel, you are quite quiet.” Prince Leos said, “If something is bothering you, you can confide in me.”

“Oh, it is nothing.” Jewel said.

“Well, you still may tell me, we are going to be married in two months.”

By now they had reached the ballroom. “I said, nothing is bothering me,” Jewel replied coldly. She removed herself from the grasp of Prince Leos and walked away.

He stared after her, and then looked around, no one seemed to have noticed the Princess’s obvious disapproval as she departed from his presence.

The prince was wrong, a pair of sharp eyes had seen the entire scene. The person was in the far end of the ballroom. They belonged to a young knight, named Sir Riley. He smiled quietly, and then sauntered over to where the Princess was. Prince Leos had already arrived, and he stood near the Princess. He kept interrupting Jewel to ask questions. She was growing quite annoyed.

As Sir Riley stood there, a lady joined him. Her face was hidden behind her fan.

“Isn’t the Princess lovely?” she asked in a sweet voice.

“Indeed, she is.” Replied Sir Riley.

“Wouldn’t it be a pity if she died young like the princess of Azlio did?”

Sir Riley started, and then looked down at the lady.

“Let us hope not.” He said, in a slightly wary tone.

“Ah, but you should be prepared for anything.” The lady whispered.

“Who are you?” demanded Sir Riley.

The lady quickly turned and disappeared into the crowd. Sir Riley gazed after in puzzlement. Then he shuddered, the lady had been Lady Arthleena, the widow of a knight that had fallen off a cliff while riding along a mountain path. His widow had gone out of her mind, and spent her time telling people that they might die. She was considered dangerous and was going to be locked away. How she got into the ballroom Sir Riley did not know.

Sir Riley turned back to the others. After he listened to their conversation for a moment, he slipped away. Jewel glanced up and saw him leave. A moment later, she excused herself and followed him. Jewel stepped out into the dark garden. She went to the back corner. “Riley?” Jewel called softly.

His figure appeared. In a moment, she was clasped in his arms.

“Jewel?”

“Yes?”

“Did you tell your father?” Sir Riley asked in a low voice.

Jewel was silent.

“Jewel, did you?”

“No,” Jewel whispered.

“Jewel!” Sir Riley said, “You must tell him.”

Jewel began to cry softly, “Oh, Riley! I can’t bring myself to! He’s set on my marriage to Prince Leos.”

“Jewel, everything will be all right,” Sir Riley said, holding her tightly. After a moment he spoke again, “The next chance you or I get, we must tell your father that we love each other.”

* * * * *

In the ballroom, Prince Leos saw the Princess leave. A couple minutes later, he followed. Creeping up in the bushes, he looked out. Jewel stood there in a man’s arms. Soon, the man turned, and in the moonlight, he saw it was Sir Riley. Prince Leos narrowed his eyes. Angrily he scowled. He would get Jewel to explain this, she was promised to him. Quietly he slipped away.

Jewel and Sir Riley parted, Jewel returning to the ballroom. Sir Riley stood in the garden, thinking. He loved Jewel very much. Prince Leos made him angry, always forcing himself on Jewel. But, Sir Riley had to admit, he was handsome. He also had perfect manners around the king. Sir Riley hoped that Jewel would tell the King when her next chance came.. Little did he know, there was not going to be another chance.

Sir Riley did not return to the ball, instead he went home. He had no wish to encounter Prince Leos again.

End of Chapter One

(Yay! It's the last story in the series! If you are not being tagged, and would like to be when new chapters come out, let me know!)