The Villianess story: A 100 ways to kill your husband
Chapter 471: The welcoming banquet

Chapter 471: The welcoming banquet

"Your highness," Ariel gasped as she stared back at those gold eyes. That’s when she recognised the dragon emblem they carried.

They weren’t just random knights from the capital but the imperial knights. Ariel didn’t know much about the royal family but had heard some rumours about the Von Drakkar family..

There were only two surviving princes, and the current king was yet to choose a crown prince, as neither prince was from the queen. The queen’s son had passed away in the last war ever since a new crown prince hadn’t been chosen.

The drunk who was on the floor was stunned by the trail of events. The magistrate was still on the floor begging.

"What should we do with him, your highness?" One of the knights who had the drunk pinned to the floor asked.

"Take him away. I will deal with him later." The prince replied, and he turned his attention to Ariel, who was still stunned at the fact that he was a prince..

She quickly let go of his clothes, knowing she could not afford to offend him. "I am sorry, your highness. Please pardon this humble subject." She bowed at him, scared to hold his gaze. How did a regular day of selling lace turn into an encounter with the prince?

She felt his gaze on her. The prince didn’t say anything to her and just walked by giving instructions to his knights. The entire encounter Ariel was scared knowing the difference in their importance.

The prince could order her hands to be cut off, and no one would bat an eye. That explained the shocked gaze from the other knights earlier. After they left the crowd cleared. She raised her head to stare in the direction they had left.

******

Night drew close, just as the seamstress had said, the entire town was at the magistrate’s home. It looked like a festival, a grand reception for the prince who found his way to their humble town.

Festivities filled the air, and laughter and songs echoed. In the middle of the large courtyard, a dance performance was happening. The magistrate had put in extra effort to get dancers all the way from the duchy capital.

They were beautiful, their bodies swaying to the music, entrancing all the men and filling the ladies with a bitter heart filled with envy. From the gates, Ariel could hear the excitement. She didn’t plan on coming tonight, but Claire had urged her to go after Claire overheard their neighbour’s wife talk about it.

It turns out that the boys were not on the field because they were participating in a contest tonight. After spending the entire evening listening to Claire nag her, Ariel gave in

She was dressed in all black, in her best gown. A black scarf hung on her hair and she blended with the night, alluring like the midnight sky.

Ariel made her way to the festivities, she glanced at the dancers and didn’t understand what was so exciting about the dance. It was obvious the dancers were trying to seduce the guest.

"Ariel!!!" She heard someone call out her name. It was the baker’s daughter who was rather friendly with her. She smiled and approached the girl who was a few years younger than her.

"I wasn’t expecting you to keep a seat for me, Lizzy," she chimed. Lizzy, a cute, chubby girl with ash blonde hair, laughed out. "It was originally for Thomas but I caught the bastards having fun with Jess." Lizzy huffed out.

Thomas was her boyfriend. "That’s a shame." Ariel sighed and then took her seat beside Lizzy.

"It’s his loss, he just lost his lifetime supply of fresh bread." Lizzy puffed her cheeks clearly still hurt by finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her with a slimmer girl..

She glanced at Ariel, the definition of perfection. Over the past few years, Ariel had gotten a couple of proposals which she ruthlessly turned down, making her quite popular, and then there was her with her chubby arms, no one wanted.

Lizzy felt a sharp pain in her cheeks, and her eyes darted to Ariel, who was pulling her poor cheeks. "I hope you aren’t thinking that the bastard left you because you are chubby. You make the best bread in town."

"Ouch, it hurts." She whined, Ariel chuckled amused by her cute appearance. She let go of Lizzy’s cheeks then threw her hand over the younger girl’s shoulder. "Stop thinking of nobodies and enjoy the night. It is better you found out he was a scum before you got married. " Ariel said.

Lizzy’s eyes dulled at the thought. Thomas was a merchant with a bright future. He could afford to have multiple wives.

"That’s true." Her voice trailed, and her gaze was now on the dancers who had almost all the men entranced. "It won’t hurt to be pretty. None of them can look away from their figures. If I were the one out there, they would probably stone eggs at me." Her tone was rather sad.

Ariel glanced at the dancers, then her eyes darted around the crowd. Lizzy was right, but not everyone was entranced. "Not all of them, one of them finds his drink more interesting," Ariel mentioned, drawing Lizzy’s attention to the gold-eyed prince, who didn’t seem interested in anything that was happening.

Lizzy’s eyes sparkled and she excitedly grabbed Ariel’s arm. "He is handsome. Do you know who he is?" She squealed excitedly, she didn’t seem like someone sad because of her cheating ex anymore.

Ariel chuckled, then glanced in the prince’s direction; her dark eyes coincidentally met his gold ones. Her heart skipped a beat and she quickly averted her gaze from Lizzy. They didn’t want to be caught staring.

"He is someone beyond our reach," Ariel replied.

The prince who was seated in front, opposite the town folks, noticed Ariel and Lizzy who had been staring. He scoffed, then turned his attention back to his drink, which was usually sweet. Although he was a bit puzzled about why someone with Ariel features could be found in a town like this. Even his sisters didn’t compare to her charms.

The night drew and both girls enjoyed every moment of it. Some men had tried to approach them but Ariel wasn’t interested. Lizzy, on the other hand, was a completely different story.

She had discovered one of the magistrate’s sons fancied her, but Ariel wasn’t optimistic about it. Knowing the difference between the two statuses

Regardless, Lizzy was excited and kept on talking about it. While they were carrying some of the leftover pastries to the kitchen.

"I think this is the last batch. Hold on, I will confirm with Father, " Lizzy giggled, excited about the fortune her family made from supplying pastries to this party.

Ariel nodded and Lizzy excitedly left. It was very late and the air had gotten chilly. Most of the town folks were already gone by now.

A few minutes went by and Lizzy wasn’t back. Ariel got worried and set out to find Lizzy, but she was faced with a challenge after wandering the hallways of the magistrate’s mansion.

.

She was lost, every path looked identical. Ariel, who lived in a small house, wasn’t used to big homes. Her legs continue straying hoping to run into someone who could help her

She heard something crash startling her. Ariel took a sharp turn, frightened to find an expensive vase shattered on the floor.

Before she could make sense of the crash, a hand clamped around her wrist, rough, insistent. She gasped, but no sound escaped before her back hit the cold wall. Then came a kiss, hot, forceful, and utterly wrong.

Ariel froze, heart pounding in confusion and fear.

.