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Aliyah’s breath caught in her throat as Valerie whispered into her ear. She fought a blush off of her face, easing into the dance. Aliyah allowed herself to be spun, truly smiling for the first time since the party started.
“Well, Miss Morgenstair, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I hope that wasn’t a potential suitor I scared away, I’d hate to ruin a fine young woman’s future with my mere presence,” She replied, catching her father standing out of the corner of her eye.
Aliyah bit her lip to keep from smirking, returning her attention to the beautiful woman leading her in the dance. She was once more brought chest to chest with Valerie, taking a deep breath as she tried not to get flustered. Aliyah had no idea what was getting into her, she had danced with plenty of men before and none had this effect on her.
She continued glancing in her father’s direction, her smile dropping as she saw him speaking with Milo. Aliyah quickly regained her composure, hoping Valerie didn’t notice her moment of weakness. As she was once again effortlessly twirled, an idea sparked in her mind.
“Miss Morgenstair, if I asked you if you’d like to piss off the king with me, what would you say?” Aliyah asked as she faced Valerie again.
Valerie seemed conflicted as the pair spun around the room, but Aliyah patiently waited for her answer. It didn’t matter if Valerie said yes or no, Aliyah could always find a different way to piss off her father.
“If I said absolutely, what would we do?” Valerie finally answered, slowly migrating them to the center of the dance floor.
“Well, there are many ways we could piss off my father. We are already annoying him simply by dancing with each other, he’s not a fan of the possibility of women being close to each other if there’s a chance for romance. The same with men,” Aliyah began, grinning as she glanced at her father’s annoyed face.
“To piss him off, we could kiss in front of him, refuse to dance with anyone but each other, leave the ballroom and go to an unpopulated area, or I could let you try on my crown. If you didn’t know, letting someone else try on your crown or tiara is a major disrespect to your title. In the past, it’s gotten people disowned,” She finished as the song began to end.
For the final movement, Valerie dipped Aliyah, who kept one hand on her crown so it wouldn’t fall off her head. Aliyah’s eyes slightly widened as Valerie leaned down and kissed her. At that moment Aliyah felt like her whole body was on fire, but in a good way. She kissed Valerie back, her lips tingling from the sensation of their mouths pressed together.
“You’re… good at that,” Aliyah said, after they broke the kiss, breathless as she stood up.
She was blushing, if only slightly. People were staring at them, whispering amongst themselves and nervously glancing at the king. She giggled, pushing her hair behind her ear before getting ready to dance again.
“You’re also quite good at kissing, Your Royal Highness,” Valerie replied, smirking as she whisked Aliyah into another dance.
Aliyah glanced at her father, grinning as she saw his face red from anger. As she was spun, Aliyah discreetly flipped the king off. It was so quick, that nobody could be sure if she did it or not.
“Please, call me Aliyah. It’d seem weird for someone who just kissed me to refer to me by my title,” She insisted, grinning as the pair continued to dance.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTxtGzdLzTg
“Well then, Aliyah, please call me Valerie,” Valerie responded, gracefully twirling the soon-to-be queen.
Aliyah grinned as Valerie referred to her by her name, the way it sounded leaving Valerie’s lips sent a thrill through her. She felt like she was on top of the world until she remembered that she’d be on top of the world in one short month. That reminder was enough to sober her giddy heart.
“If you were to rule a kingdom, how would you like to rule it?” Aliyah blurted out, genuinely wanting to know what Valerie thought.
Valerie seemed caught off guard by Aliyah’s question, which didn’t surprise the Princess at all. She doubted any ruler of Eldom had ever asked someone how they’d like their monarch to act.
“I’d rule it in a way that everyone had equal opportunities and were treated the same,” Valerie hesitantly answered, looking into Aliyah’s eyes.79Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzBJwC2pGNR
The Princess thought about Valerie’s answer, something about it speaking true to her soul. She wanted to be like that but didn’t know how.
“How would you do that in a kingdom that’s whole purpose is to treat people differently? How do you bridge the gap between the lesserborns and the upper class?” Aliyah asked, her expression flickering from her calm mask to the desperation she felt inside of her.
Valerie kept quiet, much to Aliyah’s dismay. The Princess didn’t know what she was expecting, nobody had ever thought of a way to bring all of the people together. Lesserborns and the upper class were just too different, the power too unbalanced.
Aliyah knew her fears would come true when she became Queen. She’d be just like her ancestors before her, unwilling to change the way the kingdom was run in fear of things going wrong. Aliyah would sit on the throne, a crown she never wanted mounted on her head, as she gave everything to the upper class and nothing to the lesserborns. It’s what everyone expected, so why did her heart squeeze in her chest every time she imagined it?
“I guess there truly is no way? Are we all that different?” She asked, smiling bittersweetly as she tried to reign in her emotions.
Aliyah sighed, continuing the dance as she slowly built the calm mask back into her features. She let herself be vulnerable too much this week, she couldn’t afford to be so weak all of the time.
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