"I'm sorry, milady, I did not realize that I would alarm you so much when I tried to bring myself to your attention."
Melane quickly straightened out her skirts, while peering closely at the young man before her. "Who are you?" she asked with wide eyes.
"Arone of Chalvaside's Bay, at your service," the man announced, bowing deeply. "I have been watching you all night," he announced.
"Have you?" Melane asked with interest.
"Indeed, I have," he smiled.
"Would you like to dance?" she asked politely.
"Most certaintly," Arone agreed as they walked out to the dance floor.
"Most splendid-a gavotte!" Melane exclaimed when the orchestra piped up a new song.
When the dance finished, Arone leaned over boldly and kissed Melane on the lips. "Until next time," he told her, before bowing and glideing away.
Melane stared at his retreating back, and smiled a lovesick smile. "I think I'm in love," she announced to the air in front of her daydreamingly.
Daine was standing in the midst of a group of people, all dancing, in a sleeveless dark blue gown. She was staring after the retreating back of a tall, broad shouldered, young man. She sighed, and turned around to head over to the refreshment table.
A servant approached with a platter and offered a drink to her. "Lady, would you like a drink?" he asked politely.
"Yes, thank you," she agreed absentmindedly. She was still thinking about the brown haired man. "His name was Arone, I believe." she murmered happily. "He was most certaintly a wonderful kisser. I do hope he kisses me again..."
"My dear, whoever are you talking to?" Ozorne asked as he approached.
Daine blushed furiously. "Um, no one. I was, er, talking to myself." she announced sheepishly.
Ozorne gave a hearty laugh. "We all do that once in a while, dear girl, so don't worry your pretty little head about it. I assure you, I won't tell anyone."
Daine smiled. "Thank you ever so much, Emperor." She said as she lowered in an elegant curtsey.
"Are you enjoying the ball as my guest of honor?" Ozorne asked with concern.
Daine blushed again. "Oh, of course! I even met a charming young man who I enjoyed dancing with," she told him with embarassment.
"Wonderful. Who was he?"
For some reason, Daine felt a reluctance to tell him who the young man was. She didn't know why, she just felt it all of a sudden. It felt almost like someone was screaming in her ear, yelling at her not to tell him..."I-I don't remember," she shrugged unhappily.
Ozrone frowned. "All right. Good-bye, M-"
Suddenly, Numair sat up straight in bed, his voice hoarse with shouting. "Daine!" he let out quietly before laying down again. He was drenched in sweat, and was tangled in his bedclothes. "She seemed so real..." he murmered when he got his breath back. He glanced at his watch, and saw that it was about an hour before he normally awoke. "I can't go back to sleep now," he decided, and jumped out of bed to take a bath.
At last, in the early hours of morning, Melane stumbled out of the ballroom and up the stairs to her palace quarters, where she would spend what was left of the night. She tiredly insterted her key and pushed open the door, and she slowly stripped off her dress and pulled on her nightgown. She fell asleep before she hit the bed.
Melane awoke the next morning to a knock on her door. She called "One minute!" in a strangled voice and pulled a bathrobe around her. She tottered over to the door, and it opened to reveal a young servant with Melane's breakfast on a tray. "Oh, thank you," she muttered, still half-asleep.
"An', I've got a note for ya as well," the girl uttered quickly, thrust a slip of paper in Melane's hands, bowed, and ran down the corridor.
Melane blinked, shrugged, and closed the door. She opened the tray and found a rich breakfast of bacon and eggs. She ate quickly and neatly, staring at the unopened letter the whole time. I wonder who it's from... she thought with interest. The moment she finished, she ripped the envelope open to reveal a thick piece of gold paper, with a large black scrawl covering the first few lines.
"Lady Melane,
I would like very much, after the splendid ball last night, to see you again today. Would you like to meet me in the riding stables at eleven so we can go for a ride? If you would prefer a less-adventourus meeting, feel free to send a note to my rooms and don't bother coming. However, I greatly desire your presence, as I believe we have much in common.
Sincerely, Your Admirer, Prince Arone of Chalvaside's Bay."
Melane smiled at the closing. He was her admirer! She didn't know that he was a Prince, though. She hadn't been riding since she got her memory back, so she didn't know if she could ride at all, but she assumed she could, so she pulled out some breeches and headed for the stables.
Melane saw a tall gray filly and a lean black stallion tacked up and tied to a post by the entrance. She saw someone feeding the gelding carrots as she approached, and as she neared the gates it turned out to be Arone. He looked up when he heard her approaching footsteps, and smiled when he saw who it was.
"Lady Melane," he bowed extravagently, "We meet again."
Melane smiled, but she scolded reproachfully, "You didn't tell me you were a Prince!"
He paused slightly. "It is not always...exactly the right first impression I like to make upon people," Arone stated carefully.
Melane's expression cleared, and she nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, I understand. Now what about that ride you promised?" she asked for a change of subject.
Arone's face brightened. "Yes, lets. The filly, well, I thought that you might like her. The stallion is mine. His name is Dragon's Breath. I just got him two monthes ago. He has a lot of fire. The filly is firey, too, but a bit calmer. I didn't know what your riding skills were...Her name is Honour.
Melane grinned at him. "They're spectacular! I love her already," she declared.
Arone grinned back. "I'm glad you like her. She's one of my favorite fillies. She's actually, um, mine. My parents b reed horses, actually, in their spare time..."
"But aren't they nobles? The king and queen of..." Melane stopped, for she couldn't remember where he was from.
"They used to be commoners. I actually don't live in Carthak. I'm here visiting. When the King of Dauntia, my home country, died, well, after a harsh battle, my parents were elected King and Queen. They were horse breeders before that."
"Oh. What an interesting story," Melane commented, because she was facinated.
Arone laughed. "Yes, it is that. Well, shall we ride?"
"Oh, yes, of course!" Melane said in embarassment, on account of the fact that she had completely forgotten!
