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 seemed 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 me think that letting you go is quite a shame."

"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 some things I need to take care of... but you owe me a dance right, Rowena?"

"Of course."

"What about me?" Julian motioned to himself. "I know the two of you spent a day together, Your Highness. But you're forgetting about me."

"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 something 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 time, 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 pa.s.sed by and he was still succ.u.mbing 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 came 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 same way that Gabrielle cared for her sister, he would also do it for Serena.

Which was why even though it was outrageous to meet someone in the morning and then hold a banquet for them at the same timehe 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 time 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 treatment, 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 amazement. 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 some kind of trick of the light, but then they all applauded as the two arrived in the ballroom.

Prince Liam immediately stood up and walked towards Rowena, he offered her a hand and asked. "May I have this dance?"

The music immediately sounded as the musicians started their violins and other accompaniment.

King Xander thought it was quite sudden for his son to take Princess Rowena away immediately, but he understood that when a man was infatuated and attracted to someone... they could do irrational things at times.

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 come over, but Rowena did something 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 something about this, they're embarra.s.sing 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.