Checkmate

Chapter 4

     The day of the ball finally arrived. The ball was packed with royalty. Princesses, Princes, Queens and Kings all filled up the ballroom and they were all chatting with one another while Marisa and I stood off to the side.

     For once, we were dressed up. I was wearing a blue gown, one I'd worn to former balls, and Marisa looked stunning in her red gown. We were told to attend to the needs of other, but with how hectic the ballroom was, we didn't know what to do.

     "This is beautiful," Marisa said, looking in awe of what was before her. "This is my first ball. And it's just like how they describe it in the stories. So grande and stunning. Everything exudes royalty and the gold colour of the ballroom emphasizes it."

     I nodded, thinking about my first ball. It'd been years ago and I flushed, remembering the way Flynn had asked me to dance. It was my favourite memory. That was, until the Queen ruined it.

     "Yeah," I said. "It's stunning."

     My eyes wandered around the area, noticing a few people were dancing in the centre of the room. They were in pairs, holding each other as they spun across the dance floor, their eyes never leaving each others. Gulping, my mind went to Flynn and I searched for him.

     And soon, my eyes landed on Flynn who was surrounded by dozens of princesses. The princesses had come from all around the world. Some had a deep skin tone, others had a light brown skin tone, and others had skin so pale, you could see freckles and the undertones of blush easily on their skin. They invaded Flynn's personal space as they all spoke to him at once and Flynn looked overwhelmed as he held his hands up to ward them off.

     "Okay, I feel bad for Flynn now," Marisa said. "Poor guy is being harassed."

     My eyes remained on Flynn and all the princesses that surrounded him. They were all beautiful. In their luxurious gowns, they made me feel insignificant and I gulped. Thinking about how I told Flynn he could find the love of his life, I grew sick as I realized I didn't want that to happen. Despite what I said, I didn't want Flynn to be with someone. And tearing up, I realized how foolish I was. I was in love with the old Flynn and the old Flynn was gone. The sooner I realized that, the better.

     "Are you okay?" Marisa asked.

     "Yes," I said. "I'm fine."

     Marissa frowned and I smiled, wishing she'd believe me. Despite how pitiful I was, I hoped she wouldn't push.

     "Okay," Marisa said. "I'll be back. One of the princesses made a mess by the punch table. I'll go mop it up quickly."

     "Okay."

     Marisa rushed off and I clasped my hands together. Growing nervous and bored, I decided to grab some snacks myself. After spending hours standing off to the side with Marisa, I hadn't realized how hungry I was.

     I walked to where all the snacks were. On the long table there were crumpets and crackers, arranged on a double layered glass tray, and they were decorated with they finest cheese. I grabbed a small glass plate and placed a few crumpets on it. My stomach began to grumble and I flushed as I straightened up to leave. But before I left, I stuffed a crumpet into my mouth.

     "Helena," Flynn said.

     I nearly choked on the crumpet in my mouth. Swallowing it and gasping, I whirled to face Flynn who looked amused. My cheeks reddened at the sight of him.

     "Yes, your highness," I said. I fought back the urge to glare at him.

     Flynn stepped towards me and closed off the distance between us. He was so close that I had to lift my face up to look at him. And as he looked down at me, his eyes gentle, I gulped. My heart stuttered as Flynn just stood there, staring down at me.

     "What do you want?" I asked. My voice shook with every word I spoke.

     "Would you like to dance with me?" Flynn asked.

     My eyes widened. Flashbacks of the ball we attended when he was sixteen appeared in my mind and I had to step back. Annoyed, the feeling of being toyed with rose within me. Flynn kept playing with me. He kept making me feel loved and cared for, but then he would toss me aside when he was done with me. And narrowing my eyes at him, I couldn't conceal my real feelings.

     "Why?" I asked. "So your mother can yell at me and make me feel like a worthless servant?"

     Flynn's eyes widened. My chest rose and fell quickly as I found it hard to breathe.

     "No, of course not," Flynn said. "It's just that the princesses won't leave me alone. I feel really overwhelmed, so I told them I was going to dance wth you. So if you would help me keep up my lie, that would mean a lot."

     My eyes were locked on Flynn's. They didn't waver as I searched his face, wondering why he kept coming back to me. He threw me away a year ago. He didn't deserve my kindness, but yet my knees grew weeks. As he stared at me, his eyes so gentle and full of yearning, my heart wouldn't allow me to deny this.

     "Please," Flynn whispered.

     "Fine," I said. "I'll dance with you."

     Flynn let out a sigh of relief and he extended a hand out towards me. Hesitantly, I took it and Flynn led me to the dance floor. We now stood in the centre of it, surrounded by other couples dancing. And as I stared at Flynn, I found myself transporting back to our last dance. I'd been so happy back then. So infatuated by Flynn and I had to look away. Hurt by everything he did to me, I couldn't meet his eyes.

     Flynn placed one hand on my hips and he began to move back. I followed his movements and soon, we were twirling around the dance floor, hand-in-hand as we danced. We were only a few inches apart and Flynn's eyes were glued to mine. I stared up at him, feeling my heart pound. Memories of us years ago dancing popped into my mind and I thought about how hopeful I'd been back then. As Flynn and I danced, I thought we could be. I thought that one day, we'd be together and I yanked my eyes away, reminding myself of how we were now. Flynn didn't care about me. He was only using me and I couldn't bare to look at him any longer.

     "Helena," Flynn whispered.

    I couldn't bare to meet his eyes again, so I continued to look away. My heart was still pounding and I closed my eyes momentarily, wishing things were different. I wished Flynn never broke my heart.

     "Helena," Flynn said. "Please look at me."

     Gulping, I brought my eyes back up to meet his. He was already staring at me, his eyes so gentle that I was locked in his gaze. I'd never seen Flynn look at me like this. With a look that had so many emotions in it. So many conflicting emotions that for a moment, Flynn and I just stared at each other, speechless as we got lost in each other's eyes.

     But all of the sudden, Flynn stopped dancing. I nearly fell, but Flynn caught me. But almost immediately, he dropped his hands away from me and stepped back, and I frowned. His eyes were wide with panic and after taking a few steps away from me, he concealed his expression with a neutral look.

     "I'm sorry," Flynn said. "But I have to go."

     "Where?" I whispered.

     Flynn looked pained and he shook his head. He whirled around then and stalked off, and I stared after him, feeling my heart pound. My heart sunk as Flynn left the ballroom and left me behind, and all I could do was stare after him, wondering why he pushed me away. Not only now, but in the past as well. Did Flynn actually hate me? Or was there something more to his actions?