Prince Clover does another one of his fake laughs as he chats with the nobles gathered around him as his eyes scan the crowd for his fiancée but she is nowhere to be found. He hoped she wasn't ditching him as a way of getting back at him. It was surprisingly hot for a night which happened to work in their favour because they decided to hold the engagement party outside. The musicians are playing music but no one is on the makeshift dance floor.
He's broken out of his thoughts as one of the noblemen said "I must admit that I'm rather surprised the Ice Princess is willing to settle down"
He scoffs "She had as little choice in the matter as I did. Which happens to be none"
The other man shrugs "Look at the bright side, no group of men could sit around a table and discuss how they were inside of her"
The group of men laughed and Clover downed his drink before he did something stupid. He's glad Evangeline isn't here right now because if she heard that she would have probably caused a scene. A hush suddenly fell over the crowd and one of the men muttered a "Gods above" comment under his breath. Clover followed their eyes and he choked on air when he saw what got everyone's attention. Princess Evangeline finally decided to join the party and she's wearing sleeveless blood red dress, the neckline is low and the dress molds to her body so perfectly showing off her curves. His eyes zero in on the slit of her dress which shows off her left leg and he's pretty sure he heard someone gasp loudly. Clover is no shoe expert but judging by the black heels she's wearing, it seems expensive and his eyes finally settle on her face. She is wearing more makeup than she usually does, her lips painted the same colour as her dress and her blond hair pinned up in a fancy up-do hairstyle.
He grits his teeth before pushing his way through the crowd, ignoring the stunned whispers and when he reaches her he hisses "What the hell are you wearing?"
"My engagement dress" she tilts her head slightly to the side in an innocent way that annoys him. "Are you going to block my way or are we going to give these people what they came here for?"
He clenched his jaw so tightly it's a miracle it didn't shatter before he moves next to her and holds out a arm, she nods in approval before putting her hand on his arm and they start making their way through the crowd who doesn't know whether to clap in awe or look away from her scandalous dress. When they reach the dance floor, he nods to the musicians who start playing a slow song and the two of them start dancing.
"What are you playing at, Princess?" he whispers as they continue to dance
"I do not know what you speak of."
"The dress, the makeup and the grand entrance. If your grand plan was to make the entire land talk about you then mission accomplished"
"Perhaps my plan was to show you what you had" he frowned at her words as she continued speaking "And if you don't appreciate it then someone else will."
His eyes slide over the men in the crowd who seems to be having way too much fun staring at her "You're so infuriating"
"And you're insufferable"
He glares at her and she glares right back, when the dance comes to an end the crowd claps before joining the dancefloor for the next song and Clover grabs her hand and drags her away, Evangeline catches sight of Queen Charlotte who raises her wine glasses in cheers and she smirks before allowing Clover to drag her to quiet corner "I get your point so now you can go get changed"
"No"
He blinks like he can't believe she just disagreed "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you to go get changed"
"And I'm telling you no." she steps closer to him and he clenches his hands into fists at his side "This is my engagement party and I plan to have tons of fun."
She starts walking away but Clover grabs her wrist and pulls her back to him, she stares up at him and he really wishes he could wipe that stubborn look off her face.
Preferably with a kiss.
He shoves his hand into his pants pocket before taking it out of the little box and holding it to her, she frowns "What's this?"
"See for yourself" he releases her wrist and she takes the box from him, opening it and her mouth parts in surprise when she sees the ring inside
"It's gorgeous"
"It's nothing" he says even though he's pleased that she seems to like it.
She looked up at him and the look on her face made Clover know she was going to say something snarky "And are you not going to get on your knee to put it on my finger?"
"Gods, no. That would seem like I'm proposing to you which I'm not."
Her eyes narrow. "If you want me to wear this ring then you'll get on your knees like a gentleman."
His eyes narrow back on her, he's the Crown Prince of Harmpton and here is his fiancée demanding him to get on his knees for her. Christ, what has he gotten himself into? He blows out a breath before making sure that not many people are paying attention to them before taking the ring from her and dropping to one knee. She mock gasps and holds one hand in front of her mouth and asks in a high pitched voice "What are you doing, Prince Clover?"
He resists the urge to growl at her when he hears the party dies down and it doesn't take a genius to figure that everyone's attention is on them now, he says sarcastically "Giving you a ring, Princess Evangeline"
"Oh, you shouldn't have!" she says in the sweetest voice she can muster
He has to stop a laugh from escaping at her over the top performance and he thrusts the ring on her finger before standing up and dusting off his pants "Great performance by the way"
"Thank you" everyone claps and she stares at the ring for a moment with a soft smile before leaning closer and before he can react she presses a kiss to his cheek which makes the crowd erupt in "Oh" and "Aww's". He gives her an annoyed look while trying to ignore the warmth that flooded his body, she winks before joining the guest finally doing her rounds of greeting than he had already done.
"She snuck up on you huh?"
He glances to the side as his father joins him, watching Evangeline talk with the guests "She did." he says gruffly "She's not what I expected"
"Hence why your mother and I thought she was perfect for you."
He scoffs, keeping his eyes on the Princess who seems to be using sign language as she talks with another woman, he assumes she's her cousin Daisy. "She's as stubborn as a mule and if me having grey hair by thirty is what you had in mind for my marriage then so be it. I wanted what you and mother have, the soft kind of love."
King Henry huffs out a laugh "Everyone's marriage is different and sometimes it could be exactly what they need" His father glances at him "If you want soft love then you have to go through the hard part first."
Evangeline was on a high. Daisy agreed to the marriage with Duke Oscar, Prince Clover gave her a ring and she drank five glasses of wine which would have had her mother scandalized. She hums softly as she comes from using the loo, deciding to walk through the garden to head back to the party but she stops short when she sees King Henry and Duke Oscar talking and judging by their body language, it seems heated. She sneaks behind the willow tree so she can be hidden from their view but still within ear shot.
"I don't fucking appreciate you making sneaky comments to my son, Oscar." Evangeline stiffens at King Henry's tone, she has never heard him speak like that before.
Oscar just lets out a dry laugh "It just slipped out, Henry and besides it's not my fault you didn't tell him the truth yet."
Evangeline sneaks a glance at them from behind the tree just in time to see King Henry get all up in Duke Oscar's face "You should do well to keep your fucking nose out of my business or I will air your dirty laundry too."
Oscar holds his gaze but Evangeline can see he looks tense now and after a moment, he says "Got it."
"Got it what?"
Oscar's jaw clenches "Got it, Your Highness"
"Exactly. I am your fucking King, my word is law and don't you ever forget that" Henry shoulder checks past him back to the party and Oscar stands there for a moment before joining the party again. Evangeline frowns as she continues standing there. It seems The Clarke's have secrets of their own.
When she joins the party again, she's startled when Prince Clover wraps an arm around her waist and judging by the slightly dazed look in his eyes, he too had a little too much to drink.
"Princess, I was just telling the gentlemen about your love for reading"
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise, shocked that he was talking about her in a positive light. The men glanced between them and one of them said "That is quite surprising."
"Indeed" Clover says and pulls her closer to him
She smiles tightly, not really sure what to say to that or Prince Clover's sudden affection, one of the men pipes up "Are you nervous for your virtue test?"
Clover chokes on the wine he was drinking and Evangeline raises an eyebrow "Not that it's any of your business but I already passed it."
"Well I'm speaking of your second one."
Second one?
She glances to Clover for an explanation and he clears his throat before saying "You have to do the test again the night before the wedding"
She blinks a couple of times and her eyes dart to the men for a second before turning back to Clover "Why did I not know that?"
He frowns "You were not informed?"
"Obviously not," she snaps. "Do you think I would be standing here like a dog who lost its owner? I refuse to do the test again."
Clover glares at her while the men's eyes dart between them in entertainment "You will do the test and that's final"
"No" she says firmly and swats his arm off her before heading back through the garden to reach the castle instead of using the front door.
Clover quickly excuses himself and puts the empty glass down before following after her, when they reach the garden he grabs her wrist but she yanks herself free "Don't touch me"
He scowls but refrains from touching her again "I don't understand why you won't do the test again, you already did it once so what's the big issue?"
"Exactly! I did it before so I know what to expect and I don't ever want to go through that again"
"You'll be fine"
She glares at him "It's so easy for you to stay, because nobody will be shoving their fingers inside of you"
He stiffens "Don't say it like that. It surely can't be that bad, every other women who married a Clarke had to do it"
"And I feel sorry for them!" She starts walking away again but this time he grabs the back of her neck and pulls her until she crashes against his chest. And he doesn't know what the hell is in the air tonight, it may be the dress that she's wearing or the alcohol in his system but he crashes his lips to hers.