Chapter 68

Claudia's POV
Less than an hour left till I was going to be introduced as an official princess.
"You look gorgeous!" Clara gushed playing with my hair. I giggled and thanked her.
For the first time, I actually felt beautiful. My hair was professionally curled and hung freely. My eyes were painted with black eyeliner. The dark eye shadow that had a hint of ivory made my eyes pop even more. The lip-gloss made my lips sparkled thus giving them a beautiful shade of pink. My dress hugged my body perfectly, making my curves show. The five inched purple high heels added to its beauty.
"You look amazing as well!" And that was the truth. The elegant golden dress that Clara was wearing was beautiful. The golden dress caught the light perfectly and the trail danced like a golden river when Clara walked. The diamond encrusted bodice shimmered and sparkled, and a sash sat on her delicate shoulders.
"Oh shut up." She rolled her eyes. Clara was about to say something when someone opened the door. It was Westley.
"Clara, princess, the guests have-" Westley eyes went wide when he saw me. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Clara smirk and I blushed. Westley shook his head.
"The guests arrived so we have to go down." He stood up at full height. He was wearing a black tuxedo with a grey waistcoat and a grey tie, in addition to a grey napkin that was tucked neatly into his pocket. I nodded and followed him out of the chamber. My lips were trembling, I was so nervous.
Come on Claudia! You can do this.
Westley and I walked down the staircase, Clara tagging behind and we finally reached the Grand Reception. The entrance was open, allowing everyone to walk in. Clara giggled making both Westley and I look at her.
She finally went crazy.
"Mark." My eyes went to a large brunette man with forest green eyes. He was wearing a black tux with a white tie. He was standing in front of Clara, placing a small kiss on the back of her hand.
So this is the guy that Clara spent an hour talking about.
I looked ahead of me and stared at Westley, who was looking down at me.
He smiled.
"Ready?"
Ready as I'll ever be.
I nodded and tucked my arm under his. We entered through the door into the breathtaking ballroom. Large windows let light stream in from both sides of the room, two huge chandeliers hung from the intricately designed ceiling. The walls were white with gold details and linings. A grand piano sat in the corner of the room, playing beautiful classical music. Once we entered the ballroom, all eyes were set on us. Men were looking at me with eyes full of lust while women were glaring at me.
They'll love you. Clara's words rang in my ears.
Well they sure do from the glares women are sending me.
I spotted the guys talking with a bunch of beautiful women. Benson was the first one to notice us and was soon followed by the guys. All of them were looking at me with admiration, making my cheeks heat up. Gosh, why is everyone staring at me like that?
When we reached them, the ladies curtsied. I smiled at the guys and murmured a hello. Anger flared inside of me when I noticed a blonde woman practically throwing herself at Maxwell. She was trying to get his attention but Maxwell was too busy looking at me. The way he was watching me made my cheeks heat up, but that only made him smirk. He was wearing a black suit and waistcoat with a pink and black striped tie.
Pink? Well that's new.
I looked at Benson and Kenneth too. Benson was wearing a black suit and waistcoat and a brown striped tie while Kenneth was wearing a black suit with a satin collar trim and tie.
All of the guys complimented me and I thanked them. Of course, with them being princes, many people came and started talking with them, hell, they started talking to me too. Half an hour passed and I was talking to three women, all from different kingdoms. All of a sudden, everyone became quiet including the guys and me.
"Please welcome the queen and king of the Werewolf Kingdom." A man's voice boomed. I looked at Benson and saw him grinning. Both of the king and queen walked down the big stairway. Bronze statues stood at the bottom, holding up candles that lit up the whole staircase. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, the crowd parted and bowed. Both of them walked to the end of the ball room where seven royal chairs were placed.
The same thing happened with the King and Queen of the Angel Kingdom and Vampire kingdom. When Maxwell's parents walked down the staircase, I noticed Maxwell glaring at his father. Huh? Why is he glaring...?
I was about to ask him that when the voice boomed.
"Please welcome the King of the Witch Kingdom."
I grinned when I saw my uncle. He looked very handsome with white tux and beige waistcoat and tie he was wearing. Once my uncle sat, the music started playing. Many couples walked to the middle of the ballroom and started dancing. That went on for about half an hour, until my uncle stood up. The crowd stopped dancing and went silent.
He cleared his throat.
"As you all know, we have all gathered for a reason. It is known how my brother, king Loenard, died but what no one knew was that he left an heir to the throne." People gasped and started to whisper. My uncle stepped down and started walking in our direction. I could hear my heart pounding; I became nervous, knowing that the moment was here. Clara took my hand and gave it a squeeze before letting it go and stepping back.
"Silence!" My uncle bellowed and again, the crowd stood still without a word. He was now standing next to me.
"Our heir is right here, with us. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the heir of the throne, princess Claudia White." He voice rang through the room.
A bunch of people started clapping and soon, the whole ballroom erupted with applause. I blew out a breath of relief and smiled at them. My uncle gave me a one sided hug then returned to his seat and the music started once again. All too soon, I was bombarded with people.
What elements can you control?
Have you known you're a princess all along?
Who designed your dress?
Who made your hair?
You look wonderful?
And that went on for about an hour. I excused myself telling the women that I needed some fresh air.
I turned around and walked out to the garden. I took in a deep breath and smiled.
Well that went well.
I leaned against a big ash tree and stared at the large lake in front of me with my arms crossed. A gust of wind blew making my hair drift all over the place.
"Overwhelmed?" I jumped startled when I heard his voice but smiled. Maxwell.
"Kind of."
"They seem to love you." He walked forward till our chests touched.
"I noticed." I replied with a small smile but suddenly remembered yesterday and took a few steps back.
"I'm still mad at you." I pointed out looking anywhere but him. I gasped when I felt his hot breath near my ear.
"And why is that?" I tried my hardest not to moan when he licked the place under my earlobe.
Compose yourself Claudia!
"You know w-why." He started licking down my neck.
"And what if I don't?" He whispered. I was about to reply when I saw someone behind Maxwell.
Oh no...
My jaw dropped, the only thing I could say was his name.
"Westley?"