Two butlers walked into the courtroom, one held a parchment paper in his hands.
"Lunch has been served in the royal dining room for the Lords and Ladies, if you will follow me this way," the first one announced, his voice rising above the chatter, loud and clear.
The second butler opened the parchment in his hands and cleared his throat before announcing, "The debutantes are to follow me to the main hall for debriefing of their stay in the castle and also to be assigned their room and to prepare for the first ball of the evening."
Before the butler could finish, some of the younger ladies began to murmur. The butler paused and placed his hand by his side.
"Ladies, I assure you, lunch will be served in your rooms," he quickly said to put their worries about skipping lunch to rest.
He opened the door and gestured, saying, "Follow me this way, please," before walking toward another door.
"I wonder when we'll get to see the first prince." One of the women uttered, the lady beside her nodding her head.
"I heard he was a monster with one eye. The second prince is dreamy," another fawned, letting a chuckle ricochet through the crowd as they followed the second butler.
Castella still held on to Lillian, "I guess this is where we part then, good luck on the marriage selection." She wished for her.
Lillian smiled slightly at Castella. "It's not like I have a choice," she muttered, her voice laced with sarcasm.
Castella let out a chuckle. She quickly hugged Lillian and went towards the dining room.
Lillian's heart felt as if a weight had been placed on her chest.
A familiar feeling pricked at her, as if she'd known Castella for years, but she just couldn't pinpoint where or how due to her lost memory fragment.
Shannon, living in Lillian's body, didn't know anything about Castella because the story had taken a twist.
The ladies were already far gone from the courtroom, leaving only Lillian, who snapped out of her thoughts.
She headed towards the door they had taken, rushing to catch up with the other debutantes.
She got to the corridor, catching a glimpse of someone's gown hem.
The material looked like what the debutants had on.
Without thinking, she took the corner. She suddenly bumped into someone.
"Ouch, watch where you're going," Lillian said out, her bum hitting the hard granite floor.
Her brows furrowed due to the pain of the impact, softly wincing in pain. "I should watch where I'm going?" A gravelly male voice spoke.
"You're the one who got in my way," Lillian whined, expecting assistance from the person, but he didn't move.
She held the edge of the table by her side and dragged herself up. Looking up at the person who stood before her, he towered over her slightly.
Her heart immediately skipped a beat; it was the first prince. She didn't know who he was, but rumours were already going around about him, ones that made sense and ones that even he himself was shocked at.
But rather, this was the very character Shannon had created after her crush, the man she couldn't access, the very man that Shannon always looked up to but was scared to approach.
Jameson looked at Lillian, scrutinizing her from head to toe.
"Watch where you're going before accusing others. You blindly walked into me," he said, his eyes looking into Lillian's own, with no shred of emotion.
Lillian felt a quick jolt within her soul, like she had known him all her life, but what was it that made him feel so familiar?
Jameson's butler, Daniel, walked into the scene. He looked at the prince and the girl who stood before the prince.
Both of them were having a staring competition, glaring at each other; he needed to diffuse the situation quickly before it became something more.
"My prince, this way to the dining hall." His firm voice interrupted them. Lillian looked away from the prince, breaking eye contact.
Jameson hummed in response, his hand holding onto his cane, shifting his weight slightly on it. He needed to keep up the appearance.
'My prince? My prince?' she thought out loud in her head, her eyes widening in realization.
Lillian opened her mouth to speak, but no words came up. She licked her lips in an attempt to utter a sound, but still none.
"I didn't mean to, I saw a dress hem and thought I was going in the right direction to meet up with the other debutantes," she shakily explained, not wanting any further interaction.
She took a bow and quickly took her leave.
Jameson looked at her, amusement sparking in his eyes, "Little fish, it's to the right and then the left," he called right behind her.
'Little fish, this man is something else, I don't look like a fish,' Lillian whispered to herself, grateful he had given her directions.
She left quickly because she didn't want any more interaction with the prince, trying to avoid angering another royal.
What was it with her and encountering royals, two for the matter, all in one day? Her luck truly was running out.
Jameson stared at Lillian's back till she was out of his sight. Smiling lightly, "reminds me of someone." He said to himself.