The Wolf Guardians

Chapter 6: The Prince Charming

Rosella was still standing there after her speech. The entire class was pin-drop silent. Grace and Flora could see how well Rosella spoke; so that others. Jane could see she was really a noble-born. She was kind, humble, with an innocent aura around her, unlike Grace who claimed to be a princess but acted differently. She was even more generous and polished than lady Flora.

Minerva could see how well Rosella was trained for delivering a speech. It was not only speech. For a few days she noticed that this little girl was very well mannered in all other aspects, be it talking or writing or eating, walking whereas, Grace still could not do most of these properly after years of training, even Flora made some mistakes sometimes. Rosella was not just a noble born. She was different. Her way of speaking was not something one could just master by training; it was something she inherited from her parents.

“Lady Minerva, please let me know where I should work more.”, Rosella requested, seeing Minerva standing in silence.

“Your gesture was perfect, neither too polite nor too proud. It was enough for others to know where you belong. You improvised a few lines, I can see. But again, you chose appropriate words in replacement. You made eye contact with everyone listening to you without doting on them. You spoke just like a real noble lady should do.”, Minerva said with a warm smile. Rosella returned the gesture.

At the same time, a maid came running towards Lady Minerva. She said something to her in a low voice. Lady Minerva also gave her some instructions. Then she walked in front of others while Rosella took her seat.

“A noble lady who does not even know when to wear gloves!”, Grace said sarcastically.

Rosella heard what she said but did not respond. Jane looked towards her. She also had questions in her eyes.

“You spoke so well, Rosella, just like a true princess. But why are you wearing gloves?”, Jane asked Rosella in a low voice. Flora was also looking at her with questions in her eyes. Before Rosella could answer, Lady Minerva started to speak.

“Well, as you all know, the alpha ball is coming nearby. Hence all of your parents have requested me to teach basic dancing etiquette. For that, I have personally invited alpha Maxwell today for this class and he indeed agreed to volunteer.”, Lady Minerva said with a smile.

“Alpha Maxwell!”, everyone said with a radiant face. Every single person in the hall also started to talk among themselves, except Rosella.

“Jane, Flora! Who is alpha Maxwell?”, Rosella asked politely.

“Oh, Ro, you know nothing! Alpha Maxwell is the alpha of the largest pack in the Western Werewolf Empire. His position is just after the alpha king. Also, he is so handsome.”, Jane said to her excitedly.

“I also heard that he is searching for his Luna and that’s why he is traveling everywhere whenever he is getting an invitation.”, Flora whispered to Rosella this time.

“The alpha has already arrived, and he is on his way towards the hall. Now, before he comes here, let me remind you of some basics of dancing. Your posture must be gentle and polite towards your partner. You must bow before the start of the dance, as well as after completing the dance. You should never leave your partner in between a dance. That is an insult.”, Minerva said.

The maid came to the hall again with a box. She put that on the table and bowed to Minerva before leaving.

“And it is customary to wear gloves while dancing. I can see, Lady Rosella is already wearing one. I presume she knows some of the facts regarding the royal ball. For others, I have already arranged the gloves assuming that you won’t be knowing this.”, Minerva said opening the box. She took out the gloves from there and distributed them to everyone in the hall except Rosella.

After a few minutes, a young blond man walked into the room. He was tall and well build. His eyes were blue. He looked like a prince who just walked out from a story.

“Good morning, my lady”, he greeted, stepping towards lady Minerva with a charming smile.

“Good morning, alpha Maxwell”, lady Minerva greeted him back with a smile.

“Please meet my students”, lady Minerva spoke again gently.

“Ah, lady Grace. It's so nice to see you again.”, Maxwell spoke, giving them his charming smile.

“I am flattered, alpha Maxwell.”, Grace replied eagerly.

“Lady Jane! How is your brother doing?”, Maxwell asked Jane, turning towards her.

“He is doing well, alpha. Thank you for asking,” Jane responded politely.

“Lady Helen and Lady Isabel, how are your lives going?”, Maxwell requested them.

“Everything is well alpha.”, Helen spoke with a smile.

“Hope you have peace in your life too.”, Isabel replied.

“And here is the most glamorous young lady in the werewolf world! How are you doing, my lady,” Maxwell asked Flora this time with a warm smile.

“With the blessings from moon goddess, I am doing well, alpha. You also looked charming, alpha, as always,” Flora spoke with a warm voice with a smile.

Then Maxwell walked towards Rosella. He stood in front of her.

“And who is this lovely young lady might be?” Maxwell asked softly.

“Alpha Maxwell, please meet lady Rosella. She is from Northern lands,” Minerva introduced her.

“What a beautiful name for an elegant lady. A pleasure to meet you, lady Rosella,” Maxwell answered gently, bowing his head.

“Pleasure is all mine, alpha”, Rosella said politely, bowing her head a little.

Maxwell had met so many nobles, but she seemed to be different. He always felt other women always intended to throw themselves on him, but she did not seem to be like them. She was gracious and gentle, someone who knew her boundaries.

“Very well, alpha Maxwell. I was hoping you could teach some dancing etiquettes for the upcoming alpha ball”, lady Minerva said politely. Maxwell nodded his head. Everybody thought he would be asking Flora for the dance as always. Instead, Maxwell went near Rosella.

“Lady Rosella, would you like to dance with me?”, he asked her, extending his hand towards hers.

Grace came running between them suddenly before Rosella could answer.

“Alpha Maxwell, she is new to this empire. She is unknown of the customs. I think it would be better if we dance before her so that she could learn what to do.”, Grace said to him with a smile. Maxwell could see what Grace intended to do.

“Very well, Lady Grace”, he answered, taking her hand instead, with a frowned face. Minerva asked the pianist to play a song.

The music started slowly. Maxwell bowed first. Minerva gave signs to Grace to bow back. Grace did so clumsily, almost hurting her head. Then Maxwell took her hand in his and placed another hand on her waist. They started to dance. They were supposed to walk back and forth and after eight bits, Grace supposed to spin thrice.

Grace was a clumsy dancer, hardly knew anything about dancing. She stepped on Maxwell so many times. Maxwell warned her every time politely. He could see she knew nothing about dancing. Then they reached the part of the music where Grace supposed to spin thrice.

Maxwell let go of her waist and stepped back a little. Grace had seen others spinning in balls. But she had never done it before. Not knowing exactly how to do it, Grace started to spin, hurting Maxwell with her legs and elbow.

Maxwell felt disgusted. Neither Grace was lady-like, nor she knew what to do. Still, she took his opportunity to dance with that lovely lady, Rosella, and ended up hurting him. He let go of her hand at once. Grace also understood her mistake. She always fancied him. It was embarrassing for her as well.

“Pardon me, alpha. Are you hurt?”, she said immediately.

“Perhaps, you should learn how to dance first before demonstrating your skill to someone who is new here.”, Maxwell said directly in annoyance. Grace felt humiliated.

“Pardon me, alpha. Would you mind having another dance with lady Rosella?”, Minerva asked him politely.

Maxwell was irritated at that moment. But all his irritation was gone when he looked towards Rosella once. That girl looked so innocent to him. He never felt like that before towards any other lady, not even for lady Flora.

“Of course, my lady.”, he mumbled. He walked towards Rosella again.

“May I”, he asked, extending his hand.

Rosella held his hand softly with a gentle smile. They walked to the middle of the hall. Rosella let his hand go.

Maxwell bowed to her. She bowed back gracefully, holding a corner of her gown with one hand, and spreading another hand outward of her body. Maxwell could see how perfect her gesture was.

The music started to play. He placed one hand softly on her waist and held another hand of hers. She placed her other hand on his shoulder gently. They started to dance. Her steps were perfect. Her gesture was polite. They followed the music. He let go of her waist and she took a few steps back. Then she twirled around thrice perfectly. At the end of the last spin, she came closer to Maxwell again, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Minerva again noticed; how perfect she was in dancing. She did all the steps gracefully.

The music started to change, so as their dance steps. Maxwell could see how refined she was. The steps got difficult with the new tone, but she managed that with ease.

“You are an amazing dancer, Lady Rosella, for such a young age.”, he could not help but praise her. She gave him a sweet smile.

“You are indeed leading me well, alpha”, she said politely. Maxwell looked into her ocean green eyes with adore.

“When did you learn to dance?”, Maxwell asked her again.

“I used to accompany my father to all kinds of balls. I was five when I started”, Rosella said politely. Everyone overheard what she said. No wonder she was so polished.

Grace saw everything. She could see that Maxwell was falling for her. Flora was standing next to her. Grace looked at her once. Though her limelight was taken by another, she looked calm to Grace.

Maxwell let go of her waist and hand for the last time. Rosella supposed to twirl while moving backward, and then they supposed to bow to each other to complete the dance. Rosella stretched her hands upwards, making a gesture of a flower, and spun to move backward. After the first spin, she suddenly saw Flora stumbled on something and collided with her harshly. Rosella could not maintain the balance and fell on the ground, whereas Flora tried her best to keep her balance and landed on alpha Maxwell’s arms.

Maxwell saw everything. It seemed like Flora was pushed by someone and apart from Grace, none other was standing there. He held Flora tightly and made her stand on her feet, making sure she was alright. Then he ran towards Rosella and held her up.

“Are you all right?”, Maxwell asked her softly though he was on his verge.

“I am so sorry, Ro! I don’t know what happened suddenly. Please forgive me! Are you hurt?”, Flora said, rushing near Rosella.

Minerva also saw what happened. Apparently, Flora was pushed and Grace was the only one near her. She could not believe what Grace did today.

“Rosella, Flora! Are you hurt?”, Minerva shouted in a motherly tone. Rosella freed herself from Maxwell’s embrace.

“I am fine.”, she said politely.

“Thank you for helping me, alpha”, she thanked him gently. But her eyes were sad. She looked embarrassed.

“Please Ro, forgive me! I didn’t intend to!”, Flora said again, holding Rosella’s hands. Her eyes were watery. Rosella knew Flora would do nothing like that intentionally.

“I am alright, Flora. Please don’t blame yourself.”, Rosella said softly.

Meanwhile, they heard another footstep at the door of the hall. Minerva turned around to see lord Lucas was there. He walked near them gently.

“Alpha Maxwell! I was hoping we could discuss some facts”, he said tenderly to Maxwell. Then he noticed how irritated Maxwell was. His eyes traveled to others, and he could sense there was some annoyance. He could feel something went terribly wrong here.

“Is everything all right, alpha Maxwell?”, he asked him again.

“Lord Lucas, it will be better for the royals of Western Werewolf Empire if you teach your daughter to be obedient. She really needs lessons to be a lady.”, Maxwell said to Lucas in a bitter tone. Lucas looked towards his daughter and Maxwell once. He could sense she had offended Maxwell somehow.

“How could you insult me like that? I am the princess of this realm. I did nothing wrong. Besides, I have been taught everything by Minerva, who is not even a noble-born. If you think my behavior is not proper, blame her.”, Grace said aggressively, pointing at lady Minerva.

Grace knew that she embarrassed the alpha with her clumsy dance, but she could not understand why Maxwell became furious and insulted her like that. On other hand, Lucas knew his daughter was not obedient, she had always been spoilt by her mother, but he had no idea about her boundaries.

“Lady Minerva is an idol for many in Western Empire and Southern Lands, and you have no respect for her. If you had learnt even a single thing she taught, you would have known how to talk properly.”, Maxwell snapped at her rudely.

“Lord Lucas, your daughter is a disgrace in the name of nobles. Let me tell you what happened today, here in this hall. I was dancing with lady Rosella. She indeed an excellent dancer. We were at the end of our song and she took the final spin. Lady Flora suddenly was pushed towards lady Rosella. Luckily, I was able to hold lady Flora on time, but lady Rosella fell on the ground harshly. The only person standing beside lady Flora was your sweet daughter. It is a relief that both are unharmed. I will suggest you discipline her in time. She was raised with lady Flora but still hasn’t learned a single thing from her. Perhaps she can learn something this time from this amazing northern lady who seemed to be a true princess.”, Maxwell concluded and left the room without waiting for any reply.