105 Chapter 104: Arriving with royalty

Elize looked up at his hand, hesitantly. The car was parked in front of a massive building, with throbbing lights flashing from inside. A long red carpet covered the expanse of the ground between the vehicle to the entrance of the club. She could see elven guards standing at the entryway, pushing the crowd aside who were trying to reach to the Kelpie. They were dressed in the same way as those guarding the entrance of the academy, except instead of dark green attire, they were covered in black. 

The long tunic that reached up to their knees fit their bodies perfectly, showing off the muscles underneath. On either of their sides was some sort of armor extending from their shoulders and covering their arms. With long boots above their skin-tight pants and scabbard hanging from their waist, they looked nothing short of battle-hardened warriors from legends. Judging by their attire, Elize guessed that they must be Lloyd's personal guards. No one short of royalty looked like they could afford to maintain this bunch. 

Seeing the extravagant settings, Elize's heartbeat quickened. When she imagined the party in her head, it was completely devoid of all these things. She had hoped for a dark basement with throb lights and way too many people to recognize her. She had hoped to have fun incognito. She quickly drew back inside the car nervously. Lloyd chuckled seeing her reaction. He shook his head with a mischievous smile. 

Excited screams came from the crowd as the prince bent down to grab the hesitant girl inside the car by her waist. Elize gasped in surprise as she was suddenly standing alongside him on the carpet. As if nothing happened, the Kelpie turned towards the crowd and waved politely. Her heart thumped hard against her chest, making her feel suffocated all of a sudden. The only thing that was preventing her from falling back from all the pressure was his hand around her waist. 

"Prince Irving! Is that your girlfriend?!"

"Prince Irving! Is that the future queen?!"

"Prince Irving, marry me instead!"

The shouts from the crowd were getting more intense, making Elize all the more uncomfortable. She was not sure how to take this newfound attention. She was getting stares mixed with hostility, jealousy, and even awe. 

"Lloyd, let's just go," Elize said, finally managing to get her voice out. 

"Sure, don't worry." He whispered, leaning next to her ears. 

Elize shivered at the proximity and the way it felt to have him so close against her. She had never been this close to any other man than Zack. But being the nervous wreck that she was, she didn't complain. Turning towards the guards, Lloyd signaled them forward. Immediately, the elven guards flanked all four of their sides. 

"Let's go." The prince said as he led her towards the entrance.

"You can let go now." She said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Are you sure?" Lloyd teased with a mischievous grin.

"Yes. Let go." Elize replied, looking around at the guards who were still with them. "People will misunderstand." She said in a hushed tone.

The Kelpie chuckled. "I don't mind." He said with a wink.

"Lloyd," Elize warned.

"Fine," He said, taking a step away from her. Extending his hand towards her, he said, "then give me your hand."

Elize shook her head, taking a step back nervously. She asked with wide eyes, "Why do you-"

The sound of approaching footsteps cut her off. She turned towards the direction, only to see another guard jogging towards them. 

"Prince Irving." The man acknowledged with a bow. Raising his head, he said urgently, "Sir, everyone is waiting for you. We have announced your arrival." 

"Okay, Droth. Let's get going then." Lloyd said with a polite smile. Turning to Elize, he asked, extending his hand once again, "Shall we?"

Elize rolled her eyes but finally gave in. Putting her hands in his, she moved along the long corridor towards a closed door. As they approached, the guards standing at the entrance bowed, opening the door for them. Lloyd paused, letting the guard called Droth to go before him. Elize looked up to the Kelpie's face in confusion.

"You'll see." He said without looking down at her.

"All kneel before the prince!" Droth's deep voice echoed from inside the room.

Suddenly the sound of clothes rustling from ahead. Elize's eyes widened in shock. Not again! She swore under her breath and turned around as Lloyd took a step forward. But before she could move further away, the Kelpie pulled her towards him, her head crashing against his chest.

"Ouch!" Elize exclaimed, looking up at him in surprise.

"Where do you think you're going?" Lloyd asked, raising his brows.

"This is awkward. Let me go." She pleaded, breathing heavily. 

Lloyd kept a hand behind her head, holding her against him. Leaning down, he whispered into her ears, "I thought you wanted to have fun."

"This is way too much attention than I possibly can take." She complained, pushing against his chest.

The Kelpie sighed. Grabbing both sides of her shoulders, he held her away from him. With a serious look in his eyes, he said, "You'll do fine. You were born for it."

The way he said it made her question her own actions. She was not a timid girl even remotely- she just hated attention. She looked at his earnest face and cocked her head to the side. The man was quite good at giving pep talks. She thought to herself. 

"How would you know?" She asked, taunting him.

Lloyd laughed at her question. His melodious voice suddenly sounded appealing to her. She turned away, blushing. Her eyes landed on the club's sparkly floor beneath the stairs. At least a hundred people were on the ground, still kneeling before them with their heads bent low. The fact that their gazes were on the floor and not on her relieved her. 

"I know more about you than you know about yourself." Lloyd teased, turning her face towards him.

Elize chuckled. "You're wasting the cheese on me. I'm not falling for you." She said, playfully shaking her finger at him. 

"I was just stating a fact." He said with a wink. Turning her towards the crowd, he said, "Come, let's get this over with and have some fun."

"Let's just skip this and have fun," Elize whined, looking at him with puppy eyes.

Lloyd grinned. "Will you disappoint your people, Chosen One?" He asked, lowering his voice.

Elize quickly put a hand over his mouth to shush him. 

"Shhh! Fine!" She said, looking at him accusingly. 

She let him take her hand and lead her down the stairs. As they reached down, people slowly rose up from their positions. Making way for them. They filed to the sides, looking at her curiously. Elize could see that everyone there was around their age. She sighed in relief. At least there were no older people that she had to greet. 

"Prince Irving." A familiar voice called from ahead. 

Elize's eyes widened in surprise as she spotted her friends coming towards her. 

"You guys!" She exclaimed.

Legolas and Agatha were walking towards them hand in hand. The elf was in a solid black tux matching Agatha's black off-shoulder dress. They looked like a power couple as they walked together, turning heads as they kept walking forward. The same look of surprise was pasted on both their faces as they spotted Elize next to the prince. 

"Elize!" Agatha exclaimed, looking back and forth the Kelpie and her in confusion.

"Ahh! Young Duke Nightwing, we meet again," Lloyd said, extending a hand towards Legolas.

Elize raised her brows. Duke? So that's what he meant by his father being influential among nobles?! She turned towards Agatha, to see her reaction. The witch didn't seem surprised by the address. It seemed that she knew about it. Wait, why did they hide it from her then?! She thought, narrowing her eyes at Legolas.

"Thank you for inviting us," Legolas said awkwardly, avoiding her gaze. He bent down and placed his forehead against the back of the kelpie's hand. 

"It's not a big deal," Lloyd said dismissively, retrieving his hand. 

"Excuse us," Elize said, grabbing Agatha's hand. Dragging her friend to a corner, she asked in a hushed voice, "What are you doing here?" 

"I told you that we're going to the party!" Agatha exclaimed. 

"But Lloyd's party?!" Elize asked in surprise.

Why didn't it occur to her that they were talking about the same party? She thought to herself shaking her head. 

"Yeah well, the man insisted," Agatha said with a shrug. Looking towards where Legolas and Lloyd were talking to each other, she asked, "Wait, but what are you doing with him?" Turning back towards Elize, she looked her up and down and continued, "And why the hell haven't you removed your coat?"

"It's not mine," Elize replied awkwardly.

Agatha raised her brows. "Then let's just hope that Zack and all don't turn up here." She said, shaking her head.

"He said yes to her?" Elize asked, pouting her lips in disapproval.

"I don't know. Let's see." Agatha said, looking around.

"Elize, come meet the Duke's sister," Legolas called, waving at her.

Elize walked back towards the Kelpie with Agatha. As she came closer, she got a good view of a bunch of girls standing on one side of the prince. She quickly recognized a good number of faces from her school. Standing in front of them was Aerin, along with an unexpected person- Firyr. As she came to stand next to the Kelpie, she saw Aerin's mouth drop in shock. Her hand shook in anger as she pointed towards Elize. 

The she-elf's voice faltered, "Prince Irving, she-" 

"Isn't she beautiful?" Lloyd interrupted, wrapping a hand around her waist.

Elize looked up at Lloyd with an awkward smile, struggling in his arms.