Sweaty palms and uncomfortable shirts perfectly described the young prince at that moment. Will currently stood outside the ballroom, waiting for his cue to enter. He was nervous to say the least.

When the doors were tugged open to reveal the prince to the ballroom, Will swallowed his anxiousness and put on his princely façade; his walls going up, burying his troubles deep, deep down. He then took the first of many steps forward.

First of all, he was introduced to all the princesses that had put themselves forward to become the queen of Soleil.

The first princess he met was Princess Annabeth of Connaissance. She had perfect blonde curls that cascaded down her back. The few strands of hair that were shorter than the rest framed her thin yet beautifully structured face. Grey eyes looked Will up and down as he studied her. To him, it didn't seem as if she was particularly excited to be here to marry him for love or just to be married off, but more as if she was carrying out an intricately thought-out plan. That did not surprise the boy, considering the girl's mother, Queen Athena, a queen known for her brilliant battle plans.

Next there was Princess Clarisse of Guerre. She looked nothing like a princess, more like a great army general. Her posture was impeccable and she stood as if she was expecting to jump into a fight at any second. Unlike the other princesses, this girl was not wearing a dress but a shirt and tunic; trousers instead of skirts and petticoats. Her father, King Ares, stood slightly behind her and he intimidated the young prince quite a bit. Not to say that the princess didn't scare the boy, because she did.

After the princess of came the princess of Puissance, Reyna. Her hair was immaculately braided and swept over her shoulder. She wore a beautiful purple dress. Like Princess Annabeth, this girl seemed to be sizing the prince up. She, however, did not look as if she had any great intention like Princess Annabeth did.

Next was the princess of Amour, Piper. She was, without a doubt, the best dressed here. Her pale blue dress stood out against her dark tan skin. She makeup was done perfectly and emphasised her kaleidoscopic eyes and defined cheekbones. Her choppy hair was styled perfectly yet it looked effortless. Will was impressed, but he expected nothing less from the daughter of Queen Aphrodite.

The next princess Will was introduced to was the second daughter of Aphrodite, the Princess of Amour, Drew. She was dressed immaculately and her makeup and hair was done perfectly yet something made her less attractive compared to her younger sister Princess Piper. Princess Drew seemed sluttier, more desperate. The way she spoke was a high-pitched annoyance. Will couldn't listen to another second of her screechy, suggestive voice.

After the disaster that is Princess Drew, Will moved along to the first of the two princesses of Pègre, Princess Hazel. She was the illegitimate daughter of King Hades and a now-dead commoner, Marie Levesque, though they were overlooking the fact she was a bastard child. She was still allowed to enter because of the laws King Apollo had put in place - non shall me discriminated against over irrelevant topics such as race, gender and legitimacy.

Princess Hazel stood nervously in front of the prince, ringing her slender hands proving her anxiousness. She wore a beautiful gold and silver dress that emphasised the rich gold of her eyes. What surprised the boy most was that this girl was wearing no jewellery, unlike the rest of the girls (obviously excluding Princess Clarisse). He smiled encouragingly at the nervous girl then continued on to her older sister, Bianca.

Princess Bianca, compared to her little sister, was very level-headed and knew what she was here to do. He wouldn't quite call her confident but he knew she knew that she really needed to be married off and the Will was a good, safe option. It was far too early on to tell, but Will currently thought Princess Bianca to be the best option.

Will had his thoughts interrupted by a boy stepping forward from beside Princess Bianca. He looked a lot like her, so Will presumed he was her brother. This boy was short, a lot shorted than Will, but his aura and the way he held himself made him seem tall. Will felt as if the boy was looking down at him despite the fact he was almost a foot shorter. Will also noted that the boy was well built, just like himself. But judging by the sword at his hip, he was a lot more deadly than Will was.

His silver crown sat atop his brown bangs that fell messily into the boy's mysterious, dark brown eyes. Will was usually skilled at reading people through their eyes, but this boy's eyes were giving the prince nothing. He was a very secretive young man.

The boy got as close to Will as he could without the guards getting suspicious. "Don't you dare pick either of my sisters as your bride, Prince William, or you will be sorry!" He spat the prince's name as if it were poison. Will felt hurt by the tone.

He was so distracted by the way the handsome boy had said his name that it took him a little while to register why the boy had actually said. "What is your name, boy?" Prince William said, righting himself and putting on his false yet authority-filled voice.

"Don't talk to me like I am a peasant! I don't live in your kingdom, you are not my Crown Prince and you definitely cannot tell me what to do!" The boy spat. "I am Nico di Angelo, Crown Prince of Pègre, younger brother to Princess Bianca and older brother of Princess Hazel."

Feisty - Will thought and smiled mentally.

Will couldn't help but feel himself falling for this mysterious, angry, protective Prince of Pègre.

Will snapped out of his little trance and focuses back on the real-life situation at hand. Prince Nico's eyes were narrowed intimidatingly at Prince Will, as if he were about to cut him.

Will then noticed Prince Nico's hand twitching towards his sword.

King Hades cut in before anything could happen. "Ah Prince Will. I see you've met my son, Nico. I do apologise for him. He is quite reluctant to let his sisters go. Don't listen to his though, he won't do anything to you if you decide to marry one of my daughters." He smiled politely but his eyes were full of anger. Anger, prince Will realised, that was directed at his son.

Will smiled back and politely excused himself to go speak with his father.

"Father. I beg you. Please don't make me do this." He kept his voice low, careful not to insult any of the princesses or their parents that may overhear the conversation.

King Apollo turned around to face his son, stopping the conversation with his wife. "William. Stop this. All of these young women would make fine brides-"

Will cut him off. "The thing is, I don't want a bride. If I get married, I want a man at my arm, not a lady!" His voice was still low but full of anger and annoyance.

"William! That is enough! You will marry one of these ladies. That. Is. Final." His father hissed at him before sending Will back into the sea of people.

The prince made polite conversation with his possible wives, their families and the other guests.

The one family he struggled to get near was the di Angelo-Levesques. It irritated the young prince because Princess Bianca was the one he was leaning towards. He wanted to talk to her more but all the other princesses (mainly Drew) kept throwing themselves at him, or their parents kept pulling him into conversations as to why he should marry their daughter.

Will was beginning to lose his cool.

Luckily, just before he snapped at someone, Princesses Bianca and Hazel walked up to his, Prince Nico only steps behind.

The girls had their arms linked, Hazel's right arm linked through Bianca's left. Will smiled politely at the pair. "Ladies." He said and bowed.

"Your highness," the girls said and curtsied simultaneously.

They kept up some light conversation for a while, fortunately not getting interrupted by any other guests.

After a while, the girls excused themselves and went to talk to other people. That was when Nico stepped forward.

"My dad's not here to hold me back now, pretty boy. Just know that I do not make false threats. If you pick B or Hazel as your bride, prepare yourself for a world of hell!" With that, he spun on his heels and stalked off.

Wow - Will thought, smiling to himself as the boy got swallowed up by the crowd.

*********

The Kingdoms:
Connaissance = knowledge (Athena)
Guerre = war (Ares)
Puissance = power (Bellona)
Amour = love (Aphrodite)
Pègre = underworld (Hades)

a/n: thanks for reading. I put all the kingdoms above so you can see who's who and why they're called what they are. I tried to be kinda creative. I don't know if it worked or not (let me know what you think). Just so you know, they are translated in French.

Vote and comment,
Thanks

~Em