Hellbound Heart

The celebration went on smoothly since the very start of the event.

And to Elle's surprise, the guests did not even get close enough for her to speak to them. They kept their distance from her for some reason. Most of them only simply greeted her with warm and gentle smiles from afar.

Only the immediate members of the royal family and highest officials came over to personally greet and deliver her their birthday wishes. Even then, they did not linger around her for long. Before any conversation could even start after the exchange of greetings and birthday wishes, they were already gone.

The only thing that was comforting was the fact that Elle did not feel like they were purposely avoiding her. Instead, it was obvious to her that they were politely excusing themselves away, as if they knew something – that she should not be talking much.

When Sebastian stretched out his hand to her, inviting her to join him for the dance of the night, Elle stared down at his hand for a few seconds. And when she put hers into his, she remembered their first dance during Elijah's birthday party.

Sebastian led her to the dancefloor and once the music started, they started to move seamlessly to each other's steps.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Sebastian asked as he danced with her with his usual lazy grace that never ceases to amaze her. His high quality black velvet suit with gold embroidery on his sleeves ends, upper left and right shoulder areas and all along the high collared neckline only added to the smoky and sultry appeal of his male seductiveness.

Elle blushed as she graced him with a smile. It was a sweet smile, one filled with gratitude and awe. And also, genuine happiness. She had not expected the beauty of the decorations and the perfection of the entire set up and planning that had been put into her birthday celebration. It was actually... extravagant. The entire ballroom had been transformed into a romantic yet cool place for her birthday celebration. Warm fairy lights that dangled from the ceiling provided the intimate quality that would encourage small talks among guests. And fresh flowers brought in recently from the outside were still sending off their light yet wonderful perfume through the entire hall.

It had made her speechless for a long while because she knew just how much time and money was needed to prepare everything to perfection. In fact, she knew that the planning and preparation of such an extravagant event normally lasted for at least a year, if not or more. But Sebastian was able to coordinate and get things done on such short notice.

She was honestly shocked that she could not believe it at first until she remembered that she was no longer back home. She was in a place where vampires lived and breathed. There were things they could do so easily, that would take humans a long time to finish.

"Is this why you've been busy in the past few days, Sebastian?" she questioned him. One of the princesses had slipped and mentioned that it was Sebastian who had organized the extravagant event. She even jokingly whispered to Elle that Sebastian had terrorized the palace staff continuously to make sure everything was done without flaw.

"Well, I need to make sure everything will be finished in time, don't I?" He casually replied. "You like it?"

She stared up at him, her eyes gleaming as brightly as the stars in the night sky. "Everything is... perfect!" Her earnest whisper struck him right in the heart.

His elusive dimple again decided to make their appearance. And then they twirled around the dance floor so perfectly and in sync to each other's breathing. Neither took their eyes off of the other. It was like they could not help their gazes to be helplessly glued to their partner held in their arms.

The guests continued to be shocked at the scene before them. Black and gold, perfectly intertwined with royal blue and silver as they swayed and spun around to the music - both the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess were truly a sight to behold. The couple was a sight for sore eyes.

The guests had been shocked ever since the moment the couple appeared together. The chemistry between them and how they both looked so dazzling were already such a big surprise. And now here they were, moving across the dancefloor like they were one, captivating everyone's eyes. That moment, the two of them... their dance... They themselves were spellbinding.

But that was not the most surprising. What shocked everyone the most was how the prince was acting towards his human wife. The vampires had never seen Prince Sebastian carrying himself like how he was tonight. His usual dark aura was so tamed and mild that he even actually looked approachable! And then they saw it... his smile... his dimple!

Both male and females who saw that smile on his face were so shocked to their core. They did not know Prince Sebastian had a dimple! Hearts could almost be seen pouring out of all the single ladies' eyes as they hungrily watched the Crown Prince! While the males could not help but wonder if this was the same Prince Sebastian they knew!

"What did you... tell everyone?" Elle asked Sebastian as their dance continued. She was completely oblivious at how the viewers were gushing, her and Sebastian being the main topic of discussion. "I feel like everyone knew something... that's why they're leaving as soon as they greet me."

"Well, I just told them that you have a mild throat problem at the moment."

"Will they... actually believe that?" A tinge of worry flashed across her eyes. She had done this before. Explaining to the people that she was ill, but they did not believe her.

"Don't worry. They believe it."

She breathed in relief and pursed her lips slightly. "And here I thought you'd let me do whatever that I wanted."

He smiled again. A small and a little wicked but unapologetic one. "I did allow you to do what you wanted... but I didn't say that I'll just politely step aside and let you get hurt, baby. I told you, I'm not going to let anyone hurt your throat again, not even you." He bent his head beside hers and whispered hotly into her ear, "I'd rather you use your voice moaning my name out later."