The King's Unbreakable Wife-Chapter 44: Petty (3)

Hazel stood off to the side as she awaited her time to dance with Tobias. The queen had called on everyone else and now she was the last person to dance with him.

No one could change her mind that the queen wasn’t upset about something. Hazel didn’t pride herself on being special to go first and liked that she got to stand where she did to look around the ballroom again, but there was a weird feeling she got from all of this. That and the fact she had caught the queen looking her way a few times and there wasn’t a smile.

She also noticed the other women staring her way and talking amongst themselves. They must think it was entertaining to see her be last when she had been the prince’s favourite choice yesterday. Most likely thinking that she was upset, but Hazel enjoyed looking around to pass the time.

The music soon came to an end and now it was her turn to dance with Tobias. Before Hazel moved, she waited for the queen to announce that it was her turn as she did with everyone else.

Tobias’s dance partner returned to where the others had gathered, but Hazel’s name was not said quickly as the queen did with others.

"Hazel," Tobias called to her as he approached her. He had no interest in waiting for his mother to acknowledge that Hazel was left to dance with him.

This game his mother was playing was petty and she was forgetting that Hazel came from a family they needed on their side. The Wallace wouldn’t be happy to know that the queen was purposely picking at Hazel for no reason.

"Care to dance with me or will you turn me down again?" Tobias asked, joking with her to make her happy in case his mother had soured her mood. Hazel should be smart enough to sense that she was made to wait last for a reason.

"I accept," Hazel said, placing her hand in his. "I need to speak with you."

"Am I in trouble? Did I leave you so in love with me after dinner that you dreamt of me and now you want to take it out on me?" Tobias asked, hoping she said yes. He wanted to know what kind of dreams Hazel would have about him.

"I will never dream of you. I saw that you looked like you wanted to be elsewhere when you arrived with the queen. You don’t have to share anything, but I want to know if you are alright. We can’t have the prince walking around looking sad and no one does something to fix it," Hazel said, trying to be playful with him.

"We? It is only you who is concerned. Everyone else was happy to share a dance and speak with me that they didn’t notice. Nothing is wrong, Hazel. I am not a morning person and the selection is calling for me to be. Also, would you be thrilled to spend over an hour dancing with all these women?" Tobias asked, pulling Hazel closer as the music started for them. He noticed she didn’t attempt to put some space between them.

"I would not. Sometimes one dance is too much for me. I feel sorry for you," Hazel said as she couldn’t imagine how it was to deal with dancing with women one after the other. "This is torture, but at least when this is over, you will get to walk away and go to wherever you like. My room is near the other women’s rooms."

"Then I feel sorry for you. Did it upset you that you were picked last today? You were my pick all of yesterday and now you are last," Tobias said, curious to know what she felt right now.

"I do not mind it. I got to look around the ballroom in the day. It is different compared to when it is decorated for balls at night. I already knew there would be days when I would be picked last or near the middle. Someone has to be last, but there is a strange feeling I am getting from all of this. Is the queen angry?" Hazel asked.

Had word reached Tabitha that she walked beside Tobias or spoke about things the queen might not like? Or was it that someone saw the one time she had kicked Tobias?

"She is angry, but not with you. She might be taking her anger out on you to upset me. This won’t go on for much longer so do not worry about it," Tobias replied.

He would not sit back and allow his mother to toy with Hazel to get back at him. Since his mother was angry he had been ruining her plans, she should do something to him and not Hazel. The queen was digging a bigger hole for herself and he didn’t want to speak to her anymore. His mother was underestimating just how he could continue to ruin her plans.

Tobias was a little surprised that Hazel did not ask any questions about why his mother was angry with him and used Hazel to make him angry. "Not curious about what I did?" He asked.

"I don’t want to get caught up in the drama of the royal family. I only want to be out of the queen’s sight and not used to make you angry. If you were thinking of picking me today, you should pick someone else so your mother will be happy. It must be that you are not spending enough time with others that she is upset. Your smile tells me that you will not do that," Hazel said, frowning because she would be picked again.

"Why would I pick someone else when I am enjoying my time with you? My mother will need to get used to the fact I want to spend time with you. Soon she’ll be calling you to her quarters to have a private talk with you. Don’t go," Tobias said as he couldn’t ensure his mother wouldn’t try scaring off Hazel.

"I cannot turn down an invitation from the queen," Hazel said. It might be the death of her social life if she did that. "Whatever happens, I will not run out of the palace crying."

"I will see to it that you don’t. If the other woman’s jealousy pushes them to try hurting you, let me know and I will deal with them. I can’t have the person I am having fun with want to leave the palace. You are going to be here until the very last day," Tobias said, certain of it.

"That doesn’t sound good to my ears," Hazel said, worried about the next five days. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

Tobias smiled, looking away from Hazel to his mother who was in view for a small moment. She didn’t look happy and if she could, she might have gotten up from her seat to stop the dance.

If he could, he would end the dance with a kiss to further upset his mother, but he was not going to do that to Hazel. Kiss her only to make his mother angry.

As Tobias danced with Hazel, Tabitha watched their every move. She could not deny that Hazel was a good dancer and from here, she looked good with Tobias. Since Tobias was showing so much interest in Hazel, she would take her husband’s advice and keep Hazel close.

Only with Hazel under her wing would this selection be back in her hands.