"You don't like me?" Claudette asked. The music died down and now Lyle knew things were bad since everyone could hear the conversation. "You don't treat my friend with respect, how can I like you when you're so mean to her?" he asked. Claudette laughed softly. "She's just a servant. A commoner." Lyle narrowed his eyes. "I don't care what she is! She's my friend and I care about her very much Claudette okay?! I like her! A lot, and I'm not going to let you continue to belittle her. She's got a way nicer personality than you do." he said, composing himself once again since he had raised his voice.

"Sorry." he said quietly when he noticed the others had looked at him, surprised. Turning to his parents, his mother looked surprised but his father smiled and nodded his head in approval. "He's defending the woman he likes, that's my boy." the king said quietly to his wife. Lyle looked back at Claudette who looked surprised. She looked over and saw that Aria was looking and narrowed her eyes. "Well why don't you tell her then? I'm sure she'd like to hear it again!" Claudette hissed. She didn't understand how he could like Aria when Aria had nothing but the clothes on her back. Lyle turned around and saw Aria who didn't look to happy. "Aria.." he said quietly and quickly excused himself before walking over to her. "A-aria are you alright?"

When Aria nodded, he was relieved but when she kissed his cheek he was surprised. He wasn't expecting it and it was clear to everyone who saw since he was blushing softly at the kiss. His parents walked over and his mother giggled as she hugged Aria. "You are going to be a beautiful bride. As of today, you won't be working. Starting tomorrow you will begin your studies and training. We don't mean to be rude but if you are to marry my son, you need to be a proper lady and you're already on your way." The queen said honestly.

"Aria, you have our approval and you both have our blessing. We hope that you two are as happy married as you are now." The king added honestly. Lyle blushed still, he was going to have to go out and get a ring to make this engagement official. "I uhh...I haven't exactly told her." he told his parents. Well if he was going to surprise Aria with telling her they were going to get married, his parents already ruined the surprise.

Despite everything though, the guests went back to enjoying the remainder of the party, Claudette however was furious that Lyle chose someone else over her. But she wasn't going to give up. Not yet, she'd have to be dead first in order for Lyle to marry Aria. Claudette couldn't let that happen, she had to prevent Lyle from being with Aria at all costs.

Lyle nodded. "Y-yeah." he said quietly. "I talked to my parents b-before the party started and I told them that I w-wanted to marry you and they said it was okay. So yes, w-we can actually be together. I mean, if you want to. I don't want you to feel like you have to accept if you don't want to." Lyle said and looked at Aria. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable or to do anything she didn't want to do. "If you need some time to think it all over, that's alright."

Lyle hadn't expected Aria to be so forward, the kiss on the cheek was fine. He didn't even get a chance to speak before her lips were on his. Lyle kissed her back softly and when the kiss ended, he sighed and chuckled. "Very forward, miss Sage. I like it." he said. "We'' then, we'll leave you two lovebirds to enjoy the remainder of the party." The queen said before leading her husband back with her to converse with the guests.

Claudette wasn't happy, and when she saw them kiss it was the final straw, Aria couldn't have Lyle. Lyle belonged to him! Anyone could see that they were perfect together. Why couldn't Lyle see that? She waited until Lyle was alone with Aria before making her way over to them. "Really? You're choosing a peasant over me?!" she hissed and pulled Aria away from Lyle. "You don't deserve him, do you understand? You are just a servant so why don't you jut go back into the kitchen and keep on cleaning. Or better yet, just leave!" she said and slapped Aria before pulling at her hair and trying to scratch up her face.

Lyle quickly stepped in between the two girls, not wanting Aria to get hurt even more or to fight back. he winced when he felt something cut his cheek near his eye and felt warmth there. He was bleeding now but he didn't care, he cared about Aria's safety right now. "Claudette stop it!" he yelled and looked around, "Guards! Please show miss Bordeaux out and don't allow her back inside!" he ordered. In the time that he was giving the orders, Claudette managed to attack Aria again but then the guards showed up and pulled her away from both Lyle and Aria.

"You need to leave now, miss." they said and practically dragged out out of the palace. Lyle exhaled slowly, feeling the blood on his neck now. He turned to look at Aria and frowned. "Aria...I am so sorry. Come, I'll get you cleaned up." he said quietly and took her hand in his then excused himself from the party and walked up the stairs with Aria to his room. The guests were all surprised at Claudette's behavior and wondered if the prince and his fiance were okay. Claudette's parents left upon seeing how their daughter was treated and Lyle's parents assured the rest of the guests that he would be fine.

Closing his bedroom door behind him, Lyle sat Aria down on the edge of the bed then walked into the bathroom and opened the drawer, pulling out a first aid kit and walking back into his room where he started to clean up her scratches and any blood he saw. "I'm fine." he said quietly. "I'm more worried about you. I didn't think she'd be that angry. I knew she wouldn't be happy, I just didn't think she'd react that way." he admitted. "What a way to crash a party." he muttered and sighed softly. Lyle finished cleaning her wounds and then kissed her forehead. "I'll have to do my best to keep you away from her, for your own safety." he said to her and smiled.

"I know she won't, and that scares me." Lyle admitted in a quiet voice just above a whisper. Claudette wasn't someone to be taken lightly. Anyone that knew her, knew that she always got what she wanted. "Don't worry though, she won't get to you and if she ever hurts you, I will take care that she's punished for it. Whatever she does, you need to tell me okay?" Lyle instructed and smiled at Aria. She looked very excited to begin her training. "Well I'm sure you can wait a few hours miss Sage." he said to her and thanked her when she finished, kissing her knuckles one by one affectionately. He really did adore her. "Well, do you have a dress to wear?" Lyle asked. "I'd be honored to have a dance with you."

Lyle smiled and shook his head. "You don't have to worry about how fancy it is or isn't. I'm sure you'll look beautiful no matter what you wear." he said honestly. He just wanted her to be happy and now with Claudette gone for the time being, he could finally just relax and actually try to enjoy the party. "I'll meet you back at the party. It would be rude of me to keep the guests waiting. Take as long as you need to." Lyle turned and left the room, heading back down to the party where his parents checked the scratch on his face. "Are you sure you're okay dear?" his mother asked. "I'm fine mother, it was just a scratch." Lyle answered but winced whenever she touched it.

"Mother stop poking at it, please. It hurts." Lyle said quietly. "I'm sorry dear, I just want to look at it. Are you sure you're okay?" his mother asked. "I'm fine mother." Lyle answered. "Dear, leave the boy alone. The cut won't heal if you keep on touching it." The king pointed out honestly. He then noticed Aria and bowed, "You look lovely, doesn't she Lyle?" he asked Lyle who couldn't help but touch his cut out of curiosity and winced again. Hearing his father, he looked at Aria and smiled, "Yes she does, but miss Sage always does." he said and looked at her dress. "Did you pick that to match with me? Or is it just a happy coincidence?" he asked.

Lyle chuckled, "I see. Well you look stunning in it." he said and glanced over to his father who gave him a quick thumbs up and a nod. Lyle looked back to Aria and smiled at her question. "Miss Sage.." he started. "I believe I should be asking you that very same thing, but as always, you are very forward but I like that. It's...different. It would be my honor and pleasure to dance with you." he said and held out his arm for her to take after bowing, as was accustomed.

Lyle led her to the dance floor and when they arrived, he noticed she looked distracted. "Still can't believe it, can you?" he asked quietly as he started to dance with her effortlessly. Dancing was just second nature for him, and if she needed help, he'd help her. The training would probably cover dancing as well. He didn't know if training was different for males and females but for him, they covered everything from how to walk, to how to dress for different occasions. It was hard but it was the way he was raised and he had no regrets. "I don't blame you for still being in disbelief. I woke up this morning sure that I'd have to marry you know who. It was another reason why I wanted you to continue working for me. I figured if I had to be miserable for the rest of my life, I still wanted to have someone I could actually talk to nearby." he said quietly.