Chosen Bride of the Seven Dark Princes

They stood there for a moment, in an awkward position where the large man was leaning on the small woman and she was barely able to keep on her feet, he was so heavy.

"Ugh. I'm so exhausted. Let me borrow your shoulder for a moment."

Candi laughed. She didn't know if she could hold him up much more than a moment longer.

"Isn't that uncomfortable for you? I'm a bit on the short side."

Dante was bent almost double trying to rest his head on her shoulder, but he didn't care. He inhaled the scent of the woman he'd been missing for days and felt a rush of pleasure.

"I barely slept. I compressed an entire week's worth of work into three days and made my aides and attendants work round the clock just so I could return in time to escort you to the ball."

"I have no sympathy, you party animal, you." She chuckled.

He groaned. "I don't care about the party. I just didn't want anyone else accompanying you to that party but me."

"Slate is going to be at the ball." Candi reminded him.

Dante raised his head and gave her a look. Leonardo hadn't really told Candace the extent of injury that Slate had endured.

"Slate is going to attend only for a short time."

He led her over to the lounge area and plopped down on the large divan filled with colorful cushions. As he laid his body down with a groan, he pulled her with him so that she was supine alongside his body.

"He's still in recovery mode. Leonardo is going to let him attend the ball in a hover chair for about an hour and then he has to return to the hospital starship."

"If he's still not well enough, why is he insisting on going to this thing?"

"For the same reason that even though I'm half-dead with exhaustion, I also need to be there. We both need to make sure you are fairly treated and not bullied by all the women who are going to be at that ball."

"All the women? I thought it was just Avgo—"

"No, no my Dear." Dante closed his eyes and pulled her into his arms. "It's Empress Clarissa's chance to shine, so she will invite every single eligible female to be paraded at all of us Princes."

He yawned, trying to fight off sleep.

"Avgo females are given top priority, but just in case one of us seven Princes don't like one of the seven Avgo women, and I'm pretty sure nobody is going to be pining for the fish girl, a non-Avgo female has a sliver of a chance of being selected."

"Selected for what?"

"To be married. The chance to turn into a Princess of Erenveil."

"That's quite an amazing opportunity."

Dante's eyes were completely closed by now. His breathing was steady and regular.

Just when she thought he had completely fallen asleep, he muttered one last thing.

"Princess—no big deal. Empress—big deal."

And with that, Dante fell asleep on the divan, with Candi trapped within his embrace.

=======

The next morning was a blur of activity.

As exhausted as Dante was the day before, he had awakened refreshed and alert, discussing urgent matters with his aides and assistants as they ran about, carrying out his orders.

Candi was still lying on the divan, sleeping so he covered her with the comforter and went about his business. He took his coffee at the small hover desk they had moved next to the divan so he could still work and be near her.

His normal office was much closer to the inner sanctum of the Moon, isolated from everyone, but today, his entire staff was rushing around the cavernous formal living quarters, attending to his needs.

They tried to be as quiet as they could, knowing she was still sleeping, but eventually, Candi woke up.

"Wow. I can't believe we both fell asleep on the living room couch." She rubbed her head and looked around.

The divan was surprisingly comfortable. It was more like a full sized bed than a couch or a settee.

"You have half a day to do as you please, and then you have to get ready for the Royal Ball." Dante smiled as he continued working on the stack of documents in front of him.

She got up from the divan and came closer to him.

With a sigh, she leaned up agains him and pressed her face to his back, huddling to absorb the warmth of his body. Although the Moon's temperature was moderate, it was always a bit on the cool side. He had been keeping her warm all night long and and Candi wasn't too proud to use him for his body heat.

"I'm so lazy. I don't feel like doing anything." She mumbled into his back.

Dante smiled.

"Then don't. Your body feels cold. Get back in bed and just hang out with me. I'll have the servers bring breakfast for both of us."

She nodded and trudged back to the divan. She didn't plan on falling asleep again, but didn't awaken until the servers came with a rolling trolley, filled with the scent of delicious food coming from domed plates.

Dante continued to push through his work, even as he sat and ate a few bites of breakfast with her. They didn't talk much, but the silence was comfortable and warm.

She spent the rest of the day lazing around as Dante worked, not doing much. It was almost like those lazy weekends when simply existing was all that was required.

Towards the afternoon, Dante had several maids in waiting take her away to get ready for the Royal Ball which would start that evening.

The dress and jewels that the twins had created were waiting for her when the maids finished getting her ready. As they helped her into the dress, the wings became activated and began to unfurl.

"Oh my!" The maids gasped. "You will be the darling of the Royal Ball. I have never seen wings like this."

"Best of all, it's just an illusion!" Candi grinned, moving her hand back and forth through the ephemeral wings, to the delight of the maids in waiting.

Within the hour, she was ready and the maids escorted her back out to the Main Hall where Dante was still working at his desk.

"Take care of this stack of documents for me Nigel. I need for it to be ready to sign when I get back. Tanner, go talk to the Ambassador of Peoria. Tell him I need to talk to him after the Ball."

As the aides rushed off to do his bidding, he yelled at their backs.

"And respond to that nitwit Palmer that I will pay him 7 billion jemals and no more, for that dust ball world he calls a resort."

Dante stood up and turned towards Candi as she walked in through the hallway.

"Oh…wow…" Dante sucked in a deep appreciative breath as he sank back into his chair. "You are a vision of breathtaking beauty. Since when did my Candace turn into a stunning dragonfly Queen?"

Candi laughed.

"Jared and Jason made it for me. It's fake wings. See?" She flapped her hands back and forth, breaking the illusion.

The Second Prince of Erenveil laughed and shook his head.

"It's going to be tough to ensure that my Candace won't be too ashamed of her escort for the evening."

"My escort?"

He grinned and ran his fingers through his spiky blue hair.

"That would be me."