Chosen Bride of the Seven Dark Princes

For a moment, the lights blinded Candi.

She looked out into a sea of faces and felt a little dizzy. But then her inner calmness welled out from within and she regained her stability.

She turned back to the pink and blonde hair Prince of Erenveil who stood before her.

He truly was an eye candy Prince, a uniquely pretty Flower Boy. Although she had been up close and personal with all his brothers she had to admit that out of all the princes, he was the most stunningly handsome of them all.

Lucas turned to her and gave a winsome smile. Candi could not help but respond to his glamour magic. This was the only Prince that she had not had an opportunity to spend any time with at all.

"We meet again, Earth Avgo Female." He greeted her with a gentle wink.

"Yes. You are looking well, Your Highness." She gave a bow.

He smiled and reached out to touch her face.

"I can see why my brothers…".

He stopped and cleared his throat. He still had to keep up the sham with that nasty Earth woman.

Dropping his hand to his side in a futile manner, Lucas stood gazing at her with an unfathomable look. With a sigh, he asked her the question he had been wanting to know.

"Candace. If you didn't have to be at this Avgo Contest, battling all these people for the chance to marry an Erenveil Prince, what would you most like to do with your life?"

Candace laughed.

She was expecting some difficult question, designed to trip her up in some way, but Lucas just genuinely seemed to want to get to know her better.

"Oh that's easy. I love learning about the past so we can predict the future. I would travel as far and wide as I could and get lost in all the far-flung worlds out there, exploring everything to my heart's content. I would dance and sing and play piano, and I would live my life with grateful joy."

Lucas turned back to his brothers.

"There you are, Brothers. If you cannot provide this woman with what her heart desires, I suggest you leave the line right now, because you're not going to qualify to be with her."

Lorem Ipsum raised an eyebrow.

Since when did this Face to Face turn into a 'Qualify to be Candace Farrah's husband' show?

He made a quick gesture to have the assistants escort Lucas and Candace off the stage. Lordy, let's hope the next Prince would ask a better question.

"Hehehe." Lorem chuckled. "Next Prince is Leonardo." He made a flourish and Leonardo stood up. His blonde brilliance shone from his entire demeanor as he made his way to the front of the stage.

Already waiting for him was Olivia. She stood there demurely, eyes downcast.

She had no chance left for the Grand Prize, which was the Crown Prince of Erenveil, but the man standing before her was THE Doctor Prince Leonardo!

He had his own fleet of hospital starships scattered across the galaxy. His bright golden hair and aqua blue eyes was at the heart of every girl's dreamboat.

Leonardo looked down at the gentle female with broken butterfly wings and sighed.

It was this damned Avgo event that had damaged her to the point that she could no longer fly again.

As someone who knew what flying meant to a person who had lost the ability to fly, his heart went out to her. As a doctor, he could not stand aside and just watch a person struggle with such a debilitating injury.

Lorem Ipsum broke into the silence.

"Prince Leonardo. What is your question for Olivia Faraday?"

"Your wings look permanently broken."

Olivia nodded. She'd had to make peace with herself that she would never fly again. He was breaking her resolve not to cry in front of everyone.

"I think I can fix your wings. Would you like for me to try?"

Olivia looked up with huge blue eyes that were beginning to well with tears.

"I'm—I'm sorry?" She blinked, confused.

"That is my question for you. Would you like for me to try and fix your wings so you can fly again?"

Suddenly, Olivia's face blossomed forth into the beautiful woman she was before the Avgo event. Hope had sprung back into her soul.

"Yes, if you please." She responded with a breathless husky voice.

Leonardo nodded. "Check yourself into the Alpha Indigo Hospital. It is orbiting above this planet at this very moment. I will have my personal staff take a look at your wings and I will prescribe the best course of action."

"Thank you." Olivia's tears flowed down her face, even as the crowd gasped and cried with her. The gentleness of this Prince was far above what she or they expected from any of the Erenveil Princes.

"Go now. The sooner we take a look at it, the better our chances of healing you."

Olivia wiped her tears with a shaky hand and nodded.

Lorem Ipsum's heart warmed.

It was good for at least one of the Princes to show a more humanistic side. They were mostly known to be a rather obnoxious, angry, cruel bunch.

One of them had even plucked out his goatee just because he didn't like the way Lorem Ipsum ran the Avgo Event. What a jerk.

Lorem Ipsum gestured to the assistants to take Olivia offstage and to escort Prince Leonardo back to his seat.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the next couple on our radar is Prince Jason and his ball pick, Anaïse Paroles!"

The green haired Prince stood up and made his way to the front stage, joining Anaïse who was already there. By this time, everyone knew what to expect.

Without waiting for preamble from Lorem Ipsum, Jason asked his question immediately.

"What is the color of your Avgo gemstone?"

Anaïse blinked. Was this his question to her, or was it just a prelude to something more important?

Shrugging, she answered in one quick quip.

"Blue."

"Let me see it." He commanded.

Anaïse took a deep breath.

"Come to me, Avgo of the deep. Come to me, I beseech."

Suddenly, an Avgo of a deep royal blue intensity appeared before them, twirling in the space between Jason and Anaïse.

Jason stared at it for a moment and then nodded.

"Thank you. I needed to see the exact color so I could create a beautiful diadem for a very special woman."

Anaïse stared at him with a look that could kill.

He had made her pull out her precious Avgo stone just so he could see the exact shade of blue it was? What a complete idiot! What a total waste of time.

Her eyes showed her obvious distaste which made Jason laugh.

"Do you know why the color of your Avgo is important?"

Anaïse shook her head.

"Because an exact duplicate is the only thing you will be able to have of it once the Avgo contest is over. The Avgo will disappear and you will never see it again until the next Avgo competition, at which time, it will be with another female."

Anaïse's eyes grew alarmed. The Avgo was hers! She would never let it go.

With a quick motion, she seized the Avgo from where it hovered in space and held it tightly in her hand. She would NEVER let this one out of her possession.

Jason leaned closer to her.

"If you ever need a duplicate made, come see me." He smiled and leaned back.

Without waiting for Lorem Ipsum to dismiss them, Anaïse turned stiffly and made her way back to her seat. What a waste of an evening, and a waste of a question that would have allowed her to show the Crown Prince a different side of her.

"Errr. Well, thank you both." Lorem gestured for the assistant to help Prince Jason back to his seat.

"Next up is Prince Jared and Valeria Marakesh."

With a minimum of fuss, both Jared and Valeria were up at the front, facing each other.

Lorem Ipsum gave Jared a nervous look as if pleading silently.

Please Jared, don't let it be another 'can I see your Avgo stone' question. Please ask something super amazing for the audience to enjoy…