Two days later, there was a great feast in the kingdom. The time had come for Princess Callista to choose a man from the noble houses.
The king wanted to do something different. He called all the nobles and princes together. He wanted the right man for his daughter.
He told her, "Make me proud. Dance before me and everyone else. Then pick your man."
That night, the whole kingdom was talking about it, they heard the news that the Princess was going to dance before the king and choose a man. The palace was filled up with great men, kings officials, nobles, warriors, and women. Everyone wanted to see the princess dance.
The feast was very exciting with men and women laughing, dancing and merrying their heart with wine. The mood was high.
Amir sat in a corner with Nikoloas, enjoying the feast quietly.
Then the king gave a signal. The music changed.
Princess Callista walked in. She wore purple, ivory, and gold. The crowd made way for her. She started dancing.
Silence fell upon the whole palace and men where dropping their jaws because she was a woman of great beauty to behold.
Everyone looked at her. Her smiles, her movement, pulled all eyes like a magnet.
As she danced, she kept looking at Amir. That made her steps softer and sweeter. Everyone could feel it. She wasn't just dancing. She was saying something with her eyes and moving like the ocean.
She was loved by everyone.
She reached the king, took his right hand, kissed it, and rested her head on it. The music stopped.
Everyone clapped, cheered and shouted. Some even raised their drink in honour of princess Callista.
The king gave her a cup of wine and said, "Now, go. Choose any man. Any man your heart desires."
She nodded. "Yes, Father."
He stood up happily from his great chair and shouted to the crowd, "My daughter will choose her man tonight, according to our traditions and customs!"
And the whole hall erupted with cheers.
Then the King said to his daughter, "Go."
The music came back on. Callista started walking. Every man hoped she would pick him. Some even stepped forward so she'd notice them. She didn't stop for any of them.
Pericles, the king's nephew, saw she had turn many men down. He thought she was walking toward him. He smiled, passed his wine to a guard, and moved forward to meet her.
But she pushed him aside. Gently, but clear. The whole hall laughed. Some people laughed so hard their bellies began to ache.
She kept walking until she reached Amir. His head was down.
She lifted his face, looked into his eyes, and knelt in front of him. She gave him the cup of wine she got from her father. Everyone was surprised, because he was a foreign Prince.
He took it and drank.
Then they walked to the center of the hall and danced with her.
When the music stopped, the king stood up and clapped. He looked proud. He raised his hands and said, "Tonight, Amir becomes my son-in-law."
The whole hall cheered again.
But Pericles stood still, his face full of hate, envy and jealous. He wanted her, but now she belonged to someone else.