5 Princes and I

The Ball of the Queen's BS

The past week has been a wreck. My training had been intense since we had to make use of our remaining time for them to prepare me for the ball. I'm not even kidding when I say that the princes may have pushed me to my limit.

Ace - I mean - PRINCE Ace had made me read a book about the culture of each and every supernatural type there is. And let me tell you that you can't count them with your fingers. It wasn't really hard because the topic was kind of interesting.

Ren and Dan? I can't say they were that patient though because one time I kept on slouching my back and walked like a freaking drunken person and they kind of....freaked out? The one where they cover their eyes and let out a scream and dropped to the floor for an hour. I'm not even kidding. And they would only get up when I make things right. But most of the time, we're just relaxed. Like not-doing-anything sort of relaxing. They said that I could just wing it when the time comes.

Well Nate is one of the patient princes I know, but that doesn't mean that he is my favorite teacher. Everyday we would always have our lunch together and each day the food being delivered gets fewer and fewer. Nate says that it is mandatory so I wouldn't gain much weight. But despite that, I am proud to say that I don't make meat fly anymore.

And lastly is Fred. He's my last instructor everyday for the past week. He's always so patient and very considerate. He taught me the most common dances performed at a ball. He taught me the trick of how to pretend to have eye contact with your partner and how to avoid stepping on their foot while dancing. Most of the time, our training would only last for 30 minutes or an hour because he would always take me to the gardens so I can relax with my training. And I won't lie when I say that my heart would always pound in my chest. He truly is the best one.

Now as I woke up from my bed and on the day of the ball, I noticed that I wasn't alone in my room. I sat up and rubbed sleep from my eyes so I could see the intruders clearly. Once I did, I took a good look at my intruders and frowned. In front of me is the Queen and 3 new maids.

"What's going on?" I asked in confusion and suddenly felt the need to pull the covers closer. The Queen beamed.

"My dear, let me introduce you to Yen, Keela, and Cherry." She gestured towards the three maids behind her. Yen is a petite girl with red hair. She looks about 25. Keela looks about 30 yrs old. She has medium length black hair. As for Cherry, she's probably the eldest with her brown hair streaked with gray and some wrinkles of aging on her face.

I nodded at them in greeting. "Hey."

They smiled and did a little bow in respect. From what I learned from Ace, they do that as a sign of respect for a royal. The Queen smiled at me. "Good. Now that the introduction is over. I guess it's time for us to get back to work."

"Work?"

"My dear, they will be in charge of preparing you for the ball. Now get up so they can get started." She came to the side of my bed and tried to pull the covers out.

"Wait!" I held a hand out while the other tried to hold the blanket over me. I glance at the window. The sun is still bright. "Isn't the ball tonight?"

"Yes it is. That is why we have a lot of work to do." The Queen said. "We have to exfoliate your skin, treat your hair to a beautiful glow, give you a milk bath, and many more!"

I gave the Queen a horrified look. "What is this? A spa? I don't need to get pampered! It's just a ball. Let's throw a dress at me and I'll be ready to go."

The Queen tsked. "In your world that might be the case, but in this world, you have to follow my rules." She turned her head back towards the maids and gestured towards me. "Go on, ladies. Do your job." She commanded. Before I even have the time to react, the maids advances towards me, ripped my blanket, and hauled me up from my bed.

"Miss, please raise your arms up so we can take your clothes off." Yen said politely.

I let out a horrified gasp. "Take my clothes off?! Are you kidding me?! It's too early." I practically yelled and crossed my arms over my chest in insecurity. "I'll pay you. Just-." I joked. I hadn't even finished my sentence when Cherry swiftly pulled my clothes off and left me in an underwear. I screamed.

"Holly crap! What the heck, lady?!" I glared at Cherry.

"I'm sorry, princess, but we don't have time for chitter chatter. Our job is to help you get ready." Cherry turned to nod at Keela.

"Get her in the tub."

Keela reached out to grab me but I moved away. "No! I won't go anywhere with you guys. It's too early. Let me sleep." I stood my ground stubbornly and felt a bit proud for doing so.

Knock knock knock

"Princess? Are you alright?" Fred's voice came from the other side of the door. "I heard you scream and would like to check up on you."

I stood frozen. I looked at the door, then to my fallen nightgown before looking back at the door. Shiz! He couldn't see me like this!

At the corner of my eyes, I saw the Queen grinning evilly at me. "You sure you don't want to follow them to the tub?" I frowned at her and didn't answer.

She sighed. "Fine. I guess you can just stand there while I answer the doo-"

I let out a nervous laugh and looked at Keela. "Lead the way to the tub my trusty friend!"

***

The whole day I was in the care of the three ladies. They scrubbed my skin until a new one appeared, dipped me in a tub of milk, combed my hair until it was fine and smooth, scrubbed my feet, etc. I won't lie, it was pretty relaxing and weird at the same time. I wasn't used to this sort of treatment so I tend to react to it most of the time. I mean, come on, having breakfast and lunch served to you for the whole day while pampering you?

Heaven.

So 30 minutes before the ball, I was already ready and dressed. My make up was light. My eyes have a hint of golden and bronze colored glow and winged with black coal. I had a pinkish glow on my cheek and my cheekbones were finely contoured.

My lips have a natural pinkish color. As for my hair, it was tied into a braided bun with loose ringlets of curls hanging just at the side of my head. There was a white jewel at the front and center of my hair near my forehead. It has two chains decorated with jewels that they clasped at the back of my bun and giving me an image of elegance.

My dress was so beautiful. Probably the best one I have ever seen. It hugged my waist pretty nicely and was gold in color. The shoulder was made of sheer gold cloth that hangs elegantly and reveals my shoulders bare. The bottom resembles the shape of a petal and it continues down just at the floor. My shoes, although hidden by the dress, were also gold and are 3 inches tall. Probably the smallest they would allow me to wear.

"You look pretty good, miss." Yen commented. I stopped looking in the mirror as I turned to face her. My cheeks turning pink in embarrassment.

"Well, it's all thanks to you guys." I smiled at them and pursed my lips as I looked back at my reflection in the mirror. Okay, I don't wanna sound vain but, I look so beautiful - not that I don't know that already. I tilted my chin up as I watched my reflection. "Oh my my my. What a beautiful person!" I said and suddenly laughed like a lunatic.

The queen looked at me like she wanted to dump a bucket of water on me. "My dear, I don't want to ruin this romantic moment you have with the mirror but we must be going. Your escort, Prince Renevier Rutledge, is here." The Queen said smiling at the mirror where I could see her. I frowned at her for disturbing my peace.

With one final look, I turned around and stood straight. I followed the Queen out. My shoes kicked the hem of my dress as a sort of trick that the twins taught me so I wouldn't trip while walking. She led me out of my room door and towards the stairs where I could just see twins standing and leaning onto the railing. Ren and Dan both wore the same navy blue button up-collarless polo. They have some sort of ruffled tie and golden shoulder cuffs. The only difference? Ren was wearing a red cape pinned by the cuffs.

The queen stopped and looked at me. Her face filled with pride as she touched my shoulder in a motherly affection. "Look at how you've become. You're like a princess now." She said. Since I didn't know how to reply I smiled at her. She pursed her lips and moved a stray hair from my face. "Tonight, I shall introduce you as my adoptive daughter from a foreign land. I'll tell them that I took you in as my daughter. Even if you don't like it, please just pretend we're a family. As much as possible if they ask about your race, you smile and go to the princes. They know what to do. Never walk alone."

I smiled warmly at the queen. "I'll keep that in mind." I said. She patted me on the cheek, said thank you, and continued to move.

Dan was stretching his arms out while Ren was blowing his messy brown hair off of his face when we came into their view. Dan was the one who saw us first. He grinned brightly at me and elbowed his brother rather harshly in the ribs without looking and he immediately straightened up. Ren let out a grunt and glared at his brother until he saw me. His glare now replaced with a shock.

Dan chuckled. "You look so beautiful tonight." He said in a rather awkward and a deep fake accent voice and wiggled his eyebrows.

I pulled my hand away and looked at him in the eye in mock flirtation as I tiled my chin up. "And you look ravishing tonight, my good sir." I said in a very high pitch accent. There was silence as we stared at each other. A second later and we burst out laughing.

"Gross! Don't ever do that again." Dan said, still laughing and clutching his stomach.

"Me? You're the one who did it first. And with a weird accent might I add."

"That's the accent of a fake gentleman." He winked. "And you'll be seeing a lot of that tonight."

I hit Dan in the shoulder and laughed. He looked back behind him and beamed at his brother. "Ren, get your butt over here you useless idiotic twin! You're not called an escort if you just stand there." he chided him.

Ren ignored his brother and started to walk towards us. Well at least that's what I thought because he just walked past us as if he was looking for something. He turned back and tapped me on the shoulder. "Excuse me, but have you seen a petite looking girl, who acts like a man and talks like a man? She has dirty blonde hair that looks like a birds nest." he said before looking at me and studying my face. "Oh wait! That's you?!" He slapped a hand to his mouth in surprise.

I frowned at him and punched his shoulder. Ren and Dan laughed. Damn those hard muscles.

Ren rubbed the part where I hit him. "What? I was complimenting you." He said. "And stop it with the violence woman!"

"Oh ha ha, Ren. Telling a girl that she's practically a man with unruly hair is a compliment? I think you forgot to teach me that during our lessons." I crossed my arms over my chest.

Ren took out an imaginary pencil and pretended to scribble on his hand. "Let me just put that up on the list."

"Well, as fun as watching you kids here, I think I must excuse myself and head towards the reception area where the guests are." The Queen said. And I honestly forgot that she was still there. "Ren, I want you to take her down stairs with the others in two minutes."

"Yes, your highness." the Queen nodded at Ren in approval before she left.

"Why two minutes?" I asked Dan the moment he came to us.

"Well, dear princess, the Queen meant that in two minutes we should fill you up with the needed information on what to do." Dan said.

"And what we're gonna do is head down stairs and meet with the other princes, then we will enter the ball with them taking the lead. We will follow a few steps behind them as a sort of silent introduction." Continued Ren. "Now, shall we?" he offered me his arm. I took it and let him lead me down the stairs. Dan, following just beside me, and kept on grinning from time to time for some unknown reason. 

I was busy lifting the side of my dress to minimize the contact of the hem to my foot so I wouldn't trip - another trick they taught me. Ren was walking at a slow pace waiting for me, which I was really thankful for. We reached the second floor and Ren and Dan led me to a hallway and headed towards the two large double doors that would lead us to the ball.

If you guys are wondering why the ball is located on the 2nd floor and not the 1st floor, then I can answer that. The ball is indeed on the first floor but there is also a door headed to the second floor, which we are about to use. Behind the double doors is a set of stairs leading to the first floor. They told me that they only use it for introducing the host, which is me. They said it would be the perfect way for the people to know who I am.

We spotted the other princes standing just in front of the double doors. It seems as if they were waiting. When they saw us Fred and Nate immediately smiled - as for the other PRINCE, don't expect a smile from him because let's face it, the guy hardly smiled.

Fred was wearing a red shirt underneath a white coat. It was a simple coat with a long back and a 'W' shape at the back. Although it was simple, I can say that Fred knows how to bring a simple outfit to look good and formal with his blonde hair and how he moves with it.

Nate was wearing a white coat with a bunch of fancy folds and a gray button-less coat. It's side was decorated with golden beads that made some swirling patterns. His red hair was finely brushed back.

As for PRINCE Ace, he was wearing an army green shirt made of a sweater like material that seemed to sparkle and had a round scarf hanging loosely on his neck. Over the shirt was a gray vest and a jet black coat that buttons halfway up. Even though his outfit seemed ridiculous and sounded weird, he looked really good especially when his hair was carefully brushed back just right and showing his perfectly defined ears that I now got used to.

Fred came and offered me a hand, which Dan then slapped. "Hate to break it to you, Fred, but can't you see Rose already has an escort?" Dan's annoyed tone confused me.

Did he and Fred have a fight?

But instead of backing away, Fred only smiled and nodded at Dan. "Sorry." He said and turned to Ren. "May I?" Ren only nodded at him once and took my hand from his arm and handed it to Fred's outstretched ones. Fred smiles and I almost melted.

He studied my face for a while and he smiled warmly. "You look beautiful, Rose."

OH SON OF A MOTHERLESS PIG!

"T-" I cleared my throat. "Thank you. You look good as well." I said.

"Really? Phew!" He sighed in relief. "For a second there I thought you might call me ugly again. That's why I really spend some time fixing myself up. Good thing it paid off." He sighed and now, I am fighting the urge to run towards a set of stairs and jump down in happiness.

Just as I was staring dreamily at Fred, Nate took that opportunity and pulled me towards him. He caught me off guard that I tripped and landed on his chest. I heard him chuckle. I pushed myself up and glared at him. "I'll hit you." I warned.

"Woah! The party hasn't started and you now have a sour look on your face." He had an amused look on his face as he looked at me.

"Who's fault do you think it is?"

Nate must have found my outburst rather amusing because he just laughed. "Easy there tiger." He said. "You know I could make you happy."

I crossed my arms over my chest and raised an eyebrow at him. "Really? Are you leaving?"

The twins let out a whistle at my response while Nate just laughed harder. "Where have you been all my life?" He said.

"Hiding from you."

This time, Nate roared in laughter. "Can I just keep you for myself?"

"No. Don't be selfish."

He shrugged and fished something out of his coat. It was a huge red rose. "If I can't keep you, then keep this rose instead." He handed me the rose.

In that moment, the twins both took a step until they were at my side. "Don't take it, Rose. He has another one of those in his coat which he gives to all the girls." Ren warned me. "You might think you're special but it's just Nate. He may have at least 5 of them in there." Added Dan. "Or maybe more."

Nate glared at the twins. "Okay fine. You got me." Nate pulled his coat off and showed a bouquet of roses. "And for the record, I don't have 5. I have 30 of them." He said and looked at me and winked. Even though I don't really like what Nate was doing, I giggled at his playboy character. Nate broke the stem of the rose that he was holding and walked towards me, pulled out a ribbon and tied it to my right wrist where I have no jewelry on.

"There. Perfect. A rose for our little Rose."

I looked at my wrist and tenderly touched the rose before my fingers traveled to the ribbon. I raised my gaze to Nate. "Let me guess, you have at least 50 ribbons with you to tie the roses to every girl you will ever see tonight."

Nate put his hands into his coat pocket and pursed his lips. "Nope. I only have one ribbon."

Only one ribbon?

Seeing the dubious look on my face, Nate looked pretty offended. "Hey! No judging! I'm a guy. I don't bring pretty ribbons with me. As for that ribbon I just saw it on the floor on my way here." He said. I just looked at him and nodded my head slowly. "Yeah...right." I suddenly looked away because I'm pretty sure that Nate might have a sissy fit sooner or later. When I did, my eyes met a set of midnight blue ones. And since this was supposed to be a party, I offered him a small smile of peace.

In that instant, Ace frowned. "Why the heck are you smiling?"

"What?" I asked. Suddenly confused about what I might have done to cause Ace to have another period.

"Just because everyone complimented you doesn't mean that I have to do the same. I don't tell lies." He said and looked away.

My frown at the same time as the rest of the prince seemed to tense up. Probably knowing what was about to come.

I straightened myself up and gave PRINCE Ace a dazzling fake smile. "Well, your highness, since we both are on the same page of not telling lies, can I just say that you look rather ravishing tonight." I studied him from head to toe. "Your coat completely matches your personality. You know, black. You might wanna hide it. You're showing too much honesty here."

Ace only raised an eyebrow at me as if my words hadn't affected him. "You have good eyes for seeing through my honesty." He said. "And I'm afraid that what I had just said will be the only one closer to a compliment that you will ever get because behind that corset and layers of painting, you cannot hide the horror behind that mask. No offense."

I stared at him. My eyebrows twitch. No offense? I'll show him 'no offense!

I raised the dress until it was leveled with my knee and took off one of the heels and attempted to throw it at him when the other princes stopped me. "I am afraid that a pretty face is the only thing that you have for the rest of your life because your sour and bitter personality would probably scare off even dragons. No offense."

"Dragons are dead."

"They existed!?"

"Rose, please. Just let it go. PRINCE Ace was only joking." Fred said in a voice that I think is supposed to calm me down. He looked back at Ace. "Right, Prince Ace?"

Ace only stared at him. "Jokes are supposed to be funny, Prince Fred." He said. "Tell me, does it look like I'm laughing?"

"Ace!" All the princes said at the same time while Ace only gave them all an annoyed look and corrected them by saying, "PRINCE."

In that moment, the door leading to the ball suddenly opened and the queen gave us all a look. "What in the name of fairies is going on here? I can hear you from the other side! Is there a problem?" As if it was rehearsed, all of us quickly straightened up and fixed ourselves. Ren took the shoe from my hand and quickly helped me place it back on.

"Yeah. Him." I was being petty and pointed at Ace, who was now showing me his middle finger. To be fair, I also did the same. Ren slapped my hand away.

"Nothing to worry about, your majesty." Nate said and smiled. The queen studied us for a moment. She looked at us one by one as if expecting us to do something that might contradict Nate's words. When she saw nothing she only nodded. "Fine. Are you all ready?" We nodded. "Good. Now wait here until I introduce Rose. Places everyone. Ren, get back at your place. You're not called an escort for nothing!' She said and finally closed the door behind her.

Once the door clicked close, Dan had a victorious look on his face. "That's exactly what I wanted to tell you right now!" Dan said to his brother. "The queen is awesome!" He beamed.

Ren rolled his eyes at his brother as he grabbed my hand and placed us into our positions like what the others are doing. The princes formed two lines in front of us. Dan and Fred on the left, and Nate and Ace on the right. Ren and I were standing just behind the lines.

I know this seemed pretty stupid but, according the to queen, it would be a nice way to give a little suspense to the guest when we come in and the princes are hiding me and Ren.

"It's only a matter of time before the queen calls us." Ren said to me. "I can already hear her calling the attention of the guest in that room so wipe that frown off of your face."

I looked at him. "Perks of being a werewolf huh? And you seriously can't blame me. I was in a good mood if the PRINCE of the underworld didn't open his mouth."

"Don't be so hard on him. He's just in a bad mood."

"And I'm not?"

He sighed. "Maybe I should tell you this first. PRINCE Ace hates parties."

"If he hates it so much then why would he go?"

"You don't know?" He asked. Surprise evident in his voice. "I thought that PRINCE Ace had taught you all about it."

"About what?"

Ren was about to open his mouth to respond when he suddenly tensed up and looked straight. "Alright! The queen gave the signal." Dan announced and soon, they walked ahead of us and opened the door. Ren looked back at me. "And that's our cue." He started to lead me towards the huge double doors. But along the way, I couldn't help but wonder what he was about to say to me. What does he mean about Ace not teaching me about something?

We soon entered the doors and towards the ball room. Huge golden and crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and casting a bright golden glow to the room. Soft melodic music was playing in the background giving it an image of something classy.

"My royal guests. Tonight, you will meet a special and newly added member to our family. Recently, I've visited a cousin of mine from a far off land." The queen's voice faltered a little. "She's one of the princesses from that kingdom. She's kind and sweet. But due to some problems, my cousin and I decided that it would be best for her to stay with her. In Thalia." She said. Wow. I admire how the lies are flowing from the Queen's mouth.

"Ladies and gentleman, may I introduce to you, Princess Rosalie from the Kingdom of Thalia. Escorted by Prince Renevier Rutledge along with the other king candidates." I heard the queen say something to my side. But I wasn't really paying any attention to her, because when the prince marched forward to the stairs, paused at the step.

I got a full view of the room from where I was standing. It was huge. Really huge. It was like Disney had puked all over the place. Aside from the gold and crystal chandeliers, the walls were full of floor to ceiling windows. Near the side of the stairs was where the orchestra was located and continuing to play some music. Red curtains draped over it and parted at the center and clipped to the sides. Round tables were placed at the sides and cleared up the center where a huge crowd of men in suits and coats and women in dresses stood.

Ren gave me a small tug and whispered, "Let's go." But I didn't move. Instead, I was frozen to where I was. When Ren noticed that I wasn't moving, he gave me a worried look. "What's wrong?"

"I'm nervous." I said and took notice of the people looking up at us. Ren followed my gaze and a look of understanding came into his eyes.

"Ignore them."

"Easier said than done. What if I fall? What if I slip on my dress and fall face first?" A thousand scenarios of me doing different ways of embarrassing myself slipped into my mind.

"Hey, relax. Breathe in, breath out." Said Ren in a calming tone. "You're not alone in this. I'm here. I won't let you fall. I'm your escort remember?" I looked at Ren and studied his face. His gaze suddenly locked into mine. "Don't you trust me?" His eyes were pure and my mind suddenly told me to trust him.

"I trust you." As soon as the words left my lips, Ren's lips curled into a small smile and I let him lead me down the stairs. I was gripping his arm rather tightly. My right hand held the side of my skirt up in an elegant way as I struggled to keep my chin up to avoid slouching and look down to see where I was stepping. My heart pounded in my chest in anticipation as we neared the bottom. I could feel a hundred pairs of eyes on us as we walked. When we reached the last step, my foot missed a step and I almost fell if Ren's strong grip hadn't steadied me so my fall wasn't that obvious.

"Thanks." I whispered to him. He looked down at me and beamed. "We actually made it."

The crowd suddenly applauded us as we reached the bottom and the queen's voice suddenly boomed from the top. "Everyone, this is Princess Rosalie Amber Stan. A new member of the royal family. You will all treat her with the same respect as you have of us." Said the queen. Soon, the crowd suddenly acted. The royals did a curtsy while the Dukes and Duchess bowed.

"Enjoy the night." With that, everyone parted. Some gave me smiles before heading off to friends or sitting on tables.

The other princes came down and joined us looking at the crowd. Dan let out a whistle. "Damn, I didn't expect this many visitors."

"I agree." Said Fred. "That is why I'm asking you not to whistle since it's inappropriate and anyone might hear you."

"Sorry." Apologized Dan. He then gave me a short glance before his gaze shifted to a few ladies standing at one corner laughing and looking like they were having fun. Well I actually recognize the group of girls.

I noticed Dan returning his gaze back at me and he grinned. "What do you say we start making friends?" He gestured his head to where the girls are. The other princes followed his head and spotted what Dan was referring to. Nate smiled widely. "I don't think that's a bad idea at all. Let's go!"

Ren looked at Nate suspiciously. "Why do I have the feeling that you wanted us to go there not for the sake of Rose having friends but for something else?"

"You people are so judgmental. Why can't anyone be like Prince Fred?" Nate pointed at Fred.

"Um....thank you for the compliment but I was actually thinking the same thing as Ren. Sorry." Said Fred and gave a small apologetic smile to Nate. Nate seemed a bit offended by the accusations that he let out a grunt. "Fine!" He looked at me. "It's your call, Princess. Would you like to go there?" He tilted his head towards the girls. I looked past him to where the girls were. They seemed so happy and they all looked so beautiful. They look more like princesses than me.

But hey, if I wanna live here until I can go back home then I might as well learn how to make some friends here. And the first step in doing so is by approaching them.

I looked up at Nate and nodded. "Sure. Let's go." I couldn't help but notice the huge grin on Nate's face as he took the lead in heading towards the ladies' direction. We followed him.

As we neared them, the girls stopped chattering when they noticed us. They slowly faced our direction and waited for us. When we stopped right in front of them, they lowered their heads and greeted us and caught me completely off guard.

Oh crap. I hope they won't go all formal talking with me. I'm still crappy in that part.

"Good evening, ladies. We came by to say thank you for coming to this party." Said Fred and nodded at the girls. "If you don't mind, may we get your names?" At first, the group of girls were a bit stunned but then proceeded to introduce themselves.

One of the group of girls was Lady Solace - an elf. You know, like a certain prince we know. She was very pretty and wearing a pretty piercing blue dress the same color as her eyes. Her long dark brown hair was simply gorgeous despite the fact that she only wore it in a side braid. She was tall and had a slim figure and unlike Ace, she was always smiling. Well glad to know that not all elves are grumpy. Another female elf in the group is Lady Rebecca. Unlike Lady Solace, her hair was in a lighter shade of brown that I have always wanted and has blonde highlights. She even looked more stunning with her simple lavender colored dress that seems to fade to change into different colors when hit with light. With her dark blue eyes it was almost impossible to miss her.

In the same group, I spotted 3 girls in the Were kingdom. One of them was Lady Kylie. She's a werecat, specifically a black panther. She was so beautiful with her short sleeved dress that fades to green at the bottom. Her perfect medium length brown hair was curled and almost hiding her blue eyes that you can't seem to look away from. The second one was Lady Alysha, a werewolf. She wore a royal blue long dress that seemed to flow at the bottom of her feet. Her blue eyes sparkled as she laughed at something that the others were saying. Her long dark brown curly hair swaying elegantly at her back made me envy her. The third one was Lady Honey, also a werewolf. Her peach colored gown is simple yet she managed to pull it off so that it competed with the other fancy dresses. But one thing that she will surely capture you aside from her flawless wavy brown hair is her purple eyes.

I also spotted a few witches. And no, not the witches like the ones we see one movies that have wrinkly faces and long noses. These witches are good. They have the same race as my Prince Fred - power and alchemy users. In their kingdom, they call the males warlocks while the women are called witches. One of the witches among the group is Lady Sabrina. Seeing her in a white dress makes you see how beautiful and different they are from the ugly witches we've seen in movies. Her long dark brown hair was curled at the end and was bouncing elegantly at her back as she walked. Her green eyes focused on the group of girls as they had their conversation. The second witch I spotted was Lady Jay. Her hair has a mixture of black and brown, a beautiful color that matches her mysterious blue eyes and mint colored dress that has a pretty sweetheart and long sleeves made of a lighter sheer colored mint cloth. The third one was Lady Holly wearing a lime green sleeveless dress. She's so tall that her brown hair seemed a little short despite how long it really was. And her eyes were the most special thing about her, watching her closely, I can tell that her eyes change color depending on her mood.

There were also a few Fae folks - fairies. One of them was Lady Alice. A black haired fairy with piercing blue eyes and a very beautiful matching blue dress that hugs her slim figure perfectly making her stand out.

"Please, no need for formalities. Treat us like we're acquaintances." Fred said and they all raised their heads to look at us. 

"Yeah." Added Dan and pointed at me. "She hates it. Not to mention she really sucks."

"Dan!" I practically screamed at him and slapped his arm in embarrassment when the girls giggled. Great. Now they are going to make fun of me. Dan only looked at me with one of his eyebrows raised. "Um...am I supposed to feel anything?" I love Dan's jokes but right now, I want to kill him. Not only did he embarrass me here but he also gave me a bad impression in front of the Ladies.

"I'll.Kill.You." I said to him.

"Princess, I'm a werewolf. You can't beat me."

"Maybe I could help Princess Rose." One of the girls spoke. It was Lady Honey. She regarded Dan as she spoke. Her eyes darted towards me and she gave me a small smile. "That is...if she wants me to."

I only blinked at her in surprise while Ren roared in laughter. "You got owned by one of our kind, you stupid fool!" He then looked at Lady Honey and gave her a thumbs up. "Good job, but I don't think that that's how you treat a werewolf prince?"

In that instant, another girl spoke. It was Lady Holly. "Pardon me but I do recall Prince Fred saying that we don't need formalities and that we should treat you like our acquaintance?"

Someone slap me in the face because I really can't believe what's happening right now.

Nate beamed widely and pulled out a rose from his coat and presented it to Lady Holly. "Dear Lady Holly. The way you talked back at the Prince of Muttheads has earned my respect." Holly hesitantly took the flower from Nate and looked at him worriedly. "Thanks, I don't think that you should have said that here."

"Why?"

Instead of answering, Holly looked back and Nate followed her movement to see that the other werewolf girls gave him a deadly look. Realizing his mistake, he quickly corrected himself. "It's the Prince! I meant Prince Ren and only him!"

"With all due respect, the prince that you are referring to is also our prince." Said Lady Kylie with her arms crossed over her chest as she challenged Nate with her gaze. If you think that it's worse, then think again. Lady Alysha also stepped forward to face Nate. "And if you think that calling him a mutt is funny, then how would you feel if we call you bloodsucker?" Nate starred at both of them while Ren and Dan let out an amused laugh. Dan then walked beside the two girls and placed an arm on each of their shoulders and smiled brightly at them. "Just so you guys know. I like you! What are your names?" He asked them and they told him their names.

Seriously, Dan? They just introduced themselves!!

Beside me, I saw Fred talking to two elf girls so I decided to come and join him. When Fred noticed me, he smiled and beckoned for me to come. He took my hand and introduced me to the two elf girls. "Rose, I would like you to meet Lady Solace and Lady Rebecca." He said and both the ladies curtsied at me while I nod in acknowledgement. Well, even though I already knew their names, introductions are still important as well as first impressions. "Nice to meet you both." I said.

"It's actually an honor to meet you, Princess Rose." said Lady Solace and she smiled at me. Her voice was soft and soothing. I flinched, not because of her voice but because she called me 'princess'. Boy, I have to get used to other people calling me that from now on.

"You look beautiful." Commented Lady Rebecca that it almost made me blush because of the sincerity in her tone.

"T-Thanks. You both look lovely as well." I said. Fred released his hold from my hand and placed it around my shoulder.

"Princess Rose, they are both from the Kingdom of Tordis."

I looked at Fred for a moment because peeking at Ace just a few behind us who hasn't said a word since. "Oh. So they're like Ace? That explains why they look kinda like him."

At the mention of his name, I saw Ace looking in our direction and frowning at us. "No, they don't look like me. They're not my siblings and surely not my children."

My jaw dropped at his words. Seriously? Does he want to start a fight right here and right now? Well too bad because he's not going to get it. Dan basically ruined 20% of my good impression to these girls. No way am I letting Ace ruin the remaining 80%. So instead of barking and spitting venom at him, I simply let out a small laugh and faced the two Ladies.

"Don't mind him. He's such a joker." I said to the girls. Yeah. And his face is also a joke.

"I wasn't joking." He said.

I spun around to face Ace. I could feel one of my eyebrows twitching in annoyance. "Of course you are!" I insisted. "You know for a fact that I was referring to your races. You know elfs."

Ace let out a sigh of frustration that it made me want to choke the air out of him. If anyone should be doing that it should be me! Ace only gave me a look as he said, "So that's what you were saying. Next time, speak clearly so I wouldn't misinterpret your words."

"Oh but I did." I said, still plastering a fake smile on my face. "You're just stupid enough not to get it."

"If I'm stupid, then I wouldn't be standing there and plastering a fake smile on my face. Wipe it off. It's disgusting."

My fist clenched at my sides. "You know? I take it back. You guys don't look alike."

"Glad you finally notice."

"Because you're immature and scary looking unlike these ladies here." I gestured towards Lady Solace and Lady Rebecca.

Ace rolled his eyes at me and looked away as if he was tired of me. "Tss. It's better than having a face like yours." Words simply can't describe the things that I'm feeling right now. And I badly needed to keep my temper in check. I can't lose my temper in front of these girls.

Someone gently tapped my shoulder and I looked around to see that it was Lady Solace. "Is everything alright, Princess Rose?"

Oh yes. Everything will be alright if you could just give me a sack so I can throw the freak in it and toss it in the ocean. Yeah. That would make me feel better. But I didn't say it. Instead, I smile at her. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

Lady Rebecca gave me a worried look. "You seem like you wanted to kill someone for a moment while you were looking at Prince Ace." She said. I stood there and stared at her for a long time. Wow, that was accurate. I was pretty sure that I kept my expression in check. 

I felt someone grabbing a hold of my hand. I turned my head to the side only to find Fred looking at me. "I think it's best if we separate you and Ace for a while. What do you say?" He whispered.

Heck yeah! Was what I wanted to say to him at that moment. But taking not that we still have an audience, I simply nodded and excused myself from the two girls and headed towards Nate, who was talking with the group of witches and fairies. As I was approaching, one of the witches, Lady Jay, spotted me and she smiled. Nate followed her gaze and so did the other. When I arrived, Nate was beaming. "Hey there, Princess. Wanna join us?" Asked Nate.

I shrugged. "Depends. What are you guys up to?"

"Telling things about ourselves." Said Nate and gave me a quick introduction to the ladies. In the group, there was Lady Alice, Lady Sabrina, Lady Jay, Lady Holly, and Lady Honey.

"Nice to meet you all." I nodded at each of them as they greeted me.

"Um....Princess Rose?" I searched for the voice that called my name. It was Lady Sabrina. I smiled at her warmly as she was a bit nervous. "Can I ask you something?" She asked and I nodded. "May I - we - know what's your race?"

I stared at her. Wondering why she was asking this all of a sudden.

"It's a secret, because her race is actually rare." Came the reply of Nate and turned to Lady Alice and smiled. "Very rare." He said calmly. In that moment, I found myself admiring Nate for speaking up for me.

Lady Alice beamed at Nate before turning her attention to me. Her eyes sparkled with interest as she asked, "That's amazing."

I felt a hand sneaking at my waist and suddenly, I was pulled towards Nate. I looked up at him and saw him wink. Not the flirtatious wink but more of a 'let me handle this' wink. He returned his gaze back to Lady Alice. "Actually, she's a rare one so she really can't answer that question at the moment. But personally? I think she's charming in her own way regardless of her race." he said and leaned in to whisper at Lady Alice.

Whatever Nate had said, Lady Alice giggled making me curious.

I grabbed Nate at the back of his coat and pulled him back. "What did you say to her?"

Nate only gave me an innocent smile which made me all the more curious. "Nothing."

"Princess Rose?" I shifted my attention from Nate to Lady Jay who was looking at me hesitantly. And just by looking at her, I could tell that she wanted to ask me something. I smiled at her as I released my hold from Nate. "Yes?"

"Um...if you don't mind me asking, the ladies and I are just a bit curious about..." she hesitated and bit her lips as if what she was about to say was bad. And I feared that it might be some kind of rumor about me or something.

Great, a few minutes in the ball and I'm already the talk of the night.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Well, it's really optional whether you answer this or not...but....we're just curious...." She stopped and looked over at Nate before she pulled me towards her and led me to the other ladies and they formed a protective circle around me.

"What's going on? Why are we in a circle? Are we playing a game or something?" I asked as I looked around only to find myself surrounded.

"We just don't want Prince Nate to hear our conversation." Said Lady Honey and looked back towards Nate who was c*****g his head to the side as he looked at us.

"Why?"

"Because we wanted to ask you something that only us girls should hear." Added Lady Holly.

"Okay? What is it that you wanted to ask me?"

All the girls smiled at each other and giggled excitedly before looking back at me. Finally, Lady Sabrina spoke. "Who's your favorite prince?" she asked. Her question caught me off guard that I stared at her as if she grew another head.

"Say what?" Came my reply and scolded myself for saying that because it was formal.

"Living in a castle with 5 handsome and popular princes? Surely you find one of them attractive." Added Lady Jay.

"I...Uh...." I was out of words and I couldn't seem to find my tongue. Fan girls. I just know it.

"Is it Prince Frederick?" Asked Sabrina. "I saw him putting an arm around you earlier while you guys were talking to Lady Rebecca and Lady Solace." Behind her, I saw the rest of the ladies leaving the other princes to join the conversation. Lady Alysha, Lady Kylie, Lady Solace, and Lady Rebecca joined the circle.

"What about that one twin? We saw you two talking comfortably earlier." Lady Alysha commented as Lady Kylie added.

"Yeah, the way you two talk seems like you two are well acquainted." The other ladies then nodded in agreement.

"That's true, but Prince Renevier is her escort. Surely that could mean something, right?" Inserted Lady Honey making the girls having another argument. "Or was that Prince Dan?"

"So Prince Dan is the one wearing the cape and Prince Renevier is the one without the cape?" Lady Jay asked and looked at me for confirmation.

"P-Prince Ren." I managed to say despite all the states.

"Did you say Prince Ren? Are you in familiar terms with him?" One of the girls said and they all squealed excitedly.

"Girls, let's not forget about Prince Nathaniel. The way he pulled her towards him by the waist when she seemed nervous was pretty cute." Lady Holly pointed out making a few girls giggle in excitement as they begged Lady Holly for details.

"What about Prince Ace?" Asked Lady Alice making the girls stop and look at her as they processed her words.

"Yeah. They do seem close." Lady Solace wondered out loud and placed a finger at her chin. Lady Rebecca nodded in agreement to her. "I think so too. They were joking around earlier." I snapped my attention to the three girls, Solace, Alice, and Rebecca. My jaw dropping at their words. Are they serious? They really think we were joking?! We were practically biting each other's head off!

I peeked behind them and saw, with dread, that the princes had gathered and were looking at us curiously. At least 4/5 of them are. My gaze quickly went towards Ren, Dan, and Nate. Werewolves and Vampires have sensitive hearing. My heart sank at the sudden realization and I quickly turned towards the girl panicking.

"Ladies, I think we best not discuss this right now not when there is a chance of the princes hearing this conversation." I told them politely. Hoping against hope that this might also end this discussion. Sadly, it didn't. Instead, Sabrina, Jay, and Holly smiled at me knowingly.

"We have already thought of that." Holly said and gave me a comforting smile.

"Yes, Princess. We have put a small amount of magic so they wouldn't hear our conversation." Added Jay while Sabrina winked at me and said, "The only thing they will hear is us talking about girly stuff like hairs and makeup."

I was staring at the three witches with my mouth slightly agape. Amazed at how well they had planned everything. They were beaming at me and waiting for me to say something. "W-What is it?" I asked nervously.

"You haven't told us your favorite prince! Who is it?"

My eyes darted from one face to another. They were looking at me with full attention as if they wanted to memorize everything I do. I gulp. "I- '' I started to say but stopped when I saw Lady Alice looking behind me and her eyes going wide in horror. She quickly nudged the girl beside her, Lady Rebecca, and pointed behind me. Lady Rebecca followed her gaze. Like, Lady Alice, her eyes widened and she made a shushing sound at all of us. Everyone didn't speak then.

I was about to open my mouth to ask them when I figured it out myself when I heard the voice behind me. "Excuse me ladies." I turned 180 degrees and saw that the princes were now standing there in front of me. Fred nodded at me before looking at all the ladies. "I don't want to interrupt your conversations but the banquet is about to start and Princess Rose is needed to sit with the Queen." Behind me, I heard the ladies giving him permission to excuse myself and I wonder if the life in this world is always about politeness and proper gestures and crap.

Fred stepped aside as he let Ren offer me his hand. I took it and let him lead me towards the table where the Queen and King are. I heard behind me for one last time as I saw that the ladies were grinning at me wickedly, some are even winking while the others are giggling in the background. I faced front again and thought, for a brief moment, how similar the ladies were with my friends back home. Hm, I guess this world isn't as different to my world after all.

We found our table. It was round and the King and Queen had already taken their seat and were waiting for us. Ren pulled out a chair for me to sit. The banquet then began and food was served to our table. Wines and other dishes were served. Ren was seated on my left while Nate was seated on my right. As I was eating, I caught his eye and saw him smile approvingly at me as I didn't make a mess of my plate. Minimal chatters could be heard in the room. Soft music played in the background making dinner more appealing. The food was great. Better than the ones I usually have on my regular days here in the palace.

The music then changed. It started to accurately send waves through my skin because I already knew what was coming. The music was all too familiar for me having played it every single day for the past week.

Men started to rise from their seats. Prince and Dukes that I am about to meet rose from their seats and made their way to the ladies and offered their hands. Fred, Nate, Dan, Ren, and Ace also got up from their seats. Ren shifted his gaze towards me. Offered me a smile and reached out his hand for me to take and let him pull me up. The others did the same and I watched as Fred, Dan, Nate, and Ace approached some ladies and offered them for a dance. I saw Fred offering a hand to Lady Sabrina, who was a bit stunned at first but took his offer nonetheless. Nate used his charms and offered Lady Holly for a dance in which she accepted. Dan had a smile plastered on his and said something to Lady Solace making her laugh and offering her a dance in which she gladly took.

As for Ace...well....let me tell you that he neither smiles nor talks. He just stood there and stared at Lady Alice making her uncomfortable. Finally, with a sigh, he offered his hand to her with a frown. And by some miracle, Lady Alice accepted his offer either because he was handsome or because she was scared of Ace. I'm betting on the later part.

"Ready?" I looked up at Ren. Smiled then nodded. "Ready."

One by one, the floor was then filled with dresses flowing around the floor as they swayed to the music. Ren led me to the dance floor and we joined the other in a synchronizing waltz in which I learn is a traditional form of dance. With one hand on his shoulder and one of his hands on my waist, we continued to sway with the others.

"Having fun?" he asked me as we glided through the dance floor. My soft golden gown flowing with each movement and Ren always has to watch himself in case he might step on it.

Ren seemed to frown inwardly as we danced.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"My wolf is grumbling for some reason. I think it's broken."

I chuckled and thought for a moment."Hm, so far so good. Nothing bad has happened." I said and immediately frowned. "Well almost. If you exclude my encounters with Ace."

"It's PRINCE." He corrected me and immediately caught himself. Wow, not saying Prince before Ace is really getting to us. It's all that guy's fault.

I gave Ren a pointed look. "Don't get me started on the whole PRINCE thing, Ren." I warned him. He laughed in return. "It's not even funny!" I blew the stray strand that was covering my face. "Seriously, have you noticed him today? He seems a bit more cranky than usual."

Ren grinned. "Clearly you're still ignorant of the politics in this world. He doesn't have a choice."

My eyebrows drew closer to each other in confusion. "Of course he has!" I argued. "He's a PRINCE!"

Ren almost choked on his laughter when the words left my mouth. "Princess, just because we're princes doesn't mean we have that much freedom." His gaze darted towards his brother who pretended to weep when Lady Solace accidentally stepped on his foot.

What a loser.

His gaze shifted back to me. "Prince Ace doesn't have a choice because by not going to the ball, it will mean disrespect and showing dislike towards you."

"Um, I don't get you. Ace and I already hated each other. Why would he try to hide it by coming here?"

He looked away and sighed. I feel like it is gonna be hard to explain. "In a ball, every family member must appear to show respect to the host of the ball or towards the person whom it is held for. In this case, since the ball is for you, we are showing you a sign of respect by coming here."

"But we're not family members. What does that have to do with anything?"

"But we are living under the same roof. And as the candidates for the next king, we give you our approval the moment we enter the room." He explained. "And because of that, you earned a huge reputation for getting 5/5." He grinned. "Congratulations!"

"Are you telling me that this is like some sort of test?"

"A test if you are deserving to be recognized by these nobles? Yes."

"I-" Before I could say anything more, it was already time to change partners. Ren gripped my hand and twirled me for the exchange. He twirled me once and handed me to the next guy.

"Don't you think Princess Rose and Prince Ren look cute together?"

I heard Dan saying something to one of the ladies but I couldn't quite hear. They both chuckled one last time before switching partners. Dan unconsciously held his hand out to me and I grabbed me.

"What were you guys talking about?" I ask, once Dan and I were in position. Dan looked surprised and looked down at me.

"Oh, you're my next partner? Interesting. You danced with the same face twice. It must be fate!"

I gave Dan a long and hard look before I glanced at the musicians. "I wonder when the next pair exchange will happen."

Dan let out a very long and dramatic gasp. "How dare you?" He accused me. "You even blew our cover. Telling the girls that Ren is not wearing a cape. It made it easier for them to distinguish us."

"I thought you guys want people to recognize you?"

Dan shook his head. "Tsk tsk tsk. I want them to recognize me because of my looks tonight. I want to hear something like 'Isn't that twin with the cape more dashing than the one without?' THAT kind of recognition."

"Dan...You guys are basically a mirror of each other. It's your personalities that differ."

"You mean I am the more kind and adorable twin?"

"You're the annoying and insane twin." I deadpanned.

Dan suddenly slouched his shoulder and let out an insane laugh. "Because I know something that you don't." He said in a very creepy voice.

"What do you know?" I rolled my eyes.

Dan let out a menacing laugh. "Oh, Princess. We, beastmen, can imprint on people to become our potential mate. There would be several signs of it for the beastmen. The recipient only needs to accept the sender's feelings for them to become our mates."

"Thanks for the trivia?" I said. Unsure what a fool is talking about. Suddenly, the music was changing.

"Oops. Time to change pairs!" Dan called out. "Good timing. The weather here was getting dense. See ya!"

And with that, he aggressively twirled and pushed me away.

I saw Fred, who was still dancing with his partner. Our gazes met and, with one hand, he grabbed me and twirled me over to the next person. Fred smiled warmly at me and winked. His dance partner looked confused on why he didn't switch us.

But I, on the other hand, remembered our promise. That we would be my last dance for the night. I gave him a smile to let him know that I remembered before I faced my new partner.

Well suppose to be a partner. It was Nate, but apparently he was having a conservation with another girl. And he didn't seem happy.

It was a girl with long purple hair that shone in the light. I remember from my lesson with Ace that she's Princess Camille. Her silver dress sparkling with different colors as if it were alive. Expensive non-metallic jewelry decorated her from top to toe. I'll say, she's beautiful. Camille, the princess of the Kingdom of Frae. The fairies.

Princess Camille Clevelan smirked at Nate making him frown at her even more. "What's with the face, Prince Nathaniel? Don't you miss me?" she said in a soft sweet voice.

"I'm not in the mood for your silly games."

I didn't do anything and stupidly watched the scene in front of me.

She pouted and batted her long lashes at him while running her hand up and down his shoulders. She leaned in and whispered something to him.

"The throne is not for you." Nate told her and pushed her back. Not wanting to be anywhere close to her. "It's for your older brother. Prince Gregory Clevelan."

Camille had a dark look on her face. "Gregory isn't the problem. I can take the throne from him. I'm a summer fairy and he's just a fall fairy." She said. Her voice laced with venom at her older brother. "But the only problem is my little brother Chace - A winter fairy." She rolled her eyes. "A rare one but useless if your ignorant." She then focused her eyes on me and her face softened. "But with you, I think we can overpower Chace and let him hand over the throne. What do you say?"

I feel like I am not supposed to be hearing this. Isn't this technically a topic close to treason? But I can't say anything since Nate might get involved.

Nate gave her a disgusted look. "Your brother, Chace, is only 14 and Gregory is a fine man and a born leader." He told her. "And I don't want any throne. I just want to be rid of you."

Her green eyes darkened. "You have to. I can't just let you go around and flirt with other girls!"

"Who are you to order me around? I am not your pawn."

"You're mine, Nate."

"You're crazy!" This girl is unbelievable. Nate suddenly pushed her away. "I am not your property and I certainly will not be leaving this castle anytime soon. Not for some silly fantasies of a spoiled girl like you." His voice rose a little in my anger.

Camille only rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh and Nate had to breathe through my nose slowly so as to ease up temper. "Fine. You can stay."

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"I said you can stay." she repeated."But only if you'll get rid of that Princess Rosalie and if you'll take me to be your Queen once you win." Her words sent ripples of anger through me and Nate looked at her furiously.

"Don't bring Rose into this." He hissed at her. His fangs elongated and he tightened his grip on her hands and stopped dancing.

Now they were speaking in hushed voices that I couldn't hear anything."Touch her and I swear I'll kill you. I'll drain every drop from your body even if I become an undead. It'll be worth it if it means getting rid of you."

Camille gave him a pointed look. "Rose? You sound different, Nate. It's as if you're on close terms with her. Don't tell me you actually care about her?" She let out a laugh. "That can't be, right? After your last one? You can't possibly care for another woman other than leading her on and leaving."

Nate clenched his teeth and shook his head.

"Don't you remember Kascada? You love her, didn't you?" She was saying something to Nate that had him gone pale. He looks like he is struggling and suffocating at the same time.

"You." He growled at her. "You're the one who ruined us. By spreading those rumors that she left me!"

"She wasn't worth your affection!!" She countered back. "And neither will that Rosalie girl that you're trying to protect!"

"Stay. Away. From. Her! The only reason I haven't killed you yet is because I respect your brother, but once you touch Rose or hurt her, I swear, not even your brother can stop me from tearing you."

Oh well. Here goes nothing. Nate better be grateful.

I grabbed my dress and ran straight into Camille. We collided and both of us almost fell on the ground if it weren't for Nate. He grabbed his waist to steady me while having a surprised look on his face. Camille had grabbed Nate's arm to steady herself. When Nate noticed this, he glared at her.

I straightened up and gave a fake apologetic look at Camille. "I-I'm so sorry! It's just that I slipped while switching partners!! Prince Fred was supposed to be my partner but he whisked me off." It was an excuse, but it held a bit of truth in it.

Camille, on the other hand, tightened her grip on Nate's shoulders as she glared daggers at me. "You did that on purpose!" She snarled and flipped her purple hair out of her face.

I looked at the side. Uninterested in dealing with her. Did I actually make a mistake of helping Nate? Without any emotion, I said, "But it was an accident. It was time to switch partners. Look!" I pointed at a man who was standing alone and looking confused. "See that guy? That's your next partner." I said innocently. "So excuse me!"

If looks could kill, I'd say I would have been long gone by now. Camille made a move as if to attack me, but before I could raise my foot to kick her, Nate quickly pulled me towards him to shield me from her. Camille looked slightly taken aback by his action and looked from Nate before looking back at me. I gave her a teasing look and stuck my tongue out. Serves her right.

Her fist clenched at her sides. She gave me a final deadly look before storming out. Her dress danced like waves as she headed towards her next partner.

"Well that was intense." I commented. "Are you okay?"

"Sorry." He said and released his hold on me. I fixed herself up and flipped some stray hair back and off of my face. Finally, he took one of my hands and placed another on my waist. I placed one hand on his shoulder as we continued the dance.

"You're crazy." He finally said. He gave me a small smile that didn't fully reach his eyes.

"What do you mean?" I asked innocently and batted my eyes.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" He asked. As a response, I gave him a wicked smile. 

"Maybe?" I shrugged. "I don't know. What do you think?"

He managed to c***k a smile. He shook his head and let out a small laugh. "You're insane. You know that?"

I smiled back. This time, it was genuine. "I was telling you half the truth you know? Fred was supposed to be my next partner but he held on to his last partner and whisk me off. And after that I kind of saw you having a heated conversation with that girl." My expression darkened. "I saw your face, Nate. You look as if you were ready to pounce at her." Strands of my hair fell off and he reached out and pushed it back behind my ear as I continued. "So I decided to come and...you know...push her off." I grinned proudly.

He chuckled. "Seems like you were trying to rescue me."

"In fact I did, didn't I?"

He nodded. "Indeed." He said and kissed my hand. "I guess I am in your debt."

I smiled. "That's good. A prince in my debt. Can you imagine the perks of that?" He laughed at me.

Suddenly I became serious. "But what was that all about? I've never seen you look at a girl with so much hatred. You love girls. And to be honest? The only guy who I know having that sort of expression is Ace."

He shrugged. "Let's just say that she's obsessed with me and that drove her to doing something that made me dislike her."

"Wait. She likes you?"

He raised an eyebrow at me. Slightly offended at my words. "Hey, I have the looks. Of course girls fall on their knees when I'm around. Just like you earlier."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I only pretended to slip, Nate. That's it. What did you do to make her that crazy for you?"

"If only you knew, Rose. I wasn't like this before."

"What?"

"That's a story for some other time." He replied and gave me a small tired smile. "I don't want to talk about it."

I saw his pained look so I decided that I wasn't going to ask anymore. I looked back towards Camille and another boy dancing. Camille wearing a frown while her partner tried to talk to her. Probably asking what had gotten her in a bad mood.

Finally, I turned my gaze back at Nate. "Well good news. Looks like the guy over there is trying to make conversations with her." I then leaned in and whispered. "I think he likes her and it's only a matter of time before he makes a move." Nate suddenly laughed.

He slightly bent over and laughter continued to come. Oh boy. I think Nate is on c***k.

"What? Was it something I said?"

He straightened up. He looked at me in amusement and chuckled. "Rose, do you know that guy over there?"

"Yeah. His name is Prince Gregory Clevelan." 

Then I realized something. "Is that...?"

"Yes."

"And I said....."

I nodded.

"Oh my gosh!! That was i****t!!" I said, completely horrified. "Ew!! And to think that I thought they would look good together! And that they would fall in love and..."

"Have babies?" He added.

We both looked at each other. And by the looks of it, he, like me, was picturing the both of the Clevelan siblings in love. We both cringed and made disgusted faces at each other before we both laughed hysterically that people nearby gave us weird looks.

"Let's keep this conversation between us."

"Babe, if it's you then I'll gladly keep it." he winked. Then his expression changed. "I would like to ask you a favor." He said just as the music was starting to change.

"What is it?"

"About what you learned. Please keep that between us as well." Nate started to twirl me off to my next partner, but just before I was out of earshot I looked back at him and smiled.

"I already forgot about it." I smiled.

He smiled brightly. And, just as he received his next partner, he took a rose from his coat and offered it to the now blushing lady.

I rolled my eyes. Now there's the Nate that I know.

I stopped twirling when I saw my next partner. My eyes nearly bulged out in surprise. "Ace?"

"PRINCE." He corrected her in annoyance.

I was only looking at him expectantly and waited for him to offer me his hand. Suddenly, he grabbed my hand and looked at the man next to him and called his attention. When he looked at us, he offered my hand to him. "Wanna switch partners? I'll pay you." he said, even though he knew that he's a duke and he'll have tons of gold in his pocket.

I jerked my hand back and frowned at him. "Oh no you won't! Fred already ditched our dance. I will not be exchanged for another dance partner twice in one night!" I took his hand and forced us both to a dance.

Well Fred didn't really ditch me to be honest.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Does it look like I care?" He told me.

I countered him with a frown. "And does it look like I'm giving you any other choice?"

"You're ugly. That's why Prince Fred switched you." He said bluntly.

"And you're annoying. Shut up."

"I'm not the one who's talking."

"You just talked."

"That's because you were talking. Now shut up."

"No you shut up."

"I'm a Prince. You can't order me around."

"Just because you're a prince doesn't mean you can order people around."

"Yes I can."

"Prove it."

Ace suddenly turned his head towards the nearby boy serving some champagne and called his attention. He looked at Ace with a confused face. "Jump off a cliff and die." The poor boy looked at him in horror and his hands started to tremble at his command.

"Ace!!" I screamed at him, horrified. I turned towards the servant boy and smiled at him sweetly. "Don't mind him. He's just playing around. You can go now." I said and the servant boy looked happy to leave.

"It's PRINCE Ace. How many times do I have to repeat that to you, you retarded fool!" He said. Not hiding the annoyance in his tone.

I gave him an incredulous look. "Are you freaking serious? You'll seriously order him to jump off a cliff?" I said angrily. 

In that moment, he looked like he wanted to hit me at the back of my head for being stupid. "Weren't you the one who asked me to prove to you that I can order people around?"

"That wasn't what I meant!!"

He frowned at me. "If you don't want people to misunderstand your words then say it clearly. You're not a kid anymore. Tch!"

"Did you just 'tch' me?"

He ignored me and continued to dance. "I don't want to waste my breath talking to ugly people, which is everybody in the room." He said.

My foot 'accidentally' stepped on trash. Ace turned and gave me a deadly glare. I, on the other hand, quickly looked away and feigned innocence.

"You did that on purpose!"

"Nope." I lied.

With a frown, he stepped on the hem of my dress and made me trip a bit. My head quickly snapped into attention as I looked at him. My eyebrows furrowed and I stepped on my foot again. And like earlier, he returned the favor.

"What's your problem?"

"What's your problem?" He told me.

"Stop stepping on my dress you immature big eared elf!!" I said. My voice squeaked a little as I tried to dodge his foot but failed. He snorted. "And you call me the immature one." I narrowed my gaze at him and made a move as if to step on his foot again. Then he stepped back to avoid my foot.

I frowned and stepped my other foot forward and attempted to catch it again and missed when he took another step back. My foot slightly grazed him making him look at me in annoyance. "Watch it!"

As a reply, I only stuck my tongue out at him and continued to go after his foot. This time, he took side steps to avoid my steps and we ended up doing a weird dance of our own.

We were so caught up in our little dance that we didn't notice the couple, who was dancing right beside us, ended up splitting apart when we ran in between them with our hands outstretched.

"Stop moving!"

"You stop moving!!"

I don't know for how long we were making that dance but we stopped as soon as I finally gave up. I was pretty much panting while he didn't even break a sweat and was now looking at me bored-ly when I noticed something. I lifted my gaze to scan the crowd only to see them looking at us. We just conquered the dance floor. 

"Tell me they're not looking at us." I whispered.

"They are." He answered shortly. I cursed under my breath and gave a hesitant laugh and the crowd started to applaud us. Ace raised his eyebrows at them, while my cheeks continued to turn red.

"Mind your own business!" Ace yelled at the crowd, making them stop and continued to dance.

Ace started to make an exit, but paused when he noticed that I wasn't moving. One of the things that I learned from the twins is that you're not supposed to leave a girl in the middle of the dance floor alone without a partner. It's basically rude and disrespectful.

Ace was probably thinking about it too.

Another wave of music arrived and the dance started to resume. This time, it's a dance where there is no need for you to change your dance partner, but you may do so when someone wants to cut in. Basically it's their version of a free dance.

I watched as everybody in the room grabbed their own chosen partners and headed for the dance floor. Soon we were surrounded by dancing pairs. He cursed as the space started to become cramped. He grabbed my hand and started to lead me away.

A girl suddenly approached us. She's tall and lean with silver locks of hair and fake makeup ridden face. Her dress, a metallic silver that gleamed in the light. She stopped right in front of us and I finally recognized her as the princess of the Trylle, trolls. They may look like normal human beings, like warlock and witches, but they possess a hard physical body.

"Prince Ace Feradin, is it?" She asked and gave him a friendly smile. Ace nodded grumpily. He was probably annoyed at the fact that she suddenly blocked our path.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Princess Laurette from the Kingdom of Hale." She said as politely as she could.

"Do I look stupid to you that I wouldn't know who you are?! I may not care who you are but I certainly know your name." Ace clicked his tongue in annoyance. "You must be confusing me with this idiot." He said and pointed at me. I frowned and slapped his hand away.

"I'm not an i***t!"

"And I'm not the silly ignorant princess who grouped Prince Leonardo, Duke Rafael, Prince Donatello, and Duke Michelangelo and call them ninja tur-"

I slapped a hand to his mouth to stop him from finishing his sentence.

"Such a joker you are." I laughed and gave Ace a very tight smile.

Princess Laurette giggled . "Princess Rose, I'm so honored to have the pleasure to meet the both of you." She said.

"The pleasure-" I started.

"-is all yours." Ace moved my hand away in order to snap at her.

She laughed. "You're funny. You can call me Laurette."

"PRINCE Ace."

Princess Laurette only smiled at me. "You don't talk much do you?"

"..." I gave her a hesitant laugh.

"I guess not." She sighed. "Well, I apologize for intruding on your walk. I just didn't want the party to end without speaking to the both of you." She bowed and went away.

"Finally!" Ace said when she was out of earshot.

"You really are a rude bastard, aren't you?"

He clicked his tongue and grabbed my hand again as we dodged all the dancing royals.

I was glaring at Ace's hand on mine as he pulled me away from the crowd. "Let me go!" I growled at him and tried to pry his hands from mine. Ace turned to glare at me and released my hand. "Shut up. You're drawing unwanted attention." He said. I narrowed my gaze at him and was about to say something when someone tapped Ace's shoulder making him look back at the person standing behind him. I took a good look at the boy.

He was slender and young. Around 14 years old judging from his face. His hair is a very dark shade of midnight blue that you could easily mistake as black if lights don't hit it. He's beautiful. His soft blue eyes like ice glinting as he smirks at Ace. His expensive light blue coat giving off an image of royalty. He then regarded Ace and I with a mischievous look.

And I was surprised that Ace didn't s*******r him at that moment for that look of his.

"Prince Ace Feradin from the elven clan." He nodded at Ace. His voice speaks of arrogance. 

Wow. Ace sure is popular.

I could feel Ace narrowing his gaze at the person in front of us without even looking. "Prince Chace Clevelan from the fae clan." Ace nodded. And I was a bit surprised that he sounded normal for once. No harsh or disrespectful words to the opposite party.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

I spoke too soon.

I stood beside Ace and gave him a horrified look and elbowed him. "The hell!? Be nice!" I snarled at him. Why do I even bother?

The boy chuckled, making us return our gazes to him. His eyes looked at us with pure amusement before they focused on me. "Don't bother. He doesn't show respect to anyone unless you're a king or a queen." He smiled. I turned to look at Ace with a 'go figure' look.

He was looking bored and looked at someplace else. "I don't waste my time and energy showing the same respect as I have for our leaders to fools like you two." His gaze then shifted back to Prince Chace. "You want my respect? You find it in the trash."

Prince Chace closed his eyes and shook his head. His white blonde hair swishing back and forth. I may be imagining things but crystal like ice seemed to fall from his hair as he moved. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked at me. "Prince Chace Clevelan. Son of King Simon and Queen Titania. Younger brother of Prince Gregory and Princess Camille." He dipped a little before coming up and meeting my gaze.

I nodded and did a little curtsy. "Yes. A pleasure to meet you. I'm Princess Rosalie." I said politely and heard Ace snort. At that moment, I wanted so badly to kick his legs to make him stumble.

Chace smiled at me before looking at Ace. "Prince Ace, your powers seem to have returned. Last time I saw they were close to dying."

Ace nodded. Acknowledging his words. "Indeed they have." he said before adding, "But last time I checked, it was none of your business." He straightened up and looked at the both of us. "If you two wouldn't mind, I would like to take my leave." And without looking back, he started to turn his back to us and headed for the door out of the room leaving me alone with Prince Chace.

Unbelievable. So what? He just left me here with a complete stranger?!

I was still staring at the spot where Ace had gone so I didn't notice Prince Chace approaching me. When I felt his presence, I quickly snapped my attention to him and saw him offering a dance towards me. "Would you mind if I ask you for a dance?"

I looked at his hand for a second before turning to his face and nodded as I accepted his hand. His hand was cold to the touch as if I was grasping ice. Soon, he was leading me towards the dance floor where the other pairs were dancing. He picked a spot for us and we started to take our positions and danced. As we followed the rhythm of the music, I couldn't help but notice that the temperature around us seemed to drop and I started to shiver. 

Prince Chace noticed my discomfort and gave me an apologizing smile. "Sorry. I still have minimal control over my powers. Winter is powerful after all." He raised the hand that was on my waist and I watched as he made a twirling motion with his finger making a small whirl of snow. I gasped and followed the snow's path until it flew into the air and vanished.

I return my gaze back at him. My eyes filled with amazement. "Are you a-"

"Winter Fairy? That I am." He beamed proudly.

I shook my head as I tried to remember what Ace had said about winter fairies and tilted my head. "Aren't winter fairies said to be rare since not that many offspring survive during the winter season?"

He gave me a look of admiration and respect as he grinned at me approvingly. "Seems like you did your research." He said. "And yes. Winter fairies are rare. Most offspring die before they come out of their mothers womb. Only the strongest offspring can live during that season. That is why winter fairies hold tremendous power."

"Amazing."

"Indeed." He said and looked away. "But being a winter fairy sometimes sucks."

"Why?" I asked. Feeling his hand going cold again. "Aren't you satisfied with your powers?"

He shook his head. "No. That's not the reason. It's because being a prince and a winter fairy at the same time makes the royals keep an eye out for you to keep you safe. They treat you rather special. Sure, it sounds fine at first but after a few years? You'll realize that your freedom is limited." I looked at his eyes and saw loneliness and bitterness in them so I didn't say anything and just waited for him to speak. Finally, he smiled and said. "That's why I admired Prince Ace. He understands."

"What? But A - I mean - PRINCE Ace is not a fairy." I said.

Prince Chace laughed. "Goodness no. He's an elf. What I'm trying to say was that we're both in the same shoe. He knows what it feels like to hold such power."

"What power?"

He paused and looked at me. His eyebrow raised. "You mean you don't know his powers?" I shook my head as an answer and he sighed. "Well, I'm not surprised. He did try to kill his powers and no one seems to see him use them. Only a few of us know what it is."

"What is it then?"

"If he wants to keep it a secret then I don't think I have the right to speak of it." He said. "Let's just talk about something else, okay?"

"Okaay." I said and started to open my mouth to ask him the question that was bubbling inside my head. "You're a younger sibling, right?"

"Correct."

"Why aren't you a candidate as King here?"

He snorted. It was as if the thought had come to his mind. "I'm 14. Too young to be a candidate. You have to be 16 and above to enter." He said bitterly and looked away.

I was about to say something more when someone tapped Prince Chace lightly on his shoulder. We both looked at the man and my heart skipped a beat as I looked at the fine creature standing and waiting beside Prince Chace. Prince Fred nodded at me in acknowledgement before looking at Prince Chace.

"May I cut in?" He asked.

Prince Chace studied Fred for a moment before turning his gaze at me and smirked. His eyes twinkling in amusement as he looked back at Fred who was waiting patiently and bowed. "Of course." He then gave my hand to Fred's outstretched hand. After excusing himself, he left.

I looked at Fred. He was also looking at me with a sly grin on his face. I was about to smile back when I remembered what he did to me earlier. I grinned. "You're not gonna ditch me again, are you?"

Instead of feeling guilty like I expected him to, he laughed. "Are you still mad about that?"

I gave him a plastic smile then. "Why no, Prince Fred. I'm not angry. What makes you say that?" I said sarcastically, making him laugh even more.

"I only wanted you to keep your promise. I wanted it to be special. Our first dance together at a ball as each other's last dance for the night." He winked. His words send warm in my heart making my anger towards him slowly fade. 

I looked up at him and gave him a small smile. "Alright. You're forgiven."

He beamed. "How's your night so far?"

I thought about it. "It's pretty good, actually. I met a few royals and a few other Prince and Princesses." I said. "But I haven't met any of the Kings and Queens yet. I guess you could call me lucky."

Fred chuckled. "Of course. There are only a few Kings and Queens here at the moment. The only kings and queens here are from the Faes, Trylles, and King Luke and Queen Elizabeth."

"What about your parents? What of Nate, Ren, Dan, and Ace?"

"We're the candidates." He said and raised a hand and twirled me around before pulling me back to him. "We were sent here with the consent of our parents. Since the kingdom of Thalia is the most powerful and influential kingdom to all, Kings and Queens tend to pressure their chosen offspring to win. That is why Queen Elizabeth made sure that our contacts with our parents are limited and only we can contact them. If we wish for a visit it should be our choice. We can go and visit them back home but they can't visit us here."

"That's sad." I said and gave him a sympathetic look. "Aren't you guys lonely?"

"Sometimes," He shrugged. "But it doesn't get that lonely anymore. With the other princes and all." Then his eyes looked into mine and his expression became serious. "Especially now that you're here."

Fred and I danced for a few more minutes. And within that time, I got nothing but continued teasing from him and words that made my heart flutter in my chest. That was why when the music ended, I couldn't help but feel relieved and disappointed at the same time. Fred and I made a curtsy at each other as we finished. He smiled at me approvingly and complimented me on my dancing. At that moment, Ren appeared out of nowhere.

"Rose, there you are. I've been looking for you." He said.

"I was just dancing with Fred." Came my reply. Ren, shifted his gaze towards Fred as if noticing him for the first time. He nodded in acknowledgement to him before looking back at me.

"Both the King and Queen of the Trylle and the Fairies are looking for you." 

My eyes widened at his news. "King and Queen?! Why?"

He shrugged. "They wanted to talk to you personally."

I hope this has nothing to do with Ace's rudeness earlier.

I was frozen on the spot. I couldn't move. I don't know what to do. I mean, what are you supposed to do when the king and queen of two kingdoms wishes for your presence? In my training, I learned that you have to give them the utmost respect. 

I'm not sure if I could handle that.

In my state, I looked at Fred for help without even thinking. His smile warmed me up a bit. "It's okay." He nodded. "You should go. They only wanted to talk." He then turned to face Ren. "And you, as her escort, should accompany her."

Ren looked away at Fred and mumbled. "I know that already."

Finally, Fred's gaze returned to me and patted me on the shoulder. "Go. Everything is going to be alright." He said before he left.

Turning my gaze back at Ren, I saw him looking at the spot where Fred had gone. His expression was unreadable and he suddenly frowned. I reached out and touched his arm to get his attention. Finally, he turned towards me and quickly shook his head as if he were in a trance. He smiled and offered me his arm. "Are you ready?"

"I think so." I said honestly as Ren started to take the lead in guiding us. Although I still don't know how to act and what to do while I'm in front of the Kings and Queens.

I felt Ren nudge me playfully. "Want me to go all wolf on them and scare them away?" He joked as an attempt to lighten the mood. 

I smiled at him weakly. "If you could then I would be really grateful and play fetch with you all day." I responded and saw him frown at me. I laughed.

"Another one of your werewolf jokes? This is getting old." He complained with a shake of his head as we passed a few couples dancing. Ren suddenly looked in front of us and pulled us to a stop. Out of curiosity, I looked towards the direction that he was looking as saw Dan marching up to us. He stopped right in front of Ren and waved at me before facing Ren again.

"Hey brother!" He beamed in between pants.

Ren gave him a curious look and raised an eyebrow at him. "What's wrong with you?"

"Rude much. I think the right question to ask is 'Is something wrong?' or 'Are you alright?', but did I get any of that? No!" Dan then turned towards me and pointed at Ren with his thumb. "Ditch this guy and come with me instead."

I raised both arms in surrender. "Hey, I'm just a girl playing a princess part here. Don't drag me into your sibling drama."

"Dan, we're busy." Said Ren. Catching Dan's attention.

"Oh right." Dan nodded. "I just needed something from you."

"What?"

"I'll just take this." Dan swiftly took Ren's cape off of his brother's shoulders and clasped them to his. He grinned at Ren.

"Thaaank you." He gave us a mock salute before he walk away. Ren and I looked at each other in confusion.

"What was that all about?" I asked as I watched Dan casually walking around.

"I don't know." Said Ren. A second later and we heard a bunch of footsteps headed in our direction. We followed the noise of the footsteps only to see a group of girls running at us. In a matter of seconds, Ren and I were surrounded by girls.

"What the-?" Ren reacted as one of the girls cling to him.

"Prince Daniel!"

"Can we dance next?"

"No me!"

"Me!!"

I was being pushed around as the group of girls tried to approach Ren thinking that he was Dan. Ren tightened his grip on me so we wouldn't be separated, but the crowd kept pushing so Ren pulled me towards him in a protective embrace. "L-ladies stop!" Ren ordered over the noise. When they still didn't comply, he frowned and tried again. This time his voice was firm and full of authority. "I said stop!"

Immediately the pushing stopped and one of the girls fell on the floor. Ren sighed when he noticed that all the girls around us were looking up at him expectantly. Not to mention some of them giving me a death glare seeing as Ren was still holding me.

"As much as I want to accompany you all to a dance, I can't. I'm with princess Rosalie." he said calmly and tightened his grip on me. The girls then let out a disappointed sound before walking off, some gave me deadly looks before they left.

As soon as they left, Ren and I both sighed in relief. I felt Ren's hand loosening his hold on me and I moved back a little to give us some space. 

"That nasty idiot." Ren grumbled. "That's why he took my cape so the girls would think that I'm him."

I nodded my head in agreement. "What a jerk."

Ren looked up ahead towards his brother before looking back at me with a smirk. "But he did a little miscalculations though."

I raised an eyebrow at him in confusion. "What?" I asked. Ren gestured his head towards Dan's direction so I looked over to his brother. Dan was still casually walking with his hands in his pocket as if he had no problem in the world. His back was facing us. I was about to ask why we were staring at his brother when suddenly, a new group of girls, this time twice the amount of the previous ones, ran after Dan and surrounded him. Dan let out a surprised yelp before he was quickly engulfed in the mob.

Ren roared in laughter beside me. "I have twice the amount of fans that Dan has." His laugh was so contagious that I found myself laughing along with him.

Serves him right!

***

Once Ren and I were able to compose ourselves, we proceeded to meet the leaders of two kingdoms. My hands were sweating and my knees were shaking as we approached. Ahead of us, I saw six figures. Two of them were Queen Elizabeth and King Luke. I'm guessing the remaining four are the ones I'm supposed to meet.

As he neared, I noticed another figure joining the group. It was Nate. I saw him bowing in respect at the two Kings and Queens. Ren brought us to a stop when Queen Elizabeth noticed us. Her face brightened at our sight. "There she is." She said. Her voice laced with pride as she ushered us to the group. She grabbed my hand and brought me in front of the strangers. Ren stood beside me as the Queen started the introduction. From the Kingdom of Fae is King Simon Clevelan. He's a middle aged man with silver hair and green eyes. Although his eyes and face looked young, the light wrinkles on his forehead doesn't lie. I was then introduced to his wife Queen Titania Clevelan. She was very beautiful with her long straight black hair and flowers decorating them. Her blue eyes looked so comforting. She smiled at me.

From the Kingdom of Hale is King Marcus Jayden. He looked a little older than King Michael but his posture was well preserved. He radiated power and arrogance. His silver eyes regarded me curiously as if wondering what a creature like me was doing here. Then came his wife Silvia Jayden. Unlike the King, the queen looked a bit calm. Her golden eyes twinkled in delight as we were introduced. Her red hair tied at the back of head showing off her sharp features.

After the introduction, I bowed my head. "It's nice to meet you all." I said politely. Both sides nodded at me in acknowledgement.

I looked to my right when I felt Nate coming to my side at the introduction. He grinned down at me and winked. I smiled. Happy that he has come. I was thankful at that moment for the two princes who stood by my side. Knowing that they were by my side gave me strength.

"Princess Rosalie, huh?" King Marcus raised a scrutinizing eye at me. "Tell me. Are you really from a foreign land?"

I nodded. "Yes, your highness."

He frowned. At that moment, his wife came to his side and touched his arm. "Now dear, don't be rude." She chastised him before looking at me. Her expression was apologetic. "I'm so sorry about that." I didn't speak.

"It's nice meeting you, Princess Rosalie." I snapped my head and saw Queen Titania smiling at me. "And, I know it's late, but welcome to Thalia." Looking at Queen Titania, I felt my nervousness slowly fading. She's kind.

"Many people will criticize you, my dear." Said King Simon. His gaze shifted to King Marcus before coming back at me. "But always remember that people like them aren't worth your time. Instead, give them to the people who you deem worthy." He nodded at King Luke and Queen Elizabeth before his eyes looked at Nate and Ren.

With his kind words, I felt a smile forming on lips. All the worries are fading from my heart. It was like a weight was lifted off my shoulder. "Thank you." I said. My voice is full of sincerity and gratitude. The King and Queen from the Kingdom of Fae smiled warmly at me.

I felt Nate tensing up beside me. Suddenly, he grabbed a hold of my hand and was breathing heavily. "Oh my. I think I'm getting a little bit out of breath. I think I should go outside." Nate quickly looked at me. "Princess Rosalie, can you accompany me? Really? Thank you." Then he looked back at the Kings and Queen in front of us. "Please excuse us." He said and dragged me away quickly. Leaving the kings, queens, and Ren behind us.

"Um..,Nate? Care to explain why we're running?"

"Shhh!! I saw Princess Camille." He said and glanced over his shoulder to look at me.

"So?"

"Princess, you might be forgetting that Camille doesn't like you. And the fact that we were together with her parents, she could make up some stories and ruin your reputation."

My mouth formed an 'o' in understatement. "So we keep running?"

"As far away from her as possible." Nate nodded. "Right now, my top priority is to keep you away from her."

Just then a voice suddenly called out. "Prince Nathaniel! Can we have a dance?" A girl called out when we passed by her. Suddenly, Nate jerked to a stop and quickly ran towards the direction of the girl with me behind him. He quickly fished a rose from his coat and gracefully handed it to the girl. "My lady, your beauty is so pure and divine that I just have to present you this rose." At his words the girl blushed and took the rose from Nate.

I rolled my eyes and blew off a few stray hairs that came to my face. What a playboy. And didn't he just say that his top priority was me?

"Ehem!" I cleared my throat and finally caught Nate's attention. Nate gave me a sheepish smile before turning back to the girl and smiling apologetically.

"My lady, I would love to dance with you, but for now I must take care of my Princess." He said and bid her farewell before pulling me away.

***Meanwhile***

Amidst all the party and noises from the castle, the little brown wolf was still eyeing his master with admiration. His master is beautiful. Probably the most beautiful princess in the room.

And if he were by her side, then probably the most powerful.

The little wolf suddenly stopped to look at his master when a shadowed figure emerged from the party. By his scent, he recognized him as of the princes that were accompanying his master. But why was he outside? The wolf crouched down in order to not get spotted.

He saw that man looking at the moon with sad eyes. "I guess this is it. My last day in the palace." He whispered in the night. He put an arm over his eyes. The wolf smelled his tears and suddenly felt sorry for the prince.

A few moments later the prince composed himself and went back into the party. The wolf could only watch his retreating back and wondered what was going to happen next.