“Oh, I don’t know Eva, what if I mess up? What if I slip during a dance or spill wine on my dress? What if my hair comes undone and I am left scrambling to rearrange it?”

Evangeline let out a little laugh and applied a bit of lipstick onto her lips; the ruby red color complimenting her golden brown skin tone. Her hair was done in a stylish, sleek updo with only a few wisps of hair from her bangs down to shape her face. Evangeline’s goal was to appear elegant while being polished at the same time. 

She turned towards Anastasia who stared intensely into the mirror; her piercing blue eyes reflected back towards Evangeline’s path. She seemed to be agitated with the lines burrowed in between her eyebrows as they scrunched together. 

Anastasia’s makeup and hair had already been done, as well as being in her dress. The only thing left to do was walk out and go to the actual ball, but, at the same time, Evangeline sensed Anastasia’s hesitance to do so. 

Evangeline, herself, was also in the dress she chose from Corella’s. It seemed like ages ago, but, in reality, it had been maybe a week and a half since that fateful day. Evangeline had struggled with the corset and felt squeezed into the dress, like a puppet forced into a box, but the dress complimented her figure and showcased curves where she wanted them to show while remaining lean as she was.

Anastasia, on the other hand, wore a sky-blue ball gown that was big, puffy, and as extravagant as can be. The dress had crystals on the neckline and it had a deep V-cut that showed cased cleavage. The sleeves fell off her shoulder and the material appeared to be, in Evangeline’s eyes, rather scratchy and uncomfortable, albeit Anastasia did not seem to complain too much. It would be best assumed that she was used to this.

“Well, Princess, should we get going?” Evangeline said as she walked over to Anastasia and draped an arm over her shoulder, noticing the height difference. Anastasia was not short, it was more like Evangeline was significantly taller than the average female. She was presumed to be five foot eleven.

“I don’t know, Eva.” Anastasia huffed, pushing Evangeline’s arm off of her shoulder. She played with the braid of her wrap-around braided updo, attempting to loosen the strands to appear more “natural”. Anastasia often noted that she was not a fan of being incredibly posh, which was not quite well fitted as she was the only heir to the Collosicus Kingdom, after all.

“Well, what troubles you, Princess?”

“Well,” Anastasia clicked her tongue and raised an eyebrow, “calling me princess is one thing that truly troubles,” Anastasia put up air quotations with her fingers while saying , “me.”

“I’m sorry, Princ—” Anastasia hushed Evangelina and placed an elegant, white glove to the bridge of her nose and pinched it with agitation. 

“How many times have I told you to not call me princess? It is Anastasia, Eva. Do I need to spell it out for you — again?”

Evangeline walked in front of Anastasia and fixed the tiara on the top of her head to appear centered. She then looked Anastasia dead in the eyes and gave a little smile, “you’ll do perfect, Anastasia I will be with you the entire night.”

“Promise?” Anastasia whispered, looking up to Evangeline with pleading eyes.

 Evangleine, in response, nodded her head and held out her pinky-finger, signifying a promise she had only discovered once she arrived at the kingdom. It was called a pinky-promise, something sacred to the young and old that hints at a secret or favor being held until fulfilled. 

“I promise,” and the two linked pinky-fingers and Anastasia gave a brief smile, a silent promise being made. 

“Now,” Evangeline announced, as she strided to the door, grabbing the handle and opening it. “Shall we go, Anastasia?”

“Yes, we shall.” Anastasia walked over to Evangeline as the knight opened the door, allowing the princess to briskly walk out into one of the many hallways of the castle.

Evangeline walked out and the door closed behind her. Anastasia patiently waited before holding her arm out, allowing Evangeline to link it with her arm. The two looked at each other and Evangeline let out a rare, beaming smile that would leave any guy star-struck. 

She could see Anastasia let out a small smile of her own, and the two ladies walked down the hallways, navigating the castle and nearing the ball room. 

As they grew closer, the sound of the ballroom was vibrating amongst the hallway. Evangeline noticed how sensitive it was to her ear and that she could hear the orchestra playing in the ballroom from afar. However, she dismissed the sounds and chalked it up to the idea that elves typically had an increased hearing.  

The two rounded a corner and strolled down a long corridor as the noises continued to grow louder. Alas, the two young women came upon an entrance, with the two grand doors open, showcasing the ball in full blast. 

People drank and danced, some chatted amongst themselves whilst others sat at tables sparsely spread around the linings of the ball-room walls. Along the farthest side of the ball-room stood three thrones, the largest being in the middle. It was presumed, to Evangeline, that the king was in the middle, the queen to the left, and then Anastasia to the right. 

As the two young ladies walked in, it was apparent that eyes turned towards them, some were old men licking their lips whereas there were women glaring with envy. 

“Well, you’re right, this is certainly — awkward.” 

“You’re telling me; I can’t believe I did this countless times when I was younger.” Anastaisa let out a small groan, it appeared that she was trying to keep it as unnoticed as possible. 

As the two continued to navigate the ballroom, they eventually stumbled upon one of the more unoccupied areas; it was as though they finally weren’t packed in with bodies stuck against each other. Evangeline pondered how many people were stuffed in the ballroom. Despite it being a gargantuan room, she felt claustrophobic in it. 

Evangeline’s eyes were directed towards a waiter, holding a tray with glasses of wine upon it. Evangeline thought the young man looked familiar, but she could not put a finger on who he was.

“Princess, Knight, can I get you two some wine?” 

“Oh, gladly,” Anastasia beamed as she nodded her head enthusiastically. Evangeline, on the other hand, shook her head declining. She figured that she still had her duty, to remain on guard at all times, even during a ball where she was supposed to be relaxed and having a good time. 

“Oh, what a bore, Eva.” Evangeline let out a little smile yet still declined.

“I must not, Princess Anastasia.” 

An eye roll later, Anastasia was given a glass of wine and she started to sip at it. Evangeline could not ponder how someone could like wine; she preferred more of the — hardcore alchohols. A tavern was more of her setting; she felt that wine was dry and bitter. 

As the night continued to drag on, Evangeline noticed Anastasia quickly finished the wine and placed it on a table that seemed to be empty as of the moment. She then started to wander away from Evangeline, seemingly already tipsy from a single drink. Evangeline let out a small sigh, knowing that Anastasia was a light-drinker, one drink and she was already starting to lose her footing. 

Evangeline attempted to follow Anastasia as the two started to enter the crowd of people. Evangeline felt chills run down her spine, but she knew that being near the princess was her duty. Then again, maybe she was being a bore. Could she possibly let go for a night and attempt to enjoy the atmosphere? 

“No,” Anastaisa cut herself off with those very ideas. She needed to keep an eye on Anastasia at all times; if Anastasia were to get injured, assaulted, or even worse, killed, Evangeline would be responsible.

However, whilst in the depths of her own mind, Evangeline managed to lose track of Anastasia. 

“For the love of gods,” Evangeline groaned, attempting to push past a few older men, but she was stopped suddenly as a hand forcefully grabbed her shoulder. She hesitantly turned around to see a rather dashing young man grasping her onto her dress. He had untamed maple hair, molasses brown eyes, tanned yet pristine skin, and he appeared to be around Anastasia’s age.

“Sir?” Evangeline said quietly, as she grabbed the sides of her dress and curtsied. However, on the inside, she was incredibly uncomfortable. She was puzzled about what the young man was doing, and she wanted to get his hand off of her shoulder. 

The man seemed to gaze Evangeline from head to toe, staring at her ears for a second longer than the rest of her. She attempted to not roll her eyes, and was successful, albeit not by much. 

“Apologies for the sudden grasp; I was just taken aback by your beauty.” His smooth yet somewhat deep voice took Evangeline by surprise and a blush lit up her face. He, in the process of her blush, took his hand off of his shoulder. 

As her heart skipped a beat, she could feel her nose pick up a peculiar scent coming from the young man. It was that of pine, rushing waterfalls, and mornign dew. She tried her best to ignore the smell, yet it seemed to draw something out within her, and she could not quite come to the conclusion of what it was.

“I’m sure you use that for every woman you have met,” Evangeline responded in a somewhat witty tone. She looked behind her, searching for Anastasia, yet she lost sight of her puffy, blue dress. She mumbled a curse under her breath, knowing it would be futile to find her in an ocean of people. 

She turned back and the man was attempting to not let out a laugh, “Well, I suppose that is true to a degree. But I mean it, sincerely, your beauty does not even compare to that of Aphrodite.”