My hands couldn’t stop fidgeting at my clothes as I waited. Overlooking the balcony, I watched ladies and knights already dancing below. What was taking her so long? I knew getting ready for such an occasion wasn’t an easy task, but with multiple maids running around her all day, you would think… 

It gave me way too much time to think. Wouldn’t this whole thing be a disaster? There were many things I hadn't considered until now that the princess needed to know but didn’t. I tried to tell myself that it didn’t matter, but what if these knights started talking to the Relkom army and word got out about who she was. Would Relkom try to take her back? Surely they would have to understand the situation since she had been taken by gnomes and only give even greater reason for our marriage and my rule. 

There was nothing to worry about… 

Until I saw her… 

She entered slowly towards me with a glowing smile of confidence. Her green dress, which matched the necklace, was a perfect blend of simple elegance and fancy frills. Her hair was daintily pulled up partly in decorated pins, leaving the rest of her hair falling down her back in soft curls. And her makeup was a perfect touch of enhancement without masking her natural charm. She looked like a true, proper princess. 

Yes, my worry grew indeed. For tonight, I feared I would fall in love with her. 

I knew I was staring, but what else was I to do? 

“Are you ready for this?” I asked. 

She nodded in elegance and continued to smile. As I faced the stairs, I saw a few knights already noticing her. I nodded to the announcer and trumpets sounded to quiet the crowd. 

The princess looped her hand through my arm in the proper way she was meant to. But how did she know that’s what she was supposed to do? In the moment, I had completely forgotten to even tell her. But this was a test, and she didn’t seem to want any help. 

We were then announced as the king of Auden and the princess of Relkom. All eyes were on us as I escorted her down towards all the people. There were polite nods and smiles as we joined. 

The music continued and as people started to go back to dancing, I felt more at ease. Looking at the princess, I sensed no discomfort. She had never been around so many people before at once. Surely she couldn’t have a total lack of nerves. 

We simply stood, her hand still on my arm. I wasn’t sure what to do. Should I ask for a dance or offer to get her a drink?

Before I had time to decide, a young knight approached us. 

He gave a quick nod to me before giving a charming smile to the princess. “It is an honor to finally meet the once missing, mysterious princess. What I wasn’t expecting was a true beauty.” 

She gave a graceful giggle. “The pleasure is all mine, sir knight.”

The right answer to give as a proper princess. But how did she know that?

“Then may I ask for a dance?” He held his hand out to her. 

I was taken aback by his boldness. Typically knights didn’t even attend royal balls except for the very top ones. It must have been getting to his head.

What I further didn’t expect was the princess to take his hand.

“Of course.” 

And in a blink, they were gone. Why did I only stand there like an imbecile?

Alone and dumbstruck, I watched them. All the same elegance and charm she held so far continued into her dancing. It looked as if she had danced her whole life. But how when she had only practiced with me once? I could only conclude she had been preparing for this. But how? 

It would explain why she had disappeared so often. Perhaps she hadn’t been trying to avoid me. 

Part of me enjoyed watching her. Yet a stronger part felt enraged that she was in another man’s arms. The fact that she looked into his eyes and smiled didn’t help either. 

Once the song ended, I pushed myself through the crowd and grabbed her arm. “This next dance is mine.”

Though somewhat harsh, I pulled her away, and she only complied. Once she was in my arms, I felt I could finally breathe. But something wasn’t right. Her movements lacked flow and felt more rigid. She also didn’t look at me. Why that knight but not me? I dearly wanted it. 

“Ellia.”

At the sound of her name, she finally looked up. I smiled encouragingly. I wasn’t sure of anything else I wanted to say, but apparently that was enough. She smiled back and soon we flowed gracefully into the playful dance. 

It all felt too natural. Like this was how it would have been. Like it should have been. Everything felt right.  As if our parents hadn’t died. And she had been born closer to my age, and we grew up together. We took dance lessons together, and this was our first ball. And we would wed within the year. 

I could imagine my mother watching us, thinking how wonderful we looked together. But soon my imaginations dissipated as I got lost in her eyes. 

The only thing I thought about was her. And how beautiful she looked. How had I not seen it before? How had I been so wrong? She wasn’t a child. She was a woman. An amazing woman who always found ways to surprise me. 

I spun her around playfully, causing her to giggle. My smile widened, and I pulled her even closer to me. Though her eyes still kept on mine, her face grew somber. 

I leaned in even closer as I slowed the pace of our dance. “You look beautiful tonight.”

I swore I saw a hint of red on her face as she looked away. 

She bowed her head politely as her words came out slowly. “You are too kind, My Lord.”

Though it was the proper thing to say, I wished she had used my actual name. 

The song ended, and I offered her a drink. She held it and drank in the proper way, never taking too big a sip at a time. 

I guided her away from the crowd where we could speak. “It’s time for you to confess.”

“Whatever do you mean, My Lord?”

“The reason for you doing so well tonight.”

She smiled smugly. “That remains a secret. At least for tonight.”

I nodded, though didn’t understand why she couldn’t say now. 

Another knight started coming our way. But I wasn’t about to let that happen again. Grabbing her hand, I led her around to the tables. 

“The meal should start soon, let’s sit. Do you know where?” I asked to test her.

She pointed to the smaller table in the front. “It’s called the king’s table. The king and his family sit there and sometimes some special guests.”

I pulled out her chair for her to sit. “Correct. But we don’t have any special guests today so it will be only us two. Now tell me what happens next.”

“Us sitting down will let all the guests know they should find a seat soon. Once everyone is seated the servants will bring in the first course of soup. Next, they will bring in the meats and breads. After that, everyone will go back to dancing and sweets will be brought out next to the drinks for everyone to enjoy on their own time.”

“Impressive. Who told you all this? One of the workers? A maid perhaps?” 

She smiled with satisfaction. “You really can’t wait, can you?”

“If I were to die tonight, wouldn’t you regret not telling me?”

“Alright. The truth is…I was born a princess. So of course these things would come naturally to me. You shouldn’t be so surprised. I told you it would be easy for me to pass the test.”

I smiled, though I wish she had given me the true answer. “Alright, Ellia. Let’s see how you do in this next part.”

I knew speaking so formally to her was not proper, especially at a ball, but I loved to see the strange mix of admiration and unease when I used her name. 

The soup was soon set out. She drank it daintily with her spoon. That was the easy part. But as more food was brought out, she ate everything just as she ought. Which wasn’t an easy task, especially being a female. They had a lot of rules to remember. 

While men could pick up pieces of bread by hand, ladies couldn’t. So typically, the man next to them would rip small pieces apart and place it on their plate. But they couldn’t just stab it with a fork. They had a special utensil for that to scoop it up. She seemed to know all of this and did everything correctly. 

Next, I wondered how she would handle the meat. To my surprise, she actually ate it. This was also the man’s job to cut the meat in small pieces and give to the ladies. And while they could stab it, the fork had to be held facing up rather than down like a man’s could. Which made it harder to eat, but everything was about appearing as graceful as possible. And somehow, she pulled it off much better than I could have ever imagined. 

When all was finished, and the music started up, I immediately took her hand, eager to dance with her once again.