Dear Diary, I went to the ball, and everything's fine. Probably. I'm sure it'll all be fine. I'll tell you about it, and then when I'm done I'll wish you could talk, because I'm sure you'd tell me everything's just fine.
I've only ever read about balls before, or watched them in old movies, so I was very excited. Part of my lessons had involved dancing, so I felt prepared. Although it still took much more preparation to be ready for a ball than I would have thought. The servants fussed over my hair and makeup, and checked and quadruple checked that my dress hadn't developed wrinkles and my makeup hadn't become smudged and my hair was still in place. Despite seeming excessive to me, and taking several hours, I had to admit that I did look fabulous.
I wore the red dress that Alvize had bought me. It was tight around me and flared at the bottom, a mermaid dress style, with black lace flowers on the skirt and the sleeves of the dress. I would never have been able to pull off the style before becoming Millana. While I don’t think my brother was right that the dress would have looked plain without the ruby jewelry set, it did look stunning paired with it. It matched the dress perfectly and the light reflected off of each piece in a way that I thought made it look like I was sparkling. To complete the look, I wore a pair of white satin gloves, with black lace flowers covering them.
Shortly after I arrived at the ball, my friends and I had all found each other, took some time to exclaim over how good we all looked, and were enjoying the buffet. All the food I’d had from my family’s chef had been excellent so far, but for the king’s birthday ball they had food that was rare even among nobles. There was a vast array of seafood dishes, which was costly because it required magic to keep the seafood fresh enough to get to the capital, and there were many desserts from specialty pastry chefs, as well as other dishes. There was so much variety on the buffet that I think it would have been impossible to taste everything and there was too much for me to remember or list here. Even if all I had done at the ball was eat, it would have been the best ball that I’d ever been to. And I’m not just saying that because it’s the only one I’ve been to.
While we were exclaiming over our outfits, I told my friends about Alvize taking me to buy this dress. Martina commented that she wished her younger brother could be as mature as mine. To which I pointed out that Alvize is the heir, and in his lessons at the academy to become the heir, so it’s almost like we’re both firstborn children since his role is the same as if he were older. She mumbled something under her breath about how it shouldn’t be that way. Maybe she’s right, Diary, but I don’t want to inherit anyway. Alvize is busy with his lessons, and I get to attend festivals and balls and enjoy time with my friends, doing all the things that I want to do.
Amidst the trips to the buffet and our contest to be the one to find the best food item, we also partook in the dancing. I had only ever danced with my instructor before. Turns out that it can feel different depending on who your partner is, but overall I think that my dancing lessons had prepared me and I at least didn’t step on anyone’s feet. Watching the other dancers, I certainly wasn’t the smoothest, but I improved as I went, and had fun twirling around and meeting new partners. Some of them Millana had apparently danced with before, but while there were varying levels of surprise at me actually not remembering, they had all at least heard that it was likely that I wouldn’t know them.
From the start of the ball, the king and queen sat on their thrones, surveying all the activity in the ballroom. There was a steady line of people waiting to greet them, that everyone, including my friends and I, were expected to go through at some point in the evening. When we took our turn I was so nervous that I thought I might stop breathing, but once we’d finally made it through and wished the king a happy birthday and thanked him for his generosity in inviting us, I found myself surprised at how easy it had been. Even though there was all evening to go through the line, there were so many people that once we actually reached the king it was over quickly so that everyone would have time to get a turn. The king barely had time to glance at any one individual. And then we were back to eating, dancing, and enjoying ourselves.
While the king and queen were there the whole time, the crown prince entered late. The ball was probably half over before he appeared. There was much fanfare when he entered. The attendant at the door announced him. The room hushed while he walked through the door. He was wearing a white suit and his blond hair was slicked back. Once he was visible everyone seemed to surge toward him, exclaiming over how good he looked and other compliments to get his attention.
During this time, I also spotted the pink haired lady and black haired man that I’d seen at the festival standing together. The lady’s gaze fell on the prince as he entered, and she seemed to be looking at him longingly. Which wasn’t much different than most every other woman’s gaze towards the prince, except that this lady’s contained desperation and sadness, like she longed for something that she didn’t think she’d ever attain, or even try to attain.
Between the crown prince, the pink haired lady, and the black haired man, I decided that there were too many people I’d spotted in the room that seemed like main characters, and this was probably a good time to slip out before drama started. After all, Millana’s one line in the book was given when she was coming back into the ballroom and the leads were exiting, so I would have to step out at some point if I was to deliver my line perfectly. As the crowd surged towards the prince, I separated myself and headed in the opposite direction toward the hall.
Martina seemed enthralled by the prince, and Arianna stood next to her. Emma, however, saw me moving away and followed. Once we entered the hall I explained that I needed some fresh air, and she told me that she would benefit from that as well. The hall had some balconies branching off of it, so we found our way to one and chatted for a while.
After we’d hidden away for a while, we decided that it was time to head back into the ballroom and reconnect with Martina and Arianna. Emma ended up running into a friend in the hallway after we exited the balcony, and I found myself walking back alone. It was a long hallway and I was finally nearing the ballroom door when suddenly it flung open and the lady with pink hair raced past me. I stopped, watching in shock as she zipped down the hallway and out of sight faster than I would have thought possible. I turned back and jumped, finding the black haired man right in front of me. He was looking in the direction that the lady had run, although she wasn’t actually there to see anymore. I seemed to catch his attention when I startled, and he asked me the most important question of my life that led into my one line.
“The lady that just ran through here, did you see which way she went?”
And in that moment, Diary, I froze. I had practiced my line over and over again, and all I could do was stare at him dumbly. Then I pointed, raising my hand in a slow motion toward the direction that she had run, and said, “There.”
He looked taken aback at my awkward response and asked, “What?”
It all came back to me then. Everything that I’d been training for, and the line that I’d practiced over and over. I gave a short, surprised gasp as I realized how badly I’d messed up, and said, “She ran that way, Your Grace, toward the rose garden.”
He looked at me quizzically. I could feel my heart beat harder as I feared that he would forget that he was chasing the female lead and focus on me instead. Then he was looking toward where I was pointing, and thanking me and running down the hallway. I forced myself to take a slow breath and told my heart that it needed to slow down again as well now. He had gone to chase the female lead and the danger had passed. Even though I’d been slow to deliver it, I had given my one line and he had moved on, and so would the story just like it was supposed to.
I entered the ballroom. There were huddles of people whispering and no one was dancing, as if a commotion had just occurred and the party was still recovering. As I walked to Martina and Arianna, the dance floor filled once more and the whispers turned into conversations and laughter as the party resumed. I had determined not to let the drama of the main story get to me, but I felt shaken by my encounter with the male lead. I felt unsettled, like the ballroom. I had delivered my line in the end, but had I messed it up? Had I delivered it well enough? It seemed to work out, but I’m anxious. Although the party carried on and seemed to go back to its previous cadence, it didn’t feel the same to me. I tried to brush aside my worries, but they were still there on the edge of my mind.
So that’s what happened, Diary. Everything seems fine. He did chase after her. I did deliver my line… eventually. So it’s all still on track. Right? Right. I’m sure that all my updates from now will be about how I’m having a great, side character, drama free life. Because everything’s just fine.
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