"Hmph." I didn't want to look at someone who was ungrateful. Right after she left, Mr. Sheep came up the steps from the opposite side of the hallway.

A smile crept on my face at the sight of his soft black fur. I wanted to squeeze him until his cute eyes popped out, so I ran to him. "Mr. Sheep! Tell me, am I pretty?"

He smiled, dusting off his sleeves. "Yes, you're very beautiful, Princess. Now come along; it's time for the ball."

"Wait!" I grabbed his arm and whispered, "I don't want to dance with anyone but you." Mr. Sheep was my favorite, after all.

"P-Princess Elizabeth... what about the others? Mr. Fox and Mr. Wolf have been dying to grace your presence since last year!"

I hugged him while shaking my head. His body was warming up in my hold. "That's no fun. You're better than them! I only want you."

Mr. Sheep's arms fell to his sides. "A-As you wish." His cheeks turned rosy red when he looked away. "Anyways, let's get going, Princess. We don't want to be late like last year."

"Mhm!" I linked arms with him, then bolted down the spiral steps. A blur of pretty paintings whizzed by us as I ran down. It felt like we were flying.

With Mr. Sheep in my grip, I hopped down until we reached the bottom. A white and gold carriage appeared in front of the tall pink doors, pulled by... unicorns! I gasped, wrapping my arms around him. "Look Mr. Sheep, unicorns!"

The black plushie nodded. "One must have the loveliest ride for the loveliest princess."

I put him down and rose my chin. "Hm, that's right."

We climbed into the carriage and rode off to the ball with haste.

"Princess," Mr. Sheep started, "are you sure you're alright with me?"

"Of course! You're my favourite of them all."

Mr. Sheep fiddled with his claws. "B-But I'm merely a butler! Surely you will be approached by more suitable candidates..."

I smiled down at him and patted his head. "I don't know what that means, but it'll be fine. They'd better be okay with it, or I'll have them all arrested."

He still looked a little worried, but didn't argue.

Once we arrived, everyone was gazing at us in awe.

"She's beautiful!" gasped Ms. Rabbit, wearing a raggedy grey dress.

"Absolutely stunning," growled Mr. Wolf in his black and yellow suit. "But who's that beside her? The sheep? What I would do to switch places with him―" Ms. Crab, whose stomach I had stitched together with his days before, stepped on his foot. I chuckled at the sight.

Mama was right. I really am a princess!

I grabbed Mr. Sheep's hand and hurried off to the ballroom, my dress swaying behind me. "Isn't this fun, Mr. Sheep? Everyone's so jealous!"

"Indeed. How unfortunate."

When we entered the ball, I tugged my trusty butler to the center of the room and danced with him. Every other guest gave us space to spin and swirl around until we got tired. They clapped and whistled at our spectacular performance, yelling praises as we walked to the balcony.

We spent hours talking about the silliest things, from what the best bread was to what clouds would taste like. By the time we knew it, it was already evening. "That was fun," I said after drinking some punch.

"Yes it was. But there's one last thing I want to do." He turned to me, stretching out his arms with a crooked smile.

"What is it, Mr. Sheep?" I twisted my body away from the stars to look at him.

"Can you hug me?"

"Yes, yes, of course!" I rushed to him. He wrapped his plushy arms around my back in response. But for some reason, he was holding me a little too tightly. He kept squeezing and squeezing until I couldn't breathe.

His hold was so strong that I couldn't push him away. "Mr. Sheep? Let go, I can't..."

Mr. Sheep smirked as his eyes glowed red. "Oh? Isn't this what you wanted to do to me a while ago? What was it... 'squeeze me until my eyes popped out'? How cruel."

My eyes widened. "How did you know? I-I'm sorry, so please―"

His horns poked at my chin when he laughed. "...It's too late for that now."

I tugged on his suit to try and pull him off, but he didn't budge. Tears were rolling down my cheeks. "I don't understand; why're you doing this? I love you!"

The music suddenly stopped, and every guest crowded the balcony to stare at me with wide, hollow eyes. I looked at Mr. Sheep to find him smiling. "So did we."