The past week has been a wreck. My training had been intense since we had to use our remaining time for the princes 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 tough 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 drop 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.

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

Finally, there's Fred. Every day for the last week, he has been my last instructor. He's always very patient and thoughtful. He showed me how to do the most common ballroom dances and showed me how to avoid stepping on my partner's foot while dancing by pretending to have eye contact with them. Most of the time, our training would only last 30 minutes or an hour since he would always take me to the gardens so that I could rest while doing my activities. And I'm not lying when I say my heart was always pounding in my chest. He is, without a doubt, the best.

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 the 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 are the Queen and three 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 most senior with her brown hair streaked with gray and some aging wrinkles on her face.

I nodded at them in greeting. "Hey."

They smiled and did a slight 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 had the time to react, the maids advanced towards me, ripped my blanket, and hauled me up from my bed.

"Miss, please raise your arms 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 underwear. I screamed.

"Holy 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.

A knock came from the door just as I felt things were starting to go my way.

"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. 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 gold and bronze colored glow and are 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, giving me an image of elegance.

My gown was just stunning. It's perhaps the greatest I've ever seen. It was gold in tone and hugged my waist wonderfully. The shoulder is constructed of translucent gold material that falls gracefully and exposes my shoulders. The bottom is shaped like a petal and extends to the floor. My shoes, which were likewise gold and were 3 inches tall, were obscured by the dress. Probably the smallest size they'd let me wear.

"You look pretty good, miss." Yen commented. I stopped looking in the mirror as I turned to face her. My cheeks turned 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 want to 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. If they ask about your race, you smile and go to the princes as much as possible. 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 was now replaced with a shock.

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

I pulled my hand away and looked him in the eye in mock flirtation as I tilted 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 scolded 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 bird's 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 stiff muscles.
Ren rubbed the part where I hit him. "What? I was complimenting you." He said. "And stop it with the violence, woman!"

"Oh, haha, 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 downstairs 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 going to do is head downstairs 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, 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're wondering why the ball is on the second floor rather than the first, I can tell you why. Although the ball is on the first floor, there is a door leading to the second story that we are about to use - a mezzanine of some sort. A flight of steps leads to the first level behind the double doors. They informed me they only use it to introduce the host, who happens to be me. They said it would be the ideal approach for 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 suitable 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. Its 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 terrific, especially when his hair was carefully brushed back just right and showed 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 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, took my hand from his arm, and handed it to Fred's outstretched ones. Fred smiled, and I almost melted.

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