Chapter 6 Belle of the Ball

Days and weeks of training have passed leaving me exhausted and temperamental. It's horrible really. Preparing for the ball last time was not that stressful compared to this. Even Nate and the twins are getting serious during our training. The only one who was a little laid back was Dan. The guy would crack up jokes here and there and would pull pranks on his brother.

The other PRINCE hates my guts so much that he would not allow me to doze off even for a second. He would continue to drill information into my brain even though I was tired, which always resulted in us bickering and me leaving through the window - once. It didn't happen again since he basically put some sort of magic barriers on the window. Trust me I dislocated my elbow trying to break it.

Yes I am desperate to get away from him and our training. The guy is nuts!

And don't get me started with the final fittings of the dress. It was not as bad as the training but the tailor really pissed me off. You see when they were taking my measurement and handed it to the tailor - I never remembered his name but let us name him Bob - Bob eyed the paper with my measurements. His brows furrowed at something and then says, "With a bust like this it would be hard to design a good enough gown for her." It took all my willpower not to grab his hair are scream, "WITH A F%&KING HAIR LIKE THIS, YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE A FVBKING JOB!!"

"Princess Rose, it's time to get ready." The soft voices of the maids woke me up from my slumber.

I squinted my eyes to see that preparations were being made inside my room. Makeups and sh!ts were being prepared on my dresser. The dress that I'm going to wear at the party was worn by a wired mannequin as the tailors made some few adjustments. I groaned and pulled my blanket over my head as if it was a sacred shield. "Go away. As Princess - whatever - I command zzzz...." Then I dozed off to sleep.

I don't know how long I napped after that but suddenly I wake up dripping wet. "OH MY GOSH!!!" I bolted upright and threw the wet covers off of me. "WHO PUT ICE IN THERE!?" I demanded.

"Good morning, dear." The queen said all smiles while holding the bucket where I assume where the water came from. "They told me that you were being stubborn so I decided to drop by."

Still shivering, I glared at her. "By d-drop by y-you mean drop some ICE!?" The queen did not answer but only gave me a menacing smile.

"Sarah, Gix, Heira please clean up this young lady. Make sure to scrub her from head to toe, brush her hair 100 times-curled and tied, paint her nails, give her a facial, wax her leg and armpit hair, and give her a lovely makeup afterwards. I want her heels to be a bit high since her escort is a bit tall. Oh and can you get the box in my office? Those are her accessories. I believe they would go well with the dress. Oh and about the speech-"

That was when I cut her off. "Woah. What speech?" I stopped shivering and focused my attention to her.

"Your opening speech, that is." The queen raised her eyebrow at me. "Didn't PRINCE Ace tell you?"

PRINCE Ace. THAT BASTARD!!! I know fully well that it is not like him to forget anything as important as that. This could only mean one thing. HE DID THAT ON PURPOSE!!! THAT JERK!!

"NO HE DIDN'T!!" I screamed and bolted out of the room. I know fully well that I suck at speeches. Heck I can't even imagine speaking in front of a crowd, much less a crowd of magical royals.

Forget the speech, forget the party, I am out of here. I will hide in a bathroom until all this crap is over with. There are at least 100 bathrooms in this castle. I doubt they could find me in one of them. Just where should I hide? I was just giving it a thought when I was picked up from the ground like a sack of potato.

"REN REN REN! I found your runaway bride." Dan screamed excitedly. He then danced happily to where I assume is Ren.

"What the? Why are you carrying Rose? More importantly, why is she still in her pajamas?"

Wow that's all? Not 'why is she soaking wet?'

"I just found her." Dan says like someone saying they found a lost animal.

"Your highnesses." I glanced up and saw that the maids were already here. "Princess Rose is trying to ditch the party."

I couldn't see the twins faces but I can only imagine that it shocked them. "Well because a certain PRINCE purposely forgot to tell me that I was supposed to give a speech of some sort!" Dan put me back on the ground to give me a look. Nope it wasn't sympathy.

It was a mocking look. "AHAHAHAHA YOU GOT PUNKED BY PRINCE ACE!!" Dan started laughing hysterically.

And just like that I stomped on his foot with my bunny slippers. It seemed like it had no effect. Ren tapped me on the shoulder and offered me a white glove. I smiled and took the glove from him and slapped Dan with it. I was the one who laughed this time. "Always wanted to try that." I grinned.

"Princess, we have to get going." The sound of the maids brought me back to reality.

The speech. Oh crap.

I started to turn around and run but Ren grabbed the collar of my shirt. I choked a bit. "Where do you think you are going?"

"Uhm...somewhere? Just until the party is over."

Ren let out a soft laugh. "And you think I'd let you?" With one swift motion, he threw me on his shoulder like how Dan carried me a while ago. "You are going to the party and that is final."

"You traitor! I will never forgive you."

"Lead the way ladies." Ren says to the maids. We started to move and Dan was moving behind Ren to face me. I raised an eyebrow at him wondering what he wants. Dan gave me a look and stuck his tongue out at me - teasing me from my predicament. "Hey, Dan. Come closer so I can slap you again." Dan sneakily walked away while Ren had to deal with me alone.

We soon reached my room where Ren finally put me down. "Make sure to pamper her well ladies." Ren winked before leaving. The maids were in a daze and snapped back to the present as soon as the door closed behind him. "Prince Ren is so nice." One maid sighs.

"Prince Ren is so nice." I mocked and made a spitting sound as I sneakily made my way to my balcony. Maybe I can somehow escape through here. I did it before, maybe I can do it again. I was just a few steps away when my path was suddenly blocked. I looked up and faced Tanya. She's an elderly woman and is in charge of the maids. Also, she's really scary especially now. Tanya was giving me a sinister smile.

Princess or not, Tanya only follows the queen's orders and has no regard for me. "Where are you going, Princess?"

I let out a nervous laugh. "Um...ahaha....heaven? God is calling me." I offered.

"Ladies! Bring princess Rose to the bathroom and make sure you follow the queen's orders." Tanya screamed snapping the ladies back to their tasks.

And with that my futile attempts to escape ended. I was dragged into the bathroom against my will. Stripped naked and thrown into the bathtub. In the presence of Tanya the maids act like soldiers and make no sound what-so-ever and they clean me up. Tanya was leering at me with her hawk eyes making me want to cover up myself. I mean, dude I am naked!

After the bath I was waxed from head to toe. Got myself a facial while they painted my nails - a color that would match my dress.

"So, Princess Rose. Do you understand the schedules for the ball?" This weird looking vampire butler then asked me.

"I got everything except for the speech part. Can we just skip it?" I suggested.

"I am sorry, Princess, but skipping is not an option."

The queen suddenly burst into the room twirling and dancing in her white dress. "Is my niece ready?" She sang and gasped when she saw me. Her eyes sparkled like a 5 year old seeing a toy that caught her interest. "Oh my, dear. You look lovely!"

"And you look younger despite your age." That earned me a flick on the head, courtesy of the queen. "None of that." She chided.

Finally, I was done with the preparations and ready to head out of the room. A slight whimper to my side caught my attention and I turned to see that Custard had a little bow around his neck. "Awe, aren't you adorable?" I cooed. Despite the fact that my wittle woffy partner looked cute as heck, he didn't like his getup. He kept scratching at his neck turning the bow a complete 360 degrees. I laughed and scooped him up in my arms.

We left my room and I was guided back to the preparation hall where the rest of the princes waited. Upon my arrival, the princes rose to their feet as a form of respect for the 'princess' as they say it. The twins were dressed nicely in white and gold coats with long backs. Their hairs were still spiked but were neatly styled. They really play the role as twins seeing as everything in them is similarly styled. Dan grinned and elbowed a gaping Ren to snap him out of his daydream. I frowned at them.

I should throw them in the dungeon. Do we even have one?

Nate went all out and wore a maroon colored coat design with complicated beadworks. His cuffs were ringed with gold silver details that neatly contrasts the color of his coat. He didn't wear a cape this time, probably because he doesn't want me to step on it on purpose in case he tries something funny. He didn't cut his hair for a very long time so he had to tie it back into a pony hair. He said that he wanted a change of looks for this ball and would only cut his hair after. "The star of the night finally arrived." He says eyeing me up and down in approval.

"You clean up well too, Nate." I said making him blush and look away while grinning. Then I leaned in and whispered to him. "Get me out of here."

"No." He whispered back.

Finally, ladies and gentlemen, my escort of the night: PRINCE Ace, the lord of darkness, king of bookworms, god of bad attitude, and son of demons. He was the only one glaring at me like I was a pest of some sort that needed to be killed. His coat was black design with white lines that followed his body. It made him look muscular and strong. His hair was combed back to showcase his frowning eyes. Yes, I know. Not a great look for somehow who frowns a lot.

"What kind of garbage are you wearing?" Was the first thing that he said to me.

I gasped. "Garbage!?" I was wearing a turquoise off shoulder dress that tightly hugged my waist. It was designed with pink flowers and beads. The skirt was cut high at the front and low at the back to show my legs and shoes. My hair was in a braided bun with bits of hair curled at my sides to showcase my face. I looked in the mirror earlier and thought that I looked good - kind of like a real princess - which I am - I keep forgetting.

And then this thug right here thinks that he can just bad mouth my dress like that? "This is not garbage, you fool!"

"Yes. Sorry for my mistake. Why is a garbage wearing that dress?"

A vein popped in my head and right then I just wanted to scream at him. How dare he say something like that to me? For once I was feeling pretty and with just words like that I now lost my confidence. I opened my mouth to scream something back at him but someone already went to my defense.

"Why don't you just shut up for once, PRINCE Ace? I think that Rose really looks beautiful and no amount of criticism of yours is going to change that." Ren snapped at him with a glare. It was the first time that anyone besides me snapped at Ace. Dan, Nate, and I were shocked to see him standing up to Ace for me. I'm guessing that Ace was taken back too but he didn't show it. Instead he let out a 'tch' and looked away.

I was too shocked to speak, but I could feel that I was blushing at Ren's words when he called me beautiful. In an instant, my confidence slowly grew back and I turned to Ren and thanked him.

Don't ever let that jerk make you think twice about being beautiful. Remember, my brother likes you. He's really picky with girls but he chooses you. Ren whispered in my mind, giving me a small smile like he was not happy about the fact that he has a rival for his brother's affection.

I just nodded since I do not know what to say to him.

"It's about to begin. Rose, are you ready?" Nate asks. I answered him with a shrug. Taking that as a yes, Nate took my hand and led me to Ace's side before heading to the twins.

A butler suddenly enters the room. "Ready." And that was our cue. Nate, Ren, and Dan walked out together to the parting curtains before us. As soon as the curtains parted, a gush of wind greeted us along with crystalline white lights highlighting the party before us. Below us were the guests invited for the ball. There were so many faces and flashy gowns and tuxedos that I felt dizzy all of a sudden.

"Don't go fainting on me. I don't like to carry pigs." Ace whispered. I glared and was about to say something back when he offered me his arm. "Just stay calm and hold my arm. It's just like how we practiced. Don't make a mistake." It may sound like a threat but his voice says otherwise. I looped my arm on his arm and took deep breaths to calm myself. For a few moments, I was actually glad that I have Ace at my side. It means that I don't have to walk this whole mess alone.

Ren, Nate, and Dan started to move. The three are in sync as they descended the stairs looking fierce and regal. All the while giving flashy smiles to the guests. They all looked so good that I couldn't blame a few princesses, duchess, and ladies staring at them as if they were trying to memorize their features. When they reached the end, it was our cue to follow. I gripped tightly on Ace's shoulder while the other was on my dress. Custard was pacing on my other side, looking eager to follow the other princes, but knew that he had to stay put.

I can do this. No big of a deal, right?

Ace started so I followed, carefully descending the stairs and forcing my chin to look up and not down. Just like we practiced. We were almost halfway down when I suddenly felt sick. Ace noticed my distress and tightened his hold. It calmed me down a little. We were not halfway through when I felt a slight cold on the tips of my toes and I slipped. The first thing that came into my mind was to cling to Ace.

I mean, if I am going down I might as well take someone with me.

At first, I thought that Ace would swat or push me, but he actually did the opposite. I was far too gone to be pulled back. Ace realized it too and acted quicker than I could have imagined. Once I was making a dive, Ace grabbed me by the waist and jumped all the way down to the bottom. He was able to chance his grip on me into a princess carry in mid air so we were able to land smoothly.

I closed my eyes while we were in mid air. By the time I opened my eyes everyone was staring at us. Nate, Dan, and Ren all looked nervous as they switched their attention from the crowd and to us. I also looked for Custard only to spot him running back to our room. TRAITOR!

"U-um.....it's a traditional Earthling greeting...?" I suggested with a smile. It was the only excuse I could come up from my embarrassing fall. Beside me I could just feel PRINCE Ace warming up to slap me when we heard the crowd cheering.

Huh. I guess the people from this dimension are gullible.