THE ROYAL BALL

When Eve finished taking her bath, she covered herself in a white clothe to go and get dressed. Her mother was in her room making her frown.

"Finally. You seemed to take forever child." Rakka said.

"My apologies for keeping you waiting." Eve said going to take a seat on her bed.

Rakka was looking hyped and worried making Eve wander what was happening. She was sitting on a rocking chair by the window and got up to join her daughter on the bed.

"I heard Ceaser is already in Dreg! I mean how did he get there so quickly! We should also leave early so that we look more supportive of him and his family."

"Aren't we going to wait for Elizabeth? She was looking forward to going with us."

"She is already here. She is just resting in the guest room because I told her you were bathing."

"That's lovely to hear." Eve said wanting her mother to leave,"When will we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning, even before the birds start singing."

Rakka got up and walked hastily to the door mumbling about informing Napoleon.

"Ah yes! Lord Bezel would be joining us as well so you will ride the carriage with him." Rakka said.

"Won't that be improper, mother. We aren't wedded yet. I might make us look bad." Eve nervously warned.

She didn't want to have to sit with her betrothed for half a day when all he did was make her uncomfortable. Rakka pondered for a while and then agreed with Eve's notion. Eve was pleased to hear that and smiled sweetly.

"I heard you went out again today, is that true?"

Eve didn't answer and looked down.

"Be-have-your-self?" Rakka hissed.

She slammed the door and Eve waited until she could no longer hear her mother's footsteps before she stood up to get dressed. When she was done, she went to the guest rooms and checked each one except the one being used by Bezel. The last thing she wanted was to catch his eyes that day. When she came to the last one, she crossed her fingers and hoped Elizabeth was there. Her friend had a tendency of moving about the palace grounds whenever she visited. She entered the room quietly and saw her friends shocked face looking in her direction. Elizabeth's face relaxed after seeing that it was just Eve.

"You frightened me!" she exclaimed.

"My apologies. I forgot to knock so you would be more prepared."

"I was going to come and see you in your room. What made you come here?"

"I needed to tell you something very important." Eve said as she closed the door and went to sit on the bed.

"Have you heard that Ceaser is already in Dreg?" Eve said excitedly.

"Yeah, the Queen already told me. So what are you going to do about that mark on your back?"

"There are many powerful mages in Dreg, I'm sure one of them can help me."

"I hope so too because it seems dangerous. How far has it spread?"

"It's travelled down my waist and to my belly. I wander who that man was."

*

*

"Ohhh I forget to tell you. I met this man when I went to Vernon. His so handsome and and strong, we fought." Elizabeth chipped breathlessly.

They were in there carriage already half way to Dreg.

"Really?" Eve asked."That's nice. Do you like him?"

"Of course I do, why would I tell you about him. His eyes had depth, it was like I was engulfed in them; drowning. It was like he was pushing me deeper."

"Wow, I am happy for you. Do you think you'll meet again?"

"Definitely, he said he looked forward to it."

They continued talking till they fell asleep. When they woke up again, they were entering the kingdom of Dreg. Eve was a little curious to see what it was like because she had never been to Dreg and the some went for Elizabeth. They looked out the carriage windows to look at the busy streets. It was nearly sunset because of how many times they had to stop on the way.

"My mother told me that Dreg wasn't this beautiful a decade ago. She said it was just a large scale village during king Solemn's reign up til his death." Elizabeth stated sitting properly in the carriage.

Eve hummed softly and slowly sat properly in her seat. What would Ceaser's reign be like? The carriage soon came to the palace's gates and the guards checked the carriage to ensure that there was no foreign material. When they were satisfied with the search, they allowed the carriage to go through. There were a lot of people already inside, mostly royalty. There were a few commoners roaming about the palace grounds for fun because they had been allowed to and also in hopes of catching the Nobles' attention.

"There are a great multitude of people here." Elizabeth sighed,"I wander if my love will be here as well."

"Let's hope so otherwise you will bother me throughout our journey back to Zeth with your whining." Eve responded.

"I wouldn't cry over a man! I thought you knew me better than this!"

"Mhhh....I find that hard to believe that thee Elizabeth who cries whenever she has a bad hair day wouldn't cry over the man of her dreams."

"We'll see each other, I know it! I can already smell him!" Elizabeth boasted.

Eve laughed at her friend briefly before the carriage stopped. The coachman opened the door and helped the women down. Rakka, Napoleon and Bezel were already out of their carriages. Elizabeth's parents had promised to come before the ball so Elizabeth wasn't sure what 'before the ball' they meant. There was a very high possibility that the royal and noble guests who had arrived.

"I'm sure they will be here before morning." Eve assured Elizabeth who was sweating profusely out of uneasiness.

"I know that! But what if the food is being handed out according to the families. They might make me starve!" Elizabeth complained.

Eve was so shocked at what her friend was worrying about. Before she could scold her, Bezel came out of nowhere and bowed in front of them. They did the same thing as a show of respect.

"I hope you ladies had a lovely ride." he said curtly.

"Yes we did." Elizabeth quickly chirped.

"I'm sure you must be feeling sore from all the sitting; may I interest you with a walk?" he mentioned casually.

"We were actually planning on going to see the gardens." Eve nervously blurted.

"What are the odds! I was about to suggest that." Bezel said.

Eve frowned at him and reached for Elizabeth's hand. Her hand was squeezed by the latter in comfort making her feel less troubled.

"You wouldn't mind Eliza's coming with us, would you." Eve asked hopefully.

"Of course not. Shall we?"

The trio made their way silently to the gardens and Eve instantly felt calm. The had a wide range of beautiful plant species and Elizabeth even spotted the black rose. Many people were looking at it in curiosity as it was an extremely rare plant that many wise men and women percieved to be extinct. Elizabeth's eyes brightened at the mere possibility of him being there. She started looking around to search for him in the crowd but was disappointed to find that he wasn't there.

"Look at this, princess." Bezel called out to Eve who was also searching for someone,"You seem distracted."

"Am I? I was just wandering if Eliza's parents are here yet." Eve answered laughing awkwardly.

"I see. You shouldn't worry so much. I'm sure they'll be here soon enough."

"No they won't. My parents are wired to be late for any occasion and I don't think this one is any different." Elizabeth mumbled.

Bezel laughed and Elizabeth joined him so he wouldn't seem like a mad man.

"Isn't that queen Terra?" a woman standing close to them said.

Many heads turned in that direction at the woman's fervent announcement. Terra was dressed in a long lilac gown that exuded autonomousy and beauty. She wasn't wearing her crown but was wearing a beautiful flower crown upon her head. Her hair cascaded down to her waist in large waves like flowing water. Evirelda was walking behind her and she was trying her best to walk as elegantly as possible in the long purple gown she had been instructed to wear. Her black hair went just a little bit beyond her shoulders and she wore a matching flower crown like her mother. The girl's hair was more curly than Terra's and her eyes were just a shade darker than Terra's.

She nearly fell down when she stumbled on her dress but was caught by Benjamin. He smiled at her and straightened out her dress and told her to hurry to her mother's side. She gave him a light kiss on the cheek and run to Terra's side while holding up her dress a little so she could move more freely.

"Welcome, distinguished guests, to our home, the kingdom of Dreg!"