A/N: Writing this for my best friend and waifu.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the princes. (Maan and Anna are my friend and I though)
Impossible Made Possible
It was her first time at a masquerade party, and Maan was feeling extremely uncomfortable. Her friend had dragged her along, stating that this masquerade party was a must to attend, and she was not allowed to miss it.
And thus, being the good friend she is, Maan had agreed to attend the party. Sadly, her fried had failed to mention that she would go to the party with her date, and that Maan was supposed to go alone. Now she was standing in front of the door weighting her options.
If she decided not to go in, she would risk disappointing her friend by not showing up, but if she did go inside there was the high probability that she was to dance with a whole bunch of random guys whose faces she had never seen, and would never see once in her life.
"Aren't you going in?" A voice said from behind, startling her out of her thoughts. She turned around to find herself faced with a masked gentleman dressed in a fancy looking suit. He was smiling brightly at her, and she could see his copper eyes sparkling behind his mask.
Maan stepped to the side, meaning to let the man pass, but he held out a hand in front of her. "Would you mind if I accompanied you inside?" He said, his smile still on his face. Maan raised her eyebrows in surprise, but her mask hid her expression and the man just continued to wait without knowing her thoughts that were written on her face.
She then frowned, but took his hand. She had figured it would be best if she did go to the party, and being accompanied by someone would make her entrance a whole lot less embarrassing. "Okay, yeah, sure..." She said, still not entirely sure if the decision she was making, was truly the right one.
The man smiled even brighter at her reply, and pulled her to his side in his excitement. "Great! Let's go then." And without giving her the time to change her thoughts and protest, he pushed open the door and stepped into the large ballroom.
All guests turned their faces their way, some gasping in surprise. "He brought a date this time?" She heard someone whisper. "I thought he didn't have a date this year." More woman started to whisper among themselves as the masked man escorted Maan to the middle of the dance floor.
"Would you do me the honor of joining me for a dance?" He held her hand in a firm grip and seemed unwilling to let her go as he smiled down at her. She found herself unable to turn him down and nodded.
Within an instant they swayed over the dance floor gracefully, him leading the dance, and her following his steps mindlessly, as if it was the most natural thing to do. She even found herself enjoying this dance with this random stranger, who seemed to be extremely happy to be dancing with her.
Once their dance finished he took her hand and pressed his lips to her knuckles. "That was wonderful my lady." He said as he straightened his back again. Maan expected him to release her hand now, but he seemed to have something else in mind as he started leading her away from the dance floor.
"Could I offer you a glass of champagne?" He asked once they reached a long table filled with various luxurious dishes and glasses of wine and champagne neatly lined up. Unconsciously, Maan smiled and nodded, but then changed her mind and shook her head. "No thank you, I would rather not drink tonight."
A pout flashed across the man's face for a slight second, before he returned to his usual smile. "That is surprisingly sensible." He mumbled. Maan cocked her head in response. "I'm sorry, did you expect me to obey to someone's wishes without second thought?"
The man laughed heartily at this and patted her on the shoulder. "No, no I did not think that at all. But women at these kinds of parties usually accept champagne without a second thought. So I was just a tad bit surprised."
As Maan listened to his explanation her eyes wandered over the table, looking for some kind of non alcoholic drink. 'Why is there no coke?' She thought to herself, feeling her hate for fancy parties growing even more. Then her eyes fell on a line of glasses filled with grape juice.
Just when she wanted to reach out, the man outwitted her and grabbed one of the glasses, offering it to her with a bright smile. "But I suppose grape juice would not be something you will turn down when offered to you?" His smile seemed a bit doubtful and Maan could not stop herself from grinning slightly as she accepted the glass.
"I must admit you are right about that." She said before taking a sip of the richly flavored juice. She saw him sigh in relief, and realized she had completely relaxed while being in the company of this strange, unknown man.
They exchanged some small talk, and she could not help but notice that whenever a man tried to approach her, they always seemed to get second thoughts while half-way making their way over. But she did not mind at all, dancing with strangers was not one of her most favorite ways to spend her time, so whatever it was that was causing these men to back off, she was eternally grateful to it.
A little while later, after she had consumed her third glass of fruit juice, and a few little snacks, she felt a strong thug on her arm. "Maan!" Someone hissed in her ear. Maan spun around at the sound of the familiar voice and was met with the bright blue eyes of her friend.
"Anna!" She said as she remembered she had promised her friend she would meet up with her once she arrived. Anna first glared at her, but then her eyes wandered to the person standing behind Maan and she broke out into a grin.
Anna pulled her friend a bit further away from the stranger and whispered into her ear. "I was gonna ask why the fuck you didn't come find me, but I see you're enjoying the company of that lovely man over there."
Maan glanced back at the man whose name she had yet to ask, and then looked at her friend again. "Maybe, but I'm sorry for forgetting about you." Anna grinned and shook her head. "It's okay, Keith is keeping me busy, this is the first time I was able to sneak off. I should go back now though." She glanced back and Maan followed her gaze, noticing Prince Keith glaring into their direction.
"Anna, I don't understand how you can put up with him for so long." But Anna just grinned and shrugged. "The power of love I suppose?" She said as she released Maan and started pushing her back towards the stranger.
"Ask his name." She whispered before walking off again, leaving Maan once again alone with the stranger, who broke out into a smile as he realized her absence was only temporarily. "Was that a friend of yours?" He asked, his eyes following Anna who had just reached Prince Keith's side again.
Maan nodded. "Yeah, best friend actually." The man looked at her incredulously. "I hadn't expected you to be best friends with Prince Keith's fiancée." She shrugged and picked up another glass of grape juice. "I've known her from before she even knew Prince Keith."
The man's eyes grew wide behind his mask. "I've met her countless of times, and each time she mentioned her best friend, I had always wondered what kind of person she would be." Now it was Maan's turn to be surprised. "You've met Anna before?"
The man grinned. "Yes well… I believe this is the proper time to introduce myself. I had intended to keep my identity hidden till the end of the party, but seeing the current subject…" He seemed to over think his actions for a slight moment, before sighing. "My name is Roberto Button, I am t-"
Maan cut him off mid-sentence and hissed up at him. "You are the crown prince of Altaria?!" She had been smart enough to keep her voice low so she would not attract too much attention, but apparently there had been people paying attention to their conversation, because suddenly a flood of women surrounded Prince Roberto, all asking him to dance with them.
Maan felt herself getting pushed further and further away and sighed in defeat. It wasn't the first time she had met royalty, but she had enjoyed his company and had wanted to speak a little longer with him, especially now that she knew who he was.
Again she felt a tug on her arm. "I bet he told you who he is right?" Anna's voice said from behind her. Maan shrugged and turned to see Anna and Prince Keith standing in front of her. Prince Keith had his arms crossed and an annoyed look on his face. "I don't see why he would wear a mask while everyone already knows who he is."
Anna just smiled and jammed her elbow into his ribs. "Don't pay attention to him." She said while chuckling as Prince Keith rubbed his side while groaning in pain. "Either way, if you like him, you should come to they party we're throwing next week, there won't be any noisy noble ladies present there, since it will be a private party."
Maan frowned. "I don't like him." But Anna only laughed. "Of course Maan, whatever you say, but I still want you to come. It's our anniversary, so I want you to be there." Anna placed her hands on Maan's shoulders and peered into her eyes. "Say you'll come."
Behind Anna, Prince Keith was grumbling to himself. Something about Anna flirting with Maan, but the both of them ignored them. "Okay, fine, I'll come, for you." Maan answered, and was instantly pulled into a tight hug. "Thank you Maan!" Anna said as she squeezed her friend tightly.
When Anna hadn't let go after a few minutes, Prince Keith started pulling her arms. "Anna, it's time to go home." He said in the grumpy voice Maan had heard before, the voice that indicated that he had become extremely jealous of how close the two girls were.
After a little more of Prince Keith's pulling, Anna decided to let go of her friend. "I don't want to go yet, but since Keith does have some important work left to do, I suppose I should leave now. Maan, you go enjoy yourself okay?" Anna looked at Maan until she nodded and then released her with a satisfied smile.
"I'll call you later." Anna half-yelled as Prince Keith started dragging her towards the exit. Maan smiled and waved them off. Once the two of them had gone out of sight Maan went straight for the exit herself. Now that Anna had left, there was nothing more for her to be here, and so she decided to go home as well.
The sound of her heels echoed through the hallways as she wandered around the building, searching for the exit. She knew she was still close to the party hall, because she could still hear the murmurs of the party-goers.
"I was wondering where you went off to you when Prince Keith and Anna had gone home." Said the vaguely familiar voice of Prince Roberto. Maan smiled bitterly and turned around. "I'm looking for the exit."
She watched as his smiled drooped off his face and he stepped closer. "You're leaving already?" He said as he took hold of both her hands. She nodded, ignoring the shiver that run through her body as he touched her. "That was the plan."
Prince Roberto watched her face for a moment, but then sighed in defeat. "Let me at least escort you to the exit then." Once she nodded his smile returned and he hooked his arm through hers.
They walked in silence, and Maan could hear the sound of the party fading away. Soon they found themselves in front of a big door that was clearly the exit. "Thanks for that." Maan mumbled as she freed her arm from his and stepped away from her.
"Wait!" Prince Roberto's hand shot out and he grabbed her arm. "You haven't told me your name yet." His desperation was written all over his face and Maan could not stop herself from smiling.
He seemed to realize what he was doing and flushed slightly as he released her arm. "Sorry for that." He mumbled as he stepped away from her again. But Maan smiled up at him and took of her mask. "My name is Maan, it's been a pleasure to meet you Your Highness." She said as she bowed slightly.
Prince Roberto seemed startled and confused as Maan revealed her face and clumsily bowed too. "T-the pleasure is all mine my dear Maan." He grabbed her hand and kissed the top of it once again. "I do hope to meet you again."
Maan immediately thought back on the words Anna had said to her. 'If you like him, you should come to the party we're throwing next week.' Maan frowned slightly to herself, but then said, "I'm sure you will your Highness…"
Then, without waiting for his reply, she turned around and slipped through the door, not daring to look back. But if she had done so, she would have seen the relieved smile on Prince Roberto's face as he watched her leave. "That's great." He whispered.