Two weeks passed in a blur, with Keith's schedule only being busier now that he had to teach his halfsister how to act, or at least pretend, to be a perfect lady. A part of him found her lack of motivation impressive, almost enviable, but that was mostly overwhelmed with the irritation that she was being difficult when he was just trying to do what he was told. As he helped Pidge into her gown, he couldn't suppress the brief sense of satisfaction he felt in doing so. It had been a difficult task, but Keith was very pleased with how the dress had turned out (all thanks to Allura).
The gown was a deep emerald green, covering the bodice and tapering into wide straps going over her shoulders. The skirt tapered away to reveal a shimmering white layer of chiffon and silk underneath, made of the same material he had given Allura to recreate the sleeves: they were bunched together in that typical poofy arm fashion, but continued down from that point, tapering away in layers of white ruffles. Allura had used extra emerald fabric to wrap it around the sleeves, creating the kind of long draping sleeves that were so popular that season, cut away so that the white ruffles poked out. While digging through the attic, Keith had found the perfect sparkling silver satin to give Allura to use as trim, sewing it onto the bodice, sleeves, and hem in an ornate branching floral pattern. She had designed the gown in a such a way that it would hug Pidge's figure and give emphasis to her thin waist and slim hips while giving the illusion of some kind of figure. As she turned to look at him, Keith couldn't help but smile. His halfsister looked a lot better than he ever had imagined.
"So I guess Allura managed to make me look like a lady after all," Pidge said quietly, and Keith realized she not only looked great, but felt great too. Suddenly all those extra expenses on fabric and trim seemed a little more worth it.
When the two descended the stairs and Pidge was presented to her stepfather, the man sized her up and down before wordlessly opening the door and hurrying her outside. That was as good as the two were going to get, and they were both fine with that. Any words of praise would've seemed fake anyway.
When the carriage pulled away and was out of sight, Keith was just about to go back inside when he heard someone calling out to him.
"Wait, Keith! Don't go inside yet!" He turned to see Allura rushing towards him, a worried and frantic look on her face. When she reached him, she put her hands on her knees, breathing hard, before looking at him sternly. "Just where have you been the past three months?! I've been worried sick!"
"My stepfather forbade me from leaving the house," Keith answered.
"What?! But he can't do that!"
"He's my stepfather," Keith said in irritation, clearly wishing that that wasn't the case. "Of course he can."
"Well he shouldn't! That's terrible, not letting you leave the house for months… oh, but this makes everything even more perfect!" she said, clapping her hands together happily. Keith frowned and began to back away. "Oh, I haven't even said what my plan is yet! Trust me, you'll love this! At least I think you will… anyways, just ask me what it is already!"
"...What's your plan?"
"You're gonna go to the ball!"
"No," Keith said immediately. Allura frowned, placing her hands on her hips.
"And why not?"
"Because, Allura, I don't know if you've noticed but I'm a man. Only women were invited."
"But you'd be taking my place, so it's fine! I don't want to go to some stuffy dance anyway, especially when I already have a boyfriend. But you, on the other hand, well, you should want to." When Keith just stared at her in confusion, she sighed exasperatedly before looking him square in the eyes and saying slowly "Don't you remember? A certain someone lives in the palace."
Keith's eyes widened when he realized what she was getting at and his cheeks instantly flushed red. Allura giggled. "I see you're not opposed to the idea."
"It would never work anyway," Keith said hurriedly, trying to get rid of any hope before he was let down. "Like I said, I'm a guy."
"That's what wigs are for, silly!" She cried, taking his hand and beginning to drag him down down the dirt road. "It'll all work out!"
"But I have to take care of the house and-"
"Oh just go already," a voice came from behind him and he turned to see Hunk standing in the doorway, staring at him. "It doesn't take a genius to see that you haven't been yourself these past few months. This'll be good for you. I can stay home tonight- not that I had plans or anything anyways."
"And I can help you get ready!" Allura chimed in. When she saw hesitance still in Keith's eyes, she sighed and spun him around so that he was facing her. "Listen to me, Keith. You like that guy, right? If you still like him now, then that feeling isn't going to go away. Trust me, I've been there, and it all somehow worked out for me. There's always hope. What if it turns out that Blue is there? What if he sweeps you off your feet and you finally get the happy ending all of us know you deserve? As scared as you are that things won't turn out right, you have to muster up enough courage to try. You have to take that first step, okay? You can't just give up before you even try."
Keith stared at her for a moment, hundreds of thoughts racing through his mind. And then he steeled himself and nodded in agreement. She was right. And besides, he had never been one to give up in the first place.
…
"Just come out already!" Allura cried in irritation. Keith had refused to let her help him into the dress she had given him, so she was forced to wait outside while he struggled. And now that he finally had it on, he refused to show her! The nerve!
"It's way more embarrassing than I thought it would be!" Keith answered back, his voice strained.
"Who cares, no one will know it's you! Just come out here already!"
Keith frowned before swallowing heavily and stepping out from the closet doors. Allura stared at him in shock, her breath caught in her throat.
Keith looked positively stunning. The gown he was in was a dark crimson red color that hugged his toned upper body tightly. The neckline reached up to wrap around his neck in a choker like fashion, a small teardrop shaped opening revealing his collarbones. His shoulders were bare until just underneath the armpits where skin was replaced with shimmering golden chiffon split open in the middle to reveal his slender-yet-muscular arms, hints of ivory lace poking out from under the fabric as cream colored gloves stretched up his arms. Crimson swirled around his waist and legs as he stepped out, the layers of fabric staggered and lined with the same ivory lace as the sleeves. Along the end of of each layer of skirt, gold embroidered flowers danced around near the seams. A sparkling golden belt wrapped around his waist as the same flowers peaked out from beneath it. Two princess seams ran down the sides of the chest, giving the appearance of a feminine figure. You would never have guessed he was a boy, just a girl who didn't have too much up top.
"You look wonderful!" Allura cried happily, clapping her hands together as Keith blushed in embarrassment.
"I look like a joke," he replied awkwardly. "I can't believe I let you talk me into this."
"Hey, if you get to see him then it's all worth it, right?"
"I suppose," Keith begrudgingly agreed. "But what's the likelihood they'll allow a servant to go to a ball?"
"Well, maybe he's not a servant," Allura said helpfully. "After all, he never actually told you what he does, right?"
"That's true but…"
"Look, you need a break anyway," Allura cut him off before he could continue to doubt. "Ah! I almost forgot the most important part!" She yanked a long light brown wig off of her dresser and pulled it onto Keith's head, adjusting it so that it was situated properly. "Now they'll never know it's you, even if your family sees you! You totally look like a girl!"
"Wow thanks," Keith replied sarcastically. "Should I take the compliment or be offended?"
"Take the compliment, of course," Allura answered, grabbing him by the hand and leading him out the door and down the hall. "Now then, I can't lend you my family's carriage because it's easily recognizable and because my mother took it out today anyway. However, I did rent you a coach and it's waiting outside. I've already paid for it and everything, so don't even worry about that. Just go have fun at the ball, alright?" She opened the front door to reveal the carriage waiting for him as the coachmen bowed low. Keith nodded at her, walking towards the cream-and-gold cabin. As the coachman took his hand and helped him into the carriage, Keith looked back at his friend.
"Allura… thank you," he said quietly. Allura froze for a moment in shock as she watched the door close behind him and the driver move to grab the reins and start off towards the castle. That was the first time she had ever heard Keith say thank you to anyone. It was something the teen normally just didn't do. As she saw him look out the window anxiously at her, she quickly gave him her biggest grin and flashed a thumbs up. As much as she enjoyed free food balls, this was definitely the right choice. Maybe her friend was finally going to off to his happy ending.
…
Keith decided just a few minutes in that he was hopelessly out of place in the palace. All around him were lords and ladies dressed in fancy fineries, velvet gowns, silk suits, gold and jewels dripping from every inch of their skin. They held cocktail glasses with their pinkies out, sipping daintily and making light conversation about the most superficial topics, their faces tight with the traditional amused-yet-aloof expressions, bodies poised in elegant and refined positions. Keith had learned court etiquette from his stepfather at a young age, but seeing as he had never had a chance to practice it, he felt absolutely terrified.
And then the music started and everyone moved as if they already had a dance partner, gracefully maneuvering to them as if they didn't even have bones. All of a sudden Keith felt himself jostled around, and as he tried to get out of the crowd and over to the wall or the buffet, just anywhere that wasn't here, his feet caught on the heels of a girl's 5-inch stilettos and he found himself tumbling forward, face planting onto the ground as he tried desperately to keep his wig on.
Holding his chin in pain, he looked up to see a circle had formed around him, murmurs ringing among the crowd as they looked at him in disdain. Keith felt his face flushing bright red as he immediately lowered his gaze. This was definitely a mistake, he shouldn't've come, shouldn't've tried to relax for a few hours, shouldn't've-
"Hey, stop looking at her like that!" A voice cried. "Haven't you toffs ever seen someone trip before? It's an accident, not a social death sentence!"
Keith looked up to see a girl standing in front of him, dressed in a navy blue dress with periwinkle colored lace and chiffon wrapping over the skirt, pale blue ribbons wrapping up her bodice to hug her arms. A periwinkle colored ribbon held her curly dark brown hair in place, formed tightly into a braid and as she turned to face him, her tanned skin and-
Keith froze. Those eyes. Those bright blue eyes, the same color as the summer sky. He knew those eyes. This was him, this was Blue. Why he was in a dress and a wig, Keith had no idea (not that he was one to judge), but there was no way this wasn't the boy he had met in town so many months ago. He almost said something to him, almost pulled the wig off right then and there, but something stopped him. A tiny voice told him not to. As he thought about it, he realized that if he did, his stepfather would instantly recognize him and, well, let's just say being thrown out of the house would be getting off lightly.
"...Thanks," Keith murmured instead, taking the hand that was offered to him and standing up.
"Not a problem," Blue answered. "Those buffoons just gawk over everything, so don't feel too embarrassed. They think every little mistake is hilarious, and that tripping means you completely lack any kind of grace."
"Well, they aren't wrong," Keith replied. "This is my first ball and it's not really…"
"Fun?" Blue took the words right out of Keith's mouth and he smiled. "Well, you clearly haven't been trying hard enough then! Allow me to show you, m'lady!"
And with that, Blue took Keith's hands and pulled him onto the dance floor. The boy easily wrapped his arm around Keith's hips, using his free hand to guide him in time to the music. As embarrassed as he felt, dancing with another boy (and in women's clothing no less), it was clear that Blue knew what he was doing as they effortlessly waltzed around the ballroom. Other couples moved out of their way as the two sashayed and twirled in a blur of crimson and navy. As the music continued and escalated to the climax of the piece, Blue smirked at Keith before squeezing his hand tightly. Before he had any time to think, Keith was suddenly falling backwards into Blue's arms as the boy dipped him low, the ends of Keith's light brown wig brushing the tiled floor. Then he was quickly flung back up and the song ended with the two of them, both heavily out of breath, standing just a bit too close for comfort, in the ending position of what seemed to be more of a tango than a waltz.
Keith was shocked when he began to hear applause ring in the air. He looked around to see some of the other couples smiling and nodding at him, giving the pair thumbs up and encouraging expressions as if they wanted to see more.
"See?" Blue said as Keith's attention snapped back to him. "Wasn't that fun?" Keith stared at him for a moment, face flushed and out of breath, before a small smile crossed his face and he nodded his agreement. Blue grinned widely at that and, with the tiniest satisfied hmph, pulled him back onto the dancefloor as the music resumed.
They spent the better part of two hours dancing like that until, much as he was enjoying himself, Keith realized he needed a break some time soon or he was gonna pass out. His stamina was meant for doing chores, not dancing. And clearly Blue noticed this too because after they finished another ballroom waltz, the teen pulled Keith away and towards the wall, away from the hectic dancefloor.
"Why don't you and I go somewhere else?" Blue asked lightly, just the smallest smirk on his face in amusement.
"But-" Keith started to say, not wanting to make the tanned boy go with him when it was obvious he was having so much fun, but Blue cut him off.
"Don't worry, just come! I can tell you need a break, so let's go to the garden. It's my favorite place in the palace." Keith hesitated for a minute before agreeing, giving in to the eager look on Blue's face. The crossdressing boy's face lit up and he grabbed Keith's hand pulling him along through the big glass double doors and down a staircase into a pavilion. "Hold on, I'll take you to this secret place only I know about."
With that, Blue lead him into a hedge maze, leading him through so many twists and turns that Keith was sure he wouldn't be able to find his way out again by himself. Eventually they reached a small hole in the hedge. Keith barely had time to turn the corner before he saw just the ends of Blue's navy dress whisk away through the gap in the hedges. Keith approached it just a little bit unsure but, after a few seconds, he pushed through the thick branches and into a rainbow of colors.
Keith's breath caught in his throat as he took in the view: roses everywhere. There had to be thousands of them, all different colors and sizes everywhere he looked. Dark pink ones, cream ones, red ones, yellow ones with golden tips, white-and-pink swirled ones, even blue roses, he had never seen those before. Meanwhile, Blue watched his dance partner slowly begin to walk around the small garden in awe. Then Keith's eyes landed on a small patch of roses near the far corner by the hedges, their petals so pale and thin that they almost looked white, if not for the faint green hue that seemed to glow in the dim light of the garden.
"These are Green Tea roses," Keith whispered quietly, moving over to them and kneeling down, a sad look on his face.
"I'm surprised you knew," Blue said, coming up just a few feet behind Keith. "They aren't a very popular breed."
"They were my mother's favorite," Keith answered. "I used to pick them from the patch of wild ones in the woods by my house everyday when she was sick. She always loved them, and green roses are supposed to represent life and abundance… I guess I had hoped she'd get better if she saw her favorite flower."
"...I'm sorry," Blue said softly, placing his hand gently on Keith's back. Keith glanced behind him and gave the worried boy a faint smile.
"It's okay," he replied. "It was a long time ago. I've gotten over it now." Seeing that the tanned teen didn't look like he felt any better, Keith quickly tried to change the topic. "Why don't you tell me about this garden? It's so beautiful and wellgroomed, surely you can't be the only one to know about it."
"I planted all of these," Blue answered proudly. Keith turned to look at him in surprise.
"You planted all of this?" He said in shock. "That's amazing," he breathed. "This must have taken you years, you couldn't possibly have maintained this all by yourself. Really, no one else knows about it?"
"Well now you know too," Blue answered. "So I'm not the only one. And besides, if I told people then they'd always come to this area of the royal gardens since they're open to the public and I don't want that. This is my special place after all."
"Then why did you take me here?" Keith asked. Blue glanced at him before looking away nervously, a light flush on his face.
"Because… you're special too," he answered. Keith stared at him for a moment, processing what the boy just said. When it registered, he felt his face heating up and looked up at Blue, who looked equally embarrassed. "I know we just met but… I don't know, it feels like I've known you for a long time."
You're right about that, Keith thought as he smiled at the blushing tanned boy. "I think so too," Keith said gently. "Which is why I want you to have this." He reached up around his own neck and unfastened one of the two twin necklaces that he always wore, removing the heart-shaped lock from his neck and holding it out to Blue.
"A necklace?" Blue asked curiously, to which Keith nodded.
"My mother gave me these right before she passed away," he murmured quietly. "She told me that when I found someone important to me, someone that I really care about, I should give them one of these. I have the key," Keith said, holding up the small golden key engraved with roses and an intricate vine pattern. "And it opens that lock. It's the only key like it in the world and it's made in such a way that even master keys can't open it. It's a family heirloom and it's supposed to be passed down through every generation."
"Then it's beautiful but I can't accept it," Blue replied. "Shouldn't you be giving this to your husband or your boyfriend?"
"She never said it had to be my significant other." Keith blushed as he added "Only someone I care about with all my heart."
"...Then I'm honored," Blue replied, smiling widely as Keith reached up to latch it around his neck. "This's gotta be the most priceless gift I've ever received."
"Even with antiquity, it's only worth about $1000," Keith scoffed in response, eyeing the fancy dress and glittering jewelry adorning Blue's body. "Surely you've gotten things much more expensive than this."
"Price isn't determined by the monetary value, but by the feelings behind it," Blue replied.
"...That's very poetic of you," Keith said.
"Thanks. Read it in a book once." Blue grinned as Keith rolled his eyes. "But seriously, this is… this means a lot to me. I'll definitely treasure it. Thank you."
"I'm sure my mother would be happy to hear that you'd value this so much," Keith replied just as the bell tower began to ring.
"Oh shit, is that late already?" Blue cursed. "C'mon, we gotta get back to the ballroom, they're gonna do the symbolic passing of the crown now."
"I can't believe it's already midnight," Keith said as he hurried to follow Blue through the gap in the hedges and back through the maze. As the two hurried along, Blue slowed for a moment and glanced behind him, a wide smirk on his face.
"Y'know, this is kinda like you giving me your heart," he said, holding up the golden lock. Keith flushed red and pushed the tanned boy lightly. Blue barely stumbled, laughing all the while.
"You're so stupid," Keith answered, but it was obvious by the tone of his voice that that comment had made him happy.
As the two raced up the stairs and through the double doors back into the dancehall, a group of men dressed in the royal guard uniforms swarmed them almost instantly. Keith was utterly confused as he watched them whisk Blue away saying something about… his royal highness? As he listened to them, Keith's face was going paler by the second. No. No, no, this couldn't possibly be happening, there was no way…
He stood there frozen as the nation's anthem began to play, as the king, appeared at the top of a balcony above the crowd, holding the royal crown jewels in symbolism high as another person, who could only be the crown prince walked out from behind the curtain… a very familiar person dressed in a navy gown with tanned skin and sky blue eyes.
Keith instantly felt sick to his stomach. This couldn't be happening he repeated in his mind as he staggered backwards, desperately trying to make it to the doorway leading out to the carriages. There was just no way, how could Blue be the prince?!
...But then again, a prince could be considered a civil servant, right? He served the people, so in a way, it worked. And of course a prince would live in the palace, that was obvious. Then you had that fancy carriage he rode in when he left Keith's town, not to mention his inexperience in the marketplace and that strange nickname. Blue… that could easily be a nickname for Lance, the name of the crown prince who was next in line for the throne, who was famous for his shining sky blue eyes and matching blue armor, and oh, why didn't he notice this before?! It was so obvious yet Keith had failed to put two and two together and now… now it didn't matter because Blue was the crown prince and Keith was… well, he was more or less a servant. Their places in society couldn't be more different.
However, as awful as he felt at this realization, somehow he felt numb as he stumbled out to the area where the carriages were, only for it to be devoid of life. As he looked around, he couldn't find his driver anywhere until he heard the sound of laughter drifting over to him. He followed the voices over to a small entranceway that had been propped open and peeked in to see a group of coachmen circling around a pair (his own driver included) guzzling ale as fast as they could while crude cries of "Chug! Chug!" echoed around the room. Normally Keith would have yelled at them, but right now he just didn't have the heart for it. Looks like he had to walk home, which wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't 20 miles away and he wasn't wearing heels.
As he began to long walk back, he couldn't help himself from spinning around at the last second to slam his fist into the castle wall, ignoring the pain that shot through his fingers when he did so. It was all this stupid castle's fault in the first place. Why did Blu-Lance have to live there? Why did he have to be the prince? And why, oh why, did he just have to be the one Keith fell in love with? It made him sick to his stomach.
And then he heard a voice drift down to him and felt ice shoot through his spine. That voice could only be Lance, and from the sound of it, he was looking for Keith. Not a second later, Keith reached down to his crimson and gold heels, ripping off the heeled part of the shoes so they were at least flat and took off down the castle road, ducking onto the side path leading into the woods and to his village the first chance he got. He reached the treeline and tried to ignore the desperation that he had heard in Lance's voice, ignored the desires to run back to him, ignored all the sweet words he had been told. Those were before Lance knew who he was. As his feet hit the dirt road, Keith realized that he had never told Lance his name and decided it was better that way. He didn't want to ruin the perfect image the prince had of his mysterious princess.
A few drops of water hit his bare shoulders and he looked up to see that the sky was beginning to rain down on him. How fitting. Keith's pace slowed as the raindrops began to pour down from the clouds above, his shoulders starting to shake. Looks like those tears were finally catching up with him and it was clear that they wouldn't go away no matter how much he willed them to. A broken heart must be different than the loss of a parent, he decided. At least then he had had his siblings to think of. Right now, he was all alone in the forest, after midnight, with miles and miles between him and home. He had been holding them back for years after all, surely it was okay now, right?
His tears didn't wait for the answer.
