Dear readers, here is the first part of the royal ball. The second will follow tmr if you like this one ;)

As always, please don't mind mistakes in grammar and spelling to much.

Thanks to HinaSnowBastia, , Fairy-san, Chiharu Himeji, Feao, whiskalefa and KaUiA for the reviews up until now ^^

Disclaimer: Neither Fairy Tail nor the original story of Thousandfur belong to me.

The royal ball (part 1)

Finally the day of the ball had arrived. While Lucy was dressed up and styled for the ball by her maid Virgo and the court stylist Cancer, she was remembering her dream from last night. The dream that was actually a memory from her childhood. A memory of her knight in shining armor.

Though she would never admit, that he was more than a stupid boy. She wondered how much he had grown and if she still could give him a peck just by tiptoeing.

Since Lucy was the star of the evening, she was the last to enter the dancing hall, accompanied by her father's trusted servant Capricorn, who announced her arrival to the waiting audience of Lords, Ladies and eligible princes.

She was wearing a strapless emerald dress, which fell to her ankles. It embraced her voluptuous curves and made her porcelain skin stand out. Her golden locks were held in an elegant French pleat by a simple but beautiful tiara. The make-up was subtle, but underlined her faces' mesmerizing features. When the beautiful princess entered the room, all conversations came to a halt and an awestruck silence came to pass.

The king danced the first dance of the evening with his daughter and could barely concentrate on the next steps of the dance, mesmerized by her ephemeral beauty. Lucy did notice his unwavering gaze and started to feel uncomfortable and tried to avoid his gaze.

Before her father could ask her for the next dance as well, they got interrupted by a mischievous sounding voice "Dear King, since we were sent here as possible candidates as her husband, would you be so kind to lend your daughter to me for the next dance?"

The king, in an attempt not to let his true emotions surface, kept his calm and handed the princess over to Prince Leonardo Celeste. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance Princess Lucille, I have heard many tales of your infamous beauty, but upon seeing you before me, I have to admit that none of those tales reflect the truth in the least. You are even more beautiful than the brightest star in the sky", the prince said.

"You must be Prince Leonardo Celeste than", said Lucy dryly. "I heard youare known to be very popular amongst ladies of all kinds and shapes".

"Don't you think the female form is beautiful in every kind and shape my dear princess?" replied the prince mockingly.

"I beg to differ in that respect, but I deem you are more experienced than I am, in regard to the female form, so who am I to disagree with you", said the princess with a smirk on her pretty face.

"You are not only beautiful and an excellent dancer, but also quite bespoken, how can I not fall for you this instant. You must give me your heart my princess or else I will fall into the depths of despair and shall never love a maiden again", said Leonardo with a pleading expression on his face.

"First of all, it might not be up to me to decide my future husband and moreover, everyone can speak of shallow promises and flatter me as you do right now, though I can't believe that you would fall in the depths of despair, since you didn't even know me, the day before today", said Lucy and entwined herself from the prince's hands, since the song had just finished.

Before Leonardo could grab hold of her again, she was already swept away by a young raven haired male. "My name is Prince Gray Fullbuster of Kooru, I am delighted to make your acquaintance milady", said the man.

"I am Princess Lucille as you might already know. I am pleased to meet you as well", said Lucy while admiring the prince's graceful style of dancing.

Contrary to her previous dance partner, Prince Gray seemed to be more focused onto the dancing itself than onto his dancing partner. He didn't spend his time with her on flattery but seemed to enjoy the music and the dancing itself. After the dancing finished, he looked her straight into the eyes "You are a very graceful dancer my princess, as expected by someone as mesmerizing as you".

Feeling that this was not mere flattery but an heartfelt compliment, the princess blushed slightly and thanked the Prince for the dance. The very same was just about to ask her for another dance, when somebody bumped into him, carrying a plate full of various kinds of meat.

Prince Gray abruptly turned around "You! You almost made me trip and fall onto the princess; don't you think you should apologize to us?"

The young man, who sported salmon coloured hair, turned around as well, when he saw Gray's face the chicken wings he just had stuffed into his mouth dropped back on the plate.

Gray and the salmon haired man both shouted "You" and charged at each other, forgetting about the princess standing next to them, who observed the happening with an amused grin on her face.

While the fight between the two nobles was broken up by some guards, Lucy decided to visit the dining table herself, to get refreshment, after having been dragged from dance to dance by her father and the princes.

On her way to the dining table, she suddenly felt someone embracing her from behind and putting his hands before her eyes so she couldn't recognize him. Then a male voice was whispering in her ear mockingly "Did you miss me Princess-chan?"

Sooo

For those of you who prefer Natsu x Lucy, don't give up hope just now. This fanfic won't start off with your favourite pairing, but it might end with it? For now though, there will be another pairing in the focus of attention, as the next chapter will bring to light.