Chapter 4: The Ball

A ceiling-to-floor mirror stood before me, as I looked into the mirror in wonder, unsure about the dress that draped my body, just as the very fabric it was made from had once draped a tropical forest. The fabric was all kinds of greens, and it was floor length. The leaves were rather big and thick, a precaution so that my innocence was kept sake under layers of foliage, and beautifully verdant. Little yellow vines danced on the leaves as they curled at the tips. It was tight above my waist, the leaves wrapped around me talentedly, and then the leaves flowed freely towards the floor, where the leafy dress swirled as I turned to get a better look of myself in the colossal mirror.

After our little reunion, the Queen told me we were having a ball that night and that I needed a gown for the occasion. Apparently, after Dandy was crowned Queen, they had balls once in every month. I had laughed silently. Balls.

The Jinns had me dressed in "one of their finest gowns", as they said.

"Wow," a voice came from the door. I swirled around, alarmed by the sudden disrupt of silence.

Jace was standing at the door, leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed with a smirk on his face. He, to my surprise, was also dressed in those leaf suits. At first glance, he looked like he was in a green tuxedo. But as you stare at it longer, you realize it was made out of leaves, like my gown. Although the suit was a little weird (Yes, weird. You don't see people wearing leaf suits on the streets of New York, do you?), he looked drop-dead gorgeous.

Naturally, I blushed. God, I said in my head.

Or at least I thought I said it in my head. Until I realized I said it out loud.

"God? I'm Jace, actually. But they say the resemblance is striking," he said, walking in. "But if I am God," he added. "You must be the angel. You look beautiful."

I turned my head so I could look anywhere but at Jace.

He sat casually on my bed as if he wasn't aware he was wearing something made out of leaves, as if he didn't care if the leaves would fall apart or tear.

You want it to, don't you? A voice said in my head.

What?

"The Queen told me to come and get you," he said. "The ball's starting in half an hour." He held out his hand as if he was waiting for me to accept it.

And I did.

We made our way to the ballroom, hand in hand. We've been holding hands ever since we left my room and I was getting more nervous every second.

As we entered the ballroom, the smell of fresh flowers and nectar filled my nostrils. I looked at Jace, who wrinkled his nose. Wrinkled his nose? Wasn't the smell of nature supposed to be pleasant?

I squeezed his hand. "You okay?"

He nodded in response.

A couple of Jinns, Leila and Esmeralda, rushed over to greet us. "Her majesty and Nod are in the waiting room," Leila said.

We pushed open the doors of the waiting room and found Nod and the Queen sitting on the leaf couches while in a conversation. When Nod was about to say something, he stopped himself and seemed to stare at us.

I realized Jace and I were still holding hands.

Just as I was about to let go, Nod walked over, took my other hand and pulled me away from Jace. "You look breathtakingly amazing," he said.

I muttered a thank you before letting go of his hand and walking towards the Queen. I curtsied and said, "Your majesty." The Queen was draped in an emerald cloak, unmistakably made out of greens, too. Under the cloak was her majesty's usual gown, except there were a few… weird-looking kinds of leaves added? I'll never understand fashion here.

The Queen looked as if she was resisting the urge to laugh out loud, looking at where Nod and Jace stood. I turned around and saw Jace and Nod glaring at each other, an angry aura forming around them.

"It seems," Her Majesty began, biting her lip. "That Nod has competition."

Competition?

After a while, I walked away. There were about 100 figures in the ballroom, both Jinns and human. I caught a guy, who looked about my age, maybe a year older, staring at me. His hair was the lightest shade of blonde, almost white but tinted with yellow. The way he was staring at me… I shook my head microscopically and averted my gaze somewhere else.

I snatched a glance at him. He was still staring at me. I decided to stare back at him.

After a few seconds of staring, he grinned and walked towards me. Frantically, I pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. Wow, I thought as he was nearing closer and closer, he's cute.

He was, really. He reminded me of the blonde member of that boy band.. What's it called? No Direction? One Direction?

"Hey, I'm Augustus. You must be Mary Katherine," he said. He had a husky voice, not as deep as a grown man's, but husky.

"Hello there, Augustus," I replied, nodding.

"You look cold. Want to use me as a blanket?" I was shocked at how easy Augustus did it. By it, I mean flirt. If I tried it on someone, I'd end up uttering Gibberish.

Before I could answer, I felt a hand slip into mine. I looked up. It was Nod.

"I'm afraid I'm a way better blanket than you are. Isn't that right, Mary Katherine?" Nod said. He sounded friendly, but his eyes said otherwise.

Augustus shrugged and turned to leave. I felt a pang of disappointment in my chest. He was actually pretty cute, I grumbled in my mind. "Did you have to-" I started.

He interrupted, saying, "Pick-up lines? Who even uses them these days?"

"You do."

He opened his mouth as if to speak, but he was silent for a few seconds. Then, he said with a smile, "You're so beautiful I forgot my pick-up line."

His words turned me into a puddle of goo. Literally. Okay, maybe not literally. Don't you blush, don't you DARE blush, I said in my head. But as usual, my head never listens to me.

Nod laughed. "You look so cute when you blush."

"I do not," I said, trying to keep my tone neutral, but failing to do so.

He shook his head and offered an arm. "Shall we dance?"

…

Mary Katherine.

Who was that?

Wake up.

WAKE UP.

A/N: So I've finally posted the fourth chapter. I finished it three months back but I've never got the chance to post it because it was on my other computer. One whole month of holiday. I'll try to write as much as I can. I've noticed I'm not really descriptive in my writing and the chapters are really short, so I'll work on that. As usual, share it, give me reviews (ideas of what should happen later on in the story would be very much appreciated), favourite it and yeah. Thank you x