As you all guessed, this chapter is the credentials ball! This is the first of five long chapters in a row so I hope you enjoy the long chapters!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Embassy Row series and all the characters (except for Tanner and Jordan, who are my own creations). They belong to Ally Carter. I am merely using her characters and plotline to create this fanfiction. This fanfiction is purely for entertainment purposes and would not exist without Ally Carter's wonderful works.


Chapter Seven: Just One Dance

"Come in!" I shouted, as I heard a knock on my bedroom door. I paused the YouTube video I had been watching and turned around to see my father leaning on the door frame of my bedroom door.

"The ball starts at seven tonight. The limo will be taking us there at six. I expect you to be dressed and waiting outside at that time," my father instructed. I glanced over at my alarm clock and noted that I still had two hours to get ready. More than enough time. "As previously discussed, I also expect you to stay away from the American girl. I don't need you tainting the embassy's good reputation by associating with her. Understood?"

"Yes, father," I replied, trying hard to repress a sigh. He had already made his point clear many times and I was already starting to get sick of him telling me to stay away from Grace.

"Good," my father said. He walked out of my room, leaving me to get ready. I turned off my laptop and was just about to head into my bathroom when my phone rang.

"Hello," I said, putting my phone up to my ear and sitting back down.

"Hey, man. So a little birdie told me that Grace hasn't been having a good start in Adria," Jamie said, cutting right to the chase. Oh great, her grandfather must have told Jamie. "You let her crash the tree-planting ceremony? Are you out of your mind?"

"I told her not to go through those doors, but Grace being Grace, she charged right through and well, you know what happened."

"I told you to keep her out of trouble, not lead her right into it."

"She seemed hell-bent on getting outside because she was acting strange. She headed for the nearest door and charged right through, without stopping to think. You really think I could have stopped her?"

"You sure as hell could have tried. I trusted you with her, Alexei. So far, you've been letting me down."

"I'm sorry, bro. I really have been trying but you know as well as I do that Grace just seems to attract trouble."

"Is this your not-so-sneaky way of telling me that Grace has gotten into more trouble?" I briefly hesitated and heard Jamie sighing on the other end. "Come on, bro, I know you're keeping something from me. Just spill the beans already."

"Well, there was a bit of an … international incident two nights ago," I started. So much for keeping this from Jamie.

"Oh my god, Alexei, what the hell has Grace done now?" I could imagine Jamie pacing back and forth, trying to keep himself from punching something. I quickly recapped the party drama to him. After I finished, I was met with stunned silence before Jamie finally said something.

"Only Grace would think it'd be a great idea to attempt a scarf rescue mission."

"She actually succeeded, for once, and didn't break any bones either. Like I said, it was a bit of an international incident but I more or less got it sorted out."

"But Grace still should have known not to go into the Iranian embassy. Bad enough that she walked in there, even worse that she had to go all the way up to the roof, where she could have been seen by anyone."

"You know Grace. That wouldn't have been enough to stop her. Besides, I talked to her afterwards, to make sure she'd stay out of trouble."

"And hopefully, that'll be the only talk you need to give her. I'm holding you accountable if she gets into trouble again."

"I won't let you down," I promised. No matter what Grace did, I would try my hardest to stop her. I wouldn't let her step out of line again, even if it meant going to extremes to keep her out of trouble.

"You better not," Jamie said. There was a brief moment of silence before Jamie spoke again. "The annual ball at the palace is tonight, right?"

"Yes, for the presentation of the credentials to the royal family."

"Will you and Grace both be there?"

"I'm going with my father. I'm not sure about Grace."

"If you see her there, can you make sure she's on her best behaviour and doesn't do anything that will get her into trouble? Talk to her, dance with her, make sure she'll stay in line tonight."

"I'll try my best." That was going to be a bit of a struggle, considering my father wanted me to stay away from Grace, at all costs.

"Good. Don't let me down, bro."

"I won't."

"Alright, talk to you later," Jamie said.

"Yup," I replied. Jamie hung up, ending our phone call. I sighed as I put my phone back on my desk. I hadn't intended on telling Jamie about Grace's little international incident but somehow, he still managed to know that something was up. It must have been his protective older brother sense, allowing him to figure out when something was wrong with Grace. He sounded really disappointed about Grace's international incident and I hated feeling like I was letting him down. How was I supposed to keep Grace out of trouble when my father wanted me to stay away from her? I felt like my loyalties were divided between making my father happy and making my best friend happy. No matter who I chose, someone would be disappointed and things wouldn't end well. I only hoped that when things did fall out, I wouldn't lose someone that I cared about.

I headed into the bathroom, to get ready for the ball. Even though I had more than enough time, I didn't want to risk running behind, due to a shaving mishap or a lost button, and disappoint my father.

I stripped and headed into the shower, taking the time to wash my hair and scrub myself down. My arms still burned from my insane workout yesterday but the pain was a bit more manageable. Needless to say, I still felt a stinging pain as I shampooed and conditioned my hair.

After my shower, I shaved, making sure I got rid of every stray hair. I applied aftershave, to keep my face smooth and well-moisturized for the night. I quickly towel-dried my hair. It was still slightly damp but that made it easier to gel my hair into a quiff.

Once I was satisfied with how my hair looked, I headed back into my room, to find something to wear tonight. The credentials ball was the most formal annual event in Adria, calling for a black-tie dress code. I chose a black tuxedo, for a classic, timeless look. I paired it with a white dress shirt and a simple pair of black, patent leather dress shoes. Lastly, I added a skinny black bow tie to finish off my look. As an afterthought, I grabbed a bottle of Armani cologne from the bathroom counter and sprayed a bit on my neck and my wrists. Taking one last look in the mirror, I straightened my tie and ran my fingers through my hair. I had to admit, I looked pretty good. No one would know that I was covered in bruises from yesterday's sparring session with my father. I just looked like an average embassy kid, headed off to another fancy event.

I grabbed my phone and my wallet off my desk and stuck them my pants pocket. After taking one last look around my room to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything, I headed downstairs to the main entrance of the embassy. I smiled to myself when I saw I was the first person there. For once, I had actually arrived earlier than my father, who was known for being extremely punctual. I heard voices and looked up to see my father, the ambassador, and Mikhail walking down the stairs. My father and the ambassador gave me friendly nods, while Mikhail smiled at me.

"Alexei, you cleaned up nice today," Mikhail said, giving me a friendly pat on the back. Mikhail had met and befriended my father in the Russian Special Forces. When my father had been hired by the Russian embassy in Adria, originally as a military and security adviser, my father personally hired Mikhail to be his driver. I had known Mikhail practically my whole life. He was like a second father to me.

"Thank you," I replied, returning his smile. He walked past me, towards the limo parked outside. My father gave me the once-over and nodded in approval at my outfit choice. He gestured at me, to follow him to the limo. Mikhail opened the limo door for the three of us.

"Have fun tonight," Mikhail said to me, as I climbed in.

"Thanks, I'll try my best," I replied. Mikhail gave me a friendly smile, before closing the door and heading up to the driver's seat.

I sat across from my father and the ambassador, who were continuing their conversation from before. They were also having their customary pre-party smoke. I wrinkled my nose as the smell of cigarette smoke quickly diffused throughout the limo. I pulled out my phone to text Tanner and Jordan. They were both going to the ball. Tanner was going with his father and the South Korean ambassador while Jordan was part of the catering crew that would be serving food. I seriously wondered how he managed to get a job catering for nice events but it was nice to know that he would also be at the ball. This night would definitely be a lot more bearable if both Tanner and Jordan were there.

After a short ride, we pulled up to the palace. We were stuck in a line of a dozen other limos as we slowly crawled through the palace gates. Eventually, we reach the front of the line and a security guard opened the limo door for us. I thanked him as I climbed out of the limo after the ambassador and my father. We walked down the long red carpet that led right to the palace's main doors, where all the ambassadors would be entering. I put on my best smile, for all the paparazzi cameras lining the red carpet. I had been attending this event for as long as I could remember. By now, I had gotten used to the formal protocol and knew how to make a good impression.

Once inside, I lined up with my father and the ambassador, to make our way through the receiving line and over to the royal family. We got stuck near the end of the line, so we had to wait around half an hour before we could finally go through the receiving line.

Finally, the Russian ambassador was announced. I walked down the receiving line, behind my father and the ambassador. A smile was plastered on my face as I shook hands and introduced myself to many important-looking people that I'd probably never talk to again.

Soon, we were introduced to the royal family. I bowed as we were approached by each member of the royal family, Princess Ann, the prince, the queen, and the king. The ambassador presented the king with the credentials, a fancy scroll secured with red ribbon and sealed with wax. After that, the three of us bowed again. I was about to walk off to find Tanner and Jordan when I was approached by Princess Ann.

"Your Royal Highness," I greeted, making sure to bow again.

"Alexei, what a pleasure to see you here tonight. Could I have a private moment with you?" Princess Ann asked. I nodded and she led me to a small room that branched off from the ballroom. It was simply furnished, with a small table and two chairs. I noticed a stack of folded papers, neatly tied together with a ribbon, on the table. Princess Ann suddenly stopped and turned to face me. She tenderly brought her hand to my cheek, lightly caressing it.

"Every year, you look more and more like your mother," she said, as she looked at me fondly. I had my father's facial features but my mother's eyes and hair. It was a fact that my father never let me forget. "Do you ever miss her?"

"All the time." Even though ten years had passed since my mother disappeared, I still thought of her every single day.

"Karina was a good woman. A bit on the wild side, for sure, but that was what made her so unique." Princess Ann turned her attention to the stack of papers on the table. "I still get the feeling that she knew something bad was going to happen to her. After all, she knew there would be consequences for unravelling the secrets that the Society has tried to keep hidden for so long." I nodded as I remembered how my mother used to tell me stories about treasure hidden by the women of Adria and how one day, she would find that treasure and share it with me. Even though I no longer believed in fairy tales, I was still hoping that one day, I would see my mother again.

"I remember the exact day she told me to meet her in secret. Almost ten years ago today. She constantly kept looking over her shoulder, as if she thought she was being watched. She handed me this stack of papers and told me to keep it safe. She told me to give it to you once you were old enough to understand," Princess Ann said, tears shining in her eyes. She handed me the stack of papers. I turned it over, examining it. They were all worn and yellowed with time, the edges slightly frayed. "I haven't looked through them. They were given to me like this. Your mother told me it was for your eyes only. She gave me strict instructions, saying that you were to read them in private and that you were to destroy them once you read them."

"Thank you, Princess, for giving this to me." It was so strange, having a piece of my mother with me after she had been gone for so long.

"Of course. It's what your mother would have wanted. I can only hope that you'll do the right thing with it."

"I will," I replied, even though I had no idea what information these papers could contain. For all I knew, it could potentially change my life in unimaginable ways. Princess Ann smiled at me then took a second to compose herself.

"I suppose we should head back out to the ball before the guests start wondering where we've disappeared to," she stated. I nodded in agreement and gently took her arm, to escort her back out to the ball. Princess Ann was soon approached by a couple of ambassadors and I quickly dismissed myself. I wandered around the party hall, looking for Tanner and Jordan. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around me from behind and a hand was placed over my eyes.

"Boo! Did we scare you, bro?" I heard Tanner's voice right against my ear.

"You were two seconds away from getting thrown to the ground," I muttered, my initial fear dissipating into annoyance.

"I'm gonna take that as a yes." Tanner released his hold on me. He gave me the once-over. "Damn, bro, looking good."

"You're not looking too bad yourself." Tanner was decked out in a dark purple tuxedo, complete with a violet bow tie. It was a crazy ensemble, but he somehow made it work, tying the look together with a white dress shirt and black dress shoes.

"Oh please, I'm pretty damn fabulous and you know it," Tanner said, with a wink.

"Never denied it," I replied. I turned to Jordan and gave him the once-over. He looked really uncomfortable, in a simple white dress shirt, black dress pants, and a long black tie.

"Part of the uniform, bro," Jordan said, with a shrug. He held out the tray he was carrying towards me. "Scallop?"

"Sure," I replied. I grabbed a toothpick and skewered a scallop. I shoved the whole thing in my mouth. "Looks like the catering job is going well?"

"So far. If this works out, I'll do this during the evenings and work day shifts at Amelia's, at least for the summer," Jordan explained.

"Fed up with annoying customers?" Tanner asked.

"You know it," Jordan said.

"I feel like the ambassadors and government officials can be more demanding than customers over at Amelia's," I said.

"Can't argue with your logic. I've never seen so many self-righteous bastards in one place. Although it's nice getting to be a part of the high-class party scene, with my two embassy homies, for once," Jordan said. He put an arm around each of our shoulders and gave us a friendly pat on the back. "By the way, I managed to save you guys some hors d'oeuvres from the kitchen. Figured they wouldn't miss a few trays of food out of the thousands they've got in there. You can thank me later." It was then that I noticed the stack of white take-out containers poorly hidden behind a napkin display.

"You might as well eat up now and enjoy them while they're fresh," Jordan said. I grabbed the container from the top of the stack and opened it to find not one, but two complete shrimp cocktails. Tanner immediately grabbed a shrimp by the tail and dunked it into the cocktail sauce.

"Bro, how the hell did you manage to smuggle out two whole shrimp cocktails and fit it all into one take-out container?" I asked, looking skeptically at the box. It looked like there were at least sixty pieces of shrimp, plus two large dipping plates of cocktail sauce crammed into the tiny box.

"Don't question his kitchen magic, just enjoy this good shit before the catering crew realizes it's missing," Tanner said, with his mouth full of shrimp.

"What he said," Jordan said. "Besides, all those trays of food have to be eaten or they're gonna get thrown out. So I decided to save a bunch for you guys."

"Why don't you just save it all for yourself?" Tanner asked.

"Already got a whole cooler full of hors d'oeuvres in my car," Jordan said, with a mischievous smile. I handed Tanner the take-out box with the shrimp cocktails and quickly examined the rest of them. Cucumber sandwiches, bruschetta, mini-quiches, devilled eggs, crab puffs, canapes, scallops, and caviar.

"I can get more from the kitchen if you'd like," Jordan said. I just gave him an incredulous look and shook my head. I grabbed a plate and filled it up with hors d'oeuvres from the long food tables. I figured I'd split the take-out boxes with Tanner later.

"Alexei, we're going to circulate," my father said, coming up behind me. He simply nodded at Tanner and Jordan then turned his attention back to me. "You can bring your food." I waved at Tanner and Jordan and gave them an apologetic smile before heading off with my father. We stopped to talk to almost every ambassador and important person in the room. It was basically an endless cycle of smile, introduce myself, make small talk, and move on. Most people just congratulated me on another successful school year and told me I looked so grown up. I noticed that my father managed to steer clear of the American ambassador. He clearly wasn't too keen on trying to mend our relationship with the United States. At one point, I spotted Grace and her grandfather talking to the prime minister. She smiled at me but I forced myself to walk on with my father, as if I didn't see her at all. After we had more or less talked to everyone in the room, my father turned and spoke to me.

"I'm going for a smoke with some of the other ambassadors. Can I trust that you'll stay on your best behaviour?"

"Yes, father."

"You won't take advantage of my absence to talk to the American girl?" he asked, giving me a hard look.

"I won't. I'll just grab some food and talk to Tanner and Jordan."

"Good. That American girl is going to wreak havoc on your life. She is a troublemaker who will ruin your good reputation."

"Yes, father. I'll stay away from her at all costs," I replied. My father nodded at me and headed off towards one of the smoking rooms. I quickly found Tanner and Jordan sitting at an empty table in the corner.

"Back from Hell?" Jordan asked, as I sat down next to him.

"You have no idea," I replied. I noticed that a plate of food was sitting in front of me. I started digging in. "By the way, shouldn't you be circulating and serving food?"

"I'm taking a breather. I went around earlier when you were circulating with your dad," Jordan said. We continued eating before Tanner suddenly perked up.

"Hey, Alexei, is that the American chick you're obsessed with?" Tanner asked. He nodded at the girl standing next to the prime minister. Sure enough, it was Grace. It looked like she and her grandfather were still speaking with the prime minister.

"Yeah, that's her," I said.

"Damn, she's hot," Tanner said.

"She'd be hotter if she wasn't in that eyesore of a pink dress," Jordan said.

"I think she looks good. That dress does bring out the best in her pale skin," I said. Grace was wearing a light pink dress with a full skirt that really highlighted her fair skin and tiny figure. It almost made her look like a princess.

"That's just because you're in love with her," Tanner said, in a sing-song voice.

"Even with that god-awful dress, she's still got booty to make up for it," Jordan said. He arranged his thumbs and index fingers like a photo frame and positioned it so that Grace's rear end was right in the center.

"Come on, man, really?" I asked.

"What? She's got one fine booty," Jordan said. "It'd be a shame if it didn't get the attention it deserved." I rolled my eyes at Jordan. I had never once thought about a girl's body parts because I wasn't that kind of guy. I always focused more on personality and character, rather than looks.

"So, you gonna talk to her? Ask her to dance?" Tanner asked.

"Hell no. My father's going to flip out if he sees me with her," I replied.

"Damn, your dad needs to stop with the cock-blocking," Jordan said.

"I have no intentions of having sex anytime soon. You know that as well as I do," I deadpanned. Contrary to what Tanner and Jordan thought, I wasn't interested in sex. If anything, all I wanted was a steady relationship that didn't revolve around sex.

"Still, your dad's not even here right now. You could talk to her or dance with her and your dad wouldn't notice," Tanner said.

"Come on, man, just go dance with her already. One dance. That's it. It's about time you started doing what you wanted instead of doing what'll make your dad happy," Jordan added. To be honest, I really did want to dance with Grace and tell her how beautiful she looked tonight.

"Besides, we got you, bro. Any sign of your dad and we'll intervene. We got your back," Tanner added.

"You better or things aren't going to end well if my father sees me with Grace," I said.

"Don't worry, we got you. Bros for life, right?" Jordan asked. I just nodded in response.

"She's alone now, go, bro, go!" Tanner exclaimed. I looked up and saw that Grace was standing by herself, looking lost and alone in a crowd of people.

"Get her before someone else talks to her," Jordan said. I rinsed my mouth with a few sips of water then dabbed my mouth with a napkin.

"How are my teeth?" I asked, smiling wide at Tanner and Jordan.

"All clear," Tanner said.

"Now, go get 'em, bro!" Jordan exclaimed, practically pushing me towards Grace. I took a deep breath and composed myself before making my way over to Grace. To be honest, I was kind of nervous about this because I would be so dead if my father saw me right now. It didn't help either that Grace looked absolutely breathtaking tonight. I placed my hand on her arm and felt her jump underneath me.

"Hello, Gracie," I said, as she turned around. I sucked in a breath as I looked right at her, taking in her exquisite features played up in all the right ways thanks to makeup. She was even more beautiful up close and I couldn't help but notice just how much the tight bodice of her dress highlighted her tiny figure. "You look very lovely this evening." For a second, she looked flattered by the compliment but then her face turned serious.

"Hello, Alexei. I was just going to powder my nose, and –"

"Not so fast," I interrupted. I seriously wondered if Ms. Chancellor instructed her to say that every time she was approached by a guy. Grace started to turn away from me but I acted on impulse. I caught her arm and pulled her towards me. I placed one arm around her waist and took her other hand in mine. With a few steps, I spun her onto the dance floor and we started dancing.

"I'm not talking to you," Grace stated. "And you're not talking to me either if that look you didn't give me a while ago is any indication." However, that was only because my father was there. If only she knew just how much my father wanted me to stay away from her and how much I didn't want to stay away from her, maybe then she'd understand.

"Whatever you say," I said, deciding to go along with whatever she did. After all, the last thing I needed tonight was to cause yet another international incident.

"In fact, I'm sick of you," Grace continued. Didn't she just say she wasn't talking to me a few seconds ago? This could get interesting.

"Okay."

"I'm just –" I couldn't resist it any longer.

"You seem to be struggling with the concept of 'not talking,' aren't you, Grace? Or perhaps my English is not as good as I think it is." That seemed to shut her up. As I spun her around the ballroom, I slowly took in my surroundings, while also keeping an eye out for my father. As I spun by Tanner and Jordan, they both gave me thumbs up and massive grins. I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes at them. I looked back down at Grace, who was taking everything in with wide eyes. I couldn't help but compliment her again, hoping she'd take it better this time.

"You do look nice tonight, Grace. Being clean and bruise-free seems to agree with you. Are you enjoying the party?" I asked. She simply stayed silent and I figured that she was either not enjoying the ball or decided she wasn't going to talk to me. I decided it was the latter. Feeling a bit cheeky, I decided to talk on, hoping I could get her to crack. I also wanted her to appreciate how much she should be enjoying the ball, especially since she looked like she wasn't in the greatest mood.

"Most posts aren't like this, you know. Embassy life is not usually so … glamorous. But Adria is different, my father says. It is like the old days here, with their balls and their beautiful embassies. Some say it is because it is good for tourism – that it is an act and they have an image to protect. But I do not know. In any case, you and I are very lucky that our families are posted here."

"I'm not listening to you," Grace said, as she looked over my shoulder, like she was trying to avoid looking at me. I smiled to myself, for finally getting her to crack.

"I don't have to pay attention to you. Or mind you. Or care about your opinion," she continued. Eventually, her eyes finally met mine.

"You are not my brother," Grace said, staring right at me. I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous she sounded. She obviously didn't realize just how much I paid attention to her, minded her, or cared about her opinions. After all, since Jamie wasn't here, it was my responsibility to care for her like an older brother would.

"I am your brother's proxy, Grace," I said, pulling her in tighter. "And in the diplomatic corps we take proxy responsibilities very seriously." She didn't know just how much Jamie depended on me to keep her safe. She didn't know I would do anything in my power to keep her out of trouble and from getting killed. She especially didn't know how much I wanted to protect her, just as much or even more than Jamie.

The song ended and we stopped moving but I couldn't let go of her, not yet. Not when she was in my arms like this. I really enjoyed dancing with her and wanted to let her know just how much I appreciated it.

"Grace, I …" I started. I made the mistake of looking up because I zoned in on my father. He was still all the way across the room but the expression on his face was unmistakable. I abruptly let go of Grace and started scanning the room, looking for the closest escape route. I spotted a large, sweeping staircase nearby and figured that was my best bet.

"What was –"

"I must go, Grace," I interrupted. "Excuse me." I wanted to say more but my father was rapidly elbowing his way through the crowd. I quickly bowed then pushed away from Grace just as the string quartet started playing again.

"You really have a hard time making up your mind, you know?" Grace called out. I wished I could turn around and apologize to her. I wanted to hold in her my arms and tell her how beautiful she looked but I couldn't. Not without getting in even more trouble with my father. I booked it for the staircase and sprinted my way up the stairs, not daring to look behind me as I ran.


Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! What do you think will happen to Alexei?

Please note that I will be changing my upload schedule. School started this week for me and I am already crazy busy with studying. As much as I love writing fanfiction, school always has been and always will be my first priority. Instead of uploading a new chapter every other day, I will upload 2, maybe 3, chapters a week. I won't be following a strict upload schedule but I'll upload a new chapter when I have time. Basically, I'll be uploading a new chapter on random days about 2 or 3 times a week. Hopefully, you shouldn't have to wait more than 4 days for a new chapter. However, you don't have to worry about this fanfic being unfinished because all the chapters have been written and just need to be edited (which takes a lot longer than I realized) before I post them. Let me know what you think of these changes to the upload schedule.