All it took was my mentioning to my mother, that I had met Etzel, son of the Earl of Glockenspiel at the Autumn Jubilee, and fell madly in like with him. Seeing as how he was expected at the masquerade ball tonight, I just had to be there, or I would simply die. Just as I expected, my father's mood was lifted considerably, upon learning that I had a perspective young suitor, and a noble one at that!

My parents came to a sort of compromise with each other. My mother convinced my father that I should attend the masquerade ball, after all, it only comes once a year. However, my father insisted that I receive some type of punishment, to curb my unruly behavior. To make a long story short, I was confined to my room all day, until the masquerade ball was to begin.

I smiled at the set of identical costumes laying before me. You see, my schemes don't always focus on me sneaking out of my room! I can be very creative at times. I had asked Nina to meet me in my room, because I needed a favor. Of course since Nina is such a kind hearted girl, she agreed to help me. It's to bad that I didn't tell her what I needed her to do, though. I specifically selected Nina because she was about the same height, build and complexion as me. The only problem, was that pretty blond hair of hers.

I jumped up from my bed with excitement, when I heard Nina's knock at the door. I quickly opened the door, and let Nina into my room.

"Hello, Nina," I began in a friendly tone, "thanks for saying that you'd help me today."

"Of course, Princess," smiled Nina, "What is it you need form me?"

Rather than answer the girl with words, I proceeded to walk over to one of my dressers. Pulling open drawer, I produced a small vial, filled with a red liquid, and showed it to Nina.

"What's that, Princess?" Nina asked with her smile fading faster than the sunset.

"Red hair dye," I answered innocently.

I grinned wickedly, at the sound of Nina's groan.

"Princess, if the king finds out..."

"Your going to be a princess, this evening Nina. Cheer up!," I chirped, "I just need you to entertain Etzel for tonight."

"Who's Etzel?" Nina questioned in dismay.

"The son of the Earl of Glockenspiel, of course!"


I smiled as I faced Nina. It was almost as if I were looking into a human mirror. Naturally, we were both dressed as a golden butterfly. Our dresses were two toned, orange and gold, with a sheer black material at the bottom. We each wore, attached to our backs, a pair of gold wings, with green at the tips. However, the most important part of this getup, was the mask of course. It was a gold face mask, braided around the edges, with purple and red flowers on each side. We looked so much alike, I almost didn't know who was Nina and who was Hali. This really was going to work.

I had Nina go down to the ball first, warning her to keep her mask on at all times. I couldn't go down yet, however. I needed to wait for the ballroom to fill with guests. It would be much less likely for my parents to notice that there were two golden butterflies at the masquerade ball, among a large crowd of costumed people.

I waited in my chambers for nearly twenty minutes, until I finally decided that the guest should be pouring in groups of five or six. I hurried to the ballroom, being careful to avoid anyone along the way, just in case. It wasn't long before, I stepped foot into the ballroom. I began scanning the crowd. I didn't know why though. It wasn't like I was going to recognize Sam, at this point. I had to wait until he found me.

I flinched when I was tapped on the back of my shoulder, unexpectedly. Turning on my heels, I met the figure of a musketeer. The Musketeer came complete with a great floppy hat and his own rapier. He grinned behind his black and gold mask. I knew that grin!

"How doth the little crocodile improve his shining tail," recited the musketeer.

"Sorry, those aren't the right words," I teased, "I guess I'll just have to look around for the man with the correct password."

I flirtatiously turned to leave, but he caught me by the arm, and pulled me back.

"Come on, Lorelei," Sam pleaded, "I already had another golden butterfly tell me rather rudely that I had the wrong girl!"

"That was my decoy," I explained.

"Decoy?" Sam asked confused.

"That's a nice costume," I remarked, changing the subject, "how did you come up with that on such short notice?"

"Well, let's just say that some poor rich boy, is crying to his father tight now, because his carriage was ambushed, and the robber curiously only asked for his costume and mask."

I smiled in spite of myself; this guy was almost as bad as I was.

"Let's go," I giggled grabbing hold of his arm.

I dragged Sam out of the palace and we sat in the sand on the quiet beach. The night was dark, and the sky was incredibly clear. As a result, the heavens were jeweled with bright little stars, that smiled down upon us. Sam was pointing out some constellations to me.

"That one there is Lacerta," announced Sam, "the lizard."

"You know a lot about constellations, Sam."

"I have too," he shrugged, "I'm a sailor. We navigate by the stars."

"Still," I maintained, "it's rather impressive."

"Oh!" Sam cried excitedly, pointing to the sky, "there's my favorite, Pegasus."

"Pegasus," i repeated, taking note of how the stars took the shape of a winged horse.

"Yeah," Sam sighed dreamily, "the story goes that, Bellerophon, a greedy, power hungry man, forced Pegasus to fly him up to Mt. Olympus, where the gods lived. Zeus, king of the gods, was not happy with this, so he sent an insect to sting Pegasus, who then flung Bellerophon off his back. Then Zeus immortalized Pegasus in the night sky, among the stars.

"The stars look so beautiful tonight," I sighed dreamily.

Sam gently lifted my mask until it rested on my forehead.

"No," Sam whispered, "not when compared to you."

I hoped that the darkness was enough to hide my flushing cheeks.

"Tell me a secret about yourself," I requested.

"I'm deathly afraid of spiders," answered Sam.

"Spider?" I snorted, "really?"

"Hey, don't judge me," Sam furrowed his brows, and crossed his arms, "now, tell me a secret about you, Lorelei."

"I like to sing."

"Well, then why don't you sing something, now?" he asked.

"No," I said simply.

Sam used his big, blue, puppy dong eyes, in an effort to get me to change my mind. If only he knew how stubborn I could be.

"You're going to sing to me, instead," I challenged.

"Oh, no I'm not."

"Yes you are. Something romantic," I added as I scooted closer to him.

"Alright, but remember that you asked for it!" Sam laughed.

Gee I don't know, I'd like to whisper sweet nothings
Those words that everyone knows
But my thoughts gets mangled,
And all the words get tangled,
But since you asked me, here goes:
You're awful...

"I believe that I asked for a love song, Samuel," I cried impatiently.

"Shhh," Sam placed a finger over my lips, "will you let me finish?"

awful good to look at,
Awful nice to be with, awful sweet to have and hold.
You're nothing, nothing if not lovely,
Nothing if not dazzling, nothing but pure gold,
You're frightening, frightening me when you say
That you might go away,
You're boring, boring into my heart to stay.
You're cheap, dear, cheap at any price, dear,
Cheap for such a diamond,
Cheap for such a pearl,
What I said before, I'll say again,
You're awful, awful nice to be my girl.

Sam's song was entirely off key, but I really didn't care. He just looked so cute singing it. We both stared at one another, trying to guess who should make the first move. Finally, we met each other half way, and pressed our lips together in a kiss.

It was getting late, which meant that the ball was probably nearing its end. I needed to get back right away, before Nina was discovered impersonating me.

"I've got to go, now," I breathed, getting up to leave.

"Wait!" Sam grabbed my hand, as I turned to run, "Meet me in town tomorrow?"

"Alright," I answered, as I darted off in the direction of the palace.


Ultra Special Blah Blah Blah

The constellations Sam pointed to Hali, Lacerta and Pegasus, are constellations that are clearly visible during the month of October.

The song is called You're Awful, from the musical On the Town (1949), starring Frank Sinatra. Have you seen that one, Cricket?

Sam recites, How doth the little crocodile improve his shining tail. This is a homage to Lewis Carroll, author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, which happens to be my very favorite book.

Also, on my profile, you can find pictures of Hali and Sam's costumes and masks.

The rain in Spain, stays mainly in the plains,

xJadeRainx