Tess's POV
This has literally been the best birthday. The whales were so beautiful and majestic, and we even got to go deep sea diving. Everything looked so beautiful and hidden, like I completely missed every single beautiful thing in one blink. It was amazing. It suddenly made sense why there were so many coral-colored presents given to me. They were all hinting this endeavor.
And the best part? I got to do it with the people I love.
The king and the queen looked so carefree and happy, and I caught a glimpse of what they were when they met. Every second I saw them emanated love and hope. Rilane and Jerome looked like they were in their own personal bubble. Maria and Xander were splashing around, playing a water game as they tread the water. Even Alexa and Alexander looked somewhat happy. I even saw the prince of France himself find a pearl inside an oyster. And it was as white as the clouds above.
Of course Matthew was amazing. We sneaked kisses here and there and played a game of Chicken with Rilane and Jerome. As I sat on Matt's shoulders, he kept me firm and grounded. It's like that with us, figuratively and literally. Matt and I won. Even America and Maxon played against us. We laughed the entire game, even when my future mother-in-law and I fell into the water at the same time.
So now I step out of the shower, hoping I don't smell like salt and seaweed. My maids are blessings; they make me look more beautiful than I have ever looked before. Christina curls my hair and pins some of it up. My strapless ball gown is a deep red and black strings lace tight in the back. The front is nothing short of spectacular; it's covered in tiny white jewels that I can only guess are actual diamonds. Oh, goodness.
I wear the tiara America gave me this morning. My necklace and my ring are on me like I was born with them. I have Maria's gift still on my ankle, covered by the layers and ruffles of my dress. My heels are black and quite seductive if I do say so myself. As a final touch, I have silky black gloves and Alexandra's charm bracelet.
But there's one more thing that I don't quite understand. I know that I have to dress special for my family since it's my birthday, but this is almost overdone. It's just my family, right? And the stranger thing: they give me a mask. Black and red frame my dark eyes, the design so intricate and stunning as it glitters in the light.
"Ladies," I say as Emma puts it on me.
"Just go with it, and enjoy your birthday," Margaret says.
"Thank you, girls." I give them hugs and there's a knock on the door. I'm expecting, hoping, it's Matthew, but it's a guard whose name is unknown to me
"Princess Teresa, I was ordered to escort you to the Great Room for the ball."
"Ball?" I ask.
"No questions. Please, follow me." He extends his arm, and I take it, confused and anxious.
The guard brings me to the double doors, and I hear a symphony inside. "Happy birthday, your highness," the guard says. And he leaves me.
Two more guards, the ones standing on either side of the entrance, greet me and finally open the doors. I am anticipating my family, maybe even the ones from Italy, but no. I see royal families from all over the country. I see my foster family and my biological family. And they're all in masks.
It's a masquerade ball.
I smile and cover my mouth with my gloved hand. "Princess Teresa Francesca Renaldi de'Medici!" a guard announces.
The crowd of people claps and a handsome man, with striking blue eyes behind a simple black mask, extends his hand to me. "Would you care to dance?" Matthew asks, and my heart flutters.
"Absolutely," I breathe.
He leads me to the center of the room, and I'm conscious of every important person staring at me. "Love," Matt says, pulling my attention back to him, to us.
"Who planned this?" I ask, still awestruck.
"My mother, I believe."
"I...This...This is amazing."
"You have her to thank."
"I definitely will." I rest my eyes on Matthew's, and I get lost in the blue pools of happiness. "Thank you so much. For everything. You're making me feel awful that I didn't get you a better present," I add, half-joking and half-not.
He smiles and pulls me closer. "Tess, your presence and your love is a gift within itself. I can't be more grateful." I smile and we dance the rest of the song. I apologize to him and leave so I can greet and thank every person here.
I start with my foster family, then my biological family. I can see the family resemblance when I look at my father and Angelo's dark eyes, and I got my thick, black hair from my mother, the queen.
I meet several other important girls from around the world, like the Arabic Princess Salma. There's Princess Leila (nineteen years old) who is engaged to Jerome's cousin, I believe. Princess Lilah has brown hair and brown eyes, and she's probably around my age. I meet with so many other princes, princesses, kings, queens, dukes, and duchesses that the names and faces are starting to mix together.
I suddenly realize that there are three more people I haven't met. It's hard to miss the three of those girls for different reasons. Two of them are huddled together and it's obvious they feel a little out of place.
"Hi!" I say when I reach them. "I'm Princess Teresa. Have we met before?"
The two girls look at each other and curtsy. I feel awkward immediately. "Please don't curtsy," I say, taking off my mask. "I'm just the same as you two."
"We have met," the petite blond girl says, her eyes a light blue. She takes off her subtle orange mask and says, "I'm Isabelle Day. I'm sure you don't remember me since the, um, accident."
"And I'm Olivia Semancik," the tall girl with long brown hair says. She takes off her mask as well, and suddenly I get a headache so sharp and acute. Memories and images of a lifetime spent with Isabelle and Olivia flood my mind. I've never felt anything like this. Most of my memories come in staccato bursts of colors and feelings, but my entire life is splayed in my brain.
"Tess!" they both say, and I realize they're both holding me up by me arms.
"Are you okay?" Olivia asks.
I smile brightly, even though my head still hurts a little. "I'm okay. I just remembered you guys."
They smile back at me and the three of us hug. We end up reminiscing for what seems like hours. Olivia says she is now taking photography classes as well as doing ballet professionally. I'd say she was a former Five, but I remember that the castes are demolished like they are now nothing but ashes. Isabelle is an artist and she plays the clarinet at her university's orchestra. She also said she opened up her own bakery. These girls are so talented, and inside I'm jealous.
But they're my best friends, and it seems so wrong to be envious.
The three of us talk about boys. It's an obligatory topic in a girl conversation. I tell them about Matthew and our entire story from how I bumped into him. Isabelle is "interested" in this one boy named John. She talks about it shyly. She never liked boys "that" way. Olivia is now dating a guy named Will whom she says she met at the beach.
Suddenly, Olivia's eyes widen. "Tess, you better go to Matty boy over there."
I turn and a girl with long, curly, blond hair is talking to Matt a little too close for comfort. "Girls, if you'll excuse me." I try to act badass as I stand put on my mask. They giggle behind me. I can't believe thirteen years of my life was replaced just by seeing my best friends.
Matthew catches my eye and smiles. "Tess!" he says. The girl turns to me dejectedly, and she's glaring daggers at me with her green eyes. She would be the epitome of a stereotypical princess. Fair-skinned, beautiful, of course, a perfect button nose.
"Hello, Matthew. Would you introduce me to your friend?"
He puts his arm around me. "This is Sadye Eichinger from the German Federation."
"Hello, Princess," the girl says in a thick German accent, curtsying to me reluctantly.
"Hello, Lady Sadye. How are you?"
"I am well. If you will excuse me..." Sadye leaves Matt and me there.
I frown and open my mouth to confront him, but he beats me to it. "Unrequited love story. She said she has loved me since we were five and stopped when we were thirteen. It's nothing, love."
"I feel like every girl I meet is pining over you," I say, staring at the mask in my hand.
"But, love, you're the only one who matters to me," he says, the tip of nose a millimeter away from mine.
"I want to kiss you so badly," I say bluntly.
He laughs. "As do I, but there are cameras and royals. We have to watch our actions."
I nod. "Ooh, wait, where are Mom and Dad?"
He tilts his head. "That's what I'm calling your parents from now on," I say. "Your mother said I should start calling them that now."
He laughs again. "You take that woman's word like it's the Bible's."
"Hey, I'm serious. I need to thank them."
"I'll lead you to them."
We find them drinking champagne.
"Hello, children!" the king says.
"Hello, Father," Matt says.
Okay, never mind. I don't feel like calling them Mom and Dad anymore. That's too awkward at this point. "Your Majesties, thank you so much for the celebration."
America stands. "What did I say about titles?"
"Right, Mom."
"That's better. And Tess, this is your first birthday as a princess, though you were always one in your heart."
I smile and she gives me a hug. I hesitantly give Maxon a hug too. To be honest, they're more my parents than my biological ones. And I love them for it.
I see Maria, who is dancing with Xander with her head on his shoulder, and she catches my eye and smiles. I reply with a smile and lift my dress, enough for her to see the anklet. She smiles and continues to dance.
This night is full of hope and love and beauty. It's a spectacular birthday. Nothing could make my life worse now.
Matt leads me to the dance floor again and I lay my head on his chest. Something feels wrong. His strong, hard chest still feels strong and hard, but...there's something off.
Should I ignore it?
"And now, a performance from our own crown prince, Matthew!" announces the singer who has been singing softly and beautifully.
I look at Matthew pointedly, and he grins sheepishly. He takes the guitar pick necklace I gave to him for his birthday out and is handed an acoustic guitar. "Tess, my love, I wrote this for you," he says, adjusting the microphone. "Please don't make fun of me." He grins at me and my heart melts as he sings the lyrics.
"Heart racing;
Palms sweating.
You make me feel everything all at once.
And my hand's shaking;
Hair flipping.
Can't you tell that I think that you're the one?
You make me feel like I'm the only man in the world. Yeah.
Smooth talking. Just get her.
I'll make you feel like you belong.
Because you make my whole world brighter.
I can't go a day without you, oh.
You drive me crazy.
When you're not around, I go insane.
Please tell me you feel the same way.
Don't go away.
Don't go away."
The audience and I clap, me louder than the others. I have to take off my mask to wipe the tears that have slipped from my eyes. I walk to Matt when I want to run. I give him a tight hug, and I can't feel anything anymore. I feel like I'm watching myself from a cloud. I watch myself kiss him lightly and quickly, so as not to disturb the guests. I watch him whisper the things he wants to do after the party. I watch myself blush and giggle, because I know we'll have to stop ourselves before we lose ourselves completely to each other.
"When is the wedding?" Jerome's mother, the Swendish queen, asks, bringing me back to Earth.
"Some time in the fall, Your Majesty," Matt replies curtly, bearing no evidence he was whispering sweet nothings in my ear merely four seconds ago.
"The fall!" she cries. "My goodness me, the wedding ought to be sooner than that!"
I laugh. "Your Majesty, there is too much to plan."
"Okay, as long as you invite me, I will be more than satisfied."
Matt and I laugh. "Then we shall," he says.
The Swendish queen smiles and leaves. Matt whispers in my ear, "One more dance?"
"Absolutely."
We dance, looking at each other's eyes. "'But soft!'" Matt suddenly says hushed. "'What light through yonder breaks? It is the East, and Tess is the sun.'"
I laugh softly. "Was that the essence of Romeo Montague I heard you channel?"
"'Tis the one and only," he replies, kissing my nose.
The night disappears in a blur and ends with me in Matthew's arms and his whispering, "Happy birthday, love."
Was that enough fluff? Princess Salma, Lilah, Leila, and Sadye were turned in by LovableL101, Athenachild101, ilona18, and salmabookworm for winning the reference game in the last story. pipes15 also was able to do this, but I wasn't able to get a hold of her. Thank you to everyone who played!
Thanks for the reviews!
Athenachild101- America has the one Maxon made for her :) Thanks for playing and I hope your character was okay!
agb1700- Thank you! Lurve ya!
lilythemermaid- Awwww you're so nice :D Olivia said Matty boy :) It's funny you say I'm smarter than the rest of you considering my age :P Girl ily so much. LALALOL
winterprincess- Hmm maybe the fluff will end. MAYBE. Thank you so much!
Kiren- I'm gonna assume Agnes is Maria? Idk. Autocorrect sucks. And no, there won't be Aspen and Lucy because I married him to Kriss before The One was released. I know. Dammit. Thank you so much!
ReadLikeYouMeanIt- Haha I'm sure you won't be #singleforever :P Yeah, Matt is my dream boyfriend too! Thanks so much!
ilona18- Huh, when will he spill the beans? I hope your character was okay! Thank you :)
PokemonLuver151- Thank YOU :)
Thank you guys again!
Love ya!- AcademicGirl