Please Note : Chapter 11 is a special exclusive chapter. So it's gonna be a little long...eep. Not to mention different formatting...Enjoy. :P Oh yeah, but did I mention that it was going to be in two seperate parts?? lol.

Chapter 11 : The Masquerade Ball Pt. 1

i. prelude to a fairytale

Yes, it was tonight. The Masquerade Ball everyone was dying to attend.

Girls spent a fortune for this night, their dream night. This night that could very well change their lives, or crush them.

Boys hoped to find their dream girl. The whole concept of The Masquerade Ball...

Find the one you hold most dear when sifting through the crowd of masked ladies and gentlemen. There have been countless stories of masquerade balls where boy and girl meet but do not know each other, for they are not permitted to take off their masks, and eventually...they fall in love.

ii. princesses are supposed to be insecure

Lacus stepped out of the shower solemnly and dodged all the conveniently placed mirrors that reflected an image of herself. She put on her coral pink bathrobe and walked into her room.

That dress was absolutely stunning.

She lay on her bed, contemplating on the future, when a light brown-hair girl and a blonde girl ran in and jumped onto the couch in her room.

It was Miriallia and Cagalli.

They were already dressed, but their hair wasn't done yet. Miriallia was the first to speak, "Lacus!! You have to hurry you know..The Ball's in three hours!" Lacus snapped out of her concentrated thought, and replied with, "Okay, I'll get dressed now." She took the dress of the mannequin gently and walked into her dressing room. She slipped on the dress and then put the mask on. Wow, the dress was pretty heavy from the diamonds. After that, she put on light makeup--eyeliner, blush, eyeshadow, and of course foundation.

She sighed and didn't look in the mirror at herself, but just walked out of the dressing room to her room. Lacus gazed around the room then focused her attention to Mir and Cagalli over by the mirror. Miriallia had just finished doing Cagalli's hair (though she pouted at the girlyness of everything). Miriallia's hair was finished too. Cagalli had pink roses with green ribbons attached to it in her hair. Her hair was also down. She seemed like a different person...a, well, girly girl.

Mir curled her hair and tied it up in a cute, modern fashion.

But the one that stood out in that room was Lacus. They both stopped what they were doing to gaze upon her beauty. Mir envied it, Cagalli was simply stunned. "You look gorgeous Lacus!!!" Mir squealed. "Yeah." Cagalli added. Mir pouted after a couple seconds.

"Lacus...you're not seriously going to the Ball with just street makeup on..are you? And we can add some jewelry too!" Mir scanned Lacus' dressers for the prettiest jewelry. It seemed she wanted to borrow some too, and Lacus let her. She picked some earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and rings up from one dresser and ran towards Lacus.

"Um, Mir, it's alright. I'm fine this way." She murmured. Mir's mouth dropped. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!? Your hair isn't even done!" "No, it's okay. I'll be fine, really!" She urged Mir to stop, but Mir became overzealous and refused to stop. "Come over here." She grabbed Lacus and shoved Cagalli out of the stool in front of the mirror. Mir started curling Lacus' hair, then fixing it up. Her hair was let down, but Mir did something that made her hair seem like it was blasted back. Last was makeup.

When she finished, the end product was wonderfully beautiful. Mir grinned at her masterpiece. "Okay Lacus, Cagalli and I are going to go home now. Well, at least, I am. I'm going to rest for a bit." And so Miriallia and Cagalli left Lacus sitting on the stool in front of the mirror. She sighed and decided she would get some rest time in before the Ball.

There was but one person on her mind, in her dreams.

iii. behold the knight

Kira straightened his tie, and slipped his black mask on. Athrun and Dearka were banging on the door for him to hurry up. After all, the Ball was only two hours away now, and they were going to pick up corsages then pick up their dates individually.

iv. out damn spot

Mai Saitou, a seemingly heartless girl.

She went with a traditional japanese elegant kimono with a slight modern touch. It was light aquamarine fading into white, with a deep royal blue design and ribbon. Her hair was in two long, curly pigtails with a royal blue ribbon holding the two pigtails together.

Mai frowned in the mirror. A tear was shed.

Regret filled her heart to the top. She dropped down onto her bed. She didn't mean to and didn't want to hurt anybody. I just get carried away a lot and forget myself.. Maybe a lesson was to be learned from this. Yes, there was. She covered her face with her hands, sobbing, and walked slowly to the bathroom.

She started to washing her hands vigorously, trying to wash away the trouble she had caused. Her hands began bleeding for she was rubbing so hard. Mai cried out loud in grief.

She was ashamed of herself.

v. sleeping beauty

Lacus drifted off to sleep in her bed. She was tired.

It felt good to rest her eyes and ears. It seems today was too much for her.

vi. the ever-waiting knight

Kira woke up to the sound of his annoying cellphone alarming. He drearily rubbed his eyes, then made his way to his car outside. He was somewhat nervous yet somehow anxious, because it was basically an anything-goes night where there seriously was no other moment to be expected to happen.

While looking out the window, Kira noticed the change in that vast field of green he saw in the beginning of the year. By now, there were orchards of sweet-smelling fruits and an abundance of flowers.

Things never stay the same do they...

He broke out a small smile and pulled into Lacus' driveway. As Kira walked up the stairway to the front doors, he prepared himself by brushing off any speck of dirt or dust off his jacket.

He door-belled and knocked on the door.

To be continued...