Kel was nervous. She had never adorned in such rarity as the dress she was wearing at the moment. Her dress was made of light yellow cotton to accent her brown hair and hazel eyes. It was long and flowing to let the breeze reach her legs to keep her cool instead of overheating. Her hair was currently being swept up in a somewhat messy-looking pile with two medium strips of hair softy dangling in front of her face. Lalasa had painted light gold eye paint on her eye lids and brushed her lips with glossy lip balm to give it a supple look. Kel stood in front of her mirror, breathless of the radical change about her.

"I look like a. lady!" Kel breathed in wonder.

Lalasa stood in front of her and glanced at her latest work. "Well, you're certainly no Queen Thayet, but it'll do," she said teasingly and tugged at her dress one last time to straighten it out.

There was a hurried knock outside of her door. "Dress check please!" said a voice outside.

Lalasa looked at Kel and then said, "Hide in the latrine. I'll fix the boys this time. I don't want them to see you until the ball."

Kel grumbled but consented, pouting in the room as Owen and the rest of Kel's friends piled in for Lalasa to check their clothing arrangement.

"Sir Owen! You haven't even entirely tucked in your shirt! Tuck it in this instant!" Lalasa scolded as Owen sheepishly obliged. "Now scurry off children. You won't be able to see Kel until the ball. Go along."

The boys complained loudly but listened begrudgingly, shouting, "No fair!" as they piled out.

Lalasa peeked into the latrine. "Lady Kel, the ball awaits your presence," and she winked.

~8~ Raoul yawned dramatically, his facial expression etched with boredom all over. Kel was nowhere to be seen. He needed to talk to her but she hadn't yet made any appearance in the ball. He sighed with disappointment as he slowly walked away from the crowd of his lady admirers and headed towards the wine table. At that moment, he found Kel entering the room and withheld a gasp of surprise. Lalasa had lived up to her name. Kel was transformed from a mopey tomboy knight into a beautiful lady. He saw all her friends dash up to her side and decided to wait patiently until her crowd thinned out and he could catch her alone.

~8~ Neal laughed artificially with the ladies and his friends as they listened to the latest bit of gossip. Neal didn't pay attention to anything they were saying. He was busily scanning the crowd for Kel to appear. Finally, at the corner of his eye, he saw a lady clad in a flowing yellow gown enter the room.

"Hey it's Kel!" Owen said delightfully and he rushed to her side. Neal and the rest of his friends followed eagerly to greet their friend and exclaim at her lady-like appearance.

Cleon lingered around for a bit longer but followed his friends, eager to see Kel in her lady-like mask.

~8~ Kel nervously walked into the room. She was a tad bit late so everyone was already inside the room besides her. Chasing her nervousness away, she put on her calm Yamani mask and continued to walk, looking cool and comfortable. She saw her friends approach her and coo on how wonderfully she looked.

"Wow Kel. So you ARE a girl!" Owen exclaimed as he politely stared at her dress and figure.

Neal gallantly sauntered over to her and kneeled on one knee. "Would the lady please me for a dance?"

Kel smiled at his "knightly" behavior and accepted his hand.

"Hey Kel! Save me a dance once Neal's over!" Prince Roald said, his voice later drowned by the requests from all the other friends.

"Loving all the attention you're getting?" Neal asked as he gently grabbed one of her arm to lead and gently placed another around her side.

"Somewhat. It's kind of unnerving when some of your friends are staring at your body and not your face though."

Neal nodded in agreement.

Kel contently danced with Neal, enjoying the moment that she's been dreaming of ever since she had a crush on him. However, she spotted Raoul standing in the wine area. Like her, he was forced to go to the ball, whether he liked it or not. He was dressed brilliantly and at the moment, he was alone, staring at her.

"Neal, would you excuse me? I need to get a drink."

Neal stopped their dancing, a bit disappointed but said, "Okay. Save for me another dance then," and he walked off as she walked towards Raoul.

"Raoul." she began.

"Let's talk outside Kel. There are prying eyes," Raoul said and he led the way.

She found herself in the quiet courtyard that she had been watching the women practice their glaive. The moonlight bathed the entire place with a soft glow of milky white light. Off to the corner was a small garden safely covered with willow trees and a bench in its midst.

"Kel, about that night-" Raoul began.

"No Raoul, it's my fault. I shouldn't have-" she interrupted.

"-it's understandable. I just wanted you to stop worrying about the whole deal. I know you've been avoiding me these past few days but I'd like us to go back to that comfortable friendship thing. I don't want you to feel awkward around your friend."

Kel stood silent, disappointed somewhat. I guess I've been waiting for some heated confession about his love for me. A simple lovesick girl's fantasy. She put up her best Yamani face and replied, "Of course not. I've just been busy with the whole preparation. You know, girl stuffs."

Raoul looked at her skeptically. He could smell a lie instantly when she put up her Yamani mask. He clapped his hand on her back and smiled. "Well, since that's done with, I love your outfit."

Kel smiled superficially and then said, "Thanks."

There was an uncomfortable silence between them.

"You know." Kel started softly, "sometimes the words and the actions of a drunkard aren't as superficial as you might think," and then she quietly walked away from him, her footsteps echoing in the courtyard.

Raoul stared at her fading figure. "Sometimes people must be able to read underneath the underneath." (quote from Kakashi! ::hearts::)