The group only stayed in the village for that night. The next morning it was time for them to leave. Everyone gathered at the gate to see them off.
"Hey Sonya, come here for a second" the chief called out to her. Sonya nodded and walked over to him.
"I just want to thank you for taking care of my daughter. Please continue to look after her for me while in Clarines" He requested. Sonya smiled in response.
"Well of course It's my pleasure. I'm just glad that she's safe now. Anyways, Shirayuki and I took some time to mix up some medicine since I noticed you were running low. I also put together a few first aid kits to take with you when you travel. Thank you for letting us spend the night. I didn't realize how much I missed this place until I came back" Sonya told him.
"Well you and Shirayuki should stay with us then. Everyone here misses you and it would be nice to have Shirayuki here as well" Kazuki offered. Sonya giggled and patted Kazuki on the head since he was shorter than her.
"Sorry, but like Shirayuki, my place is also in Clarines" Sonya replied. Kazuki seemed disappointed by that. "But I promise to come visit once in a while. How about that?" she then said countering his previous offer. Kazuki's eyes lit up.
"Really? You promise?" Kazuki questioned in disbelief. Sonya nodded in response.
"and If his highness lets me, I'll even bring Shirayuki with me next time I come to Tanbarun" Sonya stated.
"We'll be waiting then" Kazuki told her. After that, they parted ways and the group headed back to the castle. There they were greeted by Prince Raj, who seemed really eager to see Shirayuki arrive safely.
Later that night, everyone was getting ready for the ball. Both Shirayuki and Sonya put on different gowns from the ones they were originally going to wear. Shirayuki's hair was pulled back and tucked into a ribbon that was tied in her hair and wore a pink gown decorated with flowers and white gloves that barely touched her elbows. Sonya had her hair pulled back with the hair clip she received from Obi years ago with a white rose pinned next to it and she wore a white and blue short sleeved gown with gold trim around the collar and waist of the dress. Shirayuki walked out of her room carefully and was greeted by Obi who had his back turned to her. He turned slightly revealing that he was in the same suit he wore the night she was kidnapped.
"I'll accompany you miss, if you don't mind" he greeted with a smirk. Shirayuki's eyes lit up as she agreed and walked with him to the ball.
"Master said he would hide his rank so he can attend the ball" He stated.
"Really? I don't know if I should be relieved or more nervous" Shirayuki replied. As they made their way to the ball, Rona and Eugena watched them from the corner.
"Come on, let's follow them" Rona stated.
"How about we not Rona" Eugena commented.
"nonsense let's go" Rona urged.
"Rona!" a female voice exclaimed in a hushed tone which startled both of the twins. They turned around to see Sonya.
"Oh Sonya, I didn't know you were attending the ball. Don't you hate these events?" Eugena questioned.
"Yes I do, but that's not the point right now. Rona you promised me you would be on your best behavior tonight. So why are you spying on Shirayuki?" She questioned.
"It's just that…Shirayuki belongs here. She makes Raj happy and you belong here too Sonya. I haven't seen Sakaki happy like this in years. He still loves you and I know deep down you feel the same way. You're actually fun to be around too. You always tell us the things that Raj doesn't bother telling us because he thinks were too young to worry about it" Rona confessed. Sonya was actually taken back by this, but then smiled. She then crouched down so she could look both of them in the eyes.
"As much as I enjoyed being here with everyone. I just don't belong here anymore. My place is to aide and protect Prince Izana back in Clarines. Don't get me wrong there are times where I miss being here, but my home is in Clarines." She told them.
"Father gave you a title, when you left years ago. Will you promise to use it so you can come visit?" Eugena asked.
"Of course. How can I say no to the second prince of Tanbarun?" Sonya teased giving Eugena a playful wink. As the night went on everyone was gathered in the ballroom watching Prince Raj dance with Shirayuki. Zen and his aides watched from above as he looked down seemingly jealous that it was Raj dancing with her instead of him. Obi watched from the floor leaning on a pillar with a smirk on his face. Sonya walked up to Obi carful not to trip on her gown.
"I'm glad everything turned out okay" She said as she stood next to him and watched the two dance.
"Yeah" He said as he kept his eyes on Shirayuki. Sonya then glanced over at Obi. This was really the first time she got a good look at him dressed so formally. It was different from what she was used to.
"You know, that uniform really suits you Obi" She complimented. Obi looked over at her surprised by the compliment. That's when he looked at her. This was also his first time seeing her in a ball gown. A pink tint emerged on his face as he continued to look at her, but then quickly looked away as he realized he was basically staring at her.
"Oh um thanks." Obi replied as he scratched the back of his head. Sonya turned and looked at the big glass window and saw her reflection. At the moment she could feel her insecurities hit her and Obi seemed to notice.
"You okay Miss Sonya?" he questioned.
"Yeah I'm fine I just got a glimpse of myself in the reflection of the window" She replied.
"This is so embarrassing, I hate wearing dresses like this. I look ridiculous" She continued as she covered her face with her hands.
"I don't know why you're so embarrassed. I think you look beautiful in that dress" Obi told her. Sonya blushed and wasn't expected that from him.
"You…You really think so Obi?" She questioned.
"Of course, you know I wouldn't lie to you Sonya" he replied with a genuine smile on his face which in turn made Sonya smile. Then she realized she had something to show him.
"Oh I almost forgot. I have a surprise for you" She told him. Obi looked at her confused. She turned her back to him and pointed to her hair.
"Look what I had the maid put in my hair" She mentioned. Obi looked and saw the hairpin and was surprised to see her wearing it.
"Yeah, it definitely looks better on you" he commented. She turned back around and smiled at him.
"Hey, can I ask you something?" She questioned.
"Sure" he replied.
"Do you like Shirayuki?" She asked. Obi was shocked by the questioned. "The reason I'm asking is because the way you reacted during the who incident with the Claw. I saw the look in your eyes and the way you practically begged Zen to let you be her guard was kinda suspicious" She then explained.
"Yeah, I like mistress" he replied looking over at Shirayuki with a small smile on his face.
"But that's as far as my feelings go for her. She could never compare to someone else I know" Obi then commented. Now Sonya was confused. She had no idea he had feelings for another girl as well.
"Well who's this other girl that Shirayuki can't compare to?" She asked.
"If you don't already know then it's a secret" Obi teased. Sonya pouted in response.
"That's not fair Obi, you brought it up" She complained. Obi laughed at her response.
"Sonya" a male voice called out to her. Sonya turned to see who it was and saw Sakaki approaching her.
"Oh Sakaki. I thought you were gonna watch the Prince all night" Sonya noted.
"Well he's with Shirayuki so I came to see if you wanted to share a dance with me?" he asked.
"Oh that's okay. I think I'll just stay here with Obi" She replied not really wanting to dance.
"It's okay Sonya. I put on steel toed boots so you can step on my feet all you want" he told her knowing her reason for declining.
"Sakaki that's not funny. Now I just feel worse" Sonya whined burying her head in her hands again.
"Oh come on Sonya, Shirayuki doesn't know how to dance either and she's doing rather well dancing with the prince" Obi mentioned chiming in.
"It's not like we haven't danced together before" Sakaki noted. Sonya looked over at Obi to seek his approval.
"Go on, I'll be right here for the rest of the night" Obi told her reassuringly. She looked back at Sakaki and grabbed his hand.
"Alright but remember, you have to lead" Sonya told him. The two walked over to the dance floor leaving Obi by himself. He glanced at the two dancing together and was almost jealous that she actually went with him. Part of him was now wishing that he said no so she'll stay with him a little bit longer. Another part of him worried that she still had feelings for Sakaki. He admitted to her that he likes Shirayuki, but he never mentioned why. The reason was because she reminded him of her. The girl he first became attached to all those years ago.