So umm... this is a long chapter. Which just means I ran out of editing juices, and no matter how horrified I'll be at a mistake, I kinda just want to kick this one out already.

Thanks so much xXJustSomeRandomKidXx and Countess Victoria for reviewing! Your reviews make me laugh and encourage me to just write some romance already! Haha, you guys (as always) rock.

Heh, hope you enjoy!

"Oh, Daria, it's such a shame you missed it!" Lady Gianna gushed. "Eleanor and I saw some gorgeous dresses. And the shoes-"Here the Lady gasped in pleasure "-they were completely dazzling!"

Daria's lips quirked upwards at Gianna's excitement. Never had the teenager seen someone so taken by clothes and shopping. Everyone in her life had been too poor to waste their time dreaming about something they could never afford.

These rich people on the other hand, were absolutely hilarious when they started thinking about their favorite hobby.

"That sounds very nice, Gianna." Daria proclaimed.

Lady Gianna grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes it was. I also got you a few things."

Daria repressed an inner groan. She was very grateful for all of the generosity she was shown, and she did like shopping herself. But Gianna's style was a bit different.

Okay, a lot different.

This time, however, Daria was safe. Lady Gianna had simply bought some cosmetics and a few pieces of conservative jewelry. Nothing too outlandish. So Daria nodded and pretended to listen to her adopted mother's yammering.

It was only fair. Lady Gianna was preparing for something that would occupy her time for the next few weeks. They were going to be attending a ball.

It was Prince Jerrold's going away party. Since Jerrold was going away for so extended amount of time and since the year long trip to Ayorthia was considered to be a prince's rite of passage, it was going to be one of the biggest parties of the year, if not the next few. The noble women were practically foaming at the mouth at the thought of the grandeur that was going to accompany this party.

The King and Queen were not going to spare any expense in making the ball a success. The whole city of Frell was in an uproar. Everyone was invited. The food would be plentiful, the music fantastic, the fireworks breathtaking and the whole ball would be teeming with beautiful women and handsome men looking for a great time. Nobody could imagine anything more wonderful.

Except Daria. She much rather would have preferred to stay home with a book or playing a game of checkers with Mr. Irons. She was killer at checkers.

She knew without a doubt that if she went to that ball, she would come across him. Hundreds of people would be there and it was almost guaranteed that she would end up seeing the Prince.

She couldn't stand thinking of him even now. Two months had passed since that fateful day and it still felt like yesterday. Her night would most definitely be ruined if she even had to look on him.

But she didn't have a good excuse not to go. Mandy had given her a clean bill of health two weeks ago. Not that Daria's sickness would have mattered. Lady Gianna was very determined to drag her whole family to the event, even if they were gripped by a sudden plague and were too weak to stand, much less dance. This was what Lady Gianna looked forward to all year. She could only occupy herself with gossiping with her friends and various household activities for so long.

At balls like this, all the tension and boredom of the upper class was sure to peak and explode into more fodder for gossip and the like.

Daria hadn't even begun to understand all these little nuances. She did understand that it was usually the men of the household who ran their estates and did all the work with their tenants and such. The women in turn, were no more than trophy wives. Some of the noble women did work for charity and came to know the people on their land very closely. Those women were few and far between and Lady Gianna was not one of them. Daria just didn't understand that if the Ladies could not occupy themselves with work, they would occupy themselves with whatever else was available.

It was strange for Daria. Back home, she had to work or face starvation. There was never an option of working or not. It also didn't matter your gender. Daria's mother had worked just as hard as her father had, if not more. There was never even the idea of working less simply because you were a woman.

Daria did not know what kind of Lady she would be in the future, but she was sure that if she didn't have schoolwork to occupy her time, she would go completely mad.

Having sympathy for Lady Gianna was making a lot more sense. So Daria agreed to go and get fitted for a new gown-even though there were perfectly good ones in her closet-and tried to put a brave face on. She would just have to try and be as inconspicuous as possible.

Being inconspicuous would be impossible. The seamstress had taken one look at Daria and grinned like a hyena.

"I have the perfect dress for you," the seamstress had drawled. "Just the perfect one."

It was red. It was an eye-catching, too much attention-grabbing, scarlet monstrosity.

To be honest, it was a beautiful creation. No, actually, it was "gorgeous." The sleeves began just under Daria's shoulders, creating the effect of a strapless dress. It hugged Daria's waist conservatively and the small crystal beads embroidered into the skirts were far too pretty for Daria to look at for an extended period of time. The soft leather gloves that came with it also conveniently hid Daria's unseemly calluses. Her necklace with a single ruby complimented the dress as well.

But the color was what angered Daria.

Red. While everyone else would be waltzing and gallivanting around the ballroom in their electric blues and happy pastel colors, Daria would be forced to walk around with the dress the color of an open wound. The whole situation was deplorable.

The whole carriage ride to the castle, she tried to keep from picking at the ribbons in her hair in annoyance. That meant she had to fist her hands in her dress to keep from screaming. Eleanor did not have it any easier. She was dressed in the color of light harvest orange that did complement her very well.

At least she was still in a slightly pastel color. Eleanor did not need to walk around like a pretentious eyesore.

What really hammered the nail into the coffin for Daria was the fact that it was well known that the royal family would be in red as well. The exact shade that Daria was clothed in right now. She could only imagine the kind of desperate signals she would be sending.

According to the smile on Lady Gianna's face, the older woman knew exactly what kind of message Daria would be sending.

As soon as the carriage came into view of the castle, Daria's stomach twisted in nervousness. The splendor and magnificence of the people entering the castle and the sheer size of the building intimidated Daria to no end. Instead of being angry over what message she would send to the Royal Family, she started becoming nervous of the message she would start sending everyone else.

Who was she to be pretending that she could possibly become a royal one day? She was just a peasant masquerading as a noble. She had very little education compared to her peers, and she didn't even like the princes. More than anything Daria started wishing her dress was any other color but red.

She thought about it as she stepped out of the carriage. It was on her mind as she walked up the steps and tried to convince herself the stares were just a product of her imagination. She couldn't get it out of her head as they walked into the ballroom.

Fortunately, due to the large number of people in attendance, no one was announced. It would simply take all night. That meant that Daria was saved from the embarrassment of having to stand while everyone gawked at her and her desperate attire.

She didn't notice how little people thought of the color. She couldn't have possibly imagined that they appreciated it as a color that looked very well on her and nothing else. If anyone did think it was a ploy to get the attention of the young bachelor princes, it was just because they were jealous they hadn't thought of it first.

Yet, she did not see this and was afflicted with an upset stomach for a very long time.

The prince was staring at her. Not Jerrold, but the other one. The middle one was staring at her over a large goblet of wine. His black eyes bore into the side of her face and Daria could feel the heat of it on her cheek.

It was about an hour and a half into the party and everyone had pretty much finished eating for the night. Now they just wanted to dance. Daria hadn't seen Jerrold at all. That relief coupled with the soothing effects of extremely good food and wine had ended up taking the edge off her nerves.

Now, her anxiousness was being replaced with a small sense of anger. What in the world was he staring at?

Daria was sitting at her table all alone. Eleanor had been whisked away by a very drunk gentleman and Lady Gianna was trying to track down her husband. He had mysteriously disappeared.

Lucky man.

Daria had danced a few times and discovered that she kind of enjoyed it. As long as she had a good partner, she could see how much she had improved. Maybe those lessons were actually worth it in the end.

She had finally escaped to her seat after one graceless gentleman had accidentally stepped on her toes far too often for her to stand. He was very apologetic and it had taken awhile to assure him that she wasn't angry at him. Anyway, it was fun to watch everyone having a good time. It was so packed, there was almost always something going on.

Couples were completely absorbed in each other and were barely dancing at all to her left. Little children stole ribbons off of each other's dresses and were running around with their treasure trailing behind them. Girls giggled at the silly displays of manhood the boys were trying to create. Mothers gossiped with each other while the men stood to the sides looking uncomfortable and bored. Drunkards stumbled into everyone they could while gluttons attacked all the food they could.

Chaos and harmony interacted smoothly with each other. It was interesting and a tad… fun.

That was until whatever-his-name-was started to try and intimidate Daria. She finally couldn't take it anymore and glared at him. She jutted out her chin in a dare. Would he have the courage to tell her exactly why he was being impossible?

He smiled, put his goblet down and walked over. He bowed deeply in front of her chair and took her hand as protocol demanded.

"Prince Jackson, m'Lady. And you are?"

Annoyed. "Lady Daria, your Highness."

"Ah. Now that we've gotten the formalities out of the way…" He grinned and swept into a seat next to her.

"Do I have something on my face, Highness?" She asked. She just couldn't abide his staring. It was driving her crazy.

Prince Jackson chuckled and shook his head. "I'm just trying to figure out the woman who has been driving my brother crazy."

Daria looked at the Prince sharply. "What?"

Jackson waved off her question and leaned back into his chair. He seemed uninterested in gazing at her once he had her attention. "He's been complaining how he would probably never be able to even see you again and how you hated him, or something of the sort. I couldn't care if you hate him, but I wanted to see what kind of girl actually made my brother care as much as he does.

"I can't see what so great about you, actually."

Daria looked away in disgust. All princes were jerks! Jackson laughed heartily at her expression.

"You're feisty!" He exclaimed. "Good! That's very good."

Daria made to get up. She was so angry she didn't trust herself around him any longer. "If you'll excuse me…"

"No! Sit! I didn't mean it!" He exclaimed but he was laughing. "I just wanted to see if you were like those girls that usually went for my brother."

Daria looked down her nose at the prince. "I'm not even trying to pursue your brother."

"Yes, and that's what makes you so interesting." He leaned across the table to smile at her. "I'm trying to figure out why not."

"Because he's a pig." Daria stuck her nose up in the air and resisted the urge to laugh at how hilarious and pompous she probably looked.

Jackson guffawed in response.

Great. Kyrria was stuck with one prince who wouldn't stop smiling and another who refused to stop laughing. What was the Royal Family coming to these days?

Once he had apologized, Jackson ended up being great company. His sarcasm was even more biting than Daria's and once she told herself not to take him too seriously, she couldn't stop laughing at his wicked sense of humor. He parodied the men of the court and to his delight, Daria very willing to make fun of the women. They ended up having a great time together.

That was until he pointed out something.

"It seems like my brother has been watching us." He stared at a spot behind Daria.

"Where?" She made to turn but he stopped her with an outstretched hand.

"It seems," he started, getting from his seat gracefully, "I must ask for a dance."

"And why is that?"

He grinned rakishly. "Why to make my brother jealous of course."

Daria felt disgust settle in her stomach. "I couldn't care less if he's jealous or not." She proclaimed and sat up straight with all the grace she could muster. It only made her end up looking stiff and cold.

"Yes," Jackson agreed good-naturedly. "But once he sees that he'll have competition, he'll have to prove himself in one way or another."

"And?" Daria didn't get what Jackson was implying.

"And then," Jackson beamed, "he might just return your necklace."

Daria was happy to dance with the Prince.

For the remainder of the ball, Daria and Jackson watched as Jerrold tried in vain to approach them. Either they slipped into the crowd, laughing like naughty children, or the Crown Prince would be mobbed my admirers.

Daria knew that her behavior was childish and petty. She knew that Jerrold had not wanted to take her necklace from her. She acknowledged that she had committed herself to try and look past their differences as well. She liked to think of herself as mature.

Playing hide-and-seek with the future king of Kyrria wasn't mature. It was downright foolish.

Although, Jackson eagerly condoned Daria's silly behavior. She was willing to use that as an excuse until common sense reminded her of the rumors that surrounded the middle Prince. He might have been great company, but he would break her heart just as soon as he'd toy with his brother.

So finally, as the night was winding into dawn, Daria took her leave of her new-found partner in crime. She had actually been planning on making her way back to her table and finding her family so they could all head home. Yes, she had regretted taking her game to the level she had, but when a hand lightly pulled her into a secluded area behind a gigantic column, the Lady had to stifle a curse.

"My Lady Daria." Jerrold breathed.

He looked as disheveled as any reveler might look after a long party. His hair was a bit ruffled and the first button of his doublet had come undone. But while it was normal for someone to look tired after a night of dancing, it wasn't normal for them to look weary. His features were strained and Daria almost softened at the sight of the dark bags under his eyes.

"Your-your Highness… Are you alright?"

He shook his head and gave a sardonic smile. "No. No I'm not. I've been looking for you all night actually." The twinkle had returned to his eyes and his eyebrow was raised in an unspoken question.

This time, Daria's mood did change a bit. She narrowed her eyes playfully in turn.

"Were you? Oh do forgive me, I hadn't noticed."

He allowed himself a laugh before becoming serious once again.

"I wanted to apologize," he conceded finally. "I know that… well that it wasn't a very courteous move on my part and… I would hate it if you abhorred me for it."

Daria played with the ruffles on her gloves. She couldn't look him in the face, not with the intense look he was giving her. He was being far too honest. Even when they both apologized for the wine, they hadn't been as honest and as open as he was being now.

For some reason their mixed emotions were rushing at her too fast. She had to take a steadying breath before considering her next move. He would never understand how much he had hurt her unless she revealed why the necklace was so important to her. To do that, she'd have to reveal her past and…

Her mouth, which had been open and ready to confess what had happened, now slammed shut. She couldn't tell him. She hadn't even told Eleanor. What made her think that Jerrold would be the one to admit all this to?

Why was she deceiving herself? He would never care as much as she needed to.

So Daria decided on another tactic. It hurt, but it would have to do.

"I forgive you," she professed in a small voice. "I-it's alright. I do understand."

She was focusing on his coat buttons now. She couldn't look up at his face, because she didn't want to give herself away. She didn't want to see how emotional she was over a silly necklace.

Daria would hate it if he thought she was that shallow. She wasn't of course, but he would never know.

Jerrold breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't hear it, but she could see his coat and chest rise and fall with the force of it.

"Thank you, Lady."

He took her hand, forcing her to look up at his face in question. His old, brilliant smile returned.

"I hope this doesn't mean you won't write me now? Have I proved myself to be too much of a troll?"

Daria gave him a thin smile despite herself. She spoke slowly, picking her words with care. "I… I have heard that trolls actually make very nice company."

He smiled so wide that Daria was worried that his face would split.

Goodness, these royals…

So umm... with two Princes, am I forgiven? :) How do you feel about the direction? Too slow? Too fast maybe? From here on out, there will be more Daria/Jerrold interactions. So you can look forward to that.