A/N – Very short. I know.
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"Get out your dresses, ladies, we are going to the ball."
The duchess smiled happily at the rose. Her own eyes glowed the same bright blue as the light that emanated from the vase. Her daughters watched her with a precarious caution. The room was silent, the power of the rose intense in the air.
"That idiotic fool!" Souzan suddenly said. She was watching in the mirror pool, and was horrified to see that the prince was falling in love with the Galinion princess. "Mother, she is ruining our plan!"
The witch-duchess crossed over and looked into the pool as well. The prince, to her revulsion, was professing his love to the princess in his diary.
"How dare she!" she cried.
The duchess crossed over to the large gilded mirror that hung on the wall. She saw her own reflection, powerful and menacing. Her whole body seemed luminous with a vibrant blue light. The rose had taken its hold of her; she had sold every fragment of her soul to its evil power. To take over the kingdom, she needed every last ounce of Ivy's life energy, but the girl could not be harmed whilst the prince lived. Some stupid princess was not about to ruin her plan.
Her plan, and it was a good one, was to end Ivy's silly masquerade at the ball and bring her to the castle. Once she was in an eternal slumber, Souzan would take Ivy's form and the duchess could easily cast a spell over the weak prince, leading ultimately to his downfall.
She waved her hand across the mirror. The reflection swirled, and the face of Violet appeared, staring complacently back at them.
"Love not who professes his love for you. Leave shortly and never return," the duchess said in a deep and terrible voice, her hand outstretched over the princess' reflection. Violet's face disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"That will take care of that," the duchess said, returning to the pool.
"What about the king and queen?" Parveneh asked worriedly.
"They are only too easy to kill," the duchess answered simply. Her ploy would work, and the kingdom of Vievalla would be hers.
The night of the ball, the duchess was only too ready to go through with her plan.
"Ready, my daughters?" The duchess, dressed in an elaborate satin gown, stood at the doors to the castle, her smile wicked and full of malice.
Souzan and Parveneh came down the steps, dressed in similarly ornate gowns. They, however, did not seem as thrilled with the plan as their mother. They both had worried, anxious looks on their faces as their mother smiled at them.
"Shall we?" the duchess said, and then led her daughters out of the castle and on to the royal palace.
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Ivy didn't the prince all week, at least up close. She saw him a few times while she was getting the ball prepared. He tended to languish around with a glazed look in his eyes, or he was babbling on to other servants about what Violet liked and what she didn't like. It was quite aggravating, and Ivy occasionally let her anger out on a plant or a tablecloth. She had spent time with Evelyn, who was still entirely convinced that Ivy was in love with him. Ivy was even more excited that week because her lilies had begun to grow, and she had placed some in the ballroom.
She had a lot of time to think, and realized that she was tired of being Scarlett, and of not being able to tell Adrian. I could tell him…I should tell him! she thought, but then thought of how he may not trust her anymore. At one desperate point, she almost admitted to herself that she had feelings for him, strong feelings, but quickly suppressed them.
The week before the ball, Ivy was increasingly feeling weary. No matter how much sleep she got at night, she could not keep her energy up. She put it down to all the hard work that went into preparing the ball.
All in all, by the time for the ball had come, Ivy was quite glum. She finally finished her last plant in the ballroom, and went to Evelyn's, as Evelyn had asked her to come help her get ready.
"Oh, Ivy, I hate seeing you this miserable." Evelyn swished around in her elegant purple dress. "That stupid princess. Who does she think she is?"
"A princess," Ivy said. "Even if my stepmother hadn't come, I'd still only be a duchess."
"And what sort of a name is Violet?" Evelyn said. "Ivy is pretty, but Violet? Who names their child Violet?"
"Kings and queens, I suppose."
"Oh Ivy…" she thought for a moment. "Come to the ball with me!"
Ivy looked up in surprise. "Really?"
"Of course! You are still my cousin, you know."
Ivy was so dismal and so sullen that she said, "Alright, then."
"Excellent! I have just the dress for you." She swooped to her closet and rummaged around. Finally, she drew out a gorgeous, satin, emerald green dress.
"Oh, Evelyn! It's beautiful!"
"And it will match your eyes perfectly!" Evelyn said excitedly.
They finished getting ready together. They did each other's hair and Evelyn allowed Ivy to borrow some jewelry.
"I just wish you could tell him how you feel," Evelyn said.
"How? You can barely talk to him, he's pining so."
"Well, his loss, I say." A bell struck in the distant. "Oh, dear, we're late!" The two girls sprung up and hurried out of the room trying to walk as calmly and quickly as possible.
**** Ok, I know, I KNOW, it's major short. MAJOR! However, the ball begins immediately in the next chapter, and a lot happens at the ball, so I wanted to keep it a surprise. (unless you read the old version, and then it won't be so much of a surprise.) Call me evil, call me names, but at least put them in the form of a review!