A/N: bonjourno! hehe. ok, time to respond to reviews...first of all, thanx to Stardust 16 for her review, and to singinstrawberry for her tip about the anonymous reviews! read this chapter and...nearly, all of your questions will be answered :D. and to b2okworml, i think you might have made a typo on ur review or somethin, cuz Areida is Emily's mum. ALRIIIIIGHT! enjoy chapter 10, surprise cliffhanger comin up...

Chapter 10

After Jem left I went up to help Emily with her dress.

Her hair was braided in several small braids, tied at the back with a yellow ribbon. The ends of the braids reached her waist. Her dress looked beautiful, as I thought the yellow would against her dark complexion.

My hair was curled into loose ringlets hanging down to my lower back. My dress was deep red sewn with gold thread and gold satin slippers.

Aunt Areida handed us into the carriage and Emily and I chatted non-stop all the way to the castle.

The castle was decorated with vines and flowers of all kinds. We walked inside together to meet Chris and Jem.

"Do you think Chr- I mean...everyone will like my outfit?" she blushed. Although she denied it, I knew she had adored Chris for years.

"Well of course, I picked it out."

Finally we spotted Chris and Jem near the drink table. My stomach did a flip-flop.

Jem's hair was cut shorter, the deep red framing his handsome, freckled face. When he saw us his face split into a huge grin. His eyes held mine for a moment and a second flip-flop came out of nowhere. Chris was staring at Emily, obviously not realizing he was doing so.

"Would you care to dance, Princess?" Jem asked me pompously while bowing. He looked up, his eyes sparkling mischievously.

What was with all the flip-flops??!!

"I do not wish to dance tonight." I replied, matching his pompous tone.

"Why not?" he managed to make his voice drip with indignation, while hiding anticipation for a good joke. Chris and Emily were watching us like actors in their favorite play.

"If I dance, Chris will laugh so hard at my lack of grace that he will pass out from laughter." Half of this statement I felt was true.

"Will he turn blue before he loses consciousness?"

"Most likely."

"Good. Blue's my favorite color."

He grabbed my hand before I could protest more and pulled me onto the dance floor.

After many dances the four of us met up again at the drink table.

"He's not blue!" Jem exclaimed.

"That's because there was nothing to laugh at," Emily interrupted. "You're a beautiful dancer, El."

"It only seems that way in public..."

I punched Chris hard in the arm.

"Almost midnight," I observed. We'd been here for two hours.

"I promised Mother we'd be home by one," Emily said.

For the next hour we danced, mingling with different partners.

After I lost Jem to a bunch of giggly Ayorthan girls, I went out into the garden. I walked along the moonlit paths, the air too heavy with the scent of flowers.

I turned one path and saw two figures kissing at the fountain. I started walking again, then did a double take.

The girl was in a yellow dress.

It was Emily and Chris.