A/N- I know, I know, really long wait. I'm so sorry. It's probably been a while since you've read last chapter, so go read it real quick and come back. I'll wait.

Chapter 12

"Oh, Princess you look absolutely lovely!" Paolo cried as he threw his arms up in joy. "I must admit, this is the greatest work that I have performed on your face up to date."

I smiled graciously, like a proper princess should. "Thank you Paolo."

It took Julia a half hour to shoo him away, but she finally managed. As soon as he was out of the room, she slammed the door shut and faced me while blowing a strand of loose hair away from her face. "Okay…" She looked down at the list on her clipboard. "Here is your dance card," She said as she handed a folded piece of paper attached to a silken gold rope. The lacy letters scrawled across the beige tinged paper, listing all the men she was to dance with tonight along with a check box to mark which men I had already danced with.

Oh how I despised dance cards.

I looked down and saw that I was to dance with Dennis and Michael last that night.

"Dinner is at seven thirty, an extra plate was set next to your place, in case the new cook forgot that you're a vegetarian and…" She trailed off as she peered down her list. "And tonight you will make your announcement of who you shall choose."

I heaved a heavy sigh. I should have known. Damn network.

"Mia?"

"Hmm?"

"You seemed a little…distant."

"I was just wondering who I should choose."

Julia, who was never flustered, began smoothing her dress compulsively. "Well it's kind of obvious, isn't it?"

I looked at her in surprise. "Who?"

"You still have feelings for Michael," Julia said as she fixed a pin in my perfectly coiffed hair.

I heaved another sigh. "That's the thing. I still have feelings for Michael, but what if I miss out on something really good with Dennis?"

I watched Julia take a deep breath in the mirror. "Mia, there's something you should know—"

"Ladies?" Lori peeked in. "Julia, the cook's ranting about something again. You need to get down there ASAP."

Julia sighed as she took her clipboard and pen.

"And Your Highness, it's time for one of your last interviews."

I gave one more look in my mirror. Making sure that I looked fine, I took my dance card and followed Lori into the foyer.

I straightened my bowtie and looked at myself carefully in the mirror. This was it. Final showdown. Crunch time. All or nothing.

Tonight was the night I was gonna tell her why I really broke up with her.

I hadn't realized how much I missed her until I came here. Seeing her face again, seeing her laugh and smile made me realize that she was quite possibly the one and only love of my life.

I was such a fool all those years ago. I should have realized that there was more to her than any other girl. She was special. She was worth everything. I had to tell her that.

I ran a comb haphazardly through my hair while debating on whether or not I should state what I was gonna do on national television. In the end, I decided against it. I didn't want anyone really knowing that much about what had happened all those years ago. It was something between Mia and me, and that was it.

At nearly five minutes till, Dennis walked in the room with ruffled blonde hair and a sweaty t-shirt. "Hey," He said.

"You've got five minutes," I told him flatly.

He smirked. "Set the timer then. Because tonight's the night. The charm is turned up all the way, and she is going to love me."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever." With that final word, I walked out of the room.

Once in the hallway, I spotted Julia and called her name. She seemed a little flustered and concerned, something that was seriously out of character for her. "Hey, are you alright?"

She nodded distractedly. "The new cook just turned the state-of-the-art kitchen into a battlefield and I have to go help clean up." She turned to me and smiled. "Knock her dead."

I gave her the killer smile that I had been working on for the past few days. "Thanks."

"To be honest, I don't really know who I'm going to choose. They've both got a lot going for them."

"But considering your history with Michael, do you think that you might be a little partial in his favor?"

"That's something I kind of want to avoid. I mean, I already know that Michael's a great guy, and we've already had our relationship. This could be my chance to try something new and exciting."

"But don't you think it's better to be safe than sorry?"

"Maybe. But maybe I've been playing safe all my life."

"I'm feeling kind of nervous. I haven't been to one of these in a long time. I might accidentally spill something on the Prime Minister or something."

Lori chuckled. "So do you think you still hold a place in Mia's heart?"

"I hope so. Otherwise the past few weeks have been a total waste."

"Do you love Mia?"

I didn't hesitate for a moment. "Yes," I said firmly. "I love her."

I plopped down in a chair near the dance floor. My feet were aching terribly and my legs felt like they were about to give away.

I glared down at my dance card. "Oh how I despise you," I muttered.

"Talking to yourself again?"

I looked up and found Michael pulling up a chair next to me. I grinned at him. "You know me…I love insulting myself."

He grinned back. "You've got to stop doing that."

We sat comfortably near each other for several moments when he got up and offered me his hand. "May I please have this dance?"

I groaned. "Michael, I sat down so I could have a breather."

He laughed. "Look at it this way, after we're finished you can cross my name off your dance card, and you'll be finished with all your royal obligations."

He was right. Michael was the only one left that I had to dance with.

I sighed as I took his hand and got up. "Let's get this over with, shall we?"

He grinned as he led me onto the dance floor. I felt tingles trail down my spine when he put his arm on my waist.

We didn't say much as we danced. We just enjoyed the feel of each other in our arms as the waltz floated around us.

When the dance was finished, Michael pulled me closer to him and kissed me on the lips. Goosebumps raised all over my skin and my mind exploded with fireworks.

Just like the first time he kissed me, all those years ago at the Nondenominational Winter Dance.

When he pulled away, he looked me in the eye and that was what sold me. Those peat bog eyes pulled me in every time. "Mia?"

"Yes?"

"Can we talk in private?"

At that moment he could have asked me to shave my head and run away with him to Timbuktu and I would have easily agreed. "Okay."

I pulled her away from the dance floor and into a secluded corner, away from the cameras. This was it. I was gonna tell her.

"Mia, this isn't easy for me to say—"

She laughed. "Michael, you can't break up with me. We're not going out."

My eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"Those were the first words you said when you broke up with me five years ago," She reminded me.

I forgot how easily she could remember small and ridiculous details.

"Well I'm not breaking up with you." I took in a deep breath. "I'm telling you why I broke up with you."

She raised her eyebrows and took my hands in hers. "I thought it was because you wanted to date other people."

"Yeah, it was, but the thing is…" At this point, I looked down. I couldn't tell her this and look her in the face.

"What?"

"I broke up with you because…" I took another deep breath. "Because I was already seeing someone else while we were dating."

There was an uncomfortable silence that passed between us. She dropped my hands and stepped back. I looked up to see her reaction, almost immediately wishing I hadn't.

Her face showed shock, anger and sadness all at once. Desperately, I tried to explain myself. "Mia, wait—"

She held up her hand to silence me. She was still too shocked for words and she slowly backed away from me.

Still in my state of shock, Lori found me and said, "Okay kiddo, it's crunch time. Have you made your decision?"

I nodded. I didn't have to think twice.

She led me onto the stage in the middle of the dance floor. Robert Samson walked up to the microphone, tapped it several times and spoke. "Ladies and gentlemen, you are probably aware of the video cameras that have been taping the better part of this evening."

A small smattering of applause arose.

"These video cameras have been taping a romance reality TV show, centering on the life of your own, Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo. For the past several weeks, she has gotten to know and dated twenty different guys. She has narrowed them down to two lucky young gentlemen. However, now, in this ballroom with all of you as her witness, she will announce who she will choose: Dennis Leedy or Michael Moscovitz." He handed the mic to me. "Good luck."

Still seething from Michael's impromptu and shocking confession, my mind was unusually clear on the decision that I had just made.

"Thank you ladies and gentlemen," I said graciously as I put my hand up to stop the applause. "Thank you. I have gotten to know two very special gentlemen for the past several weeks. Any girl would be lucky to have them. But one has held a special place in my hear for most of this time. This man is someone whom I have felt a special connection with since day one. So please, raise your glasses to my new royal escort, Dennis Leedy."

A/N- This is NOT the end. I repeat, this is NOT the end. There is more to come. And I really hate leaving you on such a big cliff hanger (actually, I find it rather amusing) but there is much more to the story than this.

Also, as an apology for this author's flaky updating habits, I updated Supergirl, so after you REVIEW this story, go and read the new chapter for Supergirl.

Happy New Years!