Chapter eleven
The annual ball
"This stinks, do I have to attend?" Shadow whined as he was made to dress in fancy, yet very smart, clothing and was being fussed over by his mother in front of a long stand up mirror.
Shadow was made to wear a black suit that, in his opinion, was pointless as it kind of blended into his fur a little. He had a crisp white shirt under the black blazer he had on and buttoned up, black trousers and shiny black shoes that were uncomfortable and a little too tight. He has a black bow-tie around his neck and arms crossed as he glared at himself in the mirror.
"Shadow yes you do and you used to love our annual ball. Your friend Fay will be there." Emily replied with a smile as she sorted out her sons quills, making them all neat and tidy for the ball.
Emily was wearing a beautiful long ball gown that flowed to the floor so you couldn't see her footwear, which were comfortable boots. That was the only reason for choosing a long flowing dress, so no one could see her casual boots. The dress was a pale blue with gentle sparking glitter on the bottom half of the dress. It was thin strapped and was a little low cut so a little of her cleavage could be seen but not enough to cause Collin's nose to bleed. She has her hair/quills specially done at her hairdressers and was tied up into a bun with a few quill strands flowing down from it and two semi thick strands draped down the sides of her face. Her silver tiara that was decorated with small shinny diamonds, creating four medium size roses and one large rose in the middle, with a ruby in the middle of each rose and two large leaves on the ends that rested perfectly on her head which sparkled in the little light the Underworld provided. More so as they were in doors under the electric lighting.
"That's the only good thing about this ball." Shadow muttered under his breath as he continued to glare in hate at his fancy suit.
"Why can't I wear what dad has on anyway?" Shadow whined yet again as he looked at his mothers reflection, begging for her to say 'oh why not lets get you out of that suit and we will see what we can find', well he hoped she would say that.
Collin, because of his huge wings on his back, couldn't wear a suit and only the bottom half of one. He was simply wearing his royal red robes, black trousers, black shoes and a black bow-tie around his neck. He had his quills groomed and tidied up by a specialist, having the dead ones removed in the process. Shadow of course damn right refused having that done when he watched his father get it done and zipped away when it was his turn. He hid until it was almost time for the ball, well until his mother found him and dragged him to get ready.
"You know why your father can't wear a suit and besides you look absolutely adorable sweetheart. Just think in a good few years time you wont have to wear a suit and can go to the ball just like you father does." Emily smiled as she assured her son with a soft tone while she finished up on Shadows quills.
"Humph not soon enough, it's itchy and tight and uncomfortable too. It does nothing for my chest fur and its itchy." Shadow complained as he frowned at his clothing in the mirror, uncrossing his arms as he was made to turn around to face his mother.
"It is only for tonight Shadow then by all means burn the suit if it will make you happy. So smile and be on your best behaviour or there will be trouble young man." Emily semi firmly said as she straightened Shadow bow-tie then took a step back to admire her son.
"Smile Shadow." Emily giggled as alls she got was an unimpressed expression.
Shadow sighed deeply then smiled at his mother with a forced happy look. Emily clapped her hands and smiled brightly back.
"You look so grown up sweetie." Emily sight out dreamily as she looked at her son from head to shoe.
"Does that mean I can have grown up drink?" Shadow asked with a hopeful look in his eyes.
"No it does not my son." Collin announced his presence by his son's bedroom door, arms crossed and leaning against the door frame while looking at his wife and son.
"Fine, it was worth a shot, how long have I got until the torture starts?" Shadow smirked a little deviously at his father.
"Half an hour Shadow. Now why don't you go to the ballroom and wait for our guests to arrive." Collin smirked deviously back then motioned Shadow to leave the room with a movement of his head.
Shadow casually walked out and down the hallway towards the ballroom, bumping into his sister on the way. She was wearing a similar ball gown as her mother but different colour, hers was a lilac instead of blue. Her hair/quills was done in the same fashion but it was all up in a bun shape with sparkling glitter in it. She wore her silver tiara with two swirls on either side and had a red diamond in the centre of each swirl. The front part of the tiara had an arch shape that was joined at the top with a ruby, in the middle of the small arch where more swirls that had small red diamonds going along all three. It rested perfectly on top of her head and, like her mothers, sparkled in the light. Again her dress was long enough for no one to notice her footwear, as she got that advice from her mother and took it with grace, as she wore her casual boots on as well.
"You scrub up nicely Shadow but I'm betting you are hating every second of this." Tanya grinned as she and Shadow walked side by side to the ballroom, having known this from th many complaints Shadow deep during the week as the ball approached.
"Of course I am, it's a given. When I'm Overlord I'm so getting rid of the annual ball." Shadow grumbled with a deep frown as he looked ahead of him.
"Yeah you say this now but I can guarantee when you are older you will love attending the ball just for a social occasion with other adults you don't speak to on a daily basis." Tanya giggled as she knew that was why her parents enjoyed the yearly ball.
"Yeah sure but can you sneak me an adult drink?" Shadow asked in a slightly whispered tone as they walked into the ballroom that was done up and cleaned for the evening.
The ballroom had tables stretching along one side of the wall and a few huge drinks fountains with warm blood flowing and a bunch of empty glasses near each one. A deep red table cloth covered the tables and half way down the sides towards the floor. The room was lit dimly for atmosphere and completely cleaned from top to bottom. There was a classical band setting up their instruments and testing them out to make sure they were in tune and working. They were positioned opposite the entrance room on the other side and near the corner. All six members were in a smart suit and looking very fancy for the ball. There were also waiters getting ready with trays of fancy posh, blood related, food for the guests when they arrive. Some were even filling up glasses and putting them on empty trays to go around to the guests.
"Shadow you know you are not near old enough for an adult drink, you are only thirteen. No I am not sneaking you an adult drink on the sly." Tanya gasped out in slight shock of being asked to do this.
"I'll be fourteen in two months, doesn't that count?" Shadow smiled up at his sister with innocence.
"Still not sneaking you a drink from the adult fountains." Tanya dryly said with a slow shake of her head.
"Fine I'll stick to the kiddie fountain then." Shadow pouted with a frown as he and Tanya stood in the middle and waited for the ball to come to life in less than twenty minutes.
"SHADOW!" A voice called out to him with a bright happy tone, making Shadow turn his head to look at who was waving and walking over to him and his sister.
"Hello Fay, you look lovely this evening." Shadow smiled happily at seeing his best friend then hugged her when she reached him.
Fay was in a pastel pink dress that flowed down to the floor and it went a little puffy outty from the waist down to the rim of the dress. It was thin strapped and low v-cut around the neck/chest area, giving a small view of her early developed cleavage. Her quills were down, straightened with a very small flick at the ends and she had a glittery headband in going across her head to keep them down straight and out of her face. She wore no make-up for Shadow told her she didn't need it for she was pretty without it, that was said a few months back. The hug broke and Fay took a step away from Shadow then smiled happily at Tanya.
"Hello Tanya, you are looking so gorgeous…I am so loving the dress." Fay said with an excited expression, holding back a squeal as she spoke.
"Thank you I totally agree. I just love the cheat us girls can do when attending a ball don't you." Tanya grinned with amusement as she lifted her dress up to show her boots.
"Absolutely." Fay laughed as she did the same and revealed her comfortable looking boots.
"What this is so not fair…next year I'm wearing a damn dress so I don't have to wear tight uncomfortable shoes." Shadow said with unfairness in his features not caring he said he was willing to wear a dress in front of his sister and best friend.
"Oh I would love to see you in a dress Shadow." Tanya laughed as she let go of her dress and it dropped to the floor once more, Fay doing the same with hers.
"Bet it's way more comfortable then what I'm forced to wear." Shadow smirked playfully as he looked at his sister and friend.
"But you look so hansom Shadow, I really do not see anything wrong with what you are wearing." Fay smiled softly at Shadow as she held her hands together in front of her, resting them lightly on her long puffy ball gown dress.
"You really think so? Well if you don't mind it then I suppose I can put up with it without complaining for the rest of the evening slash night." Shadow gently said with a warm smile as he and Fay locked eyes.
"Fay and Shadow sitting in a tree k-i-s-s-i-n-g. Haha-hahaha." A child's voice sang as she ran into the ballroom and up to the three in the middle.
"Lilly will you stop that, me and Shadow are just friends." Fay frowned as she looked at her eight year old sister with crossed arms and a light blush on her muzzle.
Lily was a slightly darker purple than Fay and she had twilight blue eyes. She was wearing a soft cream dress with a huge white bow tied around the back, the dress flowed to her knees and she had white flat sparkly shoes on. She also has a white bow wrapped under her quills and tied on the top to give her a cute innocent look as she was only eight years old.
"Not what your face is saying sis." Lilly giggled as she pointed up at Fay's flustered cheeks, making them got a shade darker.
"Sisters can be such a pain cant they." Shadow whispered in Fay's ear as he lent his head closer to her then after he finished talking moved away again.
Fay cleared her throat and composed herself and smiled in agreement at Shadow. Collin and Emily walked in and stood by the entrance as they were told the guests were arriving. Collin turned his head around and gave the classical band the cue to begin playing softly, which they did.
"Seems like everything is about to kick off." Shadow muttered as music hit his ears and he straightened up and put on that smile he said he would for his mother.
Soon the guests began to enter, some of noble back grounds and some having a special invitation to attend. The rest were members of the royal family and the council members with their families. Collin and Emily greeted each of their guest as they entered, both smiling happily and speaking with delight at each guest. The room got crowed quickly as the last guests entered, The waiters going round and offering food and drinks with smiles on their faces. The last to arrive and walk into the ballroom were Shadow and Tanya's aunt Katherine and uncle Travis both accompanied with their two boys Chase and Matt. They were on Emily's side of the family, Travis being Emily's brother. Everyone was wearing fancy clothing with all the females having long dresses so they got away with not wearing painful high-heel shoes all night.
"Don't see why I couldn't wear comfortable boots like all the girls in here." Shadow thought as he kept forcing that smile on his muzzle when he noticed someone approach him, he now standing near the tables and overlooking the guests mingling.
"Good evening Master Shadow, you are looking very dashing this evening." A nice looking female human said with a very polite voice, bowing her head in respect.
"Thank you Miss, I must say your dress is very flattering on you. Might I ask where you got it from?" Shadow forced an interested look as he complimented the human, making her giggle a little.
"You are such a sweetheart." The human said as she covered her mouth and giggled some more, looking away with mild embarrassment.
"Damn straight I am lady." Shadow thought as he smiled brightly up at the human.
"Mildred, honey, come meet Lord Collin and Lady Emily. Oh good evening Master Shadow, I hope you do not mind if I borrow my wife for a moment." A man said with excitement then noticed Shadow, smiling down at him with a soft tone when speaking to him.
"No of course not." Shadow smiled back then watched the two humans walk towards his parents.
"Well you can tell they had a special invitation, they look absolutely giddy with being here." Matt muttered in Shadows ear with amusement in his voice.
"Tell me about it but it is nice to see normal citizens here and not just the nobles, my family and the councillors with their families." Shadow casually replied with a shrug as he turned to face his cousin.
"How's that little gift coming along cuz?" Matt asked with a grin, knowing all about it as most family members did, the citizens only knowing half of course.
"It coming, can be hell at times but I've got some control over it, not much but some." Shadow smirked playfully as he answered the question.
"Shadow, how is my favourite cousin doing?" Chase walked over with a huge smile on his muzzle then grabbed Shadow into a tight hug.
"Y-yea doing g-great Chase." Shadow just about said as he was bear hugged by his cousin and Matt's older brother.
"So I saw your little girlfriend, she is looking very nice cuz." Matt teased with a wink at Shadow as Shadow was being let go of.
"She is not my girlfriend, just a friend. Why does everyone keep assuming that we are together?" Shadow groaned with a roll of his eyes then Fay caught his eye through the crowd of people.
She was happily talking to some older guy and then giggled at something that the guy had said. Shadow frowned then looked away, crossing his arms as he didn't know why it bothered him to see his best friend talking to some older guy and having fun without him.
"Yeah sure she isn't, we believe ya." Matt chuckled as he nudged Shadow playfully.
"We are thirteen, there is nothing going on between us." Shadow grumbled with frustration as he frowned deeply, his eyes beginning to glow a little as his mind kept going back to the way that guy was looking at his friend.
"I definitely saw something in that guys eyes and it did not look good." Shadow thought as he frowned a little more deeply.
Chase and Matt exchanged looks then mentally deciding not to tease Shadow further on that subject. There was no need to upset Shadow so his gift would surface and ruining the evening so early into it. Just at that moment Fay was dragging that guy over towards the three boys with a happy smile. Shadow watched her and slightly narrowed his eyes at the guy looking down at her chest. His eyes began to glow a little more at that and a sudden rage filled his being but he tried to contain it for as long as possible.
"Shadow I want you to meet Jess, he's here with his uncle. Jess this is my friend Shadow and he's cousins Matt and Chase." Fay happily said with a bright tone, introducing everyone and unaware of how Shadow was looking or of how Jess would glance at her chest.
"Yeah hi, say Fay do you think you could show me where the rest rooms is, I do not want to get lost or find myself in a restricted area." Jess waved the boys off then gave Fay a pleading look when speaking to her.
"I do not think so." Shadow thought a he gave a low growl, making everyone with him look at him.
"Shadow what's the matter?" Fay asked with concerned eyes as she finally noticed Shadows brightly glowing red eyes that were slowly turning black the more rage that filled his being.
"Oh I get it, he's just jealous that you are talking to me and not giving him any attention." Jess chuckled with a devious grin as he wrapped an arm around Fays waist, pulling her close to himself.
"Get off her now." Shadow growled as he narrowed his now black eyes at the older brown hedgehog that looked at least eighteen or a couple of years older than that.
"No, she is mine now. Come on Fay lets get out of here and have our own fun." Jess said with a mocking laugh at Shadow then went to drag Fay away.
"Hey dude, you do know she is only thirteen right." Matt said with a disgusted tone at the guy.
"Yes I do and so what, come babe lets split." Jess replied then dragged Fay away or at least tried to.
"No get off me Jess." Fay pulled away but Jess grabbed her by the wrist tightly.
"Get off her now you pervert." Shadow said in a deep low voice and taking steps towards Jess with murder in his glowing black eyes.
Jess widened his eyes and quickly let go of Fay when he noticed the floor was cracking slightly under the steps of Shadow. He gulped as Shadow stopped right in front of him and gave a very fearful expression as he stared at glowing black eyes of darkness.
"H-hey lets just chill and forget what happened, y-yeah Shadow?" Jess said as he became scared for his life.
"That is Master Shadow to you now leave us." Shadow growled with anger, striking fear in all who was standing with him.
Jess quickly nodded and ran away from them, mainly away from Shadow. Shadow turned to look at Fay with a deep frown.
"You were aware he was gawking down at your chest right and he was going to force you into doing things with him." Shadow seriously said as he and Fay locked eyes.
"What?" Fay whispered with shock, her eyes wide with terror of what could have happened.
"I sensed this from him and he knew it would be wrong but he did not care. I also happened to have seen him looking lustful at your chest a few times." Shadow said as he crossed his arms and closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down by taking some deep breaths in and slowly letting them out.
"Oh Shadow thank you so much." Fay cried out with joy, throwing herself at Shadow and hugged him.
Shadow smiled and uncrossed his arms to hug Fay back.
"Yeah nothing going on there is there Chase?" Matt whispered over to his older brother who just chuckled back.
"You are most welcome, no one takes advantage of my best friend and gets away with it." Shadow whispers to Fay then the hug broke.
Shadows eyes were now open and slowly going back to normal once more as he and Fay looked at each other with smiles. Unknown to them but both Collin and Tony were watching closely at their children and had seen everything. they were about to go over and calm the situation down but found they didnt need to.
"I must thank your son for protecting my daughter later on and might I say he has calmed himself down very well this time." Tony said as he looked away from Shadow and Fay and looked at his ruler beside him.
"Yes I am very proud of his actions and how quickly he has calmed down. They are both quite the pair don't you think?" Collin grinned as he looked back at Tony.
"I would say so yes." Tony chuckled as he looked back at his daughter and future ruler with a soft smile in their direction, watching them chat and laugh with Chase and Matt.
An hour later and Collin signalled for the band to up the volume a little then he took his wife's hand and led her to the middle to dance. Soon enough other couples joined in and were dancing the waltz along with the royal couple. Shadow and Fay watched the adults glide gracefully across the ballroom in the large space. Shadow of course knew most formal dances and wanted to ask Fay if she wanted to dance with him but wasn't sure if she knew the steps.
"They look so lovely, I wish I could dance like that." Fay sighed with a dreamy voice, watching her parents dancing together near Shadow's.
"Do you want me to teach you?" Shadow smiled softly as he looked beside him at his friend.
"You know the waltz?" Fay turned her head to look back at Shadow with a raised brow, never seeing him dance before.
"Yes and other formal dances related to ballroom, my mum insisted I learn them all so I did." Shadow smiled brightly as he spoke in a cheerful tone at his friend.
"Oh please, what do I need to do?" Fay excitedly replied with a very happy expression, making Shadow chuckle lightly.
"Just follow my lead and try not to step on my toes. The dance pretty much repeats itself over and over again but it is fun in some ways." Shadow smirked playfully as he held out his hand to Fay.
"Fay may I have this dance?" Shadow asked gently as he looked into Fays eyes.
"Oh hell yeah you can." Fay giggled as she took Shadows hand and allowed him to lead her to the dancing area.
"Ok the position is important, your right hand goes on my shoulder and your left into my hand. Yeah like that. Just a warning but my other hand will be going on your waist ok and then I will lead the dance. You just need to follow and let your mind flow oh and try not over think about it. Let me worry about our next move, ready?" Shadow explained as he gave instructions that Fay followed.
"Yep so lead on Shadow." Fay smiled brightly then lightly gasped as Shadow tightened his hold on her a little and pulled her close to him.
"Just relax and let me do all the work…that's it, perfect." Shadow said as he began to lead the dance, guiding Fay along with him.
"Wow this is so easy." Fay giggled with excitement as Shadow made them both move with graceful movements across the floor.
"Agreed, so how are things? I haven't seen you in like forever." Shadow smiled as he spoke his question to his friend while never missing a step to the dance.
"Apart from having an annoying little sister that constantly accuses me of being with you, nothing much. Why can't a girl and boy be friends without being accused of something more going on?" Fay said with a small frown as she and Shadow locked eyes as they danced with the music.
"I know right. What about school? Anything fun going on there this term?" Shadow chuckled then asked with an interested expression as he lightly pushed Fay away, spun her then pulled her back close to him.
"Well there was a fight between two girls in the corridor last week. I think it was something to do with some guy they both liked and wanted to date. It took two teachers to break it up and separate them both." Fay grinned as she answered with slight amusement in her voice having had watched the entire thing play out.
"Damn, being home schooled sure sucks at times. I miss all the cool stuff that high school provides to its students." Shadow chuckled with amusement then slowed their movements as the music was coming to its end.
"Sometimes I wish I was home schooled, there's this group of girls who keep bugging me about the palace and what you are like and what things you enjoy doing. Bla bla bla…count yourself lucky you don't go to high school, you wouldn't get a moments peace from the other students there."Fay groaned as she noticed the dancing was slowing down and the music was hitting it's final climax.
"You know maybe I should go and see what it is like, you know just for a few days or maybe a month. It would definitely be an experience for me." Shadow smirked as he gave his friend a slightly devious expression in his eyes that told her he was planning something.
"Your parents wont allow that Shadow so you might as well stop planning." Fay rolled her eyes but smiled all the same as the thought of Shadow being at her school for a that long would be kind of awesome.
The music finally came to a stop and all the dancers stopped and broke away from their partners. There was a round of clapped hands and the music started again but a different piece was played. Shadow and Fay walked off the dance area and back over to the tables to get a drink from the, as Shadow put it, kiddie fountain. Shadow filled two cups up and passed one to Fay, who took it with a smile.
"You know I was dreading this even but I have to say I am actually having a really nice time." Shadow smiled as he held his drink and looked at his best friend in the eyes.
"Yeah and you got to teach me how to dance and saved me from a jerk too. I'd say that's a bonus." Fay grinned with a playful look in her eyes as she looked back at Shadow.
It is safe to say the rest of the evening was a success and enjoyed by most if not all who attended.
(Just a note to say I was far too lazy to research the waltz dance but hope I got some of the steps and positions right. Should I do a one-shot chapter of Shadow attending the Underworld high school? I am sure that would be a chapter and a half to read so I might but that depends if anyone wants it. If ya do then tell me in a review and I will do my best to get it done after the next chapter.
The next chapter will be about Shadow having his wings grow through his back so stay tuned if you are interested. I do hope you enjoyed the read and thanks for reading it too. Please tell me what you think by a simple review, many thanks…)
