A/N: update!

this one was haaaaard and took a while to figure out(it's definitely not perfect). I tried my best while writing Sky and Ella more than normal(this is the most I've written either one of them ever for anything) so apologies for any weirdness in that area.

Enjoy!

Mike had to take frequent breaks as he walked towards the palace, because his leg hurt and he felt tired. He decided he wouldn't stay long, just long enough to go and maybe see his friends that he knew would be there.

The sky was starting to darken by the time he arrived. Mike tried just walking in.

"Hey!" A familiar voice called out. "Where's your invite?"

Mike looked. It was that blonde woman he'd seen in the woods last year, the one who'd been searching for Ella. She appeared to be guarding the door. "I thought everyone was invited…?" he replied.

"Sure, but the invite's your ticket inside," the guard replied.

"Oh...um, sorry, my stepfamily is in there and I fell behind getting ready," Mike claimed.

"Right, like I'll believe that," the guard said with a frown.

"Come on, please? I'm telling the truth," Mike insisted.

"No invite, no entry. That's the deal," the guard remarked, looking him over briefly. "So go away."

Mike almost tried one more time but some other people had arrived and he had to step back to let them pass. One seemed to know the guard and addressed her by her name. After they were admitted Mike looked at the guard once again. "Please," he said, almost begging. "I won't stay for long."

"No."

Mike looked towards the ground. He'd come so far to get thrown out at the gate. Typical

"Tell me that ain't who I think it is!" Another familiar voice exclaimed from behind Mike. He turned to look, and he was surprised to see Leshawna there, locked elbows with that orange haired guy from that band at last year's festival. He weakly smiled.

Leshawna looked him over. "Honey, who in their right mind put you in that outfit?"

"I did...it's a long story," Mike explained quietly.

"Dude, you look like, not so hot," Leshawna's date remarked.

He told them not to worry about that, and that he'd lost his invitation.

"They not letting you in?" Leshawna looked over at the guard. "Hey! This boy's with us two." She showed her invite.

"Okay then, go in," the guard replied.

Leshawna nodded at her and she and her date headed inside while Mike hesitated slightly despite himself. He worried over a bunch of things in those minutes.

"Are you going in or what?" the guard asked him impatiently. "You might miss the first dances."

Mike heard this, snapped out of his daze, and hurried inside.

He'd barely made it inside for the start of the dance. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Princesses Sky and Ella and the Prince Topher will now each choose a partner to begin the first dance," a herald had decreed. The three had been on the dance floor, waiting, after the suitor train had passed through. Sky had no clue who she'd dance with, Ella as well. Topher didn't seem to care.

"Princess Ella," the herald then added, "shall go first."

This was when Mike entered. The entrance was designed so that everyone could see him enter. All stared at him, going silent. He looked around, taking it all in, and his eye fell on Ella. She looked at him as everyone did. Both their minds went back to their one encounter. She was surprised to see him in the state he was in, as everyone else who recognized him was-very few at first. This did not include his stepfamily.

Sky elbowed her sister. "Pick someone," she whispered impatiently.

Ella blinked. "Oh, uh, hm…" She tore her gaze off Mike and looked around the room. "You there." She pointed to a younger boy in a blue and white coat. He had tan skin similar to Mike, though his hair was much shorter and neater.

The boy glanced to the side. "Um, you washed your gloves before this, right?"

"Of course," Ella replied before she and the boy shared a rather awkward dance.

Mike came down the stairs silently as the dancing commenced. Somehow he got pulled in and wound up dancing with Sky, who looked him over analytically the whole time, as was the king and everyone else in the room. Mike did his best to hide how much pain he was in as he moved; he still moved with grace and control, impressing Sky.

Noah narrowed his eyes when he saw Mike dancing with one of the princesses but said nothing, for now.

"Weren't you in that show last year?" Sky asked Mike after having a feeling of recognition.

"I was in a show…" Mike replied.

"You were the old man," Sky realized.

"...yes, that was me," Mike confirmed with a small nod.

"But you weren't there when we met you all...?" Sky continued, still remembering things.

"I had to step out, for, um...personal reasons," Mike claimed.

"Right...well, we were all disappointed not getting to meet you then, especially Ella," Sky admitted. During this part of the conversation Mike was spinning her. Her dress swished around.

"I was disappointed too," Mike replied as he finished spinning her. He had more sadness in his voice than he realized at the time.

Sky was silent and recalled just a few minutes earlier when her sister had locked eyes with Mike. "As much as I'm not mad at how well you're dancing I have a feeling I wasn't your first choice," she remarked quietly.

"You approached me, Princess," Mike pointed out. "And I wouldn't have turned you down even if you weren't royalty."

"I'm willing to bet you'd rather be dancing with my sister."

Mike glanced to the side. "I don't have any real preference," he claimed.

"...as if I'll believe that." Sky glanced over towards Ella and the boy she was dancing with. They appeared to be moving rather awkwardly. Sky then looked back at Mike. "I'm going to get her to switch partners with me. She's dying over there. Don't mess this up."

Mike looked at her with surprise but before he could protest Sky had taken the lead and the two were soon beside the other couple. During a moment where the song sped up and the girls were spun, Sky gave her sister a slight push away from her current partner, causing Ella to lose her balance.

Mike managed to catch her and get her back on her feet. She was a bit shocked at first. "Sky-" Ella tried speaking to her but Sky had already gone off with the other boy.

The boy appeared just as shocked and confused, but seemingly awed at the same time while Sky led him through more of the dance.

After giving up on asking her sister anything, Ella turned her head and looked up at Mike. He looked back down at her and they just danced for a few more minutes before Ella spoke. "I...never expected that when I saw you again you would look so...pardon me when I say it...dreadful," she remarked quietly as she took in Mike's appearance more closely. She seemed concerned.

It was getting harder for Mike to hide his pain, increasing every moment as he kept dancing. "Everyone has a bad day sometimes," he claimed, attempting to brush it off before wincing rather intensely from a sharp pain in his leg.

"You shouldn't be dancing if it's hurting you…"

"Don't worry. I've felt much worse," he assured her quietly.

Ella gave him a look that was hard to read, took his hand and led him off the dance floor and out of the ballroom altogether.

Please review if you feel so moved. See ya next time :)