I'm so excited to be on chapter 4. I definitely overlooked my time management ability :) but chapter 5 will be coming soon. I wanted to give a shoutout to Dream Plane, Thank you so much for the kind review. I'm glad you are enjoying the story so far! I love getting reviews, so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to comment. Constructive criticism is always welcome, and enjoy the story!

I felt weightless, as if I was in a dreamless sleep with no end in sight. As I floated in the darkness, a memory pulled at the back of my mind. I was 10 years old, and I was running around by myself. I ran inside a room made of red stained glass. It shattered and I screamed, the memory fading into a new one. In this memory I was 6 years old and my mother was still alive. One night as I was going to sleep in the maid's chambers, I saw my mother walk in. She had just gotten the former princess ready for bed. We had a one room suite, with my mother's bed in the corner and my cot on the floor. I liked to pretend I was asleep, but secretly watch her. This night was different, however. I saw a worried look on her face as she got ready for bed. She laid down in her bed twirling something between her fingers. A red rose, with a letter attached in golden ribbon. She put it on the bedside table, and closed her tired eyes. After 20 minutes, I heard her soft and steady breathing indicating she was asleep, so I snuck out of my cot to read the letter.

One day she will rule, and take her place. A rose as her symbol, the picture of grace.

My eyes shot open and ebony was standing in front of my crumpled form. I immediately sat up, but quickly laid back down due to the head rush. Ebony knelt beside me, "what happened?"

I slowly sat up with help from the wall. "I have no idea, I was running down the corridor and I heard something around the corner, and next thing I knew I was out." I said in one breath.

"Um… okay." Ebony said with a questioning look in her eye.

I gasped, "The ball?!"

"You didn't miss it. It only started 5 minutes ago, and your hair and makeup look great. Your dress as well. Not a speck on any of it, and we can call our delay being fashionably late." Ebony assured me.

"Good." I said, sighing with relief. Ebony helped me up, and I dusted myself off. I saw something fall to the floor and bent down to pick it up.

"what is that?" Ebony said with curiosity.

"It looks like a Rose. I hadn't noticed this before, it must have been caught in my dress."

Ebony shrugged, "no reason to worry about it now. We must be going."

I couldn't help worrying about it a little. Roses seemed to be appearing everywhere, and I could find no connection between the appearances.

"Care to join me?" Ebony called down the hallway ahead of me.

"Of course! Sorry!" I had to walk fast to catch up with her. Once I was at her side, she nudged me.

"You left Christophor standing there heartbroken. The poor thing. And he said he had to be somewhere. That's why he didn't assist in finding you, If you were wondering."

"I was most definitely not." I honestly would have liked to have him chase after me. One could say that I am a hopeless romantic, but I prefer the term romantically invested. I assume he was not interested in spending his night chasing after me.

I looked over towards Ebony and her eyebrows were raised, "Oh, forgive me, who would take interest in the charming, young stable hand Christophor."

"Please, don't patronize him." I sighed.

Ebony gawked, "your disinterest astounds me, honestly Rose." I rolled my eyes but didn't have time to say anything. We had arrived at the doors to the ballroom. I collected myself and took a deep breath.

"Ready?" Ebony asked, putting her hand on one of the large door handles.

I put my hand on the other door handle, "Definitely."

We stepped into the large ballroom, and found ourselves at the top of a large set of stairs. There was a long blue velvet walkway entering into the center of the dance floor. There was a large golden chandelier in the center of the room, and people adorned with jewels clustered around each other whispering. Everyone was staring at us. We whispered our names to the herald, and he announced us in a booming voice, "Now announcing, Princess Ebonia Elizabeth Meghan Marie of Mangrail, and her companion, Ms. Rose Renee Landale." We slowly walked down the staircase, excitement overwhelming me. I had never been so happy. Until I locked eyes with Christophor.