As soon as the doors opened, Gilbert's heart leaped. That was him. That was the boy he had talked with in the forest.

He looked beautiful and awesome and gorgeous.

His pants were black with a simple gold stripe up the outside of the leg along the seem. His coat was red, which looked striking against his pale skin. A white flap in the middle was held up by black buttons. The lining on the coat was gold to match the pants. The belt only helped to accentuate his thin waist. His gloves also held the same gold but with a more intricate design.

A light smile graced his face as a bowed to the crowd. His almost amber blond hair seemed fluffier than the last time they met.

Gilbert started to step forward, the crowd seeming to step out of the way.

Birdie, the name Gilbert had given to the lad, came closer. He swore there was true stardust in his eyes.

"How do you do?" Gilbert swore he sounded lame, but the blush on the boy's face said otherwise as they both bowed.

"Spectacular. You?" His voice likened an angel's.

"Awesome." Gilbert would place money on the fact that the best sound in the world was the man's laugh.

When the music started playing, he wasn't sure if he should thank or complain to Roderich later about the choice. It was a simple piece that was easy enough to dance to.

He held out his hand.

"Care to dance?"

Birdie nodded, slipping his hand gently into the one placed out for him.

The doors let out at the top of a staircase.

The chandeliers were bigger than any Matthew had ever seen before. Their light filled the ballroom.

The room was filled with people that were looking at him. Odd.

He didn't feel pressured though. It felt almost like a dream. As he made his way down the staircase, he stopped at the landing in the middle and bowed, a smile on his face.

After looking around at the people at the bottom of the stairwell, his eyes landed on platinum hair and red eyes. Gilbert.

He felt his face heat slightly. Gilbert wore black boots with white pants tucked into them. A brown shirt and white ascot made up the under clothes. The coat was navy blue. Gold lined the red cuffs and flaps. Black gloves kept his hands hidden and a sword was laced onto his belt.

Each of the colors matched those of the crests that hung on the walls.

"How do you do?" Matthew's heart almost stopped when he realized that Gilbert was actually right in front of him and not miles away. His voice seemed to melt into him, causing an even bigger blush to spread across his face than what he was sure was already there.

"Spectacular. You?" Matthew was sure his voice shook. He was so nervous. He had never been to a ball before. The fancy clothing felt odd all of a sudden and his hands began to sweat inside his gloves.

"Awesome." He laughed. Although still extremely tense, that helped to ease his mood.

When the music started playing, he found it to be something he played for his parents when they danced. Luckily, it was also something his papa had taught him to dance to.

Gilbert's hand was suddenly extended towards him.

"Care to dance?"

In the moments between his hand reaching for the one in front of it, everything really did feel like a dream. The bright lights from the beautiful chandeliers. The people around them. Gilbert himself. None of it felt like it was even possible. It felt so far away and dreamlike. More so than Matthew wanted. He wanted this to be real, to feel real.

Matthew nodded, slipping his hand gently into the other's.

And all of a sudden it was real. Everything hit him.

It felt right. Like his hand was meant to be there, even with the fabric in the way. Like the eyes that stared into his were going to be there forever, comforting him. Like that smile would never leave the smooth face that stood, at some times, inches away.

His heart raced. This was real. This was happening. And it all felt like it should be.

When they started dancing, Matthew let Gilbert take the lead. He hadn't danced in years anyway.

He relaxed easily into the pattern that was laid out for him.

It made him feel like he was flying. This feeling was something that took hold of Matthew, stronger than any other he had felt before it. He wished this moment could last forever. This feeling and the strong hands that held him, he wished they would never leave.

They danced together gracefully. The crowd stood and watched the first dance. Many faces smiled at the two. Especially a pair of twins, one of which was so giddy that he wouldn't stop poking the other in excitement. The other was so content that he didn't really care.

Gilbert's grandfather looked on in delight. If Gilbert would have seen it, he may have made a comment about how odd it looked on the man's face. However, this scene reminded him so much of both his son and his lost love. It made him reminisce on the times he spent with his loved one. Maybe this boy wasn't so bad for Gilbert after all.

Ludwig smiled at his older brother. He had the pleasure of finding Gilbert sleeping on his window sill for the past couple of days. He was ready for that to stop and he hoped it did after tonight.

Across the circle that the crowd had made for the two, Ludwig saw a brunette who was currently poking what looked to be his brother. An amused smile found it's way onto his face as his thoughts went to asking the man to dance after his brother was finished.

Antonio had similar thoughts, both about finding Gilbert sleeping in odd places and about a certain brunette across the way. His brunette, however, was the one currently being poked. His eyebrow ticked as he swatted the hand and continued to watch the two dance. Now all that was left was for the first dance to be over so he could make his way across the floor to the boy.

Ivan watched on with a small amount of amusement. He knew the boy would come. It was obvious. He felt something would happen soon, so he wouldn't let his guard down for the night, but he hoped to enjoy it.

Elizaveta was practically squealing. The two dancing looked so perfect together. She wished she could get a painting done of this scene. She pulled herself away from the scene to see if anyone caught the mystery boy's name.

Roderich really liked this song.

Others glared at the ones in the prince's hands. How dare he walk in late and then steal away the prince? Three people were especially peeved. Although they did not know the man currently dancing with the one they were after, they hated him. His graceful moves got on their nerves. Reagan tried to hide his anger as he held back his sons from killing the boy.

When the two stopped, the crowd erupted in applause. They pulled apart and all Matthew wanted was to hold those hands again. His own felt bare without the other's in them.

Another dance erupted, this time with everybody and Matthew was pulled into Gilbert again. A much livelier dance. Only a couple seconds were spent on this before the hand he dared not let go of dragged him into a separate room.

"You're the prince?" Matthew was almost out of breath.

"Not the prince. Just an extremely awesome one." Gilbert winking and he felt himself go weak at the knees and a blush spread over his face.

"I thought you said you were an apprentice."

"Technically I am."

Matthew paused. "I guess so." He laughed and Gilbert joined it soon after.

"I mistook you for a country boy, so I guess we were both fooled."

"I swear I am. These are actually my papa's clothes."

"They look nice on you."

"I may have altered them a bit."

"You can sew?"

"Yes. It is one of my favorite pastimes along with the violin."

Gilbert laughed at that. "I can imagine what Roderich will say as soon as I tell him you play the violin."

Matthew laughed as well.

They stepped out into the night. A night chill had set in but it didn't bother either of the men.

They talked on the veranda for a while about the adventures Gilbert had gone on before he started to lead them to the garden.

On the way, Matthew spotted a familiar flower.

"Roses. They were my papa's favorite."

"You seem to mention your father often."

Matthew nodded. "Speaking of family, tell me about yours."

"My grandfather is the king. He is very stern but definitely rules well. I think if I can become a fraction of the man he is, I'll be a great ruler as well. Don't tell him I said that though."

Matthew laughed. "I think he'd love to hear that you think so highly of him."

"Maybe." Gilbert paused for a moment before continuing. "Ludwig is a sweet kid. He's recently gotten really buff which kind of freaked me out but whatever. He's got a similar face to our grandfather, but, in my opinion, they have two very separate personalities."

Matthew nodded. "They sound nice."

"They are pretty awesome."

"Shouldn't we go back soon? It is your ball. I'm sure they are missing you."

"I think it's fine. Just a little while longer."

They walked further into the garden. Everything was so well kept. It shouldn't have surprised Matthew, but it did.

"Who takes care of the garden?"

"Mostly the gardeners. Don't tell anyone, but I help as well. You could say I am a secret gardener. It's pretty embarrassing though."

"You've done a wonderful job."

"Thank you." Gilbert seemed stuck in thought for a second. "Actually, I keep a separate part of the garden to myself. Would you like to join me?"

A hand was held out to Matthew again who took it almost immediately.

The walls were covered in vines and Gilbert opened the door excitedly.

"It's beautiful and, if I may say so, awesome."

It was Gilbert's turn to laugh.

A bench sat in the center and there the two sat together. Silence engulfed the two for a while as they sat comfortably in the other's presence.

Gilbert broke the silence.

"The moon is beautiful tonight. It's almost as awesome as me."

Matthew looked to the moon as well, a laugh on his lips. He soon went quiet as he realized only a sliver of the moon was left in the light blue.

He turned quickly to Gilbert. "I'm so sorry. I must leave. I've had an amazing night." Matthew ran.

"Wait!" Gilbert started to run after him. "Won't you at least tell me your name?"

"I'm sorry!"

As he ran back to the castle, his glove caught on the rose bushes. He went to turn back, but Gilbert was already so close. He couldn't risk it.

Rushing inside, he said a small apology to his father and continued to run through the dancing people.

An incredibly tall man stopped him at the door.

"Please, monsieur. I must leave." Matthew gave the man a pleading look. He glanced behind him to see Gilbert caught up in others dancing.

"Why?" A smirk was settled on that smug face.

"I fear he'll find out who I really am and this wonderful dream will really end. Please."

The man's eyes caught on his hand and gave a worried look to Matthew who just placed the other over it.

He opened the door. "You do know he'll find you, right?"

Matthew nodded. "I hope so. Tell him thank you so much for the magical evening and that I can't wait to see him again."

With that, Matthew continued to run. All the way down those stairs to where Kuma and the carriage were waiting.

He jumped in and Kuma began to run. About halfway through town, they slowed their pace. No one was following after. He figured it could have been due to the man at the door.

The magic was reverting and Matthew stopped Kumajiro. Soon, the carriage turned back into a rose. Matthew picked it up. He would let it dry and keep it in his Box of Important Things™ along with the glove he had left on his hand. .

The ride home was peaceful as he was left to his thoughts.

Gilbert was rather annoyed that Ivan refused to go after Birdie.

After being caught by two very pushy men, he finally escaped them only to get to the door to find Ivan had just let the boy walk out.

"He seemed very keen on seeing you again. He just really needed to leave right then." Ivan thought for a moment. "He said it was magical and I'm sure he wants you to at least try to enjoy the rest of the dance."

He was pushed off as Ivan left, seemingly seeking someone out.

Gilbert sat with his grandfather. He watched his brother and his best friend dance with two very similar boys. Little did he know, the twins were indulging the two men on the mystery boy's life story, although also enjoying themselves in the other's company.

Hi!

I don't know how many of you have watched the Rodgers and Hammerstein's version of Cinderella from 1965 but I definitely recommend it. I reference it again. One of the songs is called "Ten Minutes Ago" and it is always a good song to listen to. Part of their conversation and thoughts before and while dancing comes from it.

Anyway, I am so happy that you have continued reading and I hope you enjoy!