Ziggy's words to her haunted Diana long after his body had been taken to the Undertaker for burial. You're going to rattle the stars, he'd said. How could he be so sure of a girl he'd seen for merely ten minutes of her life? Diana couldn't understand how he had sounded so certain. Unfortunately, eighteen years living in a castle separate from her parents and everyone they knew meant that she didn't have time to reflect on why he'd said it. Diana looked upon smiling face after smiling face, curtsying and hoping she didn't look as nervous as she felt. After what felt like hours, Vanessa pulled her into a tight hug and then told her to go mingle with the kids. Diana breathed a sigh of relief and gladly joined them. There were many children around her age attending the ball, due to the fact that Vanessa and Jack had a lot of friends. The particular group of teens clinging to her side were Enya, Hugo, Derek, Elizabeth (Rapunzel and Eugene's daughter), Liam, Connie, and Lyle. The others just kind of gave Diana her distance without being asked to. Diana was grateful for that. They had so many questions that Diana felt extremely overwhelmed.
"Why isn't your hair white?" asked Derek.
"What was living with Manny like?" asked Enya.
"Do you have snow magic like your parents?" asked Hugo.
"Have you had any kind of royal training?" asked Connie.
"Do you call Manny and Solaris Mom and Dad?" asked Lyle.
"Are you glad to be home?" asked Elizabeth.
"Is this a dream come true for you?" asked Liam.
Diana gave a nervous smile and squeaked something about needing to tinkle. She proceeded to rush from the ballroom. Just as she reached the exit, she slipped twisting her ankle slightly. She winced and ran out the door before anyone could rush to her aid. She ran to a set of spiral stairs and up those. She found that they led to a room high up in a tower with a balcony. On that balcony was a bench, cast-iron and elaborately painted ice blue. She sat on the bench and investigated her ankle.
"Stupid high heels!" shouted Diana, tearing them off of her feet and throwing them off the tower. "Good riddance!"
Diana sighed and reached up to pull the bobby pins out of her hair. She exhaled in relief as her hair tumbled over her shoulders. What had she been thinking? She couldn't handle this many people at once. She'd spent ninety percent of her life in solitude, and the other ten percent with two people who knew not to pry and pester. How had she ever thought she could handle a ballroom full of people who wanted only to see her, to ask her questions? Diana slumped her chin onto her knees and winced as a sudden pain stabbed through her ankle. She didn't know what to do about a twisted ankle, so she merely cried, not caring if she was ruining her make-up. It was Lottie that found her like that.
"My lady?" asked Lottie, a hint of sympathy in her voice. "Shouldn't you be down in the ballroom? Your parents have been planning this for a very long time."
"Excuse me, I just got here maybe an hour ago, I have no idea who any of these people are, and they act like they know me better than anyone," said Diana, wiping her cheeks angrily. "I don't know any of them. I don't even know you, so could you maybe leave me alone?"
"My name is Lottie Bauer and I have been with your parents for a very long time," said Lottie, ignoring Diana's request that she leave. "I know how overwhelming this can be. I was just a little village girl until your mother and father were made king and queen. They asked my sister and me to come and stay with them, though I'll never exactly understand why."
"Sounds touching," said Diana, rubbing her hand up and down her shin. "Do I have to order you to leave me alone? Because I could."
"I just thought you'd like to know that the paint on that bench is still wet," said Lottie. Diana gasped and rose to her feet. She craned her neck and looked at the back of her dress. There were swirls and stripes of ice blue paint all over it. Diana ran her fingers over her scalp and burst into tears again. The day that was supposed to be the best of her life was turning out to be the worst already. Lottie did a healing spell on Diana's ankle then put an arm around Diana's shoulder and led her back inside the tower. "It's okay, Milady. Your parents have had a room prepared for you since the month after your birth. There are dresses in there for you."
"Yeah?" said Diana around the lump in her throat. "With my luck, none of them will fit."
"Nonsense, Nuvola herself determined the sizes of the clothing and shoes," said Lottie. "She knows everything except what has been hidden from her or what she's chosen to forget. She knew exactly what size you'd be today even then."
"Well, isn't that incredibly convenient," said Diana. Lottie led Diana down the spiral stairs and down a hall to the left, rather than to the right, back to the ballroom. After five doors passed by on Diana's right and seven on her left, Lottie stopped and opened the eighth door on the left. The room inside was fairly bland, as opposed to what Diana had been expecting. The walls were white, the floor was white, the bedding was white, the furniture was white, and pretty much everything in the room was white except for the golden stuffed bear sitting on the bed. Diana had had a silver one that was otherwise identical to this bear when she was younger. Lottie opened a door and Diana caught flashes of color from inside the room, but she was still looking around at the whiteness of her bedroom. "Wow. They didn't have much creativity when they decorated this place."
"Oh, no," said Lottie, taking Diana's hand and leading her into the walk-in closet, the only room that had even a lick of color. "They decided to leave the decorating up to you. How else would they be sure you'd love it?"
Diana took a steadying breath and followed Lottie into the walk-in closet. There were rack upon rack of dresses and drawers full of everything else. There were baskets of accessories, pails of make-up, rows of shoes, and at the very back of the room was a vanity and a folding screen. Diana thought that if the room outside of this closet had as much vibrancy as the closet did then everything might just work out. Diana just had to get used to the people, that was all. She'd be fine after that. Lottie pulled a dress off the rack and so began half an hour of primping, polishing, and painting.
… Half an hour later was when she was finished, and it was also the time when she was first missed from the ballroom. Jack was about to go looking for her when Lottie escorted Diana into the ballroom. The room made a collective gasp, because she looked better now than she had before. Instead of wearing the designated color for the evening, which was light shades of blue, purple and pink, she sported blood red. It highlighted her pale complexion in a way that left most speechless. Of course, had Diana noticed the color-scheme, she would have chosen something blue instead of sleek, floor-sweeping dress she had chosen. The sleeves were long and sheer lace. There was a hole where the cloth of the back should have been, because she didn't mind baring a bit of skin. The skirt began at the base of her ribs and went down to the floor, covering her red satin flats with the little clusters of jewels on the toes. She'd decided to opt out on the high heels this time. Her hair had been braided and the pinned over the top of her head to form a headband, leaving the rest to hang down over her shoulder. Her make-up had been done very lightly, a faint dusting of silver eye shadow and a light coat of red-orange lipstick. Diana felt a lot better now than she had when she'd first arrived in Frosteria. She felt infinitely more confidant as well. Lottie's pampering had been pure magic, removing all of her worries and fears. She had all of these people in the palm of her hand, and she could use an asset like that.
"Diana, you look wonderful!" said Vanessa, circling around Diana and smiling proudly. She snapped and a small group of men in leather gloves, aprons, and boots rushed forward. "Reset the crown with rubies instead of sapphires. Hmm… You know what? Just stick to the same design as before, but make it out of gold and rubies instead of silver and sapphires. Finish it by the end of the ball, if you can. Give the old one to Connie."
The men nodded hastily and rushed off to the forge to get to work on a new crown. One of them handed a silk-wrapped package to Connie, and then rushed off with the others. Connie unwrapped the crown with look of disdain on her face. Inside was the crown, silver inlaid with sapphires. Lyle placed it on her head and smiled with a bow.
"You look lovely your majesty," said Lyle in a joking tone. Connie sighed in annoyance and took the crown off of her head. She wrapped the silk back around it and set it down on one of the side tables. "What's wrong? You looked so regal in that crown."
"Lyle, my crown was supposed to be re-sized to fit me again by the end of the ball, but now the jewellers will be too busy working on Diana's crown, all because she had the indecency to show up in red," said Connie. She took a steadying breath and took Lyle's hand. "You know what? It's fine; it isn't as if she's taking over my life. She just looks better in red. Mom saw that. That's all."
"Then why do you sound so jealous?" asked Lyle, leading Connie into a waltz. Connie rolled her eyes and followed Lyle's lead in the dance. "Look, she's never gonna take your place. The people are just happy to have her here after eighteen years. She's not you, and she will never be. Everyone knows that. You're the best, and they aren't going to forget that just because Diana showed up."
Connie smiled at Lyle and closed the distance between her lips and his, causing him to forget that they had been dancing. Derek, Hugo, and Enya all laughed at the flustered way Lyle kissed her back. Liam on the other hand had his eyes on something else entirely. And that something was smiling like she was queen of the world. Diana turned her violet eyes from her mother to him, perhaps by accident, and smiled wider upon seeing that he was looking at her. Liam gathered his resolve and headed in her direction. Vanessa smirked like she knew something they didn't and walked back over to Jack, pulling him in for a waltz. Liam held a hand out to Diana and a look of slight embarrassment came across her face.
"Um… I don't know how to waltz, actually," said Diana. Liam pulled his hand back with a look of disappointment on his face. "Hey, have you been to this castle before?"
"Yes, many times," said Liam, the smile returning to his face. "Why do you ask?"
"Maybe you could, I dunno, show me around?" asked Diana, smiling bashfully in return. "I mean, I'd ask someone else, but I don't want to drag them away from the party."
"But you're willing to leave your own birthday party to spend time with a boy you hardly know?" asked Liam, taking her hand. "Well, I have a feeling you chose to do so with the hope that by the end of the night, we'll know each other very well, am I right?"
"Spot on," said Diana, amazed at the fact that her flirting was actually coming across as being flirty instead of weirdness. "Come on, if I'm going to be spending the rest of my life here, I'd like to know where everything is."
Liam led Diana down the hall and thought about how easy this was going to be after all. What with his mother's eternal youth and immortality, she was never going to be abdicating her throne. The only thing he was going to get out of his heritage was an inn to run. That was much less authority than he needed. Being prince is pretty much nothing when your people love the queen more than you. He knew he'd have to marry into the throne somewhere. He could have gone for Tammy, but he knew well enough to leave her be. Connie had been an option, but then Lyle wormed in just before Liam was about to make his move. There was Enya, but for some reason, she was completely ignorant to flirtation. Whatever was going on in her head was always the priority. He could've tried his luck with Ariel's daughter Lily, but he didn't want to have to deal with her more fishy days. That left only Diana. The way things were working out so far, with a little help from his associate, Diana would be made the crown princess, and she'd inherit the throne in Connie's place. This would put Liam in the exact perfect position that he wanted to be in the first place. Hours flew by, with stories exchanged, smiles given and hands squeezed encouragingly. They found themselves on a different balcony than the one that Diana had been on before, looking out at the setting sun. Diana had never felt so open and honest as she did right then. She turned to Liam and smiled.
"Okay," she began. "Can I just… say something crazy?"
"I love crazy," was Liam's response.
All my life has been a series of doors in my face, then suddenly I tripped over you.
"I was thinking the same thing," said Liam, laughing internally at her naivety. "Cause, like." I've been searching my whole life to find my own place, and maybe it's the party talking, or the chocolate fondue. But with you I found my place.
I see your face.
And it's nothing like I've ever known before. Love is an open door! Love is an open door! Love is an open door! Love is an open door!
With you!
With you!
With you!
With you!
Love is an open door...
I mean it's crazy...
What?
We finish each other's—
Sandwiches!
That's what I was gonna say!
I've never met someone- Who thinks so much like me! Jinx! Jinx again! Our mental synchronization can have but one explanation.
You—
And I—
Were—
Just—
Meant to be!
Say goodbye...
Say goodbye...
To the pain of the past, we don't have to feel it anymore! Love is an open door! Love is an open door! Life can be so much more!
With you!
With you!
With you!
With you!
Love is an open door...
"Can I say something crazy?" asked Liam. Diana chuckled and nodded. Liam fell to one knee and held her hand dramatically. "Will you marry me?"
"Um, are you out of your damn mind?" asked Diana sweetly, pulling back her hand. "Of course not! Wow, you must think I'm really stupid if you believed I would marry you just because we sang a song and you showed me around a castle."
Liam stayed on his knee with a stunned look on his face. He had not expected that. Girls like Diana, with sheltered pasts and crushes, always did stupid things. What was it that made this one different?
"I think the thing that made this 'dumb girl' different is that she can read your mind," said Diana, playing with the end of her braid as she walked off. "You should be more careful about who you tangle with, and what you think. I'm sure your mother isn't going to be very impressed with all of the evil things you had planned for me and her. It would be a shame if she found out, wouldn't it?"
Diana sauntered off with a victorious smile on her face, finally grateful for her own special power. At first she hadn't known what to do about the power to read others minds. I mean, all it had ever done for her was make for awkward conversation/ But it would appear that reading minds had just saved a lot of lives, saved her a lot of heart-break, and had saved everyone from wasting their time on someone as self-centered as him. She returned to the ballroom and found her father as soon as she got back.
"Daddy, there's a boy up on the highest balcony who really shouldn't be here anymore," said Diana with a sweet smile. Jack raised an eyebrow and she laughed. "It's Liam. He thought I was stupid enough to agree to marry him after a song and a tour. He only wanted the throne though, so I left him to rot in his own selfishness."
"That makes me proud in a peculiar way," said Jack, pulling Diana in for hug. After he let go, he placed his hands on her shoulders. "I'll go take care of him. Thank you for handling that so maturely."
Diana smiled at her father's retreating form and thought about how comfortable she was beginning to feel in Frosteria. Her day had started out pretty terribly, but now things were looking up. She'd brought down a crook on her first day; imagine what she could do in a year! She turned to the ballroom and looked around for another dance partner, since she had a feeling her original one would be occupied for the rest of the evening…
