A/N: This chapter was written by me, Karin Skywalker and Wrestlemaniac829.

Morning dawned along the castle, the sun's brightness shined along Maria's face and stirring her awake. The sun's rays caught a twinkle in her eye, as she arose with a smile on her face. For she knew that this very night was the night of the ball, and she was excited that Frederick would be her chaperone. The thought of the two of them together for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity filled her with such joy she hadn't felt in so long. There she was, out and about from her room, walking down the hallway and twirling around while humming a merry tune to no one but herself.

Down the hallway, Manx had since been dusting the portraits since early in the morn. In the midst of his work, he soon spotted Maria coming his way.

"Good morning, Mistress," Manx said. "My, you look… Um… You're looking cheery this morning."

Maria stopped, as if the voice startled her out of her thoughts. She turned to Manx and smiled broadly.

"Of course I'm in a good mood, Manx," Maria replied good-heartedly. "Tonight is the ball, remember?"

"B-But you hate balls, don't you?" Manx asked, surprised.

"Well, this is different, Manx," Maria confessed, smiling. "Frederick will be my chaperone tonight and… Oh, when is breakfast? I'm starved!"

"Oh, um… Breakfast will be served in a few minutes." Manx informed, adjusting his monocle. "I must admit, you've never been this happy in years. Are you sure it's just the ball you're so joyous about?"

Maria paused for a moment, studying Manx's expression and she knew how curious he could be, in such a way that he wouldn't let it slide until he got the whole story. Still, she smiled again, even more broadly than before.

"I don't know what you could possibly be suggesting by that, Manx," Maria said. "But I assure you that it's just the ball that makes me happy today."

With that said, Maria resumed her merrily pace and dances down the hallway en route to the Dining Hall. Manx watched her walk on and chuckled seeing Maria behave this way.

"That's my Mistress for you; always with her head in the clouds."

"Manx!" A voice called.

Manx turned around to see that it was Miss Doe and her daughter walking down the hall towards him.

"Oh, morning, Miss Doe, Katrina."

"Did you see how happy the Mistress is?"

"Indeed I did," Manx replied, with a smile. "If you ask me, I'd know that look anywhere. She's in love."

"You may be right, Manx." Miss Doe agreed, with a smile.

"Come, breakfast is about ready," Manx said, as Katrina looked to say something.

Miss Doe nodded in response, as the three servants proceeded down the dining room.

It was later in the afternoon, by then Maria was taking a bath in her own private quarters. Her silhouette could be shown through the beige curtains, the hum of a beautiful melody echoed along the halls. It had been such a long day for Maria, preparation for the ball included, and this was the one time she could have to herself. Just then, Miss Doe came in pushing a vat of water on a tray.

"Tonight is the night, M'lady," Miss Doe said, smiling.

Miss Doe proceeded to lift the vat and dump all the water onto Maria. The freezing shock from the cold water made Maria give out a loud yelp, as the water flowed onto her body.

"Don't worry, we'll be done before you can say 'this water is freezing cold'," Miss Doe said, as she assisted Maria with washing her body.

"I hope so, because this water is indeed frigid!" Maria replied.

Miss Doe merely chuckled in response, as she poured another vat of water onto Maria to wash the soap off. She then moved down to the towel rack, grabbing the first towel she laid her eyes on, and handed it over to Maria. By the time she stepped out, Maria completely wrapped the towel around her body, all dried up after a nice bath. Just then, as she sat down in front of her vanity, there was a knock at the door, causing Maria to turn in that direction.

"Who is it?"

"It's Lumiere and Katrina," Lumiere called from behind the door. "May we come in?"

"Yes, I'm decent."

The door opened, as Lumiere and Katrina came into her quarters.

"You look si magnifique, Mistress."

"I'm not even fully dressed yet, Lumiere," Maria pointed out, blushing slightly. "But thank you for the compliment."

"I know, Mistress," Lumiere said. "It's just been a while since I've seen you properly clean."

"Can I pick out a bow for you, Princess Maria?" Katrina asked innocently.

"Of course you can, Katrina," Maria answered, smiling. "So long as it's a nice one. Go pick one out of my closet there while your mother does my hair."

"Yay!" Katrina exclaimed happily.

As she strolled over to the closest, rummaging through for a hairpiece, Miss Doe proceeded to brush through Maria's hair. All the while she was just trying to think of what to do with it.

"My, your hair is so much easier to brush now, M'lady," Miss Doe replied, as she brushed Maria's hair, doing her best to avoid her horns.

"Why thank you," Maria said. "But… I'm not sure I'm up for this."

"Zis is no time to be timid," Lumiere said, as he hopped up onto the vanity. "You must have grace, poise."

"Grace, poise," Maria thought, nodding. "Got it."

It was not long before Katrina returned with a bright blue bow in her grasp.

"You like this one?" She asked.

"It's lovely," Maria replied, smiling at the bow. "Go right ahead."

"There will be music," Lumiere continued. "Romantic candlelight, provided by myself, and when zi moment is right, you confess your love."

"Lumiere, I don't know if I can," Maria sighed.

"You care about Frederick, don't you?"

"Oh, more than anything."

"Finished!" Katrina answered, with a smile on her face.

Pleased, Maria looked in a mirror but for some reason can't find the bow anywhere on her head. Not one single spot. She turned towards Katrina, raising an eyebrow at the innocent little fawn.

"Katrina?" She asked. "Where's the bow?"

"On your tail." Katrina replied, giggling.

Curious, Maria slowly looked around behind her. Just as Katrina said, there was the bow, tied at the end of her tail. She turns back to the young doe, eyebrows lowered and still she smiled at the Doe regardless of her mischief.

"Very funny, Katrina," Maria replied, gently. "Now, could you please take it off my tail and give it to your mom, so she can put it in my hair?"

"Okay," Katrina said.

Maria turned around faced the vanity, as Katrina took the bow off her tail.

"Let me pick out a dress for you, Mistress," Lumiere offered, as he hoped off of the vanity.

As Maria sat by waiting, Lumiere approached the closest and browsed around for anything suitable to wear for this particular occasion. Soon enough, he came out holding a large, golden gown. Luckily, the candle sticks were burnt out and the gown remained intact.

"How about this one?"

Maria turned around to look at the golden gown and the moment she laid her eyes on it, a gasp escaped her lips. It was a very familiar dress she had seen since she was a child and a gown that she knew all too well in her life.

"It's beautiful, Lumiere!" Maria nearly squealed. "Not to mention that's the dress I've admired since I was a little girl!"

She clutched the gown gently from Lumiere's burnt candle sticks, holding the gown close to her and admiring the fabric work on the gown. She turned to Lumiere, a tear nearly escaping her eyes.

"Thank you, Lumiere."

"It's an honor and a privilege, Princess," Lumiere replied, bowing to the mistress with a smile.

Maria turned back to her vanity, looking at herself with the dress over it. Indeed, this gown would be perfect for the ball and she had hoped for one day to finally get to wear it at the proper age. And considering the circumstances, this was all the more the perfect time to wear the gown. In all that time, that much she spent in her thoughts, one particular thought crossed her mind.

"I wonder how Frederick's doing."

Meanwhile, Frederick was in his room getting ready for the ball. The first thing he wanted to do was look his best and so he sought the advice fo Madame de la Grande Bouche, considering her expertise in the fashion sense. The dresser in question was more than happy to help with that matter the moment Frederick asked.

"What kind of outfits do you have for me, Madame?" Frederick asked. "Particularly for the ball, of course."

"Oh, my, let's have a look, shall we?" The wardrobe replied, excitedly.

Opening her doors, she revealed a whole line up of outfits. They were all nice suits for Frederick, several of which would work great for any occasion. But out of all the suits she had, there was one particular attire that attracted Frederick's attention. He pulled out a blue dress jacket with gold trimming and golden buttons.

"I think I'll wear this one," Frederick said, holding it up.

"Oh yes, it's a dashing suit, and it brings out your eyes too!" The wardrobe agreed, smiling. "I think you should wear it, sir."

Fitting himself into the suit, Frederick carefully pulled his arms through the sleeves and smiled at himself in the mirror. Indeed, he DID look rather dashing in the blue tuxedo jacket. Just then, Gutknecht entered the room and looked impressed with the wardrobe choice Frederick picked out.

"Hell, master Frederick," He said with a kind smile.

"Hi Gutknecht," Frederick answered, turning towards Gutknecht. "How do I look?

"You look simply charming, sir. You know, that outfit used to belong to Maria's father."

"Really?" Frederick asked, raising an eyebrow.

Now that Gutknecht brought that up, Frederick did remember Maria having mentioned her parents the other night. But even so, he wondered why he had never seen them in the castle. But with everything that was going on all day, Frederick didn't have a chance to ask Maria about the subject. So, since this was his chance to get further information, he figured Gutknecht would know about them.

"What happened to him, or her mother?"

Gutknecht took a deep breath, and simply shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Master Frederick. I cannot talk about it; it's a rather heartbreaking story."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Frederick apologized, sighing.

"It's quite all right; it's all in the past now," Gutknecht replied, as he headed to the door. "The Mistress wants to know when you will be ready."

"Tell Maria I'll be ready in a few minutes," Frederick answered, with a smile. "Can you also tell Maria to save a dance for me?"

"Of course, sir," He replied, smiling.

With the conversation at an end, Gutknecht left the room and closed the door behind him. Madame de la Grande Bouche turned to Frederick with a curious look, she couldn't help but notice that one particular gleam in Frederick's eye when he spoke about Maria's parents. Naturally, she had to know what was on his mind.

"So, do you like Maria?"

"Me?" He asked, turning to her. "Um… Yes, I do. She's kind, caring, and…"

"And what?" The Dressed asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well… She has a beautiful smile."

A look of surprise dawned on the Madame's face, slowly changing as a smile formed in it's place. It didn't take much effort to see what was on Frederick's mind, even if it wasn't revealed completely. She knew deep down that Frederick was slowly falling in love with Maria. It was only a matter of time starting now. If all goes as planned, this will soon be a happy ending for everyone in the castle.