A/N: This following chapter is dedicated to everyone who reads these words, because otherwise, I would have never written so much. Thank you! (Please read and review!)

Disclaimer: If I owned D. Gray-Man, I would not be writing FanFictions. Since I do write FanFictions, I do not own D. Gray-Man, but rather DGM is owned by Ms./Mrs. Katsura Hoshino

Chapter Six: Allen

"Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt to you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will"

~Jawaharal Nehru

For Allen, the two weeks preceding the ball were both painful with longing, and joyous with anticipation. Both feelings were for the same reason, the girl who called herself Lenalee.

The first week was spent getting to know Lavi and Bookman. Apparently, they were scribes for the kingdom, and had left before Allen came to the castle to observe the life in the opposing country, the Millennium Kingdom.

As he got to know Lavi though, he came to the realization that the two were probably more than just scribes. This much was obvious when Allen introduced himself to the pair as the Prince, rather than "The Faceless Joker".

The boy had just returned from his gambling when he entered the king's office to give him the money that Allen owed for the wine that was thrown in the well earlier. When he opened the door though, he was shocked to find that the two that he met in the bar were sitting in front of the desk. Thankfully though, Allen had switched his hooded black cloak for a knee-length black military jacket with silver fastenings before he went to the office, so the pair could not recognize the boy immediately.

Allen quietly walked up to Cross and discretely gave him the money, not needing to remind the man the reason because he knew that Cross remembered every debt that everyone owed him.

"Bookman, Lavi," The man boomed in a tone that was only used for business. "This is the idiot prince I was telling you about."

Allen blushed slightly at being called an idiot in front of guests, but secretly, he knew that this was to atone for throwing two bottles of Cross' precious wine into the well in the courtyard.

"It is a pleasure to meet you." The boy bowed deeply, and rose slightly to watch Lavi and Bookman's reactions with his mercury colored eyes.

Lavi's emerald eye flashed with recognition before settling back into a poker face that could rival Allen's. Bookman though showed nothing other than a stoic expression, just as thorough as Lavi's.

"It is truly a pleasure." They echoed emotionlessly.

Later though, Lavi did confront Allen about his other identity.

It was a cooler day in the castle, so Allen was wearing a white cloak with a fluffy snow colored trim. Lavi had switched his poncho with a black waist-length military jacket, but otherwise exactly like Allen's as far as design and coloring.

"Oi, Moyashi!" The red head called down one of the castle's long corridors as he ran up to the white figure. Allen had been walking towards the library when Lavi had called to him.

"My name," The white haired youth grumbled, "is Allen."

The red head ignored the boy's protests as emerald eyes met silver.

"I was wondering, do you know how to play poker?" Even though the question sounded innocent, Allen could practically hear the underlying statement as if Lavi had said it himself.

"Fine, you have figured me out. I am 'The Faceless Joker', but please keep this as a secret between you and I. This is something that I would prefer to keep quiet." Allen glared at Lavi in a way that reminded him of whenever he had crossed paths with street urchins. They always had a look of determination in their eyes, the will to live, to improve life, though in Allen's case, he was almost daring the young scribe to tell anyone of his alias. The youth had always scoffed at them though in whispered tones because he knew that there was only a slim possibility that their live style could improve. It just happened to be a coincidence that he had come across one of those rare individuals who had experienced the rags to riches tale, even if it was not through the preferable fairy tale.

"Your secret is safe with me, but I would recommend changing your voice as well as appearances next time. Is it possible if I could ask you some questions about your past?" Allen had looked away from Lavi a little bit earlier, and when he glanced back at the boy, he was startled to find that his eyes showed no sparkle of mirth. He was dead serious.

"Alright, there isn't anything I can really hide anyway besides my alias for when I am outside of the castle." Allen had started walking off towards the library again as he continued, "But, I recommend coming with me to the library, not only because it is more appropriate for interrogations than in the middle of a corridor," at this, Lavi rose an eyebrow. Indeed, the prince was more perceptive than he had originally thought. "But also because I think I need to ask you a favor." The scribe nodded his head in agreement and silently followed the youth to the library.

~~X~~

"Now what was this favor that you wanted to ask me?" Lavi had pretty much learned everything about the prince that there was to know, and was ready to listen to what Allen had wanted to say.

The two teenagers were sitting in two large and rather plush recliners that were situated in front of a roaring fireplace holding mugs of hot chocolate provided by Jeryy, the castle's chef.

Jeryy's recipie for hot chocolate was known by Allen to be the best that he had ever tasted, with a subtle sweet flavor that intermingled with the distinguishing flavors of coco, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg... No one really knew the full recipie except for Jeryy himself because it was kept even from the royal family. Even Lavi, who had traveled much further than Allen, was more than content to agree that it was probably one of the best recipies for hot chocolate that he had tasted, with the taste of the warm creamy liquid that danced across his tastebuds.

Allen sipped some of the dark drink as he watched the crackling flames hungrily lick the air, clearing his throat before replying.

"Do you know how to dance?"

"It depends on why you are asking."

Allen turned to face Lavi. "I need to know how to dance because there is going to be a ball on the next full moon, and I have to be there and take an active part in it." The boy looked like he wanted to say more, but he merely shook his head in denial as he looked down at his hands.

Lavi let his eye soften, realizing that the young prince was in love.

"What's her name?" The scribe prodded.

"Her name is Lenalee, and is a servant for the Levirrer family." Allen gazed off into the distance with a dreamy look in his eyes, his voice in the tone of pure bliss."

"The Levirrers, as in Malcom C. Levirrer, Bak Chang, and Howard Link? One of the richest families in the kingdom?"

"I saw the uniform myself. She was wearing it when we met."

"From what I heard, Levirrer would never let a servant go to the ball." Lavi winked as he continued, "but perhaps you could pick her up yourself?"

"I don't think I can no matter how much I want to. I guess I just have to pray that she does come." Allen hung his head in defeat.

"So it's your duty then to at least learn how to dance when she does come?" Lavi inquired. Allen simply nodded in an initiative.

"Alright then, I guess we better get started." As the red head stood up, he continued, "I think we should start with the basic waltz, that way, we could see your potential at more complex dances like the Vietnamese waltz..."

And so the library echoed with Lavi's voice as he taught Allen to dance.

~~X~~

To the surprise of both teens, the prince was quite talented with dancing a whole, and by the end of the day, he had mastered at least the basic steps of the waltz.

Hours turned into days, which made the ball seem to loom above everyone's heads.

During his dancing lessons with Lavi, Allen would describe Lenalee in depth. The red head would just give a small smile before asking more about her. This was the first time that the prince had ever taken an interest in a girl, so Lavi made it his job to find out everything about her that he could, partially for his records, partially for his own interest in the girl.

The night of the ball found Allen standing in front of his closet, wondering what he could wear for the ball. It never occurred to him to pick an outfit earlier so he wouldn't be in this particular situation. The prince sighed to himself when he heard a knock on his door.

"Who is it?" Allen called out half-heartedly.

"It's me, Lavi!"

"You can come in, the door is unlocked." This was accompanied with a click as the young scribe entered the room.

Except, the dashing young gentleman that entered the room didn't even look like the goofy youth that Allen had known for the past two weeks.

Medium length bright red hair hung down to the bottom of his chin, while his long bangs were brushed aside to hide his black eyepatch. His visible emerald eye glittered with a knowledgeable light rather than the carefree glimmer that Allen had always known. He was dressed in a perfectly fit tuxedo with a ruby red bow tie, his feet covered by a pair of black laced paddock boots that were partially hidden by the hem of his pants, but nevertheless, shone with fresh polish.

"Lavi," Allen exclaimed, "you look amazing!"

"Thank you!" The boy grinned before becoming stoic once more. "Would I be right if I guessed that you cannot find anything to wear to the ball?"

"Yeah..." Allen sighed.

"Here," Lavi strode towards Allen's open closet, "Let me pick out the outfit then!" The prince gladly relinquished the outfit-choosing to the scribe as he sat on his bed watching.

It wasn't that much later when Allen and Lavi left the bedroom for the ball, with Allen dressed in the outfit that Lavi chose.

Allen was actually dressed almost like Lavi, but had switched a red bow tie with silver, and changed his velvet gloves with silk. The tuxedo itself was a bit smaller than Lavi's as well, but that was to be expected. Allen was shorter, and thinner than the scribe.

"Hey Allen?" Lavi asked. The two of them were walking towards the ballroom, but Allen was obviously trying to remember the dances that he was taught.

"Allen?" This time, Lavi poked the silver eyed youth, getting the boy's attention successfully.

"What is it Lavi?" His voice sounded nice enough, but Lavi could hear the slight annoyance in his voice.

In all honesty, the young scribe only wanted to help ease the stress of his former pupil, so he struggled with a way to change the subject.

"Do you know how to play any instruments?" The boy's tone when he replied proved to Lavi that he had succeeded with his goal.

"A few..." Allen trailed off, reminded of Mana and how he had learned so much from the clown.

"Like what?" Lavi guessed that the prince only knew how to play the piano or harpsichord, but was shocked to hear that his assumption was wrong.

"In the castle, I have learned to play the piano and some of the heavier instruments like the harp. But when I was traveling with my first foster father, Mana, I had learned to play the violin, the trumpet, and the flute."

The two teenagers had entered the ballroom and made their way to the tables around the perimeter that were covered in various dishes from the districts as they continued their conversation. Guests had started to file into the room, coloring the room with their dresses and suits.

"What about you?" Allen inquired, "Do you know how to play any instruments?"

"Yeah, I can play the piano, but in my opinion, if I could play one instrument, I can easily learn to play them all."

"I see, I remember Mana saying something similar."

Behind Allen, Lavi caught sight of a strikingly beautiful Asian girl who had just entered the ballroom, distracting him from the conversation. For some reason, she seemed strangely familiar, even though he was sure that he had never seen her before.

The girl's eyes took on the color of amethyst crystals, and her skin was lightly colored with a faint tan. A delicate silver gown flowed gracefully down her figure and brushed the floor. Her fragile looking hands were covered with white satin gloves that reached up to her elbows. Her long ebony hair intermingled with equally long strands of crystals that flowed down her back with glass slippers for shoes.

"Allen?"

"Yes Lavi?"

"What did Lenalee look like?"

As Allen described Lenalee, Lavi realized that she was actually the girl that attracted his attention. He grinned, his emerald eyes meeting amathyst.

Allen, noticing that Lavi's attention was directed else where, turned to see Lenalee walking toward them.

"Miss Lenalee," He said, holding out his hand, "I'm so glad you came."

-Chapter Six End-

A/N: Does anyone like the quote that I had for the beginning of this chapter? When I was looking for quotes, I stumbled upon this one and considering that this chapter is in Allen's point of view, and the fact he is undefeated in poker (that I know of), I thought that this was probably one of the best quotes that I could find for an Allen chapter. Next chapter will be in Lenalee's point of view, and it should cover at least the majority of the ball. Thank you for all of your reviews!