It was night time and Jane and Sofia were getting ready.

Well Sofia was helping Jane get ready, since Jester would be an hour earlier than Gunther.

"Sofia, help?" She turned to her roommate holding the ribbon.

Sofia took the ends and pulled them quite tight. "Does that feel tight enough?"

Jane nodded.

Sofia tied a bow in the centre and stepped back to admire her work on the dress. "Wow, I'm good!" She grinned.

Jane pulled at her red locks, which were up to her elbow now. "What do I do with this? I washed it but it still looks like normal."

Sofia went to her sack and pulled out a box of hair pins and ribbons. "Sit." She ordered, pointing to the stool in front of the bed. "You realise I have to get ready too?" She joked. She was walking around in her undergarments.

"Sorry, I'm just nervous. I've skipped the last four years."

"Well... you better not bail on Jester, he's a nice guy." Sofia laughed.

Jane shook her head. "Never."

Sofia did Jane's hair up in a simple yet pretty braid down her back, she put emerald tipped pins at the top, in between the twists of hair. "You can keep these. Remember who gave you them alright, and don't let the merchant catch sight of them because they're real emeralds." She warned.

Jane looked in the mirror and grinned. "Oh, my goodness, simple yet it looks so great." She sighed, spinning in a circle. "Thank you, Sofia, I feel like a princess."

Sofia returned her smile. "Alright, now I'm going to get myself sorted." She pulled out her dress.

"Oh gosh! That is stunning, Gunther will fall over when he sees you in it." Jane exclaimed.

Sofia placed it onto the bed. "I'll do my hair first as it will take longer." She stated, sitting on the stool in front of the mirror.

"You look stunning even without anything on at all." Jane commented.

Sofia giggled. "Quit looking at me." She joked.

"It's hard not to. For anyone. You are the most stunning woman in the whole kingdom, even the queen says so." She added.

Sofia put a mint leaf in her mouth and chewed. "I'm like this because of my dragon form, I am literally a human form of the dragon I was. Instead of black scales I have black hair. I have fangs for goodness sake, that's scary, not attractive. I could probably crush Gunther in my arms." She sighed. "He came to see me last night whilst I was working but I fell asleep before he got there. He startled me and I had a dagger to his throat because a nightmare clouded my senses and I couldn't pick up his scent." She admitted. "I nearly killed the one man who has made me forget about the past, forget about my curse." Her voice shook.

"But you didn't." Jane stated.

"Because he woke me up. His voice shook me and I woke up."

"Exactly, his voice saved him and yourself."

Sofia sighed and pinned her hair up into a pretty, braided bun, quite high on her head. Layers of the front fell out of the bun but gave her a casual, elegant look. She placed diamond and sapphire pins into gaps.

"Beautiful." Jane approved.

There was a call from outside.

"Jane, it's Jester." Sofia confirmed.

Jane jumped up and slipped on her black flat shoes. "Alright, will you be okay?"

Sofia nodded. "I'm going to a ball... I'm excited." She smiled.

Jane pecked her cheek. "Thanks again. See you soon." At that she ran down the stairs to greet Jester.

Sofia looked to the dress on the bed and sighed. "I guess I have to try and get you on." Remembering the multiple dresses, she has worn, but they just slipped over her. This one needed to be done up from the waist upwards with buttons. "Jane... come back." She groaned and pulled her top off. Careful of the hair and slipping the dress on.

It looked beautiful, for sure.

"This is so impractical. I was hoping Jane would be here to help when I bought it." She sighed and decided to put make up on first.

Crushing raspberries, she made a paste. Using a clean rag so she wouldn't get it on her hands, she wiped the crushed raspberries on her lips, tinting them dark pink. She licked the paste off, it left a stain on her full lips.

She went back to the task of trying to button up her dress, when she heard a familiar voice. She opened the window shutters and looked down to see Gunther waving up at her. "Thank goodness!" She exclaimed.

He frowned. He was wearing a blue tunic and black pants along with his boots. Simple yet dashing.

Her heart pounded when she took in what he was wearing. She shook the thoughts in her head before waving her hand, telling him to come up.

"Sofia?" Gunther opened the bedroom door and was met by Sofia's exposed back. "I'll wait outside." He turned to leave.

"Please?!" She cried out.

He looked back at her. She was breath-taking.

"I can't button it up on my own, could you do it?" She asked shyly.

He nodded mutely and stepped up to her. His hands shook a little as he fastened the buttons from bottom to top, he felt heat rising up his neck. He stared at her smooth tanned skin, resisting the urge to run his fingertips along it.

She could feel his knuckles brush her skin and his breath brushing her neck, it sent shocks up her spine.

He fastened the last button then turned around to hide his blush.

Sofia pushed up her bust a little then examined herself in the mirror before putting on her black heeled shoes then turning to him. "Gunther, I'm ready."

He looked to her. His heart crashed into his ribs. "You... you... ah..." He couldn't string a sentence together.

Her purple dress had off the shoulder, puffy straps, and a sweetheart neckline, enhancing her well-developed chest nicely without looking too much, it was tight at the waist and flared out from there to the bottom. She had embroidered black and blue flames following her waistline. Overall, she looked like a queen in her own right.

Sofia smirked. "You're not falling for me, are you?" She joked, tapping his nose with her finger.

He cleared his throat. "Of course, not." He held out his hand. "Are you ready, beautiful Lady Knight?" He asked.

She remembered something. She went to her chest and grabbed her dagger. She put her foot on the chest and slid the dagger into the well concealed holster on her calf.

"I knew you wouldn't go without that." Gunther chuckled. His hand hanging there.

She giggled and took his hand. "Let's go dear Squire Gunther."

He nodded and led the way out of the tower.