'Goddammit,' I thought. 'How long is this going to take Sasha?!'
Several hours later, Sasha still hasn't gotten the hair how she wanted it. After picking out a bright pink dress with gems on the bust for the gala, she was having issues curling my hair exactly how she wanted it.
Sasha took a bite out of her bread. I swear to God, she had eaten five loaves of bread during the entire process. No wonder she and Connie were best friends; they were both food lovers.
After that she smiled. "Perfect!" she exclaimed, and I turned to look at myself in the mirror.
Immediately I saw that Sasha had done a good job. I had no idea what she did to the hair, but it fell in large, brunette, curled sections and was bunched together on one side. A tiara was placed at the top of my head, and I smiled. Then my face fell as I saw the time.
It was five thirty; time to make my way over to the ballroom and start greeting the guests. Sighing, I got up and walked into the hall. Surprisingly I ran into Eren, who immediately blushed upon seeing me.
"You look nice, Lady Princess," he commented, and after that comment I felt my own cheeks flush. "Thank you, sir," I said, and in a whisper so that only he could hear, "You don't look so bad yourself tonight."
With that we walked to the ballroom. King Jean met us halfway and, while glaring at Eren, grabbed my hand and escorted me to the ballroom. I gave Eren an apologetic look as I was dragged along, and finally we arrived. I looked at my throne sadly. There I would be stuck for another six hours, with no release of thoughts or emotions. Just fake smiles and plaster emotions, as well as fake alcohol.
My mind snapped back to reality as I heard another set of footsteps enter the room. Realizing that the party had begun, I began greeting guests with Jean as they came through the grand doorways, not expecting anything special to happen that night.
Several hours later, around nine o'clock, I noticed two figures approaching me. I kindly stood to greet them, and I smiled.
"Lady Queen," I greeted as I curtsied. "How do you do tonight?"
The lady smiled. "I, and the country of Italy, am doing well. How is Germany, Lady Princess?"
"Germany is doing well, my lady," I responded. "We are currently in preparation for my union with King Jean of France."
She smiled. "I have two new servants that came to join your palace, Lady. Mikasa Ackerman and Eren Jaeger. Have you met them yet?"
I nodded. "They seem like they would be a nice addition to the palace," I commented, an the figure next to the Queen of Italy laughed quite boisterously.
"Ymir," I warned, sending her a death glare. She merely scoffed, but she quieted down. The Queen said her farewell, and she departed.
At that point, I was so done with this party, I didn't even care if anyone noticed my absence. Jean was missing, presumably to flirt with some of the princesses in the party. Standing up quietly, I walked out onto the balcony and enjoyed my glass of apple cider, or what was left of it, more accurately. Simply watching over the gardens made me peaceful, as it was significantly quieter out here than it was in the ballroom.
I stiffened as I heard someone open the balcony door, expecting someone to drag me back into the gala. On the contrary, that person closed the door and simply walked to stand next to me on the balcony. The man turned his head to look at me. "Alexis, do you remember me?" he asked, and my eyes widened in recognition.
"Armin," I breathed, and he smiled, shifting slightly closer to me.