Chapter 5: The Royal Ball
The Royal Ball was coming. Everyone was getting ready for the big night, including Blair and her friends.
Audrey was excessively excited about the Ball, something Blair didn't expect, since her tomboy friend had never been interested in events involving formal clothes and dancing. But at least Audrey was having a good time preparing for the Ball. She even found a light pink dress for Blair, and took care of choosing accessories.
Melody had been silent ever since, and Audrey knew for sure something was bothering her too, though she couldn't tell what. And the Soccer Princess was quite unhappy that both of her friends looked so gloomy on a night like this.
"Girls, cheer up! What's wrong with you? First it's Blair, now it's you!", She broke the uncomfortable silence in the room.
"It's nothing, Audrey. Just…", Melody said, looking tired and bored. Suddenly she gasped, glancing at Audrey's shoes. "What are these? Sneakers? Who would wear sneakers with such an elegant dress?"
Audrey blushed.
"Well…"
"Princesses", Elaine appeared at the door. "Time to go." Audrey was saved from a lecture from Melody regarding princesses' dressing.
"Should I reveal the secret? It wouldn't be fair to keep it hidden forever, but it would turn the whole kingdom upside down if the secret ever came in the limelight. What should I do?" Elaine watched as the girls left for the Ball.
"Isn't this great?" A fascinated Audrey asked her friends as they arrived at the Ballroom. The room was filled with music, food and dancing partygoers from everywhere across the continent.
Melody didn't seem to share Audrey's euphoria though. No sooner had they arrived than she fabricated an excuse to leave and disappeared into the crowd.
"I'll be right back." She was in a hurry and didn't even look back at her friends.
"Mel?" Audrey turned around, but Melody was gone. "Strange. She was here a second ago. Well Blair, just enjoy the Ball. I'll go look for her… and get some tasty party treats."
Aha, so that's why she was that excited! Blair giggled to herself and momentarily forgot about her worries. The Ball isn't that bad after all. Blair wanted to go look around, but all she could do was stand there and watch people dance, afraid if she moved she would cause more trouble like she did at school.
Meanwhile, Tessa was talking to her friends about the Ball.
"My Mother will make the announcement right before the dinner party", She proudly said to one of her friends. "Then everyone will know how lucky I am."
"We know you are, Tessa", Diana fawned. "But where is he?" They all looked around. But the person they were looking for was nowhere to be found.
"If he doesn't show up, may I dance with you?" Tessa was startled. Standing in front of her, was Victor, the waiter, who'd been stalking her for months.
"Victor! How dare you scare me like that! Go away!", She chased her admirer away, feeling awkward.
"I guess he'll be here soon", She said, after ordering a guard to grab Victor and take him as far away from her as he can.
Nick took a deep breath. He peeked through the curtains and saw hundreds of people in the Ballroom.
"Oh dear, I thought I told her not to make it too ostentatious", He thought to himself. "I hate these kinds of parties. Oh well, here goes nothing."
He stepped into the Ballroom, drawing some people's attention. They announced his arrival to everyone in the room. Everyone was now aware of the Prince's presence. Everyone, except for Blair.
Prince Nicholas, on the contrary, noticed Blair immediately as he entered the Ballroom. There was something about her that caught his eye. Unable to resist, the prince found himself approaching the girl.
"I hate these kinds of parties", Blair thought. "Maybe I should…" As she turned around, she saw a prince standing in front of her. He reached a hand out to her.
"May I have this dance?" He asked her. Blair's heart was beating fast. She could feel herself blushing.
"Oh well, here goes nothing." Blair thought as she gracefully bowed to the prince, remembering Melody's etiquette training. "Yes, of course, your highness." She replied.
She took his hand and he led her to the center of the Ballroom.
The music changed to a slow waltz. As they danced across the room, Blair felt like the whole world stopped and looked at them with admiration. For a while, she forgot about everything else. For a while, she was the princess who just found her soulmate. Even though it only lasted for a while.
"Tell me, what is your name?" He asked.
"My name's Blair, your highness. Princess Blair." She wanted to curse herself for saying the last sentence, but somehow she said it. She lied to the Prince.
"Blair," He repeated. "You have a beautiful name."
"Thank you, your highness. "Blair blushed.
"Why don't you just call me Nick, princess?" Prince Nick smiled at her, which made her feel happy but a little bit uncomfortable.
Blair wanted to say something, but a loud noise interrupted her. She looked over Nick's shoulder and saw Audrey next to a huge mess. Her hunt for food turned out to be catastrophic. She knocked the dining table over and food was everywhere on the floor.
"What are you doing?" Blair mouthed to Audrey.
"Sorry! I was looking for Mel", Audrey mouthed back.
"Doesn't look like you're looking for her at all." Blair thought, observing the food on the once polished floor.
"Oh, what a mess. Why don't we let the maids clean this up and go outside?" Nick suggested. And, not waiting for his partner to answer, he gently pulled her out to the balcony.
After half an hour of searching, Melody finally found Nick and Blair outside at the balcony. She was about to jump out there and grab Nick, but seeing how happy they are together set her romantic heart fluttering.
"Ah, look at that- They're so perfect for each other! Even though Blair has no chance of being with him…" She sighed.
"… They say unrequited love is love in its purest form, because you love someone knowing you'll get nothing in return."
Melody turned around. She saw a young man approaching her. He looked as mysterious as the night, with dark hair and black eyes that seemed to deepen the more she looked into them.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"Just someone who happens to share the same thought with you, Princess Melody…" He kissed her hand gently.
"You… you know my name…" She smiled shyly.
"I know much more about you than just your name, Princess…" He whispered into her ear and gave her a red rose."Shall we dance?"
The stars were shining bright. Nick and Blair were talking about every subject there was to talk about.
"You see that star, Blair? I've never noticed that before, but now I realized, she's as beautiful as a princess I know…" He looked straight in Blair's eyes. She felt as if she was about to faint.
"There you are, Nicky. I've been looking for you everywhere." Blair turned around and saw Teresa walking towards them. Nick walked to Tessa and kissed her on the forehead.
"I'm sorry, but there was a big mess inside" He said apologetically.
"Would you mind if we go back inside? After all, we have an engagement to announce." Tessa glanced at Blair with her "innocent" eyes.
And not waiting for Blair's answer, she walked in with Nick.
The world was going crazy before Blair's eyes. Engagement? To Tessa? She was disappointed, but managed to snap herself out of it.
"Who do you think you are, Blair? You're just a peasant. He's the crown prince of Buckinghurst. Don't be delusional, he'll never fall for you…" Blair could not hold the tears that were streaming down her cheeks.
Inside Audrey was cleaning the mess she caused.
"Let me help you", She heard a voice, and saw a boy helping her clean up. "Where are the maids? A maiden like you shouldn't work this hard."
"I caused this mess myself, so I have to clean it up. And thank you." Audrey murmured.
"Hi. I'm Paul. I like your sneakers, by the way."
"You do? Thank you! My name's Audrey." Audrey had never felf happier. Someone finally found her sneakers nice.
"Would you like to dance?" Paul asked her after they were done cleaning.
"Sure." She replied.
The Ball was finally over, and now Blair was in her room, looking out the window.
"So Prince Nicholas is your brother? And he's going to marry Tessa… Why didn't you tell me?" Blair said, still sad after hearing the news.
"I just found out recently" Melody frowned. "I tried to find him and talk to him at the Ball. You know, knock some sense into him. But it was already too late."
Blair sighed. "A terrible night, wasn't it?"
"Not really. I met a Prince. His name's Damian. He's very romantic… And mysterious too." Melody smiled, dreaming about her prince.
"How is it, that my friends both met the loves of their lives, and I did not? Audrey met Paul, who likes the way she dresses, and Mel found Damian, the prince who brought her a red rose. What about me? I found my love, but lost him to Tessa."
Blair looked at the sky, at the same star she and Nick were gazing at the Ball, and made a wish.
As she went to bed, the star suddenly sparked brighter.