Where was Christian? I had not seen him at all since his entrance with his family. He must have been somewhere in the middle of the massive dance floor. It was nearly impossible to see through all the twirling couples and it was the only place I had not yet properly looked, and wasn't going to. I did not want to interrupt the dance by just walking though its center. He had to stop dancing at some point after all. It occurred to me that we were just missing each other as I went from room to room. Perhaps he was entering as I was leaving or vice versa. I thought he would be easier to find considering he was a prince and there was sure to be people fawning over him. Maybe if I got a better view of the dance floor from the balcony I could spot him. I climbed the carpeted steps and went to the right. I watched my reflection in the mirrors as I passed. The longer I spent thinking about it, the less confidant I felt that Christian would like my dress. I turned away from the mirrors and went to lean on the balcony.

The view was not as choice as I thought it would be. It was an odd angle to view the dancers from. I did manage to spot young Clover as she danced with another young man in black and grey. They swirled around and passed where Curtis was dancing with a young woman in a sparkling white gown. Both Curtis and Clover seemed to be extremely bored with the dance and their partners. When they passed each other I saw the mournful glance they shared before dancing apart again. My eyes swept over the rest of the dancers, none of whom seemed to be the prince I was looking for.

"Ebony?" he asked from behind me. I turned to find the man I had been looking for and could not help the wide smile that filled my face.

I curtsied. "Your highness, I was looking everywhere for you."

Christian was smiling too. Up close I could see that his costume was not entirely white, but had gold thread run through it. "As I was, I am glad I finally found you. How are you enjoying the ball?"

"It is fantastic and the food is delicious. I have even danced with some wonderful people. I actually spent quite awhile dancing." I said and had to stop myself from rambling on and on in front of Christian. I had spent the entire night watching for him and now that he was standing before me I felt nervous. Did he like my dress? Did he think I look ridiculous? I was too made up. I probably looked so silly he was reconsidering being seen with me.

"I hope you are not too tired of all the dancing to not want to join one more dance," Christian offered his arm and I gladly took it. He must not think I look too absurd.

On our descent back to the dance floor, Christian told me about his dance with Giselle. Apparently she had found him soon after his entrance and had the privilege of being his partner for the first few dances. I wondered at how she found him so quickly and was envious that she had.

Christian was a marvelous dancer and I reveled in every step we took. It was every girl's dream to be dancing at the ball with a prince and I was living it. He told me about the ambassadors that he had met this evening. His father had insisted that he and his siblings get to know each of the representatives that had come from other kingdoms so he had spent time with each of them. He talked of how Avion and his wife Ismene, the people from Darios, were two of the most impressive people he had ever met because their mere presence commanded an entire room. I knew he was not far off on his description of them because when they had entered it was as if the entire room was completely focused on the couple. Christian did not speak much to Pernyx Stillflame for she did not speak much at all. She just stood silently and watched the ball with her light eyes he informed me. Prince Hector got along with Sir Brockton better than Christian and the two of them soon went off on their own. That was when Victoria found them. Christian had danced with Duchess Ojera and was quite taken with her from what he said. I tried not to feel too jealous at the way Christian spoke of the lovely Adellian, but I could not silence the nagging thought that she was much more beautiful and impressive than I was.

I pushed those feelings away when he described Empress Pandia. I wanted to know what the leader of the Mektous was like. The Mektous was such a foreign people who were rarely seen in Lantine. The fact that they were part animal made them fascinating to me. "The Empress is the figure of elegance and charm. At first I found her appearance odd, but the more I talked to her the more it became her. There is a sort of cat-like beauty to her and I am quite used to it now. She told me of her home in Mekt. They have so much magic there that it is completely commonplace. Pandia told me that the fabric that made her gown was woven by a type of spider that came from Finarca. Can you imagine it?"

I shook my head. "Her gown was beautiful, so the spiders must know what they are doing."

Christian laughed but it was cut short by many screams and shouts coming from outside the ball room. The dance stopped and people immediately went to see what was causing the commotion, Christian and I among them. I held his hand as we squeezed our way through the crush of people at the front end of the ballroom. The orchestra had not stopped playing and continued without missing a note. We made our way to the front of the crowd that was pressed in around the room that held the food and drinks. It was not the same as when I had been in it several minutes ago. There were still people in it who were standing shocked at what had just occurred. More had run out of the room and had disappeared into the crowd. Standing, or rather leaning on each other, in the center of the mess was Curtis and Clover. The pair was nearly falling over laughing and the entire room and people in it were covered in food and punch. It seemed somehow the two had managed to explode the tables sending food and drink flying. The screams had come from women whose dresses were now destroyed. I stepped into the room and my foot squished on a little cake.

"What happened?" Christian asked as he examined the damage.

Curtis and Clover looked up. "Oh good, you found Ebony. It took you long enough." Curtis said once he had somewhat managed to control his laughing fit.

"I don't think he would have ever found you if I hadn't told him exactly what your dress looked like. Even then I wasn't sure. Ian can be a bit thick." Clover giggled.

I crossed my arms. It seemed they did not understand the damage they had done. It was no laughing matter. "Did you two do this?" Another spurt of laughter from the young royals answered my question. "What were you thinking? Aside from ruining your sister's first ball, you have ruined the room and many expensive dresses and suits with your little stunt." I walked further into the room to speak with them with Christian behind me. I figured it would be better for someone they knew to speak to them and not one of the furious food-covered bystanders.

My chastisement seemed to sober them and they looked remorseful. Clover was looking at her feet and Curtis would not look me in the eye. "Did you even think about what you were doing?"

Clover pushed her mask up off her face. "I didn't know it would do that. When the joke shop sold it to me the man said that it would just splash the punch a little. Besides the ball was boring anyway and this way people will remember it."

Christian crossed his arms and glared at his younger brother and sister. "Just wait until father sees this. Maybe you two are still too immature to attend a ball."

Curtis and Clover started to protest. The people who were still in the room had begun to try and wipe the sticky mess from themselves. Clover was right, they would definitely remember this. Many of them looked angry at the state their party cloths were in. I could not believe that Curtis and Clover would do something so destructive at a royal ball. There was a rush of servants who came in through a door that was hidden in the bookshelves. They began cleaning as best they could and escorting the guests out of the room presumably to get them cleaned up. I was amazed at their response time; it was quite impressive.

The crowd of people standing at the doors suddenly silenced and I knew the king had arrived. Christian and I stepped aside for him to get at his two youngest. I bowed my head respectfully as he passed. Now Curtis and Clover looked truly afraid. When their father spoke he did not raise his voice, but it was not less menacing. "You two go to your rooms. I will deal with you later after I clean up the mess you made. You should both get used to your chambers because I do not see either of you leaving them in the immediate future."

With eyes downcast, the pair hurried from the room through the servant's quarters. The king turned back to the curious faces behind him. "I am terribly sorry for this unfortunate mess my two youngest have caused. You can be sure that they will be appropriately punished and anyone caught in the mess will…"

I turned to Christian. "Maybe I should go." I whispered. It felt like I was intruding where I really didn't belong by standing in the room with him and the king.

Christian glanced at me and nodded. The ball would have to end early because of what happened. It was better if I went now and made sure that I was waiting when Giselle and Victoria decided to leave so they would not leave me behind.

Outside I took off my mask and waited for the carriage. I was not waiting long before my stepsisters came out through the doors whispering to their new clique. Our carriage pulled up in front of us and I climbed in while the others stayed outside together discussing what had happened. There were only a few other people who were leaving. Everyone else wanted to see how the king handled the mess. Giselle and Victoria said their goodbyes to their new friends and climbed into the carriage and we were away. The first ball had ended in a very surprising way and my time with Christian had been abruptly cut short. I hoped that the next ball would give us more time together.

Well, that was the ball scene with an unexpected ending. Those troublesome kids!

I have come to the conclusion that the amount I read is proportional to the amount I write. More reading = More writing. Unfortunately I am not so much into books and really into reading fanfiction where I can find it. So that's helped with the faster posting.

I'm also going to start responding to reviews in good time again because I have really failed at that recently.