"You must be a glutton for punishment, girlie," Ivy snapped. She must have turned and walked back past the alcove. "I'm going to get you for this. Just you watch out, I'm not the forgiving type."

Behind me I could hear Kol giggling which didn't help matters at all. Ivy was ranting about all the things she was going to do and how I would never be able to show my face in public again. "If your little lover boy back there thinks this is so funny, then maybe I should get him too. See how he likes it when he finds out you are with another man."

Now Kol stepped forward, but his trademark smirk was in place which only made Ivy's face angrier somehow. "There's no need to be angry, Lady Ivy. Really, did the etiquette lessons your parents sent you to teach you so little? A woman expresses her anger through her eyes and not her mouth." He tsked and Ivy's red face now matched her dress.

"Niko Rydell, didn't your daddy ever teach you to pick fights you can win?" Ivy bit back.

I put my hand on Kol's arm and tried to get him to back down, but he shook me off. I found his dismissal of me annoying. "As a matter of fact, my dear father taught me to stand up to bullies. You see I know that you are deeply hurt from Warren breaking your long standing engagement. I heard all about it. What I did not hear was anything about my friend Ebb here having anything to do with it. So go and take your misplaced anger and share it with someone who really deserves it. Did you not see? Sir Warren as brought a quite lovely and quite scantily dressed woman to tonight's festivities. She turned many heads, you can be sure. I think you would like to meet her. It has been only half a week, has it not? That Warren moves on rather quickly wouldn't you think?"

It looked as if Ivy was going to take a swing at Kol who was just standing before her smiling. Her fist was clenched tightly at her side. Kol's words had struck her hard and I wondered if her actions really warranted her private life being spoken of so casually. Kol did not look worried in the least though.

"Wait and see, the next ball won't be so pleasant for you," Ivy growled under her breath and stormed away. Her little outburst had turned nearby heads, but they all quickly snapped back as she passed. It seemed she already had a reputation for being a bit of a hothead.

Kol leaned against the wall and laughed. "That Ivy is a real charmer."

"What did you have to go and do that for? Now she's going to seek revenge on me for absolutely nothing at all because you couldn't keep your mouth shut. Did you really have to air her private life like that?" I snapped at him. Now I had to avoid her for the next ball as well.

His laughter had stopped but a broad smile was still plastered on his face. "Don't worry, Ebb. Ivy threatens more people than she can count. There is no way that she will remember you tomorrow, let alone until the next ball. Her witch relative probably doesn't exist either, it's all just rumors. Besides, it's me she is angry at now and everyone already knew about Warren. He's been going around telling everyone himself, the cad. I wouldn't be too afraid if I was you. If she does attack you again just call for me and I will run to your rescue."

"I don't need you to rescue me. Now if you'll excuse me, Christian is probably waiting for me while I am wasting my time with you." I turned and walked away. I did not want to spend the ball listening to Kol's bravado as it was getting on my nerves; I wanted to be with Christian. Something always seemed to go wrong when I was around Kol. Being with Christian was so much easier. The last I had seen of him he was just leaving the dance floor with Giselle. If I hurried I could catch them before she dragged him away again.

I caught them just as the dance ended. "Christian, there you are. I'm sorry, but I got held up before. Thank you, Giselle, for keeping him company but I'm back now." Christian let go of Giselle when I grabbed his arm. I smiled happily at Giselle as if we were best friends, much to her annoyance.

"My pleasure," Giselle ground out before walking away quickly.

"What held you up before?" Christian asked as we walked back up onto the balcony. We stood near the railing watching the dance.

I heard the real question behind Christian's words. He wanted to know if I was held up with Kol. "I was stopped by Roberta and she wanted to talk with me. I did not want to be rude and rush away too quickly. Kol was not with her at the time."

"Roberta Mott?" Christian sighed. "I thought I recognized that girl. Her mother is very worried about her."

The pieces suddenly clicked in my head at the mention of Bert's last name. She must have been Mellie Mott's daughter. I remembered the woman talking about her with Duchess Frow before the first ball. Kol had even mentioned that Bert was probably off with someone named Addison. That is the girl her mother thought was a bad influence. Bert seemed nice enough to me, I wonder what worried her mother so. "I met her mother the day of the first ball. She spoke about her daughter spending too much time with another girl named Addison."

"Ah yes, Miss Addison Dockett," Christian said slowly. "Roberta and Addison are altogether too close to each other. She used to be such a quiet girl before she met Addison. Now she can hardly keep her opinions and thoughts to herself and that worries her mother. She fears Roberta will not be able to find a good husband because of it."

I didn't know how to respond to this new information. Bert did seem rather outspoken, but I couldn't see how that would chase away any potential suitors. She was beautiful and came from a good family; surely someone would want to marry her. Christian did not wait for my answer though, "Come, let us dance and you can tell me more about how you know Nikolaus."

I took Christian's offered hand and we returned to the dance floor. I was not relishing the fact that Christian seemed to want me to explain everything about my time with Kol. As soon as we joined the swirling rainbow of colors, Christian started in with the questions. "Where did you meet him? How often do you see each other? You seem very familiar with each other."

"As I said before, we met the night before the first ball. We both went out to watch the fireworks and just happened to choose the same bell tower to watch from. I spent the day following the outing at the cliffs with him. I had not planned it that way, but we ran into each other in a square and went to see a magician that was performing. Then two days ago he took me to a little fishing pond, but that's all. I doubt I will see him again anytime soon." I hurriedly explained. Saying it all aloud made it seem like I spent more time with Kol than I thought I had.

Christian frowned. "You seem to run into each other quite a bit. In a city as large as this, I think it is too frequent to be accidental."

"Are you suggesting that he is stalking me?" I asked, incredulous.

"I am not suggesting anything. I am merely pointing out that the probability of you two meeting each other in a city this large so often is a bit difficult to believe. Maybe you should be more careful in the future. You could stop going out alone so often and have an escort."

I grinned and tilted my head playfully. This conversation was becoming much too serious for my liking. "And who would escort me - you, your highness?"

Christian's grip on my waist tightened enough to pull me a bit closer to him. "If you want," He murmured. His beautiful clear blue eyes were gazing straight into mine.

I could feel my face warm and my heart thud in my chest. The way he said those three words sent chills up my spine. My thoughts came to a shuddering halt and I could not think of anything else except those three words circling around and around my brain. He was so near and his gaze still held mine. The song slowed and so did the world it seemed. He moved my hand from his and placed it on his shoulder. His now free hand brushed lightly against my cheek and then moved to caress my arm. The world melted away and I felt as if I was drowning in the depths of his eyes.

He leaned forwards and rested his forehead to mine. "Would you want that?" He whispered so quietly that only I could hear. "Would you want to explore the town with me and not the captain's boy?"

His hand had moved from my arm now and was clasping the back of my neck. Not trusting my mouth to speak, I nodded once in answer to his question. The hand on my neck tilted my head upward ever so slightly. Our noses gently brushed and then his lips were gently pressed against mine. My eyes drifted shut and my hand tightened its hold on his shoulder and I was lost in the kiss.

...and that was the Ballroom Scene.