Elena takes a nice, warm bath, finally getting the stench of those vampires out of her body. While she's in the bathtub, she thinks of Perri being in here with her; he'll be all nude and hot, their bodies linked to each other as they wash themselves.
She immediately stops thinking about such impure thoughts as soon as she realises what she's thinking about. Perri is a noble knight, and he will not be reduced by her crazed sexual fantasies.
He is so fucking dreamy though.
After her bath, they get an air fairy with pretty pink hair and porcelain skin to dry her hair with her powers. Which is way faster than an average blow dryer. They straighten her blonde hair, and they apply some makeup on her, which takes hours because there's nothing minimalist about a fairy's makeup.
It takes up your face.
Her face is covered in pretty dazzling glitter with different colors but mostly pink, and her lips are painted with a pink lipstick.
They shower her with lots of jewellery, she keeps the golden locket, but it doesn't stop them from putting diamonds around her neck.
They also put nice diamond bracelets around her wrist and rings around her fingers. Matching gold earrings, and she finally puts on her dress with the matching high-heeled shoes.
And off shoulder neckline with a sweetheart cut that frames the collarbone beautifully. The body is structured and corset-like, cinching the waist and emphasising an hourglass silhouette.
It's completely covered in gold sequins and glittering embellishments, so it catches light from every angle.
Gold pointed-toe heels with glitter finish. Slim ankle straps for elegance and support. They perfectly match the shimmer of the gown.
"Ah." Devarux clasps her hands together. "You look amazing! Come look at yourself in the mirror." Elena doesn't have to be told twice; she moves over to the mirror to look at herself, and her jaw drops.
She cannot believe what she's looking at; she cannot believe the person staring right back at her is…her.
She really went from rags to riches.
She looks beautiful in the dress she chose, but as she looks at the looking glass before her, she looks like a princess. She's always been a princess and nothing less.
"Wow. Now this is how a party princess should look."
"Oh, and the finishing touch." Devarux claps her hands, which is something she does to summon maids; it's like that's the only language from her they understand.
A maid comes in, holding a big red box, and she opens it. Elena gasps when she sees what's inside.
A beautiful, perfect crystal tiara.
"No!" Elena says almost in tears, but she holds back because she doesn't want to ruin her makeup.
"I'm afraid, yes," Devarux says, picking up the tiara and placing it on her head and now Elena looks complete. She looks like a Disney princess. But Disney princesses aren't real. She is, if anything, those princesses look like her.
"You look amazing, princess." The maid who brought in the box says with a smile. Elena throws a smile her way.
"Thank you," she says and then looks back at the mirror.
"This is stunning."
It's been hours, and Elena has been waiting for Devarux to tell her that it's okay to come out. The palace is filled with visitors here to see the princess.
Elena has been busy since then, though. She and the maids sit around her as they look at albums from her parents' wedding.
"The queen looked just like you, princess," one of the maids says, and the others agree.
"Yeahhh," Elena says, in a whimpering tone. "Yeah, I wish she were here," she dares not cry, she dares not ruin her makeup.
"She is here, princess," another maid says, and Elena looks at her. "In here," she places her hand on her chest, and Elena puckers her lips and blinks her eyes.
"Thank you."
The door opens up, and the maids immediately arrange themselves in order when they hear Devarux's voice.
"Alright, princess, it's time," she says, smiling.
Elena looks for where to drop her parents' wedding album, but a maid takes it from her. They help Elena up, and they head out the door following Devarux with guards by their side.
Speaking of werewolf guards, she wonders where Perri is. She hopes he's at the ball; of course, he'd be at the ball. Her family treats him like family.
Elena comes to a halt when Devarux does. They stand in front of a red curtain. And behind it is where the party must be.
"Okay, when I count to three, I'm going to draw the curtain, and you are going to walk down the stairs calmly and with poise, okay?"
"Mhmm," she nods her head.
"Good, now." Devarux does a countdown, and when she counts up to three, she draws the curtain. Her eyes are stuck, mesmerised by how beautiful the place is.
She's startled into coming back to reality when loud trumpets threaten to destroy her eardrums.
"Stand straight and with poise," Devarux says, and Elena is beginning to wonder if the woman is serious. Didn't she see how the trumpets startled her?
The trumpet also got everyone's attention. They all look up. At her.
And of course, she's used to eyes looking at her all the time, but these aren't just any set of eyes; they're royals, celebrities, politicians. So many prominent people here to see her.
"Oh my God, what is even my life right now?"
"Introducing Princess Elena Viktoria Stelarie Auremont-Flarewood." Hearing the announcer call her name like that gives her instant chills.
And the spotlight lands on her. For years, she's been hit by a figurative spotlight, but now she's hit by a literal spotlight.
She smiles, and she walks down, but she hopes to God or the Gods that she doesn't trip because that will just be embarrassing. A lot of cameras capture her beauty, and when she looks around, she feels like she's at the Met Gala. But this is not a Met Gala, this is a ball. For her.
Luckily, her uncle is here to take her hand.
"You look amazing," he says.
"And you look dapper, uncle." And he does because he's dressed in a dazzling black suit that shines under the fairy lights, and there's a crown on his head. So regal, so cool.
"Elena!" She gets wrapped up in a hug by her two cousins.
"Hey, guys, hey Skyyyeeee."
Skye barks in response to her greeting.
"You guys look great!" she pinches their cheeks and pets Sky.
"Thank youuu," they say in unison, and they run off to cause a commotion. Elena shakes her head while she watches them go.
"You do look amazing, my dear." Aunt Auerlle hugs her.
"Oh, thanks, Auntie, you look good too."
"What about me?" Her Aunt Nyssara spins around.
Elena gasps. "Love the dress, Aunt Nyssara. Ugh, I have such cool aunts."
Aunt Nyssara blows a smoke, and she smiles. "I really, really like this girl." Elena chuckles so does her uncle.
Elena catches Perri staring at her. He's not dressed in his vigilante suit, and he looks good in his outfit.
His outfit is giving celestial royalty. It's a sharply tailored black suit with an avant-garde, almost fantasy twist. The blazer is longline and cinched at the waist, creating that dramatic V-shaped silhouette, broad shoulder tapering into a sculpted midsection. Underneath is a sleek black button-up shirt, fully buttoned for that clean, commanding finish.
The trousers are slim cut and textured, adding subtle depth without competing with the jacket. And glossu black ankle boots. Sharp and well-polished.
He looks so hot, but most of all, he looks like a gentleman.
Elena smiles at him, and Perri smiles as well.
"Come, Elena, let me introduce you to people." Her uncle says, dragging her to meet everyone, her eyes linger on Perri for a while before finally facing forward.
Prime ministers, famous models, actors and cool musicians who she can't wait to listen to. She meets Dukes, snobby Duchesses, and nice Duchesses. Viscounts and Viscountesses.
She also meets handsome princes who are way older than her but wouldn't mind dating her. They're hot, but she has no plans on dating them because they're spoiled and full of themselves.
Also, she has someone else in mind.
She meets the designer of her dress. An old man with deep brown skin and long pink hair. He's the best-dressed male at this ball.
"You look ferocious, dear." He says.
"Ohh, thank you, and you look amazing."
He shrugs. "I do my best," and both of them burst out laughing.
Elena meets so many people that he didn't think her social battery would die. Which isn't possible because she is a social butterfly. Her social battery doesn't get to die, but unfortunately, it seems that way.
It's time for dancing, and Elena excuses herself to get some punch. She loves dancing, and she's not going to miss the opportunity to dance, but she has to stay hydrated first.
"Whoa, who knew that talking so much would drain all my energy this way?"
"Really, I never knew that was possible," Perri says, and Elena gives him a look. She puts her fingers in her glass filled with pink punch and splashes some of it on him. He laughs.
"Hello." A tall, beautiful woman wearing a crystal dress and a tiara on her head walks over to her.
"Your majesty." Perri bows, and so does Elena, but she hesitates before doing so. The queen giggles.
"Can you two stand up. Perri, you know we're past all that," she says, and Perri immediately stands straight. Elena does as well, but slowly.
They know each other.
This pretty girl knows Perri.
She is extremely pretty. The long white hair, the sparkly icy eyes, the long model-like legs and her nice full lips.
She's a snow fairy, a royal too.
"I'm Queen Bianca from Glacirath. Sorry I'm late, I had to attend a quick duty."
Queen?
Yes, she looks older than Elena, but she's still young.
"Oh, nice to meet you. I love your dress."
"Thank you, I love yours. You're very pretty," she says genuinely, and Elena blushes.
"Thank you," she says.
"You're also going to attend Hollow Prep Academy, right?" Elena nods, and she can't wait to attend a magical school.
"Great, I guess you'll see my siblings, and you'll get along with them," she says, bending down. "I hope." Elena hears that last part and her smile literally falters.
"Okay, cool. I'm good with making friends, so it won't be hard."
The Queen nods her head.
"Okay, welcome back home, Elena and Perri." Elena watches as she puts her hand on Perri's hand. Elena wants to be jealous, but she notices the touch is motherly, not in a place of flirtation.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."
"Are you sure? You know you can always come talk to me." Elena looks between them, and it's obvious something happened, but what could it be? Is it between them, him and her siblings? His parents? What?
"Okay, thank you, your majesty."
The queen smiles at him; it's a sympathetic kind of smile. She looks at Elena, and then she pardons herself. Leaving.
Elena watches her walk away like the model she is.
"What was that all about?" Elena asks.
"Oh, nothing," he waves her off and looks away; it's obvious he doesn't want to talk about it. She's not going to push it.
"She looks pretty young to be a queen."
"Yeah, her parents were killed by witches when she was eighteen. Now she's forced to rule the kingdom at a young age."
"Oh my God." Elena looks at her as she dances with the rest of the royals. "I feel so bad for her, those bloody witches."
"Yeah. They're terrorists."
"They are." Elena agrees, and she's about to ask him about his parents, but she's being summoned to the dance floor.
"You wanna dance?"
"Oh no, dancing's not my thing," he says, smiling and Elena just looks at him. The two stare at each other, and if they do that any longer, they might just sink into each other's eyes.
"Alright. Suit yourself." Elena drinks from her cup and then heads over to the dance floor to dance with her aunts and uncle.
Perri watches her with pain in his eyes.
Now that he's gotten Elena back, his business with her is done.