Michela braided Ashite’s hair from the top of her head. By the time the braid reached her neck, she stopped braiding and brushed her hair gently. And then she braided her hair into smaller parts. Lena, the younger servant, put small flowers between the braids that Michela had made. Light yellow, light purple, and orange flowers were decorating the lady’s hair. The purple hair with the hint of pink was especially vibrant today.

“Your Highness, what do you think of this veil?”

It was a red vail with a little bit of lace. It had more lace than the size of the fabric, so it wouldn’t hide the braid too much either. Usually, Ashite would think that the lace was too much, but she agreed with the servant, knowing how special today was. Lafei handed the veil to Michela. As she did, she showed the necklace that she just picked to Ashite.

“Your Highness, it seems like this necklace would be a great fit for the dress. What do you think?”

The necklace had white flowers and golden thread around it. There were four very thin white petals, and in the center, there was a yellow jewel expressing the spring. It was topaz from Pretoria.

Ashite looked down at the dress she was wearing. As usual, the dress was open all the way from the shoulder to the collar bone and cleavage. The sleeve by the arm had a bigger fit, but from the elbow to the wrist the fit was tighter. The top part of the dress was a darker crème color, and the color faded as it went lower. The dress trail was big and there was a bunch of see-through lace at the bottom.

“It looks good. That looks like a good fit.”

Lafei smiled.

It was the usual preparations, but Ashite was a bit nervous. It wasn’t anything bad. She thought this kind of nervousness was not too bad.

Ashite looked at the vase she left on the table behind the mirror that was reflecting her. She was checking the vase more affectionately than the servants getting her ready. Noticing this, Lucia smiled silently.

Last time, they also talked about when they wanted to have the wedding. Lu Havre mentioned that he would like to do it before this year passes by, but —

<<“Ashite, what do you think of this?”>>

— he also made sure to ask her about her opinion. Since Ashite already decided on the marriage, she told him that it did not matter to her and she would love to wed whenever he would like to. Only then Lu Havre could smile comfortably. She once again realized how caring he was to her. Ashite smiled as the good feelings surrounded her again.

The vase was meant for that person. There were two things on the table. One was hers, and the other one was the one she prepared again this morning.

It wasn’t hard to get up early in the morning because she was nervous about what he would think of it. She’d been like that since she started to prepare the gifts, but the feeling got stronger last night. Although she could not sleep well, she was not tired because of it. Her mind was also clear, so she felt great to start the morning today.

The reason why she redid the flower arrangement was simple. Yesterday, she checked the handkerchief and the vase again, but the flowers in the vase seemed a bit wilted. Even though she knew that the flowers would not look their best when they were cut for a long time, she wanted to give the freshest flowers to him. So, this morning, Ashite went out to the garden once she got ready quickly.

<>

Her face was red from rushing to the garden. The gardener smiled at the princess. Then he quickly got the flowers for her. It seemed like there was something else in the smile of his. Ashite did not think too much, as it did not seem negative. She simply thought that the gardeners were busy getting ready for the king’s birthday, too.

As Ashite rushed into her room with her arms full of flowers, Lucia spoke to her. “Your Highness, breakfast is ready. Would you like to have it now?”

“Yes, wait. In just a bit.”

Ashite looked around the room. Pale skin was more vibrant over the colorful flowers. There was a ceramic piece on top of the shelf. She turned towards it. She tried to be careful with the flowers.

Ashite noticed the ceramic piece earlier before. It was white with a bunch of patterns on it. It was from Pol. Knowing how expensive it was, it was not the best for the flowers, but she knew she couldn’t ask for another vase at the last minute. And looking at the ceramic piece again, it seemed to be a better fit for the king, too.

So, Ashite put the flowers that she was holding onto into the ceramic piece. Then she lifted it up from the shelf. She walked towards the table carrying the piece.

“Your Highness, please hand that to me.”

Before Ashite reached the table, Lucia followed her.

“It’s okay.”

Since her hands were full, Ashite gestured with her head to say that she is okay. The table was not too far. She placed the ceramic piece. She took out the flowers and put them on the table, and she started to arrange the flowers like the ones in the white vase.

After thinking for a while, Ashite decided to arrange the flowers in the same pattern again. The small white flowers on the outside, the yellow flowers in between, and the red, orange, pink flowers filled in the rest.

The handkerchief. It was folded nicely next to the vase. The purple corners looked especially vibrant. She was not planning to give them to him during the ball today. She wanted to give them tomorrow, or tonight — she wanted to give them to him personally.

“Your Highness, what do you think of these heels?”

A young servant stopped putting blush on her cheeks. Ashite turned around. Although there was only natural lighting in the room with no lamps, the shoes were bright. The heels were so high that they scared Ashite a little bit. The front part of the shoes was smooth. They were white heels with a hint of light pink. They were glowing from the sunlight. On top of them were small jewels. The most vibrant of all the jewels was a ruby. It was as attractive as the representative color of this country.

Ashite smiled brightly and nodded.

***

The walls outside of the great ballroom were shining from the sunlight. It was late afternoon.

Ashite gestured in front of the ballroom. A servant announced the entrance of the princess loudly. And then the servant walked back a few steps. The big door opened itself. There was no noise made while it was opening.

“Your Highness, please go in,” Yeref said in low voice. The silver hair was glowing from the sunlight. It looked like small gems were sprinkled on top of his head. Ashite slowly walked into the ball. A knight with the red eyes followed her after. There was no sound after the steps of the heels. The steps from the knight were quiet.

The room was already full of people. Ashite followed the wall and stopped by an empty spot. It seemed like she wasn’t the latest one; there were a few more people announced after she walked into the room. Every time the giant door opened, a breeze came to chill the room. It made the chandelier shake a little from the wind. The lights filled in the room and the people inside of the ball. The lights were spreading from the lamp to the wall, all the way down to the floor.

As she expected, the ball was fancy. She knew it, now that she’d been through it a few times. The ball did not make her feel dizzy anymore. She got used to things around here. One thing that did not change is that the luxurious decorations would always catch her eyes. They were in luxurious gold. The jewels were glowing in different ways depending on the lights they were receiving. It felt like she was looking at a shiny diamond. The reflection of the lights from the jewels filled in the room.

She could hear the orchestra playing and the people talking to each other. Ashite did not have any conversation with others. There were many people noticing her by the corner. She noticed the looks that she was receiving, but there were no people talking to her. She did not care much about it and continued to look around the ball.

Servants were busy moving around and putting food everywhere. There was a table right in front of Ashite, so she decided to take a look. There were cups of warm tea, sweet cookies, fruit slices, and various bottles. Clear glasses were shining. She was thinking about getting a cup of sweet tea.

“Baron Oslo, do you mind handing that to me please?”

Ashite turned around to the sound. The reason why she looked around was simple. It was the librarian from the royal library. She knew the face. He would always treat her well.

“Sure, Hendel.”

“Yes, here you go.”

Following the gesture from the baron, the servant handed the gift to the royal servant. It seemed like the present for the king today. Afterward, the servant bowed. He headed to the corner. There were already various gifts wrapped in colorfully.

“Princess.”

“Baron. Nice to see you here,” she said gently. The man was elegant and quiet. She was thinking if she should ask him to have tea with her.

Ashite smiled as she thought about how much had changed in her. She was definitely changing. She was changing without noticing it herself.

She was about to grab the cup of tea with better mood. The music changed suddenly. The giant door opened again. The atmosphere of the room calmed down. Everyone was staring at the door.

Usually, when the royals had the birthdays, they would happen in the regular ballroom. The fact that the ball was happening in the great ballroom showed how significant he was. The person who this grand ball was for entered the room.

The man was standing without doing anything, but everyone could tell how elegant he was. The red cape waved like a painting. Although he was blocking the sunlight, his tanned face was glowing. He was luxurious from the top to the bottom. The brown with big, bright ruby was shining from the lights of the chandelier. Under the purple hair, the strange and mysterious red eyes were glaring.