It was twenty minutes until the masked ball was to begin and Justin was looking over the ballroom for the finishing touches. The room was dimmed with floating lanterns that were in the shape of pumpkins. Among the decorations, were white and orange “Christmas lights” covering every railing, statue, and fountain. Justin sighed happily. It looked good. Really good.
He felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see William with a dark skinned guy in sun glasses. “Your highness, I’d like you to meet Tim, the DJ.”
Tim shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. Where should I set up?”
He pointed Tim in the right direction, and decided to get changed. Everyone was supposed to wear very formal clothes and the royal family would supply masks for their eyes. When he had tried them on, he felt like the Phantom of the Opera, but he had to admit, they were fun.
As he put on his tux, Justin wondered if the masks would allow he and Ryan to be in the same room for three hours without ever being exposed. All royalty had agreed to wear their crowns for security reasons, so he figured Ryan would have no problem disguising himself as a pauper. He just hoped he and Emma could have one last perfect night together before the poo hit the fan.
With one hand, Emma placed a mask over her eyes. With the other, she held her sparkling red dress so that it wouldn’t drag on the floor. As she entered the ballroom, she was stunned to find that it was already packed with teenagers. The DJ was positioned in a corner balcony, and was playing “Candy Shop” by 50 cent. The crowd of people in masks were dancing to the beat and she hoped she could find Ryan.
She felt a hand on the small of her back and turned to find him standing beside her. “Guess who?”
She smiled. “It’s not much of a mystery. Your crown gave you away.”
Justin laughed. “You ready?”
She nodded. “Let’s go.”
Justin and Emma climbed the lighted staircase to another balcony overlooking the crowd. He waited for the DJ to quiet the music and then picked up a mic. “Velcome to zee masked ball….mwahahahaha!” Justin said, laughing evilly into the microphone. The crowd went wild, cheering him on.
Emma picked up a microphone as well. “Happy Halloween! We’re so glad you all came tonight!”
Ryan picked Olivia up in her glittering white dress, so she could wave at Justin. She looked up at her brother in awe as he spoke into the microphone. He seemed so confident up there, and seeing him in the crown made it all real to her. She cheered loudly and clapped her hands at his words.
Samantha pulled her mask off and searched the crowd for her date. Suddenly, she spotted him and Olivia a few feet away and crept up behind them. She wrapped her arms around him and whispered in his ear, “Boo.”
Olivia noticed her and silently crept away. Ryan smiled and turned around. “Wow, you look amazing!”
She honestly did. She was wearing a black dress that glittered in the dim lighting. “Thank you! You look silly in your mask, J. Take it off.”
Ryan glanced around. “Let’s go outside first.”
He led her outside to a patio where various couples were slow dancing in the moonlight. Finally, he removed his mask. She wrapped her arms around his neck and they began to sway to the song, “Slow Down,” by Bobby Valentino.
She smiled up at him. “So you don’t look that bad, tonight.”
“Samantha! Did I here a compliment?!” Ryan said, astonished.
She laughed. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Yeah, I know. I look fine,” he said with a cocky smile.
“Fine and modest. I’m a lucky girl,” she said, rolling her eyes.
Emma leaned her head on Justin’s shoulder as they slow danced. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her hair, knowing he might not have the chance to ever again. As they moved in small circles, he tried to memorize everything about her. The way she moved, the sound of her voice, the texture of her hair…everything. She had him in a trance and he wished it would never end.
He was brought out of his thoughts as the song came to an end. Emma tilted her face up to look at him. “I’m going to go find the restroom, okay?”
He nodded and leaned in to kiss her. It was the perfect mix of passion and sweetness. He heard a few people around him whisper “aww” and then she pulled away. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
As she walked away, Justin felt a tap on his shoulder for the second time that nigth. He turned around to see his baby sister in a mask.
"May I have this dance?" Olivia asked. He smiled and swung her around.
Emma glanced in the mirror and twirled a curl around her finger as she debated her feelings for Ryan. She thought of everything that had happened between them so quickly, and she wondered if it was time to begin a relationship with him.
She felt something holding her back though. Maybe it was the fact that it felt too perfect. The princess falling in love with a perfect prince and living happily ever after… it made her wonder if it was all too good to be true.
She smiled, remembering his kiss. If anything made her doubt disappear, it was that. Whenever she became wary of his true feelings, all he had to do was kiss her, and she’d be convinced that he really was in love with her.
Emma applied one more layer of lip gloss and then turned to leave the bathroom. She held her breath as she opened the door and made her way to the crowded ballroom. Something caught her eye as she passed the patio, so she stopped to see what it was.
She did a double take and recognized Ryan without his mask on outside on the patio. It wasn’t him that made her stomach flip flop, but it was what he was doing. A girl in a black dress had her arms wrapped around his neck and they were slow dancing. Her heart caught in her throat as she watched him lean in and kiss the girl passionately.
Emma couldn’t watch anymore. She turned and ran for the door.
“Princess Emaria!” William saw and called to her, but she didn’t bother turning around as she ran from the palace. She didn’t want anyone to see the tears streaming down her face.
