The Founding Day Ball

Kerensa could be considered pretty. Strands of her silky white hair framed her delicate face and fell in a smooth sheet down her back to her hips. At thirteen years old, she was slim and a tad underdeveloped in areas that her family constantly chastised her for. Sometimes she felt jealous of her cousin Jasmine who had a well endowed figure that drew the gazes of men and women alike. In all honesty, Kerensa didn't want the figure for the attention, but so that others wouldn't harp on her for her lack of one.

The door to her room opened and Kerensa jumped in surprise instinctively bracing herself for a lecture or punishment. Her younger sister Robin entered the room already dressed for the ball at the Royal Palace that evening. Every Founding Day, the national holiday celebrating day the kingdom was officially created, the royal family held a grand ball.

Robin was a couple years younger than Kerensa and looked almost the same as she did at that age except with a different hair style and fashion sense. Her thick hair was swept over her right shoulder and she tended to dress in darker greens and blues whereas Kerensa favored light pinks and purples.

With a small sigh of relief, Kerensa gave her younger sister a bright smile before returning to her struggles with the strap on the back of her tight fitting ankle length pink dress.

"I got it." Robin expertly did all of the straps.

"Thank you." Kerensa placed a hand on her sisters head.

"Don't," interjected Robin before she had a chance to mess up her younger sister's hair, "mom'll get upset again."

Kerensa grimaced and completed her ensemble with a translucent elbow length cape. "What do you need?"

"Exams start on Monday." Robin peered up at her older sister worriedly. "I'm not sure I'm ready."

"You'll be fine," Kerensa reassured her. "I can study with you tomorrow."

"You're the best!" Robin hugged her tightly.

Kerensa gave her an affectionate smile tinged with sadness as she returned the hug. Out of her entire messed up family, Robin was only one Kerensa actually liked. At length she gently pried Robin off and hurriedly donned a pair of diamond earrings.

A servant poked his head into the room glaring at them severely. "You need to head down immediately."

-|-

The Founding day ball was held in the royal courtyard. Nobility clustered around fountains and tables of food. Servants weaved their way through the crowds offering refreshments or following the whims of their masters.

"Go get a husband." Kerensa winced inwardly at the command her mother always gave. With that said, her mother swept away towards the other noble women.

"And don't forget that money is the most important thing." That line belonged to her father, Elias Fors, a shrewd conniving man with expensive tastes. "After that comes title. Always keep an eye out, you don't want to miss the perfect target."

"Of course, father." Kerensa gave him a stiff nod before sidling in the direction of an older teenage boy wearing a frilly suit.

The boy was currently deep in conversation with a kindly looking elderly gentleman. He didn't even turn as Kerensa slipped by him almost close enough to touch and out of view of her father and older brothers. She breathed a sigh of relief only to immediately have a dance requested by another boy she didn't notice approach from the other side.

And so Kerensa danced. And danced. And danced. As long as it seemed like she was courting someone her mother and father wouldn't give her a menacing earful about how she should be maneuvering into a highly ranked noble family to tie them to the Fors family.

As she escaped her latest partner, Kerensa found herself face to face with an incredibly handsome boy with chocolate colored hair and eyes and immediately felt torn. On one hand he had those warm eyes and that small but sturdy frame that exuded the aura of a much larger person, on the other hand her feet hurt like hell.

"May I?" The boy offered her his hand confidently, eyes gleaming with vitality. A genuine smile brightened Kerensa's face as she accepted. But no sooner had they taken a couple steps than sharp pain caused her to stumble.

Her heart hammered furiously in embarrassment for her moment of weakness and in fear that he would abandon her for another girl. The unfamiliar feeling left Kerensa flustered, her mind blanking.

But her fears were unfounded. The boy laughed, a surprisingly awkward sound in complete contrast with his graceful manner as supported her to a bench and bid her await his immediate return. Her eyes followed his figure as he weaved through the crowd casually snatching a pair of goblets from one the tables before returning.

"Are you feeling well?" he asked standing at her side.

"I'm afraid I've danced too much." She expected him to sit down, but the boy didn't make any move other than to smile down at her.

"Well that's convenient for me. I'm not very comfortable with dancing." He chuckled in embarrassment. Endless streams of question marks filled Kerensa's mind. How could such a graceful person be bad at dancing?

"The name's Tulane. Tulane Sanders."

By the end of the night, Kerensa was utterly bamboozled. She had long given up on the sheer mountain of contradictions standing next to her being her prince charming. He was handsome, but acted like he didn't know it. He was graceful, but was bad at dancing. He continued to stand awkwardly to the side instead of sitting. He was thoughtful to her needs but oblivious to her unspoken attempts to draw him closer.

As the ball wound down to an end, Tulane offered her one last smile and a friendly wave before disappearing as suddenly as he had appeared.

A pack of girls that Kerensa immediately assaulted her demanding to know more about Tulane. But after learning that nothing really came of it, the gossip hungry sharks moved on to stalk juicier prey.