14 Chapter Fourteen: Preparing the Stranger in the Mirror

Akatsuki continued to find displeasure in his routine as time ticked on within the manor coming closer and closer to the formality that was his coming of age ceremony.

For most in his position, this was a time of wonder and excitement as a young child emerged into the kingdom as a young adult making their debut at a party hosted by their family, for Akatsuki, who had lived two lives, it was simply a formality. He was already well past the age of adulthood when he was transported to this world, but he had become accustomed to such nuisances in his previous life, after all the night he had left his world, he had been in the middle of one such event. Luckily the sly prince Kato had left long ago letting Akatsuki once again lull back into a sense of calm reassurance. It had been a bombshell to find out Kato was, in fact, a prince, and at first, Akatsuki had simply taken it as a poorly made joke. After all, every book within their library stated the royal last name to be that of Astell, named after the kingdom. Unfortunately for Akatsuki, his assumption was wrong, as he came to find out one afternoon while chatting with Sophia. She had explained to him that the Crowned Monarch was the only person to take the name Astell, and the rest of the family would keep the name of the original founding family, Thorne. So in the end he had indeed threatened to kill the prince of the kingdom on a whim.

Akatsuki's days were filled with practice in preparation for the upcoming ceremony. He practiced, edicate, his manner of speech, and of course dance. Most of which he had practiced in his previous life, but not to the degree at which a noblewoman would.

It hadn't taken long to mater all three styles and with that he was sufficiently prepared for the ceremony, all that was to dawn his attire and get on with the event.

"A Proper Lady wears a dress to her ceremony!" His mother knew well his view on dresses since he had been avoiding them like the plague since he had woken in this world, but it seemed that this time he wouldn't be able to get around it and no matter what excuse he came up with she would just find a more feminine dress to present to him.

So in the end on the morning of the ceremony he found himself staring at a stranger in the mirror of his room.

Long black hair caressed around a soft face fixed with sapphire blue eyes. White silvery fabric flowed down her figure curving in just the right places to catch the eye and attract attention to her well-developed form. Around her, almost rosy red shoulders blushed from the excitement of a ball, sat a perfectly white cape fixed in the middle with a blue crystal that matched her gaze. The white dress reached down the floor revealing nothing, but Akatsuki knew she wore white heels and stockings to match, after all, he was without a doubt staring at himself. He was stunning and yet the sight of himself in this form still made his skin crawl, he had gotten used to seeing himself daily, but from the makeup to the dress, it was all just a bit too much for his mind to comprehend. He simply closed his eyes and looked away stepping out of his room and heading towards the main hall which was downstairs.

For some odd reason, he felt like tonight wasn't going to just be some boring formality and was surprised to feel a twinge of excitement flow through his body as he took his first step down the stairs.