Preparations

Ahhhh, how a nice warm bath can do wonders for the mind and body.

It's crazy to think that just this morning I was fretting over my presentation. It has definitely been eventful today, and I imagine this long day will lead into a long night.

Taking a deep inhale I plunged my head under the water. As an individual who didn't really spend a lot of time with people in general...for a handful of reasons... I found today to be both exciting and extremely draining. Most people tend to despise me for having red eyes, or have some unsaid agenda when getting close to me. Being a princess came with it's perks, but it also had it's fair-share of cons. I tend to simply engage with those that I know genuinely care about me. Having the gift of sight into people's auras makes filtering that group a very easy process. Thinking about the other presentations this morning I really liked what I saw in Princess Lupida of the Lycan's aura. She was just as nervous as I most likely looked, but she had this great ability to push that to the side and face it head on. She was very brave, and it made up a huge part of her aura. I was surprised to learn that Princess Lupida, Prince Cascade, and myself were the only ones who felt nervous. All the others were quite comfortable, and confident in what they had to say. For all of the fae! How was everyone else so calm!

My encounter with Josephine in the bathroom replayed, and I wondered if Prince Bayu of the Aither was her companion. Clearly Josephine was quite proud of her new affiliation, so it must be of someone with substantial power.

"Princess, you still need to get ready for the ball," Elise said aloud. "And meet with your mother," she reminded via our mind-link.

I suppose bath time was over.

Wrapping myself into a towel I worked up the courage to leave my warm cocoon, and step into my significantly cooler bedroom. I hated to leave my warm bath.

Elise, once again, turned a caterpillar into a butterfly. She pulled my long blonde hair into a high ponytail, with a few pieces of fringe framing my face. I opted for diamonds to pair with the dress she picked out for me. It was... a lot... and way out of my comfort zone. It was a long dress with a slit and had a very low back. Stopping just under the dimples of back. The bright red color of the dress almost made the girl in the mirror appear confident, and was one hell of a powerhouse statement. I both secretly loved, and openly dreaded how it paired with my eyes. It really highlighted them, and I loved that Elise wanted to help me own my unusual shade. But I also knew that with that territory there was sure to be negative remarks, and I wasn't thrilled with combatting those who dubbed me the demon princess. With my slight glow hiccup during presentations, perhaps calling more attention to my red eyes wasn't the best call.

"You look beautiful. Forget the haters. You are absolutely STUNNING!" she exclaimed through our mind-link.

" Thank you," I gushed "but is it really a good call to wear a red gown?"

"What are you talking about? Do you know how many individuals will be wearing colors that flatter them? Red is your color! Just like lavender is mine," she noted while pointing out her lavender number for the night.

"IF people choose to remark negativity it is simply because they are jealous. Would you advise me not to wear something that suited me because other people had an issue with it? It's not as though what I was wearing said anything insulting, or was hurting anyone. Would you allow someone to make me feel about thhhiiiiisssss big?" She asked while bringing her index finger and thumb inches apart from each other.

I would never let someone degrade my best friend simply because she looked good, and was expressing herself...especially if it wasn't hurting anyone!

"No I would never allow someone to get away with treating you that way."

She had a little glint in her eyes and said," Good, because I'm not going to allow how those people out there MIGHT respond to this sexy, sultry, and powerful women stop you from rocking your look."

"I love you. Thank you." I voiced. I was feeling slightly emotional, but I knew if I messed up the makeup she spent an hour applying she'd have some choice words to say. I took one more look at the girl in the mirror, and felt good about what I saw. She kept my eyes simple with a smoky cat eye look, and some light blush. The highlight of the whole look was definitely my lips. She gave them a bright red pop of color, and it made them appear much plusher than I felt they were in my everyday look.

Turning to her I nodded my head and happily chirped, " Ok, your turn."

................

Walking down the hall towards my mother's chambers I knew that Elise and I looked good. Hell, Elise looked great! Her lavender dress matched her eyes spectacularly, and I loved that it had a tight bodice laced with rein-stones leading out to a poofy bottom. It matched her perfectly. She wore her wavy brown-red hair down, but being part mermaid I think she just always had naturally ball-worthy hair everyday. Lucky! While she played up my lips, we opted to do the opposite with her. Her eyes really stood out, and sparkled from every angle. My favorite thing about Elise's look was her lavender rein-stone covered high top converse! It was just all very Elise. I was jealous that she had the option of not wearing deathtraps. As a princess, I would never get away with wearing high tops to a ball.

The wide big doors pushed open, and we entered my mother's chambers. Her companions resided around her. I gave them each a nod of acknowledgment, and directed my attention to my mother. She was swoon-worthy, and even at her age I was sure that if no one knew who we were she'd often be compared to my much more charismatic sister. She smiled when she saw me.

"Oh, darling. You look breathtaking!" she said with excitement. Walking towards me she covered my face with small pecks, and crushed my ribs with tight hugs.

"Mom, I think you're crushing me. I might have to go back to my chambers to heal for the night." I added a little wink, so she'd know I was HALF kidding... but also kind of urging her with my eyes to let me do it.

She laughed, and it sounded like wind chimes. Mom doesn't laugh near as much as she used to when dad was alive. I have very few memories of my father. He passed away when I was 5, but I remember how happy we all used to be.

"No, so sorry, but this is mandatory" she said with glistening eyes. And then her face hardened and she lost her glint, "Actually, I wanted to speak with you because I'm starting to get pressure from the other kingdoms."

"Pressure? What kind of pressure?"

"They were all curious about you before, but after seeing you in person they have many questions..." She highlighted the seeing part and I knew she meant my eyes glowing.

"Did they not believe you? How bad was it today?" I stressed.

"Bad."

"It was only a second!"

"A second too long, honey. These are royals. They trust their instincts and are naturally skeptical. This wasn't in front of a single maid that I can pay off. This was in front of a group, and they all are collaborating they saw the same thing. This is MUCH harder to talk away. I've said it was simply a lighting issue, but you need to be prepared when you walk into that ballroom. You will be under high scrutiny. Every move. Every look." She urged.

No one can know the truth about my eyes.

"Yes, mom. I understand."