Tigress

It was already getting dark and the time for Princess Rose's birthday ball was drawing nearer by every passing second.

The maids were running helter-skelter the whole palace and guards were stationed at every corner of the palace.

The ballroom was as large as a football field with round tables arranged by the walls to form the shape of a circle leaving a huge amount of space in the middle which would be used as the dance floor.

About four chandeliers were dangling from the ceiling. The four chandeliers were of the same design. All black with white crystals in them.

If the light was shone directly to those crystals, they would be enough to light up the whole room.

The decorations were also in black and white considering those were Rose's favorite colors.

The table cloth and chairs were in black, the vase which sat on top of the table was in white and so were the flowers in them.

The King found it obscured with the princess' choice of colors but he just let it sly. It was her birthday after all.

The ball was to start at 7:30 pm and it was already 6:30 pm.

Rose planned to head out of the palace at 7: 00 pm sharp so that when they came to call her out at 8: 00 pm, she would be back home.

Rose was already preparing to leave the palace at that time. She wore the outfit her mom bought for her first before wearing the dress her dad bought for her on top. To cut off the time she would use to dress up. But, she didn't wear the choker because she thought it didn't just go so, she wore a simple necklace instead.

After she finished wearing the outfit her mom gave her, she walked towards the dress her dad bought for her.

The dress was black. She was the only one who was supposed to wear black while the guests were to wear white to allow her to stand out among the crowd as she was the birthday girl.

The dress sat there, on the bed as she stared at it intently as the dress stared back at her. The dress was a huge ball gown. The dress almost took all the space on the bed. It had beadwork on the bottom, sleeves, half-cut, and neckline of the dress. The dress was done so beautifully that at the sight of the dress, one would know the seamstress who made the dress had exquisite taste.

She stood there for a few seconds more. Then, she said, "Money can't buy happiness dad". Then, she wore the dress in silence.

Luckily, the dress was huge from the half-cut downwards so, no one was able to notice that she was wearing pants and a pair of boots under the dress.

After she finished wearing the dress, she walked over to her dresser

She looked at herself through the mirror. Her eyes then diverted to the crown sitting gracefully on the dresser.

The crown was another elegant piece of jewelry. It had authentic blue emeralds in it. The crown was passed down from her grandmother to her.

It was a tradition in the South Empire that crowns were passed down from generation to generation according to the color of their eyes.

Rose's grandmother's eyes were blue and Rose's eyes were also blue. Therefore, Rose was given her grandmother's crown.

She looked at the crown for a while then, she placed it on her head.

She stood there, for another minute or two,

looking at herself through the mirror. Just staring.

She looked gorgeous like those who would make heads turn at parties.

"Ahhhh..." she sighed and then smirked mischievously before saying "You can't cage a tigress.

Then, she turned around and walked slowly towards the door.

When she got to the doorknob, she held it, inhaled sharply twice, and opened the door to exit her room.