The royal invitation

The Rose

Have you ever loved a rose,

and watched her slowly bloom;

and as her petals would unfold,

you grew drunk on her perfume.

Have you ever seen her dance,

her leaves all wet with dew;

and quivered with a new romance-

the wind, he loved her too.

Have you ever longed for her,

on nights that go on and on;

for now, her face is all a blur,

like a memory kept too long.

Have you ever loved a rose,

and bled against her thorns;

and swear each night to let her go,

then love her more by dawn.

-Lang Leav

"London....London....." The wind whistled. A black figure stood in the distance but didn't move. Was that person even alive? " W-Who's there?!" I said shaking from fear. "Aww you don't know who I am? It's me, your dearest father." I froze. That shouldn't be real, my father died when I was 13. " Your not my dad! My dad died when I was 13! Unless your a ghost, but even then, I don't believe in ghosts!" The wind howled and it got louder and louder by the second. All of a sudden, the black figure disappeared and turned into smoke. The smoke came closer and closer. As it came closer the wind screeched. And then everything was dark.

I woke up in a cold sweat. I've been having that dream for the past week. I pulled away the covers and stood up, stretching my arms and legs. Making my way to my closet seemed like an impossible task. I sighed as I pulled out a t-shirt and black leggings. Thinking this was going to be a boring day on just sitting around scrolling through the internet looking for jobs, I made my way downstairs to find my mom cooking breakfast. " Morning mom" I yawned startling her. "Morning London. Can you do me a favor and get the mail, I'm a little busy at the moment." " Sure mom!" I called as I opened the door and closed it behind me. It was quite a lovely day today, especially since it was March. It Is usually cold and damp in March.

I opened the mailbox and saw a smooth envelope sitting at the very back. I turned the envelope and saw that there was a sealing imprint of the palace. Two doves across from each other, holding grape vines in their beaks. Also on the envelope was in big cursive handwriting written "From The Royal Family". My heart skipped a beat as I rushed back inside the house. When I got in the kitchen, mom was sitting at the supper table with my sister, Paris. " What do you got there?" Paris asked curiously. " I got a letter. And it says here that it's from the royal family." I said waving the envelope in the air. "The Royal Family?!!!" Mom asked in surprised. "Ya, see for yourself" I nearly shrieked. I gave the envelope to mom as she slowly opened the envelope with caution and began to read aloud.

"Every lady who has not been married who lives in the land of Faerie shall attend the royal ball, where a series of games will take place. The Royal ball is the first step of the Royal games. There are five steps of the Royal games in total. And the winner of the games will be declared the princess! The Royal ball will take place 5:30pm, March 28th, in the Faerie Palace. And will end around Midnight. You should not be a minute late, and you will be announced as Lady ( Name). Please wear something formal to the ball, and be prepared to waltz. If you have guardians, please remind them to pick you up at no later than 12:30 - 1:00 amAccording to the games, there are four rules every lady should follow while the games are taking place. The first one is loyalty. During the games, you should not have any other relationship other than one with the prince. The second one is manner. If you disrespect or act improper towards the royal family, you will automatically be disqualified. Thirdly, obedience. You should obey the prince,no matter the cause or what it is. And finally, determination. You should be determined to win the prince's heart. Not for the crown. The prince will dance with each girl and if, by the end of the night, you should have a heart on your wrist. If you have a blue heart, then you barely got accepted, if you got a red heart, you were OK, but you are accepted, if you got a green heart, you have not been accepted, and if you got a Purple Heart, than the prince was interested in you, and you have been accepted. If you can not follow these expectations, please don't attend to the ball. If you have a blue, red, or Purple Heart, you should get a letter within the following week announcing what to do for the second step of the games.

- The Royal Family"

"That means you can attend the ball, London!" Mom said cheerfully. " The prince?"I murmured.

"Ooo London your blushing!"Paris teased. "What! N-No." I squeaked. Just thinking of Prince Leo makes my cheeks hot. "Paris, you and London should go dress shopping, and find a dress for London! Remember the gorgeous the dress, the sooner the prince will pick London to be the princess, and the sooner London can FINALLY get a husband!" I rolled my eyes at the last comment. "Mom, I'm only 21." I reminded her. "And the prince is 22, you guys are perfect for each other! Plus, I'm not getting any younger London. I want as many grandkids as you can have!"She laughed. "M-MOM!" I said embarrassed. "Now, now, I was only half joking! Now get out there and find that dress!"she said, pushing me and Paris towards the door.

I opened the door and let my sister through first. "Bye mom!" I called, closing the door behind me.

"So, where do you want to start looking?" Paris asked as she put the car in reverse. I hesitated for a second but then answered, "Why don't we start looking at Lunss?" Paris nodded in agreement, and we made our way to the store.

We started off by looking in the section that a Paris thought was the best, the pink section. "Ooo, go try this on, London!" Paris said pointing towards the dressing rooms.

I slipped off my shirt and my leggings, and put on the qdress. It was ok, very cozy. But definitely not my style. I didn't dare taking it off since it was so comfortable.After a good ten minutes of looking, I got bored. I looked around and noticed a couple of chairs and made my way to them. I soon started playing with the dress that Paris made me try on. The soft silk wrapped around my fingers, as I stroked it back and forth. "What about this dress?" Paris asked, holding up a bright pink dress before sitting down next to me. "That is way to much pink for me, why don't we look in the purple or blue dress section?" I questioned getting up. "If that is what you want, than let's go and find one." She said annoyed, struggling to get up. A few months ago Paris surprised us all, telling us she was pregnant. It had only been a year since she got married to Damian, she was 23 and he was 25.

As we entered the purple and blue section, I saw dresses that were long, dresses that were short, dresses that were mermaid style, dresses that had slits, and dresses with v-necks. They were all so beautiful, but one in particular caught my eye, a royal blue ombré off shoulder ball gown.

"Wow" I gasped, touching the fabric on the dress. "That looks like a keeper! You should get it." Paris said from behind my shoulder. "How much is it?" She said questionably, looking for the price tag on the dress. "I found it! It says $449." I say disappointed. Paris steps back for a second, and notices a sign above the dress, "It says it's on sale. Maybe because of the ball? Go try it on!" Paris Protested. I carefully took the dress off the hanger and took it to the changing room. It was quite easy to put the dress on. Since the dress had off shoulder sleeves.

As I walked out of the fitting room, I see Paris waiting for me with a wide grin on her face. " Give me a twirl" she pleaded. I spun as If I were a princess. "Wow" Paris gasped. She smiled at me. I smiled back,"This is the one Paris."

At the counter, the cashier rung up the dress which even on sale was still $400 (Including tax). I reached for my credit card from my wallet, but Paris took my wallet and put it in her pocket. She then took out a huge stack of cash and started counting the $100 bills until she reached $400. "Paris stop, I can pay for my own dress!" I protested. Ignoring me, Paris handed the cash to the cashier who then said,"Would you like your receipt?" I stared at Paris and waited for her to reply. "Yes please." Paris said finally.

"Why did you do that Paris?! Why did you pay for my dress?"I asked annoyed as we got in the car.

"Uh because I'm a nice sister. Oh and don't thank me, thank mom." Paris said buckling her seat belt.

"So that's where she got that big stack of cash" I thoughtfully said as I spaced out. "So where do you want to get your shoes from?" Paris asked, pulling me back to earth. "Oh um, I already have a pair of black and white ballroom shoes. I can try them on when we get home." I exclaimed. Paris put the car in reverse, and exited the parking lot.

"Mom! Mom! Look what dress I got!" I exclaimed holding up the blue ombré dress. "Oh wow. That is a wonderful choice London!"