For the passed week, I have been training with everyone. And I seriously meant everyone. Kevin was teaching me flexibility and defense for one hour. Eli taught me endurance and strength. Dongho taught me concentration by using his illusions while Kevin watched in the sidelines. And in one full day, AJ taught me more spells and made me recite some without the book. Kiseop continued his training with the spear. And finally, I worked on my archery with the Queen.

  It was so tiring. I never had a break except for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It was constant training. I wanted to fall dead and just sleep for a whole day, but I kept thinking about Rima. I have to fulfill this prophecy so we could go home. I wanted to go back now.

  Luckily today was the night of the ball, so everyone cancelled their session to help prepare for it.

  As for me, I got to rest.

  “Can we walk together?” Rima asked as she entered my room.

  I got up from my bed. No matter how tired I was, I wanted to hang out with my best friend. “Sure. Where do you want to go?”

  “Anywhere. It doesn’t matter.”

  “Alright.”

  We left the room and walked in random directions. As we explored, we found many servants cleaning and preparing for the ball. They would give us a slight nod as a greeting before going back to their duties.

  “Wow. It’s going to be a huge ball!” I exclaimed as I saw a maid carrying instruments.

  “Yeah,” Rima said without looking at me.

  I continued to talk as we kept walking. Soon, we came to the point where there were no longer people scrambling around to finish their schedule.

  I shuddered as I felt a familiar chill run down my spine. “Do you know where we are?” I asked, my eyes wandering.

  Rima shook her head.

  It was freezing in here. I rubbed my arms and noticed Rima wasn’t reacting. “It’s getting cold. We should turn back.” I spun around, but froze as I heard a chuckle.

  “You’re back so soon?” The same voice I have been hearing echoed. “I also see someone is with you this time.”

  My heart raced and I held my breath.

  “You better watch out. Don’t forget the wall. Anyone could enter if not properly protected.”

  My eyes widened. Could Rima hear everything?

  The voice cackled. “Someone will free me soon and when that happens, all hell breaks loose.” The cackled continued and faded to a deafening silence.

  I no longer felt a chill and puffed a breath or air. “Let’s go back, Rima.” I took her arm without another wait and rushed back to society.

  Someone is going to free the person, but who?

  Two will betray.

  Who are the two that will betray? I still didn’t know.

  When we were far away from that area as possible, we bumped into AJ as he was reading the guest list. It was floating in the air as he was writing something down. He was in deep concentration as his forehead wrinkled.

  “Hey, AJ. What are you doing?” I greeted.

  He looked up and everything disappeared in a flash. “Oh, Milady!” His gaze went to Rima, “And Miss Rima. I was going through the guest list and writing who has confirmed they will be arriving.”

  “Oh.” It felt as if I interrupted him. “I’m sorry for bothering you. It must be a long list!”

  “No! It’s okay, I’m done.”

  Silence filled between us as we just made eye contact.

  Rima cleared . “I’m going to walk.” She spun around.

  “Wait for me!” I called out. I was about to catch up to her but a hand took my arm. I turned my head. “What is it AJ?” I asked, staring straight into his eyes, but blushing a bit.

  He blinked a couple of times. “Uhm. You have to get ready, Milady. Today is a big night for you. The Queen will present you to the other kingdoms in Neverland and you’ll need to look nice.” AJ let me go and held out a hand.

  I took it and let him lead me to a different room.

  AJ opened a door, revealing a marble room. In one corner was a screen, concealing the bathtub. On another corner there was a dresser with a mirror to place make up on and fix my hair. The rest was like a tailor shop. Cloth were everywhere and there was a platform to stand on.

  “I’ll be going now, Milady. These ladies will take care of you.” He bowed and left.

  I stepped inside and was greeted by a maid. “Hello Miss. I’m Hana, your stylist. These two are Minah and Jinah.” Hana pointed to two girls who were identical to each other except for their hair. One had pink hair while the other had red hair. “Minah will do your make up and Jinah will work on fixing your dress. How about you choose what you like and we’ll adjust the size.” Hana instructed and led me towards double doors.

  The moment she opened them, my eyes sparkled. It was like I was in the mall. There were many different dresses of all styles. I ran inside and looked through them. I wanted something loose and nothing like what the Queen wore. Like I said, I would trip and fall if I ever wore it.

  I picked out a dull pink dress where the skirt was like a rose petal. The top hugged my waist comfortable as it was loose on my chest area. It was one strap and along the strap was a single rose the same color as the dress.

  I stepped onto the platform as they worked their way on fitting it. I was excited, but I just hope they don’t make it too tight.

  After they had my dress fitted, they led me to the same closet, but this time, I found shoes on top of thousands of racks. Wow. Could this closet be magical, too?

  I once again searched for my shoes and found heels that strapped around my ankle for security.

  Next were accessories. I found a rose pin for my hair and a necklace with a crystal pendant. I didn’t choose anything else since the dress would already attract attention.

  “Now let’s have you bathes. You need to be clean,” Hana mentioned.

  Since we were all girls, I stripped all of my clothing and stepped inside the tub they had ready for me already. It was still warm and relaxing. I dipped my head in, washing up my whole body.

  Suddenly, Hana took my arm and started scrubbing my armpits.

  I jumped.

  “Sorry, but we need to prepare you soon.” Hana apologized and scrubbed my body.

  Minah went on to my hair, applying shampoo.

  Jinah was rinsing me up with a bucket while chattering how excited she was because it was going to be big.

  When they finished washing me up, they wrapped a towel around me and seated me in front of the dresser. They dried my hair and face before working on me.

  Minah applied light make up on me while Hana tied my hair in a bun, adding the rose.

  I stared at myself through the mirror and found a whole new me. I reminded myself of Hyemi. I looked more feminine and girly. I liked it, but at the same time hated it. The thing I hate was it wasn’t natural. I had to put on make up to be like this No wonder Hoon was never attracted to me like he was to his girlfriend.

  “Miss, we need you to wear your dress now. The ball will be starting soon,” Minah stated.

  I nodded and slipped on my dress. I wonder how long I’ve been in here. I never knew it would be time for the party to start.

  “Wait here,” Hana instructed, “Prince Kevin will you.”

  “Kevin?”

  She nodded. “Yes, he requested it.”

  “Oh.” I blushed at the thought and smiled. Kevin will be walking with me to the ball. He’s so sweet.

  After moments of waiting, there was a knock on the door. Hana scrambled towards it and revealed Kevin.

  My eyes lit as I saw him in a white suit with a red rose in his pocket. My mouth opened as I noticed something strange. “How?”

  Kevin cocked his head in confusion for a moment before realizing I meant the suit. “Oh, this? Remember, we’re not that out of date. I mean, of course we have modern day clothes. Did you not see any in the closet?” He asked, eyeing my dress.

  I blushed. I did see them, but I wasn’t expecting anyone actually wearing them. Plus, I like this dress. I touched my skirt. “I thought it was pretty, so I chose it.”

  Kevin grinned. “You’ll always look beautiful and these ladies did a really great job of making you stand out.”

  I was suddenly shy and flustered. I was flattered by the comment, for I have never heard that from anyone before.

  “Should we go?” Kevin asked, holding out a hand.

  I nodded and took it. I wonder what it would be like in a ball. I’m sure it’ll be completely different from a usual party.