That one day before the ball went by in a flash.

The day before the ball D.O had more than enough to do. There were some dishes that couldn't be pre-made so he made all the other dishes that could be put in the freezer-room for the night. Fortunately, for our great cook, the kitchen was full of helpers: some chopped the vegetables, some were occupied making all kinds of bagels and breads, some  washed the dishes, some helped D.O make that big and breathtakingly beautiful cake, and some did whatever else there was left to do.

The dresses were ready for final fitting; the boys' new tuxes were also finished and waiting for the ball-day. Seeing everyone happy about the clothes Onew sure was proud of himself – he did a good job once again.

The gardens were prettier than ever. Though Rose Garden and Cherry Garden were usually used by servants and Bluebell Garden was for Royal family and higher rank courtiers all three gardens were equally decorated. There were lanterns on the trees and gas-heaters near the benches.  All fountains were working with some anti-freezers added to the water so if it gets below zero at night the water wouldn't freeze and break the pipes.

There were no flowers on the flowerbeds, as it was winter, but the ribbons and the lanterns on the trees added some color to the scene. Actually the fact that everything else was quite dull-coloured made a nice contrast with the brightly-coloured decorations.

The boys – JR, Baekho, Minhyun, and Ren – were really busy today. As always most of the guests just had to arrive one day before the ball. JR, the future King he was, had to welcome all those people. What a dull day he had. The other three boys were in charge of leading the guests to their rooms and making sure they had everything they needed. Not so dull but not a very exciting day either.

***

In the evening, when a castle full of servants could finally rest before the great day tomorrow, Kris called NU'EST and the girls from the South to meet in the basement room.

Everyone else was already in the room except for Kris. Just when JR thought he'll go to search for the man Kris stepped into the room.

„Sorry, I'm late. I had some quick errands to run,“ he put a silver platter on the table, „D.O wants us to taste some of this new creations so eat away.“

Everyone grabbed a random sweet – it actually wasn't a easy thing to do because every bagel, muffin, and cookie was so inviting.

„That's so good!“

„Delicious.“

„I think I just swallowed my tongue.“

- "But magically you're still talking..."

These were some of the comments of the seven youngsters and Kris had to admit it himself – these sweets were out of this world.

„Anyway, the reason I called you here was something far more serious than eating sweets. The thing is that you guys can't stay in the castle much longer,“ the seven stopped eating, „otherwise your life will be in danger.“

„Lucras said someone's going to die.“ HyunAe added.

„It's me, right?“ JR asked.

Kris nodded. Actually it's Baekho... but they want you as well...

„Gosh, how I hate it... Can't others stay and I'll just pretend I died or something?“

„It's not that easy. You are all involved. If you're so-called dead Lucras will still want others here dead aswell.“

The mood dropped. The seven swallowed. This situation was starting to get out of hands. They hoped that everything will be settled neatly and nicely between the castle's walls – Lucras will be taken care of along with his comrades, and no one else needs to suffer – but now they had to get out of here as soon as possible not to get killed by themselves.

„So I want you to put some clothes ready today. You're leaving in the morning after the ball.“

„Morning when?“ Baekho asked. Please tell me not morning 4 or 5 AM. I wanna sleep!!!

„Morning 7.30 AM. Lucras and the others will probably get drunk as the ball goes on so they'll still be sleeping soundly when you leave. - OK, class dismissed. I don't want to bring down your mood before the ball.“

„You already did, you know.“ Ren scoffed but smiled.

„About the ball. Do we have to dance we those weird ladies again like the last time?“ Minhyun asked cringing his nose. Ren also made a sour face recalling those memories.

„You can take the one with bad breath.“ Baekho laughed.

Kris chuckled. „No, this time they weren't invited. Lucras specifically told me not to send invitations to them. He didn't want to make the same mistake twice. He learned that pretty women aren't always the prettiest in the inside.“

Ren narrowed his eyes. „You mean he had to be in their company?“

Others had amused faces on.

„Yup. And he suffered.“ Kris said putting his hand over his heart and faking a sob.

Others bursted out laughing.

„OK-OK, go to your rooms now and get some sleep. It's a big day tomorrow.“ Kris said wiping a tear from the corner of his eye.

The seven youngsters stood up and took their leave.

Kris started cleaning up the table when he remembered something: „One last thing: come by here tomorrow morning. We need to make sure what any of you may and may not do at the ball, k'ay?“

„When exactly?“ Minhyun asked.

„Right. 9 AM? Good enough?“

„Huh-uh.“

Time to make you hungry...