The rest of the week passed by fairly quickly with Kyungsoo being given dance lessons by Tao in preparation for Lord Xi's ball.  Kyungsoo, as it turns out, has two left feet, so it took all of Tao's abilities, with the assistance of Yixing, to get Kyungsoo to a state fit for polite society.

"Kyungsoo, please resist looking at the ground. If you constantly watch your feet, not only will you look a fool and mess up more, you will seem rude to your partner."

"Why does it matter!?" Kyungsoo exclaims, pulling away from Tao and flinging himself onto the floor, shutting his eyes and thrashing about in frustration. "It's not like anyone is going to want to dance with me anyway, why do I have to bother learning!?"

"If you are quite finished with your little tantrum?" Tao asks, voice steady and no hint of impatience at his pupil present.

"Ah, fine!" Kyungsoo concedes, pulling himself off of the floor and once again joining hands with Tao to go through the motions of the dance again.

"You should not doubt yourself so, Kyungsoo, you will have plenty of dance partners lining up to take a turn about the room with you.  First of all, you are a new face, and therefore are a hot topic. People will be going out of their way to talk to you to get a feel for you, see if you are appropriate for their various political schemes.  Not to mention, your hair is really quite...eye-grabbing to say the least."

"Uh, thanks?" Kyungsoo asks self-consciously. "So what am I supposed to do about people's polticking? I've never had to deal with anything like that, I'm pretty much left to my own devices in my high school."

"Just smile and be polite, but do not agree to anything, and do not become involved in anyone's schemes or gossip. If you feel that you are out of your depth, excuse yourself and come find me, I'll do my best to assist you."

"Tao, I don't know if I've said it yet, but thanks."

"For what?"

"Just for being you. You've really made my transition into this world at least bearable."

"Well, in that case, you're welcome Kyungsoo."

"Wait, Tao, are you blushing?"

"No," he protests, turning his head away from Kyungsoo, only to expose his pink tipped ears.

"Oh my God, you totally are! That's so cute!" Kyungsoo squeals, leaning in to pinch Tao's red cheeks.

"Please unhand me."

"Right, sorry," Kyungsoo says sheepishly as he releases Tao's face and draws back.

"I think that is enough for now. I will leave you to prepare yourself for this evening. Be ready by seven, I will drop by your room then, and we will proceed to the affair together." Before Kyungsoo even has an opportunity to respond, Tao has already vacated the room.

"Huh, who knew Tao could get embarrassed?"

Kyungsoo had thought that he was going to be getting ready himself like the big kid he is, but he finds he is mistaken when a team of servants knock on the door, and then proceed to let themselves into his room where he is caught up in a whirlwind of fabric and various beauty products.

His makeover at last complete, Kyungsoo stands up and looks at himself in the mirror.  He can't help but to think that he looks great.  He is dressed in a stiff, cream-colored shirt, with flowing pants of the same color. A structured, emerald green vest adds a pop of vibrancy to his attire, and offsets his hair which has been once again shaved down the sides and somehow re-dyed to its former glory.  A subtle amount of makeup has been applied to his face as well. His eyes look even bigger, which he didn't know was possible, and his skin looks like it's practically glowing.

"Well God damn, get a load of that hottie with a body!" Kyungsoo vocalizes, shifting around so as to admire himself from as many different angles as possible. "Who knew I could look so mother in' y!"

The makeup artists eye him warily, but don't remark on his behavior, instead, simply reminding him of the time.

"Oh , Tao'll be here any moment now!" And as if he could read Kyungsoo's thoughts, Tao takes that moment to rap his knuckles against the door.

"Kyungsoo, if you're quite finished admiring yourself, it is high time we depart."

Instead of responding, Kyungsoo simply opens the door and joins him in the hallway where he proceeds to wolf-whistle at Tao, dressed head to toe in a well-fitting, stylish black suit, thick lines of kohl adding extra drama to his eyes.

Tao does not respond, merely leading the two of them out of the palace and into the courtyard where they climb into a carriage that will be taking them to the ball.

When they reach their destination a short twenty minutes later, Kyungsoo is left speechless. Their carriage is being driven up a long driveway, lined with a multitude of colored lights that give off a totally magical glow. The manor itself is huge and imposing, festooned with even more of the colored lights, emitting a warm glow that promises life and laughter.

Alighting from the carriage, Kyungsoo is completely oblivious to the final instructions Tao is giving him, too busy ogling not only the building itself, but all of the people streaming into the warm confines of the party, where already there is enough of a crowd for there to be sounds of conversation and laughter spilling out of the open doors.

"Well. Holy ."

A/N:

Hey, I'm sorry the last chapter was so ty and this one is so short, but I've been experiencing small amounts of writer's block with this fic. I love it and want to update, but I'm only inspired to write when I literally don't have any time. And then when I do manage to find some time to write, the words just don't want to flow. But, fall break starts soon and I'm going to hit up the Renaissance Faire, so here's hoping I'll be struck with inspiration at a time when I can actually sit down and write.

Please continue to subscribe, upvote, and comment. Nothing makes me want to write more than my beautiful readers leaving me comments that make me feel all warm and tingly. I really do love you guys, and I hope you're not getting impatient with my lack of (or ty) updates. <3