Standing outside the ballroom doorway I took a deep breath,

"Are you ready?" Carter asks me.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Well let's go then." He nods to one of the guards and he pulled the doors open.

What I see was nothing like the ballroom earlier. It was highly decorated in my favorite colors with tables and people and a dance floor and music playing. I have to remind myself to breathe. Carter takes a step and I follow him as he leads me to the thrones where my mother and father sit side by side. Carter bows and I curtsy. My father stands and shakes Carter's hand then gives me a hug.

My father is a normal size man, though he is regal and just he is also firm and strong. He leads his people well. With his dark brown hair and big green eyes he seems gentle, the way I see him as a father. But other people may see his big burly hands and large frame. He is intimidating, but not to me. As he gives me a hug I sniff and smell vanilla and cocoa. That is how I define him. When he releases me he says,

"Happy birthday Katarina." His voice is low and booming, but also soft and soothing.

"Thank you father."

"Carter my boy, you have a fine young lady on your hands tonight... Treat her well." He raises his eyebrows at Carter who blushes, but I'm blushing more.

"Of course sir."

"Great. Now go and enjoy this wonderful party." He slaps Carter on the back and touches my shoulder, I turn and curtsy to my mother before letting Carter lead me away.

"So where are we going?" I ask

"Well I was looking for Rosie and Matthew but I can't seem to find them."

All of a sudden a hand clasps around my waist and lifts me into the air I turn around and see short blonde hair,

"Andrew!"

"Hey sweetheart, happy birthday!"

"Where's Christy?!"

"I'm right here!" I turn and see my older sister with her dark curly brown hair.

"Surprise!" Carter says from behind me. He didn't tell me they were coming.

"Oh Kat you look amazing!"

"Thank you. You look great!"

"You know Anna is here?"

"No! Where?"

"Her and Philip were over by your Uncle Perish last time I saw them." Andrew said looking over his shoulder.

"Alright. Carter do you mind if we go see them?"

"Of course I don't mind." I give Christy and Andrew another hug before Carter lead me off to go and find my Uncle Perish. When we do Anna and Philip turn and I think Anna about faints.

"Oh Kat look at you! You have grown up so much since the last time I saw you."

"So have you. I miss you." Anna has long hair though it is a lighter brown than mine and eyes that shift between green and brown. She is about the same height as Christy and right now she wears a red dress that is very close to the one my mother was wearing earlier.

"I miss you too. Oh! Carter look at you! You're so handsome!"

"You are looking pretty nice in that suit there buddy." Philip says. Philip is a shorter man though quite handsome. I can see why Anna and him like each other so much, they are both quieter and seem like they have a lot in common.

"Thanks." Philip turns and whispers something in Carter's ear that makes him blush yet again and Philip laughs.

My Uncle Perish had been talking to Carter's mother. She turns and curtys to me to me before complementing me on my dress and kissing Carter on the forehead. she's a very quiet women. She is a lot shorter than Carter but it is obvious that he is her son. I bow my head in return and my Uncle Perish turns and looks me up and down before exclaiming,

"Wow you look just ravishing Katarina!"

I laugh, "Thank you Uncle."

He turns to Carter, "So my boy how were those cookies?"

"Well Kat didn't tell me..." His voice trails off and everyone laughs.

"Well, I mean... Um Kat... You see..." He stammered.

"Oh it's fine my boy, Melinda and the other lady's in the kitchen do make wonderful cookies."

The next song comes on, a song that my brother, sisters, and I dance to. Anna's face lights up and Christy comes running over.

"Come on!" Christy grabs Anna and my hands and leads us to the dance floor where our other siblings are already forming a circle. I turn and grab Carter's hand at the last second and he runs after me.

Once we were in a circle we started the dance. It was one we made up so no one else knew it. We even wrote the music too. All of us loved music, we all loved to sing and dance, even Carter.

So we did the dance we called the coreltosoma. Don't ask us why we call it that, we just do. It's a random word.

Once the dance was finished Carter and I went and got some food since we were all out of breath. We sat down at a table with Christy, Andrew, Anna, and Philip. We just talked and joked around, catching up.

When another dance came on that I recognized Carter stood up and the whole table went quiet as he held his hand out in front of me,

"May I have this dance my lady?" He said and I smiled and took his hand.

"Of course."

He led me to the dance floor weaving in and out of people. Once there he put my hands on his shoulders and his arms around my waist, a slow dance. He led me in circles and we didn't talk. I rested my head on his shoulder and he pulled me close. Soon the music faded and I closed my eyes. We had been to plenty of parties and balls together but nothing made me feel like I do now.

When the song ended we went back to the table and Rosie and Matthew were there,

"Hey Kat, hey Carter. How've you been?" Matthew asked.

Matthew is a very muscular boy who lives inside the castle with his mother and father. His father is on the court that assists my father in making decisions for the country. His mother is a good friend of my mother's and is a seamstress that creates dresses and takes them to sell in the city outside the castle. Matthew looks a lot like his father with light brown hair that reaches just above his ears like Carter's. His eyes are blue and his skin is pale. His nose is not the smallest but also not the biggest. He is very handsome, but it is quite obvious to me that he is smitten with Rosie.

"We've been good, though we haven't seen you lately yeah?" Carter said

Matthew blushed almost as red as Rosie's hair.

Roselinda or Rosie is my mother's best friend's daughter. She has bright red hair and freckles across her nose. She's the most quirky and hilarious girl I've ever met. She is optimistic and it shows in her bright green eyes. She is small and just a little bit shorter than me. Her long dark red hair now is tied back in a high ponytail and she is wearing a dark blue dress that shows how small she is.

She smiles and says, "Well you see I was going into town but I didn't want to go alone. And I knew that you and Kat would be getting ready so I asked Matthew if he wanted to go with me and he said yeah he would so we went and then...-

"Rosie... Rosie, for goodness sakes take a breath!" I laughed, she also talks a lot.

"Oh alright Kat. By the way happy birthday."

"Yeah you look beautiful Kat." Matthew said

"Thanks. You both look very nice also."

"Thanks." They said at the same time.

The rest of the night the four of us goofed around and messed with people. We chased my little brother and sisters around until they had to leave and go to bed around 11 o'clock.

Finally when the night was drawing to an end my mother and father stood up and asked for silence. My father cleared his throat and said,

"Well first Lady Katherine and I would like to acknowledge some of our special guests." He turns to my older sister, "AnnaSophia and Philip Greengule of The Eastern Islands. My daughter would like me to make an announcement for her, God has graciously blessed her and Philip with a child." There was a lot of applause as everyone turns to look at Anna and Philip. They both have huge smiles on their faces and Christy pretty much tackles Anna in a hug while Andrew shakes Philip's hand.

"Also our second oldest daughter Christiana and her fiancé Andrew of Fangale." More applause. "As you all know she is to be married next spring. But of course the main event is our third oldest daughter, Katarina." Now everyone's eyes were on me. Great. I thought, but I smiled anyway and curtseyed. Carter held his arm up and I rested my forearm on his.

"Katarina is 16 today. As we have expressed to our older daughters, we believe this is a turning point in their lives. Katarina is becoming such a young lady and Lady Katherine and I would like to thank all of you who has had an impact on our family and her life." He smiles a mischievous smile that makes me think he is going to do something embarrassing, "We would especially like to recognize and thank one of her best friends and escort tonight." I look up at Carter who I think is more red than red can be, but he takes his arm away from mine and bows to my father while I clap along with everyone else. "And to you, our daughter, we would like to wish a Happy Birthday."

While applauding this time they sing happy birthday to me. I just stand there with Carter until the singing stops and a song comes on that Carter and I have rehearsed a dance to this whole week. It was a tradition. I don't know why but I have been dreading this moment, I mean everyone will be watching us. One mistake and people will know it. My hands go numb as Carter and I walk to the middle of the ball room where we stand apart from each other, then bow.

I run through the steps in my mind, left hand behind back, right hand meet his, in out in out. Breathe. Right hand to his shoulder, left hand clasps his. Breathe. Our dance instructor's words echo in my mind, "Let him lead you..."

So I did. And the dance went wonderfully. After it was over we bowed again to each other and clapped with everyone else.

When the next song came on we left the dance floor and went back to our table that everyone else had abandoned, probably to go dance or eat.

"So that was fun." Carter said

"It was."

"You seemed like you were freaking out. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

I smile, "I was freaking out. But you led me. So it made me feel a lot better."

"Oh really? Well I was freaking out before hand too. I thought you were leading me." I laughed

"Well I guess we were just leading each other then."

We sat there in silence for awhile. People came and complemented us and said happy birthday, they said goodnight and thank you for the wonderful party. I replied and said thank you, Carter shook people's hands. People were starting to leave now and we watched them go. The silence between us was starting to get a little awkward until Carter said,

"Um Kat I was well, um, I was wondering..."

"What?"

"When you're ready to leave. I um, I want to show you something. Or give you something, I don't know. When you're ready though."

I laughed, "Sure. Just let me go say goodnight to my parents."

"Alright." So he got up and we walked over to the two thrones.

"Mother, Father thank you so much for the wonderful party and your kind words. I love you both. Would it be alright if Carter and I go ahead and go?"

My mothered answered, "Your welcome darling. And we love you too. That was a wonderful dance."

"Yes it was. We're so proud of you Katarina. And we're glad you had a nice night. You also Carter." Said my father.

"Thank you sir." Replied Carter

"Go ahead and enjoy the rest of your night, both of you." My mother said kindly.

We bowed and left the ballroom.

Sorry if this was a boring chapter. I was trying to decide if I should keep going or start another chapter. Hopefully the next one will be better. Thanks for reading though.

Please don't forget to vote and comment if you like it. And even if you don't please leave me a comment letting me know why and what I need to fix or if there is anything confusing.

Thanks again! XD