I always thought love is so beautiful. And I still do. Love just doesn't always happen in time. Sometimes we're just not ready for it. Sometimes we just don't know what to do with it and how to deal with this huge and strong feeling. Because love is such a responsibility. And I had no right to love.

I hadn't seen Ellior or Seraphus in the past twenty-four hours. My room had been searched and all the evidence collected, and I could go back there, as well as the lovely gargoyles returned. At least they were by my side. The tears had dried too. My friends were perfectly fine. No word from Lua, though. I decided to myself that as soon as he sent me word that everything had worked out, I'd pack up and get out of here. I have no right to this life. Besides, I'm a danger to a lot of others now. Or rather, they think I'm Lua. They will hunt for Lua. I also took responsibility for everything that's going on. So I have to find him and protect him from the mess I got myself into.

"Hey," I smile and sit down on the chair next to a scowling Piros' bunk. He's been left in the healing wing for another twenty-four hours, since the impact of his own power was so great, and he hasn't recovered yet. And I'm sure no one came to see him.

"I brought you something." I lift a cloche off the plate and hand him a juicy piece of meat. Over the past twenty-four hours, I've busied myself learning what fire dragons like. Meat. They love meat and hate greens as much as they hate vegetables.

Piros casts a glance at the dish and his eyes flash, betraying his joy, but then he presses his lips together stubbornly.

"And for what? Are you trying to poison me?" He squints at me and asks.

"No, of course not," I laugh, setting the dish on the table next to him and putting down the cutlery. "Just thought I'd thank you for trying to protect me. Thank you. I know you were heading to my place and carrying strawberries. I'm sorry you didn't make it. But next time, just come for fun, Piros. I'd be glad to."

"I didn't plan to give you a treat," he snorts. "I wanted to throw it in your face, smear it all over your face for lying."

"You're so prickly," I sigh, shaking my head. "But I didn't lie to you. I'm really happy to be friends with you."

"Yeah, sure. You purposely said you were inviting me to go out with you, even though you're definitely not going anywhere."

"What makes you think that? I wasn't lying. All the guys are fine. The dissenters have been punished, and the headmaster has moved them to court now. Seraphus, as far as I know from Vox, will be testifying remotely like the rest of the teachers. I also gave my testimony, as did the guys. So this weekend..."

"You're not going anywhere. You have to prepare for a ball. It's next week," Piros tsks.

"What?" I raise my eyebrows in bewilderment. "What a ball?"

"The first grade ball. It's an annual ball. It's on your schedule, Lua. We fucked it up last year, and they made us clean up after the ball all year. Don't you guys prepare for it?"

"No," I answer slowly. "I didn't even... Mother, I didn't even know about it. Oh, Mother Almighty, a ball? Is there something we have to do at it?"

"You really didn't know?" Piros frowns.

"No. I really didn't know. I didn't even think about it. Oh," I cover my face with my palms. This is the last thing we need. We're just getting over the attack, what happened. And I'm... I don't think I'm even in my right mind. What the hell is a ball?

"You have to arrange it, host the ball, and then the dance. First you have to show what you can do. Some show tricks, some dance, some sing, and so on. It's kind of like presenting your stage to the whole House. You must have a theme and you must prepare invitations, decorate the hall, order food and drinks from the dining hall. Alcohol is allowed, but in moderation. Everyone will be there. And it's... a shame if you screw it up like we did last year. Trust me, you'll find my punches like a fairy tale. Cleaning up after students is hell," Piros picks up a plate of meat and cuts off a piece.

"Oh shit," I moan. "And we have to get this ready for...how much time do we have?"

"The ball usually falls on a weekend. It's held on Saturday. You do the first ball, and then the rest of the levels follow. The next ball is for the second grade level, the next is for the third grade level, and so on. That's how we all get to know each other."

"Oh," I raise my head to the ceiling, moving down in my chair. "What the hell is this? A ball? Mother, you've got to be kidding me. We have less than a week to get everything ready. Can we refuse to do it?"

"Shame and punishment. The headmaster will punish as we were," Piros replies, chewing.

"Oh," I whimper. "That's not fair. We've been through so much... maybe the headmaster will take pity?"

"Nah," Piros grins. "It's a discipline thing. He's a complete freak on this one. You're screwed."

"So what, we're supposed to put on a show? We? You mean our bunch of weirdos? Oh, this is the end. That's just the end. We can't do it."

"Come on," Piros tsks. "You can do it. Lua, you can arrange everything. The main thing is to start as soon as possible. You don't have to do anything fancy, just arrange everything, invite everyone, think about food and drink. You're not expected to do much."

"Of course they do," I snort. "Only I don't know a damn thing about balls."

"You're the duke's son."

"So? You think I've been to balls? No, my father was ashamed of me because he thought I was empty. He wouldn't show me off, sometimes even said I wasn't well. I wasn't at the ball. I was in the forest with a friend, hiding from my father and his anger because I'm not being good enough to show me off like a toy," I spit out with hatred. I spent long hours by Lua's side after those balls. And I hate them. I hate the Duke for that. I hate him.

"But you're not alone," Piros remarks. "You have to act as a team, and the elves know all about balls as well as the fairies. Also the vampire, your friend. She should definitely have known about the ball."

"After such a shock, she is severely depressed. I doubt any of us even thought about it. Stellare, Vox and Ailes are having sexual debauchery in Stellare's room. Mor is running around the forests calming his beast, Fima is silent, and the others... I don't talk to them. What can we do in a week? What?"

"Screw up like we did," Piros smiles. "And then you're dead. Or pull yourself together and start working."

"Okay. Can you help us?" I ask hopefully.

"No," he croaks and tosses a piece of meat into his mouth. "No way. I've had enough, especially since we have to organize the ball, too, and I'm in the dumbest grade. It's all assholes out there."

"Please," I beg. "You know a lot about the ball. If we have any questions, can I ask you? I'll allow you to slap me twice."

Piros arches an eyebrow skeptically.

"You realize I'm not going to do that, right?"

"Yep," I smile. "But I'll leave you a chance. Or I could trade it for something else. What do you want?"

"Will you become my slave?"

"Except for that, Piros. Something sane."

"Then will you go out with me?"

"Okay. But no molestation, no more of this fire of yours, and no setups. And I'm not going to sleep with you," I squint.

"Actually, I'm the king of the situation. You can't put conditions on me, Lua."

"Fine. We can handle it ourselves," I snort and get up from the chair and yank the evil curtain, hearing Piros laughing in return. Jerk.

I head down the corridors, avoiding running into the other students and Seraphus. In fact, I avoid thinking about our kiss, Ellior's appearance, the vision, and anything else about the other side of my life. It's not like anyone even suspects that I practically had an affair with my teacher. Or is that normal here? Although I've heard that some students have slept with their teachers, but that's not for sure. And in general, I block out any thoughts of Seraphus. It's easier for me. It's easier to keep the pain from spreading throughout my body. It's easier not to be the one who had the courage to tell off two full-grown princes. It's easier to just move on and pretend that the ball is the worst thing that could have happened to me. Right?

I knock on Fima's room, and she opens the door.

"I have an urgent meeting. Call for Mor."

I head to Stellare's room across from mine and knock there a few times. Vox opens it to me, his thighs wrapped in a sheet, and he looks pissed.

"What's up? Lua, we're busy. Or do you want to join us?" Playing with his eyebrows, he licks his lips.

"You stop your sex marathon. This is an emergency. Everyone meets in my room. And if you don't show up, I'll put impotence on you," I threaten, taking a step toward my room.

"What? You wouldn't dare, Lua!" Ailes shouts angrily from the back of the room.

"You can check," I hum, and walk into my room, leaving the door ajar.

The gargoyles wake up and watch tensely as I throw pillows on the floor.

"Okay, you guys, stay out of the way. And hide. My friends are coming here," I warn them. The gargoyles flap their wings fearfully and fly to the ceiling, huddling in the corner.

"What happened?" Mor and Fima are the first to enter the room. Mor is chewing on something again. Ah yes, jerky. Really, that guy has a bottomless stomach. The displeased trio enters next.

"The ball," I say, closing the door behind them. "We should arrange the ball."

"Oh, mother, I forgot!" Fima shrieks and pushes me away from the door. She runs her finger over our schedule and sighs again.

"Do we also have to arrange a ball? I thought we should just dress nicely, do our hair, wash up and show up," Mor groans, collapsing onto one of the cushions on the floor.

"Damn ball, of course," Vox snickers, hugging a yawning Stellare.

"So, what are we going to do? Piros reminded me. And he said the Headmaster's going to punish us."

I settle down on the floor, and Ailes falls into my arms, beaming. Oh, Mother, that guy acts like a cat looking for petting sometimes. I don't even think it bothers me anymore. I hug him, and Ailes settles between my legs.

"We have so much to do. So much to do. We don't have time," Fima shakes her head. "We don't even have a theme."

"It's easy," Ailes shrugs. "We'll take what we're facing. It's a confrontation between dark and light. The struggle. The theme will be 'Black and White.' All guests, depending on their major power, must dress in either white or black. That's the theme. We'll show that the dark and the light can and must live in peace."

"You're brilliant," Mor whistles. "How did you... come up with everything so quickly?"

"I attend balls all the time. I like them. I love dressing up," Ailes smiles. "Stellare would have come up with something too, but I think we broke him a bit."

"Fuck you," Stellare suppresses a yawn and slaps the fairy on the hip. "We need to divide up the duties. The others can hardly be expected to help. We'll give them a theme and let them do what they want. We'll handle it. So what's there to do?"

"Decorations, invitations, appetizers, lights, music, lots of other things," Fima snarls. "We'll have to make all the plans."

"I'll take care of the appetizers and drinks," Mor smiles. "I have some contacts."

"I'll bet you do," Fima snorts. "I can take care of finding the decorations, but we'll all decorate together. We still have to pick a hall."

"Yeah, any hall. They're all the same. We'll pick a day and do it all. I'll get the other demons to help. Or rather, I'll sneak into their dreams and make them obey my whims," Vox smiles slyly.

"That's not fair," I remark with a smile.

"Whatever. At least we'll get everything done in time, and we shouldn't refuse help."

"I'll do the invitations. I'll ask someone from home to send us some card blanks, and we'll color them. Actually, Lua will color them. You're the strongest. Just color them with your spells and we'll send them out. That's it. We've got it all figured out."

"And the show? Piros said we should prepare for this. Sort of show off," I remind him.

"Well, we'll show something and that's it. We'll think of something. It's not that important. That's all? I want to return to where I stopped. I'm still horny," Vox pouts his lips, stroking Stellare's chest.

"No shit. You exhausted me. You insatiable bastard. Take Ailes, he's already recovered his energy thanks to Lua," Stellare shoves Vox away from him and crawls over to us. He grabs Ailes by the arm and pushes him towards Vox. We all snicker at the lustful smile that appears on Vox's face as soon as his hands touch Ailes.

"Traitor," Ailes mutters.

"Whatever, I'll spend the night with Lua," Stellare tsks and lies down on my lap. "I need some care, Lua. Take care of me. They're beasts."

"Don't play dumb. I can feel you're happy." I slap him on the shoulder.

"Just a little bit. Just a little bit of care."

"Okay," rolling my eyes, I run my hand through Stellare's hair and he sighs, satisfied. The guys continue to discuss the preparations and it's so easy by their words. It seems really easy, but there has to be a catch. If Piros and his class couldn't do it, then there must be a complication.

"Has anyone seen Seraphus?" Stellare is suddenly interested. I tense up, and my hand freezes in the guy's hair.

"No, he's not back from the trial yet, apparently," Fima mutters. "Didn't even have class with him today, and tomorrow's kind of on the schedule."

"But how would he break the treaty? He's not allowed to cross borders," Mor frowns.

"He's watching from a distance. He can. It's Seraphus," Vox grins, kissing Ailes' neck softly.

Or maybe he's still in the bedroom with his lover. He said that he was starting to feel it, getting horny and... Ellior is around. I don't think Ellior wouldn't have shown up at the House and not been noticed if he'd come out of Seraphus' room. And I really hope they work things out. But at the same time... I want Seraphus to not decide anything with Ellior. I want him to be mine, only mine. I want his kisses, his scent, that warmth in my body. I want him.

"Lua... Lua."

I blink a lot when I feel my arm being shaken. When I lower my gaze, I stumble into Stellare's attentive eyes, watching me.

"Are you okay?" I look up at Fima, and pulling on a smile, I nod.

No, I'm not okay. I feel miserable. It's like a stone inside. An icy, sharp stone.

"I think it's time for you all to leave. Tomorrow, we'll have a detailed discussion about the ball."

Stellare stands up and forcefully shoves Vox, indicating the exit.

"Are you kicking us out?" Mor squints at him.

"Lua is tired. He's hardly regenerated the way we have. All this time, he's been taking care of us, but not himself. What are you, stupid? Can't you feel that?" Stellare hisses at them. What? What's going on? What do they feel?

And in some strange way, Stellare sends everyone out in a matter of seconds. I'm still sitting on the cushions. I can't even move. I feel like if I make a move or take a deep breath, I'll fall apart.