Our lunch was delivered in Julianne's room.

"So, since the prince consort wanted Haidee to sing, Let's have her sing the first verse and we'll act as back-up singers in the part 'And you're always free' until 'you'll never leave'." Julianne suggested and we agreed.

Julianne was surprisingly strategic. She made us sing the whole song first before assigning parts. She said something about our voice should match the song.

"So, if it's okay, I'd sing the 'You and I will always be' then both of you would back me up in 'celebrating life together' Then I sing the next line. Claire will sing the 'love is like a melody' then Haidee and I will back you up in 'one that I will always treasure' then you sing the next line." Julianne said.

Claire and I always just nodded. Julianne knew her music. After talking about what we'd do about the song, we arranged a practice tonight. Claire and I left Julianne's room and went back to the mini ballroom.

"Everybody's here now. Ladies, go to your seats, please." The instructorㅡwho introduced herself as Rinㅡordered.

Claire and I sat at our seats. The music started and Tony approached me, bowed, and held out his hand with a smile. I smiled back at him as he led me to the middle.

"I heard that Dad wanted you to sing tomorrow." He said.

I nodded, "Yup, but I told him I'd be singing with friends."

He smiled, "Don't want the spotlight only at you?"

I laughed and nodded, "Yup. You know me so well."

He smiled wider, "You bet I do." Then he spun me towards his father.

"Hello, Haidee." He greeted.

"Good afternoon, PrinceㅡI mean Father." I greeted with a sheepish smile.

"Who are you singing with tomorrow, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Claire Venice and Julianne Evans. They have lovely voices."

He smiled, "Don't worry too much about the crowd you'll be performing to. Just enjoy singing with your friends. Although I'm positive the crowd would love your voices."

I smiled, "Thank you."

After the practice, We all gathered to Rin who had some announcements.

"Your majesties, As you know, Princess Celestiana will be wearing a white gown and Prince William will wear a black suite. As a contrast, the ladies shall wear black gowns and the gentlemen white suits. Here are the clothes that you will wear."

I took the gown with my name on it. It had a vintage touch to it. It was an off-shoulder illusion ball gown. I had the same dress with the Queen and Claire. Celestiana's gown was almost like a wedding gown.

"Haidee, since this is a secret, are we supposed to change into this gown just for the dance?" Claire asked as she gave me a black mask with silver designs.

I nodded, "Probably. I'm sure our maids made us a gown."

"Good luck tomorrow! I'm sure everyone would look dazzling." Rin said as we walked out of the door after a quick wave.

Claire and I went to our rooms. I saw my maids fussing over a dress.

"Hey, what's that?" I asked.

"It's your dress for tomorrow." Vivianne replied.

I approached them and gasped when I saw the dress.

"It's beautiful!" I said in awe.

It was a navy blue sweetheart ball gown with a court train and lace.

"It was hard coming up with a design since everyone is required to have a blue gown." Hannah complained.

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked.

"What is it?" Georgia asked.

"As you know, I'm dancing with the royals and I have to wear this gown for that." I said and showed them the gown, "But it's supposed to be a secret so I still need to change into that gown. I'm coming into the ball in that navu blue gown but after eating, can you meet me outside the hall and help me change into this?" I asked.

They nodded, "Okay."

"Then after dancing, I'll meet you back and I'll change into that gown again." I continued.

"Yeah, sure. No problem." Vivianne said as she stitched some parts of the gown then she cut the thread, "Done."

"I'll leave this here. I'm going to Julianne's room." I said and left the room.

Once I got there, Claire wasn't around.

"Where's Claire?" I asked.

"She hasn't arrived yet." Julianne stated.

I sat down on her bed. After a few minutes, Claire entered.

"Hey, sorry if I'm late. I almost forgot." Claire said.

"It's fine. Let's start now." Julianne said and pulled out the piece of paper.

Georgia was doing my make up, Hannah was doing my hair, and Vivianne checked the dress.

Georgia put a black and blue eyeshadow on my eyes to fit both dresses even if I was wearing a mask on the black one. She put a red color on my lips.

Hannah fixed my hair into an up-do that looked fantastic. Vivianne made me wear the blue gown and black heels. I refused to wear any necklace except the one that Tony made. They just settled at making me wear dangling earrings.

"Remember what I told you last night." I told them.

The nodded and waved.

"Have fun!" Hannah yelled.

I smiled, "I will."

They took the mask and gown from the closet as I left. I took a deep breath before I motioned for the guards to open th doors.

Everyone was settled in tables and chatting. I looked for my table where my friends were seated along with five other Selected which were Bloom, Dianne, Mae, Louise, and Mary.

They all wore gowns in different shades of blue. Mary wore the lightest gown in the table. It was almost close to white. Claire wore the darkest which made her skin look paler.

"Wow, all of you look beautiful." I complimented as I sat down beside Harriet and Mae.

"Thanks. You do too." Bloom said.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I welcome you to my daughter's and my future-son-in-law's engagement party. May you have a splendid time inside here. After your meals, the royal family will perform a dance to honor Princess Celestiana and Prince William's engagement." King Francis announced. He looked to the Queen and nodded.

"Let the feast, begin!" Queen Eadlyn announced.

We ate the food happily and noise filled the room.

"If the Queen is dancing with Prince William and Princess Celestiana is partnered with her father, who will be dancing with the Prince Consort and the crown prince?" Louise asked.

I shrugged, "Probably one of their cousins or relatives."

"Probably," Louise agreed.

Dianne sighed, "I wish I could dance with Prince Thornton."

"You will. Everyone of us will." Claire stated.

"I hope so," Christine said.

Claire and I finished our meal quickly.

"Claire, accompanyme to the bathroom, please." I told her.

She nodded and stood up, "We'll be back."

"Hurry though! You might miss the royals' performance." Mary said.

I nodded, "Okay."

Claire and I rushed outside the Hall and saw our maids waiting outside.

Georgia pulled me, "Hurry, Haidee!"

We hid on the side of the grand staircase and theu quickly made me wear the black ball gown and mask.

"Go!" Vivianne ushered and pushed me inside the same way Claire was pushed.

We walked inside the Hall and walked on the side to get behind the chairs placed.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome, The royal families of Illèa and Italy!" Someone announced.

Claire, and I sat down together along with the Queen and Celestiana. The music played and Tony and King Francis approached us. They bowed to us and offered their hand.

"You look beautiful." He said as he led me to the middle.

I smiled, "You look amazing as well, Prince Thornton."

He smirked, "Using formalities now, Lady Haidee?"

I smiled, "Nope, It's part of your name now."

I can see him roll his eyes even with his white mask on.

"I guess you got the first dance." He stated.

I smirked, "Of course, I did. I won't accept anyone else to have it."

"Possessive now, are we?" He asked.

"No. I just dont like sharing." I said with a wink and we laughed.

Then he twirled me to his father.

"You look wonderful tonight, Haidee." He complimented.

"You as well, Father." I smiled.

While dancing, I saw eyes on us. I looked at our table and saw them looking at us. Julianne was looking around, probably trying to find us in the crowd.

Then we danced into a semi circle. We did a series of twirls before going into a formation of two lines. In front of us was Tony and Claire and beside them were Celestiana and King Francis.

Then we crossed and now we were on the left side. We turned around and started walking to the middle again but the boys stayed behind and I met with Claire in the middle. We put our hands together and walked around.

"Are you prepared for our song later?" She asked.

"I guess? I think we should just have fun." I told her and she agreed then we went to the back of the room and faced our partners once again.

We went clockwise then stopped and we went to the middle and curtsied before twirling back to our partners.

We made a series of twirls before facing the one on my left. I curtsied to William as he bowed to me. I turned back to Father and we twisted our arms before he twirled me to Tony.

"You dance gracefully, young lady. May I ask for your name?" Tony asked behind me.

"I believe you need not know it, young lad." I told him before he went to Claire.

Then after circling the room again, Father and I went to the right and he twirled me as William and Celestiana crossed each other.

We went back to the circle and danced again. We spun in a rapid motion as we moved clockwise. We crossed the other side to form an upside down V and we crossed again to form a V.

Then it was the part where it gets the dizziest. Father twirled me around him. Finally, we went back to the circle position and did our final pose.

Applause filled the room. We curtsied and left the center. Claire and I went out of the Hall and went to our maids to wear our blue gowns. They fixed our make-up quickly and dabbed on our sweat.

Claire and I entered the Hall together and sat down on our table.

"You missed it!" Mary exclaimed.

I looked at the center and saw someone singing.

"Looks like we did." Claire stated.

"What took you so long?" Julianne asked.

"There were a lot of girls inside." I lied.

Julianne sighed, "It's a shame you missed the performance. It was wonderful."

"Really? How was it?" Claire asked.

"They were really graceful!" Harriet exclaimed.

"I envy the girl who danced with the Prince." Bloom stated.

"Which one? The first girl or the second one?" Dianne asked.

"Both. The first girl got the first dance and the second one danced the most with him." Bloom replied.

Louise nodded, "But they're his cousins, right? I guess the one who will be lucky is the first Selected to dance with him."

"May we now call Haidee Eudora, Julianne Evans, and Claire Venice for their song number."

The three of us looked at each other and stood up together.

"Wait, The three of you are performing?!" Harriet asked.

We nodded and went to the center. We got the microphones and went to our positions. We made a plan on changing formations so that the performance won't be boring.

The music played and I took a deep breath and sang.

"Like a bird that flies
In the morning light
Or a butterfly in the spring," I sang and got everyone's attention. "When your spirit rides
On the winds of hope
You'll find your wings." I continued.

"And you're always free to begin again
And you're always free to believe
When you find the place that your heart belongs
You'll never leave," We chorused. I sang the melody and Claire sang it in a low voice to blend. Julianne sang in second voice.

"You and I will always be," Julianne sang.

"Celebrating life together," This time, Julianne sang the melody and I sang higher while Claire sang lower.

"I know I have found a friend forever more," Julianne continued.

"Love is like a melody," Claire sang.

"One that I will always treasure," We chorused. I sang higher again while Julianne sang lower.

"Courage is the key that opens every door," Claire sang.

Claire walked to the left, I walked in front, and Julianne walked to the right.

"Though you may not know where your gifts may lead
And it may not show at the start," I sang and searched for a familiar face.

"When you live your dream
You'll find destiny
Is written in your heart," We chorused with me as the melody, Claire as an alto and Julianne as a soprano.

We rurned around and faced the royal family. My eyes met his and I saw thay he was smiling. I smiled too.

"Though you may not know where your gifts may lead," Julianne sang.

"And it may not show at the start," Claire sang.

"When you live your dream
You'll find destiny," I sang and turned to look at Celestiana and William.

"Is written in your heart," We chorused.

We bowed to the royal family and turned around to bow at the audience. They were applauding. I smiled.

The three of us went back to our seats.

"Wow! I never knew you had a great voice!" Dianne told Claire.

Claore laughed, "Well now you know."

"The three of you can for a group! I'm sure it would be a big hit Harriet exclaimed.

"Thank you, Ladies, for that spectacular performance."

"I'm going to my family now." Claire stated, "He granted my wish!" She exclaimed giddily.

She rushed off to her family. She hugged her mother and father and little sister.

"May we now invite all the Selected to come infront for their dance performance."

We all stood up and went into thee middle. We stationed ourselves in our formation. The guards that were assigned to be our partner stood beside us. The music played and I faced my partner and curtsied.

I put my right hand on his and my left hand held my skirt. I looked into his eyes as we swayed to the music.

My eyes widened, "Tony?! Why are you dressed as a guard?!" I whispered.

He smiled, "My cover's been blown."

I looked at the front where the royal family were seated and saw somebody seated dow on his seat, "Who's that?"

"That was the guard who was supposed to be your partner." He answered.

"What made you think that you could just go and switch with someone?" I asked while shaking my head as if to say 'I'm disappointed'.

He smiled, "You."

I blushed, "Oh stop it."

"You sang beautifully." He complimented.

I smiled, "Thank you, but I miss our duets."

His eyes glinted with mischief, "You want a duet?"

I narrowed mu eyes at him playfully, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about a duet." He replied. "I'll arrange it. Just come to the front when you're called."

"What are we singing?" I asked.

He smirked, "It's a surprise."

I rolled my eyes at him, "Fine, but make sure that I know it, okay?"

He nodded, "Of course."

The music ended and we curtsied to each other.

"An amazing performance from the Selected! Our prince must have a hard time choosing!"

We moved to our table and sat down. Then, musicians played a song for the couple. I could see that William and Celestiana were ecstatic. I smiled at the sight.

It might've been like a dream that came true to them. Once, they've only dreamt about being together with no one to stop them. Now, they were getting married with their parents' blessing.

I want to feel that too. That undying love for your partner.

"May we once again call Lady Haidee Eudora for a song number with our very own crown prince, Prince Thornton Koskinen!"

"What?! You're singing with him?" Harriet exclaimed.

I pretended to be shocked, "I didn't know! It might've been Celestiana's doing."

"Go, girl!" Claire said as she pushed me.

I went to the front where Tony was waiting. He gave me a microphone and motioned for the musicians to play the song.

My eyes lit up once I recognized the song. I took a deep breath before I sang.

"All those days watching from the windows," I sang and gripped my micriphone tightly. "All those years outside looking in
All that time never truly knowing
Just how blind I've been," I continued. I smiled as I sang. "Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight
Now I'm here, suddenly I see
Standing here, it's all so clear
I'm where I'm meant to be,"

I looked around me and I couldn't see Tony anywhere. I shook it off thinking that he's probably makimg a grand entrance.

"And at last I see the light
And it's like the fog has lifted
And at last I see the light
And it's like the sky is new
And it's warm and real and bright
And the world has somehow shifted," I sang and looked at my friends who wore smiled at their faces. I didn't look at the othe Selected because I knew they were glaring at me.

"All at once everything looks different," I continued and faced in front and saw him magically appear in front of me, "Now that I see you." I smiled.

"All those days chasing down a daydream
All those years living in a blur," He sang and walked passed me. I mentally rolled my eyes, so dramatic. "All that time never truly seeing
Things, the way they were."

I looked at him and smiled when I saw him already looking at me.

"Now she's here shining in the starlight
Now she's here, suddenly I know," He continued. "If she's here, it's crystal clear
I'm where I'm meant to go."

"And at last I see the light," We chorused.

"And it's like the fog has lifted," He sang and looked at me with eyes that said, 'let's get them'.

"And at last I see the light," We sang and walked to Celestiana and William.

"And it's like the sky is new," I sang and held Celestiana's hand.

"And it's warm and real and bright
And the world has somehow shifted," We sang as we pulled Celestiana and William to the center.

We gave the microphone to them and they got the message.

"All at once, everything is different
Now that I see you," They sang and held each others hand. "Now that I see you."

I smiled and applauded together with the audience.

That was one heck of an impromptu.

Celestiana held my hand William got his brother's. We bowed together.

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Hey! Can you see my improvement? It's not a barbie song!