I wait for Chrissy near the bottom, noticing how easily she hides her nerves before the crowd of people as she makes her descent.

"You did wonderfully!" I compliment as she comes quickly to meet me, sporting an exhilarated grin.

"As did you! Now, let's find the punch bowl before the first dance commences. I have some people for you to meet!" She rushes, grabbing my hand before I am given the chance to respond and dragging me through throngs of people.

"This is hardly proper." I joke, to which she laughs.

"It would seem that you tend to favor the improper." A familiar voice calls from behind me, and Chrissy and I both turn to face my sneering sister.

"I favor finding enjoyment in things, actually." I reply, mirroring her in acting as if our conversation posed no tension for the watchful eyes that surrounded us, knowing it was really quite the opposite.

"If giggling like a child satisfies you, then so be it. However, I had to be sure that you wouldn't do something to embarrass me- you know how important this night is for me, I must take it seriously." Lillibet scolds as if I really am a child, and I break out of my charade to send her a glare.

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will be doing nothing of the sort." I spit, fiddling with the ends of my gloves as a nervous tick.

"Keep quiet, Adalie! You mustn't alert everyone of my status so soon." I roll my eyes at her mentioning of her place as an Elite, something that she manages to slip tauntingly into every single conversation shared between us.

"You act as if you wouldn't enjoy the attention." I smirk. She clenches her fists for a moment, a sign that I had angered her, but for show she laughs and quickly bids me farewell.

"So, who else here is an Elite, do you think?" Chrissy moves to a somewhat different topic, finally managing to get the pair of us to the refreshments at the far side of the room.

"I can't be sure quite yet, but I do hope for the prince's sake that they are nothing like my bloody sister." I admit, hastily grabbing a small drink in annoyance. Chrissy does the same, taking small sips and delving into the topic of her own guesses, giving detailed explanations for each. As she is speaking, my eyes wander over the many nobles who occupy the ballroom, picking out the debutantes from the rest.

From across the room, I notice the girl in the blue gown, Rose, has already managed to find and speak to a handsome young man, the pair bursting into a bout of poised and polite laughter. The impatient blonde girl, Katherine-Anne, stares at one of her ladies with a pinched face and quickly whispers in her ear, likely gossip, and the lady in waiting turns to look at another debutante with her eyebrows raised. Lady Samantha, another girl I had known from finishing school, is wearing a stunning violet shaded gown, the skirts billowing behind her as she eagerly approaches the dance floor.

I am so caught up in my observations that I barely notice a new presence who had taken place beside me, until he says something that breaks me from my trance.

"I would be honored to have your first dance, my lady." An unfamiliar voice beckons softly, and I tear my gaze away from the many nobles before me to find a man with boyish freckles, curly chocolate brown hair that falls over his forehead, and a charming smile.

"Of course." I mirror his smile with my own, raising  my hand slightly so that he may properly clasp it in his own hand and lead me towards the dance floor. I glance back at Chrissy once, and she pauses in her conversation with my ladies and hers to nod encouragingly, the lot of them reacting similarly.

"You looked ravishing at the top of the grand staircase, my lady. I couldn't believe what I was seeing." He compliments just as we arrive at our destination. We both line up to begin the dance, and I thank my stars I had not fully blushed at the compliment in an embarrassing fashion.

"I didn't get your name." I study his face, noticing the way his endearing freckles even crossed over the bridge of his nose. I had not expected to find such a remarkable partner so soon.

"You may call me Felix, my lady." He admits politely, and I shake my head once with a grin.

"And you may call me Adalie." I place my palm on his, holding his gaze in a way I never would have expected myself to, as I could often be rather shy.

"I am already enchanted by you, Adalie. I am surprised you had wanted to share your first dance with me." He compliments again, and this time I feel my cheeks grow redder than before. My, what a charmer he is!

"I adore dancing, Felix. You seemed a considerable partner. And luckily, you have turned out to be rather talented." He faintly laughs then, his hazel eyes shining. I gaze at our clasped hands while he does so, so I might enjoy the sound of it.

The final notes of the song arrive much too soon, and I find myself already bowing to my partner when it seems as if we had only started moments ago. Felix reaches forward and squeezes my hand, and I don't think my smile could grow any larger.

After we part, I am immediately intercepted by my ladies, and Chrissy meets us at the edge of the dance floor after parting with her own first partner.

"How was it, Addie?" Lucille interrogates immediately.

"Yes, yes! How was it? He seemed charming." Chrissy adds, easily forgetting about her own partner.

"It was wonderful, truthfully." I reply, the four of us clutching each other's hands excitedly.

Chrissy opens her mouth to speak, when she is cut off by the sound of the royal fanfare, and I remember the royal family traditionally appears following the end of the first dance.

I turn to ogle at the grand staircase, realizing I had never actually seen a single member of the royal family before, and I was about to mere seconds from now.

"Introducing His and Her Majesty, King George and Queen Louisa of Aisling." The voice bellows, and the king and queen emerge before the crowd, linked at the elbow, only parting as they reach their respective thrones.

Next the princess is announced, Nellie, who is a cousin to the king and queen's immediate children, having been adopted after the tragic death of the king's brother as well as his wife. She barely spares the crowd a glance, but I sense playfulness in her eyes as she takes her place beside the queen. After this, the room becomes considerably quieter, as if everyone had began to hold their breath.

"Introducing his Royal Highness, Prince Bennett."

The man every debutante had eagerly waited for emerges then, easily surveying the crowd. He quickly bows to his parents before beginning his descent of the stairs, the room so quiet that each step echoes off the marble columns.

He is incredibly striking in is dark green uniform coat, shiny medals hanging proudly at the right side of his chest and a blue sash over his shoulders. His golden halo of hair had been effortlessly styled, pieces endearingly curling at his ears, and his soft, lovely smirk seems to never go away. He is easily the most handsome man I have ever laid eyes on, I decide, and I can feel my cheeks quickly growing rosy in response.

"He's coming to choose his first dance!" Chrissy whispers, and I tear my dreamy eyed gaze away from the man so that I could look to her in surprise.

"How could I have forgotten such a minor detail." I whisper back, holding a giggle as my statement had been truthful.

"You rarely paid attention in lessons, that's how." She pokes fun, faintly coughing to hide her own laughter.

Somehow, entranced in the world of our own little conversation, the pair of us barely register the way that a majority of the nobles had already fallen into bows and curtsies around us, which could mean only one thing, I realize with a jolt.

Feeling a sense of dread and an equal sense of the tickle of thousands of butterflies that had just been released in my stomach, I swivel my head to see none other than Prince Bennett, bowing before me. I almost drop to a haphazard curtsy before deciding I shouldn't, when his vibrant blue eyes meeting my own dissolve all of my thoughts completely.

"May I have this dance?" He asks eloquently, paired with a hopeful grin.

-

You're all about to fall in love with a prince... enjoy!

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