THE MOON WILL SING ✮ J. HUTCHERSON

031. new acquaintances

she held her hand out behind her back to give evan a signal, the signal to hand her josh's late christmas present.

"merry... christmas?"

andie held out a small ring box, opening the top like a small chest. the ring box revealed a silver ring with a pink crystal as the gem.

if we're being specific; rose quartz, the crystal of many forms of love.

"meda, this is beautiful." josh smiled, "where did you find this?"

"that's a secret!" she lied, giggling as she slid the ring onto his middle finger on his right hand.

the ring was nothing special, the 'secret' was that she got it customized by the blacksmith in the village.

"now go, we'll talk about the ring later."

josh gave andie a smile before he engulfed her into a hug, causing her to smile.

once josh left her sight, she faced the direction where she saw evan last. but, he was gone. she scanned her surroundings, but no sight of her best friend.

weird.

she decided to wander around the hall for awhile, attempting to kill time as she patiently waited for clay to finish greeting his guests.

everyone in the room looked so beautiful. of course, you can't see their face well, but it's more about what they're wearing more than their face. they all looked very elegant, like a swan.

as she wandered the castle, she bumped into somebody accidentally, not paying attention to where she was going.

"i'm so, so, sorry! i really am—"

"don't worry, love! you're okay!" they reassured.

looking up, she saw a girl with chocolate brown hair tied in a bun with a navy blue feather attached to it, a columbina mask with silver features to compliment her dress, everything matched up perfectly.

"you're very pretty — sorry, i can't see your face but you're so pretty." andie complimented, causing the lady to giggle.

"you must be as gorgeous as well." she smiled, holding her hand out for andie to shake. "i'm princess of blandina, but you can call me violet."

'violet... violet as in alex quackity's girlfriend from my universe violet?!' andie questioned to herself.

"i'm andromeda, friends call me 'andie'." she smiled, shaking violet's hand.

good start, she's making new friends.

the two began making small talk. they asked each other simple questions; what is their favorite color? what is their favorite animal? what is their favorite book? the conversation starters were very simple.

during their conversation, three people approached them.

one, with leather black hair. he wore a full black tuxedo and a plain, black columbina mask to match.

another, with havana brown hair done in a single braid that rested on their shoulder with a small chocolate cosmo that laid at the end of the braid. she was wearing a dove gray gown with silver designs on the bodice and a black laced pantalone mask with a short beak to cover the nose.

the last, with hazelnut brown hair. he wore a maroon tuxedo with a silk texture and a matching tie, and a plain, silver bauta mask.

"oh, hey! andie, i'd like to introduce you to my friends." violet spoke, giving her a warm smile. "the two on my left are franklin and wilbur, and the one on my right is alex, my... my intended."

"i'm your intended..?" the man in the full black suit asked, visibly happy. he then cleared his throat, trying to keep himself contained in front of his friends and the silver headed girl. "as violet mentioned; i'm alex, prince of inthalopia."

"i'm franklin, princess of abeviel. the one in the maroon suit is my fiancé, prince wilbur of siphate." the girl in the dove gray dress introduced.

"pleasure to make your acquaintance." the tall brunette greeted, nodding his head. his british accent was strong.

"nice to meet you guys! i'm andromeda, princess of — of minnesota..? but, many people call me 'andie'." the girl replied, giving all of them a smile.

"well, princess of minnesota, people have been speaking about you. they're good things, though. i heard that the new king has got his eyes on you." franklin grinned, watching andie's face go red.

"really? where've you heard that?" she asked, slightly curious.

"everywhere, darling." wilbur chuckled.

"great. everywhere."