Lady Cascia had given Y/N the rest of the afternoon off to prepare herself for the ball while Issi assisted lady Cascia in getting ready, so Y/N took the borrowed ballgown and gloves into her tiny chamber to dress. She changed her shift and put her corset back on over the top before she began pulling on the crimson dress and the stained gloves which she had hastily dyed black to conceal the previous magenta ink stains.
Once she was dressed and had her hair pinned up to the best of her ability she looked down at herself to try and gauge how she looked. The scarlet dress was tight and slender in the bodice but hung loosely around her legs and dragged on the floor a bit as she lacked the proper undergarments.
The red color of the dress conveyed a hint of danger that she liked, as did the plunging v neckline of the sleeveless bodice. Jet black gloves covered her arms past the elbows, adding to the mysterious aura around her. It had been so many years since Y/N had worn such a fine dress that she felt a bit self-conscious. Another part of her felt a sense of smug satisfaction that she, Princess Y/N of Vascini, would be attending the ball celebrating the Luccian King and Queen's wedding anniversary and the coronation of their son as Crown Prince adorned with her country's national colors; red and black.
Taking a calming breath, she stepped out into the hall where the two other women were waiting for her. Her eyes widened as she saw lady Cascia standing there in all her glory. Lovely ebony curls had been piled on her head, entwined with shell and pearl hairpins, glittering around her dark throat was a string of pearls, and her new pink dress cascaded around her body perfectly.
"Oh Y/N!" She gasped, her hazel eyes going wide as she looked her handmaiden up and down. "You look so beautiful! No one would ever believe it if you told them you were a lady-in-waiting! You need to be careful, as beautiful as you are you're bound to catch the attention of several lords!" She exploded in joyful praise for her friend.
"You are too kind," Y/N smiled, still feeling rather unsure of herself. "Out of the pair of us you are certainly the most beautiful Cascia."
"Oh stop it Y/N, you're making me blush!" She playfully shoved Y/N before latching onto her arm and taking off at a run down the hall. "No come on, let's go! Issi, you have the evening off we'll be back later!!!"
"Cascia slow down please!" Y/N begged, unaccustomed to running in formal clothes after all those years. "I can't run in this dress!"
. . .
The two ladies arrived in the ballroom and Y/N had to stifle a gasp as she viewed the magnificent room. It was at least five times the size of the ballroom in the castle of her family. Great chandeliers hung from the gold-plated ceiling, reflecting glittering light over the equally glittering throng of lords and ladies milling in the ballroom below. There was a banquet hall adjacent, separated only by the massive golden pillars that supported the ceiling, and on the opposite side of the archway through which the two women had entered was a grand balcony overlooking the blue ocean.
"Sooooooo," Cascia said smugly, leaning into Y/N's ear. "what do you think of the ballroom?!"
"It's," Y/N struggled to come up with the words to describe the awe she felt for the room's beauty, "Like nothing I've ever seen before."
"Yeah, it is impressive, isn't it?!" Cascia squealed, taking Y/N by the hand and dragging her further into the ballroom. "Do you like the decorations?! I hope you do, my mom was the one in charge of them. Aren't they great?!"
"Yes, Cascia," She smiled gently at her friend's clear enthusiasm, remembering with a pang that her own mother had been responsible for the decorations at the banquets that they used to have in Vascini. "They're beautiful."
"Good evening lady Cascia," A deep voice said, and the two women turned to see a strongly built older gentleman adorned with many medals and wearing a fine captain's hat. "Be sure to give your father my regards," he told her with a smile.
"Of course Admiral Danvi!!" Cascia said with a cheerful grin, confirming Y/N's suspensions that he was a man of the sea. "He'll be excited to talk to you after all this time!!"
"And who might you be, pretty little lady?" He asked, turning his wrinkled smile to Y/N.
"Y/N my lord, I am lady Cascia's handmaiden," she curtsied, bowing her head low, for the first time in her life grateful for all of the etiquette lessons Enicia had made her suffer through as a child. "Welcome home from your voyage as well," she added, guessing by Cascia's previous statements that he had been away for a while.
"By Luccia!" He exclaimed the name of the goddess in shock. "How did you know that I only just returned to Bocio?!" He asked.
Y/N smiled while her head remained bowed, smug that she had guessed right. "It was merely a lucky guess, my lord."
"She certainly is intelligent, I never would have thought that she was just a lady-in-waiting," The Admiral told Cascia in a flattering tone before he began to walk off. "Treat her well lady Cascia, good help is hard to find."
"Don't worry!" She called after him with a large grin. "I will!" She was all smiles as she watched him go, basking in the glow of social pleasantries.
"You're a natural at this Y/N," She turned her smiling face to Y/N both amazement and pride clear to be seen on her face. "Are you sure you're not secretly a noble or something, you certainly look and act the part?!" She asked in a joking tone.
"I'm sure," Y/N forced a smile to keep from crying at Cascia's question. She was more than a noble, she was royal, but what did it mean when both her country and her throne no longer even existed? "I'm just... Just an orphan..."
"You're an orphan?!" Cascia gasped, pity consuming her. "I'm so sorry to hear that!"
"It's alright," Y/N said, keeping her forced grin in place. "You're not to blame." Lady Cascia was only nine when Y/N's country had been destroyed, and even if a woman could have political influence in Luccia, Lady Cascia was nothing more than a child then.
"You look so beautiful Y/N!" Cascia quickly changed the subject to try and cheer up her friend, pointing to a gilded mirror that hung on the wall near where they stood, reflecting the two of them on its silver surface. Y/N said nothing and froze, her face turning pale.
It was her first time seeing her reflection in the borrowed dress and gloves and she got quite the surprise when she saw herself in the mirror. The crimson dress flowed elegantly over her feminine figure, the jet gloves accentuating the graceful curve of her arms. Her H/C hair was pinned atop her head in a slightly messy configuration with several small strands hanging loose and framing her face, curled by the humidity.
Momma...? She thought in incredulous bewilderment as she stared at the reflection of a beautiful young woman who resembled the late Queen almost completely. No, that's not her, that's me! She recoiled in shock at the realization of how much she had come to resemble her mother in the past ten years. It was a painful reminder of everything that had been ripped away from her by the Luccian Royal Family.
"Y/N?!" Cascia asked, alarmed by the presence of tears on her friend's face as she stared at her reflection. "Is something wrong?!"
"I-I suddenly don't feel well," Y/N said, struggling to maintain her composure, but the tears wouldn't stop. "I'm sorry."
"Oh, that's alright!" Cascia gushed, grabbing Y/N by the hand and pulling her out to the large terrace that offered a lovely view of the sunset over the bay. "Come on! I'm sure that some fresh air will have you feeling good as new in no time!!!"
The two women stepped out onto the balcony and Y/N leaned over the railing, breathing in the sea air and admiring the glimmering waves fathoms below them. "Thank you, Cascia," Y/N sighed after a few minutes of silence.
"Of course," Cascia said. She leaned her head around so she could meet Y/N's gaze. "Soooooo, are you feeling better yet - Just teasing don't worry, take all the time you need!" Y/N nodded, grateful to her friend for her patience.
After several more minutes, they were distracted by the tapping sound of approaching footsteps. "Good evening ladies-" a velvety voice greeted.
"ABELIIIII!!!" Cascia squealed as she turned around and flung herself at the handsome prince while Y/N felt her heart sink and her anxiety spike. "I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU!!!"
"Hem," he cleared his throat awkwardly, Cascia's violent embrace having skewed the golden circlet, which was a new addition, sitting on his brow. "Well technically it's Crown Prince 'Abeli' now, so you should show me more respect."
"No!" She giggled, sticking out her tongue at him playfully.
"If you weren't my favorite cousin I could have you flogged for insubordination you know," He gave her cheek a pinch before he turned his attention to Y/N and his blue eyes sparked. "Oh, good evening to you as well Y/N, what a pleasant surprise to see you again."
"Good evening your Highness," Y/N greeted him, curtsying low. He was the Crown Prince now, so she had to be even more careful in his presence. "Congratulations on your ascension to Crown Prince," she praised him hoping that would be the end of the conversation.
"Thank you," he smiled warmly at her. "I must confess that I have heard that countless times this evening, but it sounds the sweetest from your lips," he added, copying a phrase that he had read in a romance novel somewhere in hopes of seducing Y/N into giving him the answers that he craved.
"Well, since you two are getting along so well," Cascia piped up, an evil grin stretching her face as she mistook the tension between the two others as flirting. "I'll go and get us some refreshments."
Cascia no! Don't leave me alone with him! Y/N thought as her friend abandoned her alone with the last person she wanted to be with.
A/N
CASCIA! WHY?!
Until next time I'll see you on the other side
~J. C. Coltt.~