8 Days Left Until The Ball
This morning, Ruby had gotten up early to take a bath and got dressed and in a beautiful red gown before she joined with the King for breakfast. "Father, I would like to wish you a very early happy birthday." The King looks at Ruby with a proud smile as he responds, "My dear, daughter, thank you. My actual birthday is in two days, but I will cherish your birthday greeting." He chuckles.
The maids brought in many dishes for their breakfast. "I assume Chip had already told you about your plans for today at Samba Square?" He asked Ruby. "Yes your majesty, I have already told her about the village's dance contest in which she will open the ceremony with a performance with one of the elite princes she chooses," Chip explains.
"Perfect, I will be at Dance Hall to watch. Make the opening perforce perfect as always," he says, clapping his hands in delight. After breakfast, Ruby had set off to Samba Square, along with Chip. They find the streets decorated with colorful decorations. Most shops were closed due to the early celebration.
As they were passing by the shops, they awkwardly bumped into Prince Namjoon. "H-Hello, Princess Ruby," he nervously stutters. "Prince Namjoon? Uh-, hi," she waves at him. "Princess Ruby, I want to apologize for what happened back at Practice Hall. It was never my intention to talk about my sister when I'm with you. You were right, I shouldn't be thinking about my sister when I'm with you. You had every right to be angry at me," Prince Namjoon said, bowing lowly at her.
"Prince Namjoon, I accept your apology. But I should also apologize for shouting at you like that, I let out my anger at you, I felt really bad that I hurt your feelings. I know how much you miss your sister, I know from the bottom of my heart, you will see her again. Just promise me one thing, please remember me as Ruby Royalty." Prince Namjoon looks at Ruby, a happy smile appearing on his face.
They both hugged each other, accepting their apologies and becoming friends again. "I promise I will get you something that it is you," he says. "You don't have to."
"By the way, the king announced that you will be opening the dance contest with a waltz, which prince are you picking?" He asked. "One thing's for sure, Prince Seokjin will be my dance partner for the dinner party and I wanted to dance with a prince I never got the chance to dance with. Either Prince Taehyung or...?" Ruby couldn't think of any other prince she hasn't dance with.
"Prince Namjoon, have you seen Prince Taehyung?" "I haven't seen him around lately, I also just arrived here." They desperately look around, to find Prince Taehyung. "If you like, your highness, I can fly around and find his highness for you," Chip said. "Yes, please. Thank you."
As Chip flies away, Ruby and Prince Namjoon walked around, hoping to run into him or at least spot him anywhere. "My beloved princess, I heard you're looking for a prince to dance with, why not me?" They both hear Prince Jimin speak as he walks over to them.
"I already have a prince in mind, we're just looking for Prince Taehyung," Ruby tells Prince Jimin. "Oh, that's too bad," he sadly states. Not even minutes later, Chip flies back to them, with some certain news. "I couldn't find his highness, but I did accidentally fly into his highness, Prince Seokjin. I asked if he has seen his highness, Prince Taehyung, and he said that his highness, Prince Taehyung has a light cold so he won't be able to attend the early celebration."
Ruby is disappointed that he won't be here for the early celebration, as well as her opening performance. "If you're still looking for a partner, I am the perfect match," Prince Jimin playfully smirks. Ruby thinks Prince Jimin is not that bad of a partner, she hasn't participated in any dance activity with him, only during dance practices.
"Fine, Prince Jimin, be my partner for the opening performance," Ruby said. They were all shocked at Ruby's sudden choice. "Well, I- uh, shall we go to Dance Hall then?" Chip asked. "Yes, I can't wait," Prince Namjoon smiles as the four of them headed to Dance Hall. As they get close to the location, they didn't expect many people to gather at Dance Hall for the dance contest.
"Excuse me! The royal highnesses are here!" Chip loudly announces at the villagers that were blocking the entrance. They see both princes and Ruby as the villagers respectively bows, moving aside for them to pass. "I'll be cheering you both on," Prince Namjoon says as he goes over to the seats.
"I should tell the host that I will be partnering up with you," she tells Prince Jimin. "I will do the honors," Prince Jimin says as he stops her with a small kiss on her hand. He walks backstage to meet up with the host while Ruby is waiting here. Loud horns blare which signals everyone in Dance Hall that the king is making his royal entrance.
"His royal majesty, the king!" Everyone began applauding as the king sat in his seat by the judges. "Princess, we should get going, The contest will start soon," Chip says as they both walked backstage. "The opening ceremony will start in a few minutes," the host announces. "Are you nervous?" Prince Jimin asked.
"Not at all, I'm used to this," Ruby said. Soon, the host is already on stage, presenting the dancing contest. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the village's dance contest. One winning pair will receive a free golden pass for an entry to the royal dinner party for the king's birthday. Let us welcome their highness, Princess Ruby Royalty of the Red Chrysanthemum Flower Kingdom, and her dance partner for today, Prince Jimin Park of the Cherry Blossom Kingdom whom they will present us with a waltz for the opening ceremony!"
This is it, the curtains opened, revealing Ruby and Prince Jimin, already on stage. They bow to the crowd, first, before getting into position. "Feels like I'm going to dance with an angel in heaven," Prince Jimin whispers. "Then let's dance like we are," Ruby whispers back. When the orchestra started playing, Prince Jimin places his hand around her waist as her hand placed on his shoulder. Their other hands soon connected as they took each step with the music.
With every spin, it was like butterflies surrounded them with magic. The way his eyes would only focus on her, he admired her beauty. His hand travels to her back, bringing her close to him. The audience thought they were a perfect pair, a match made in heaven. Though everyone loved the way Ruby and Prince Jimin danced with love, the other elite princes felt a bit of jealousy.
Still, Prince Seokjin and Prince Yoongi may be the top princes in the World Dance, Prince Jimin is also a top student, with excellent skills. But he doesn't really participate in the World Dance Competition, stating that 'World Dance is all about love and partnership, not for it to be judged and competitiveness' which proves to Ruby that he's right about Prince Yoongi's relationship with The Lost Prince.
Ending their waltz with one final spin, the audience burst with praise and applaud the two. "Thank you for that wonderful performance, now, we should start the contest with our first participants!" Ruby and Prince Jimin had left the stage, with happy smiles on their faces.
"I think we were good," Ruby says in-between breaths. "We did better actually," Prince Jimin said with a low chuckle. "Princess Ruby, to celebrate our commitment as dance partners for the opening ceremony, I would love to take you on a date to one of my favorite restaurants at Samba Square." "I will humbly accept your invitation," Ruby replies.
Prince Jimin becomes ecstatic and the two went to sit in the audience seats, where they watched the rest of the contest. After a few dances performed by the contestants, the host finally announces the winning pair. They were rewarded with the golden pass for the dinner party and to be fair, the second winning pair were rewarded with a small bag of golden coins.
"You two were fascinating up there," Prince Namjoon commented. "Princess Ruby, I do hope to see you today later-" as Prince Seokjin was talking to Ruby, Prince Jimin wraps his arms around Ruby's waist, letting his chin rest on her shoulder. "Sorry, but she's going to be with me, we're going on a date."
The two glared at each other, but Ruby makes sure that everything between them is peaceful. "I'll see you guys at the dinner party!" Ruby waves at them as she pulls Prince Jimin by her side. "That's right, we will be dancing together at the dinner party!" Prince Seokjin yells, hoping Prince Jimin had heard every word he stated.
As promised, Prince Jimin took Ruby on a date where a familiar restaurant comes close to sight. Ruby couldn't believe it was the same restaurant, Prince Yoongi had taken her the day before he left for the World Competition. The waitress who waits by the door greeted them with a bow and guided them to their table.
"My lovely lady, a fine champagne will do," Prince Jimin instantly flirts with the waitress, his husky voice brought shivers down the waitress's spine, causing her to blush in beet red. "Y-Yes, I w-will come b-back with y-your- excuse me." Ruby is annoyed that Prince Jimin asked her on a date and was jealous when Prince Seokjin wanted to see Ruby later in the evening yet he's flirting with a waitress right in front of her!
"They have amazing foods here, prepared by " "I know, I've come here with Prince Yoongi so it's not my first time," Ruby said with a bland tone, wanting Prince Jimin to notice how annoyed she was.
"Ohh, that's too bad. Then I guess you can order whatever you ate with Prince Yoongi," Prince Jimin rolls his eyes as he sets his menu own on the table. Ruby couldn't believe how much of a jerk he's behaving, he gets angry easily when she's encountered a different prince, but he thinks she doesn't feel the same way when he's flirting with a different girl?
"Here is your champagne, have y-you both decided on what to eat?" The waitress asked. "I will take the mushroom soup," Ruby politely tells the waitress. "Okay, what about you, your highness?" She asked Prince Jimin. "Out of all the delicious foods here, you're the finest I would defiantly take a bite of," he growls as he grabs the waitress's hand.
"Your highness," she gasps, covering her embarrassed face with the menus. The waitress departs as Prince Jimin focuses back on Ruby. He noticed how tensed she looked, so he cleared his throat and quickly apologized to her. "The champagne looks delightedly sparkling," he awkwardly comments.
Ruby takes a deep breath and puts on a fake smile, wishing this date will go well...
To Be Continued In Part Two...
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1,873 Words