"Amira, are you ready for the ball?" My mom called from outside the door.
"In a few minutes, mother!" I responded.
Chinua stands besides me and looks in the mirror. "Girl, you have got to teach me how you do your makeup!"
I sheepishly put my hand on my head. "Ah it's no big deal."
Chinua shakes her head. "You really know how to change the features on your face! It's something even the makeup classes at the academy can't even teach you."
I shrugged.
"Where did you even learn how to do this? It's completely inventive," she marvels.
"I just like to get creative and combine my own ingredients," I explained vaguely.
Once I learnt how to apply makeup at the women's academy, I was fascinated by how much one can change their appearance. If I always applied makeup in my female royal persona, then I hoped my male identity would be less recognizable.
I had to learn how to alter my face even more in a short period of time, so I bought and read some books about makeup from the market. I then created my own techniques and experimented with ingredients. But I couldn't exactly explain the whole story to Chinua so I just modestly giggled.
"You just gotta experiment."
Chinua shakes her head. "Amira, you may barely try at school. But when you truly want to get better at something, you excel and go above and beyond."
We finally put on our dresses and styled our hair.
"So, you know, tonight is a ball, right?" Chinua asks.
I nod. "Yeah. There will be performances by men and women. I'm excited to watch."
"There's sort of a catch. We will have to participate in the performances." She looks away.
"Wh-what? Why?"
"I requested from my dad and he thought it was outrageous for royals to participate, but he really wanted me to meet suitors. So, he finally agreed." She shrugs.
"B-but I don't know how to dance! If I knew it was gonna be like this, I would have never have agreed."
"Sorry. that's why I didn't tell you. But don't worry the dances are very simple. Just some spinning and bowing, and we don't even touch the men we're dancing with!" Chinua exclaims.
"We're gonna be dancing with men? You have got to be kidding me!" I felt like I was gonna faint.
"Don't worry! We'll be wearing masks, so we won't even know the identity of the men we're dancing with." she assures me.
I rolled my eyes. "What's the point of even doing that?"
"Amira, when I want to fall in love with someone, I want it to be for their personality. Not their status or face. This is the perfect way to do so, even if it's one night."
I raised my brow. "How did the King even agree to this?"
"It took me awhile, but I have my ways. I am the sole princess of the kingdom, overall." She winks.
"But you do realize status is important, right Chinua?" I pointed out. "The King wouldn't let you marry any average Joe."
Chinua nods. "Everyone at the party will be wealthy. It'll be a mix of royals and other upperclass men. But none of them will know i'm the princess. It's only for one night- what could go wrong, anyways?"
I agreed to go. Little did I know how much trouble we'd be in after these few hours.
We exited the room and finally went to the balcony of the ballroom, watching all the foreigners enter the banquet room.
I was bored until I saw two striking strangers walked in. I was under a trance, immediately drawn to their presence. There was something so intriguing, yet familiar about them. I had no idea who they were, but I wanted to know all their secrets. But yet, I wanted to stay as far away from them as possible.
The first one I saw was the muscular guy in the front. His silver mask was donned with glitter and jewels- I wouldn't be surprised if it was encrusted with real diamonds. He clearly thought he was better than everyone else. There was something about that smirk that was so charming yet so annoying I wish I could wipe it off.
Right behind him, was a taller guy with a more care-free vibe. His mask was a light blue color, that was calm and peaceful like beach ocean waves. The subtle beauty of his mask enchanted me- he wasn't seeking any attention yet my eyes were focused on him.
They were so mesmerizing- I felt like I knew them from a different lifetime. I couldn't stop observing them. Until the blue masked boy made eye contact with me and I abruptly looked away.
I covered my face with my hands. "Ugh, he caught me staring at him!"
Chinua was checking out some other guys beside us. "Who?"
"The blue masked guy down there." I couldn't even dare to point.
Chinua looked below the balcony.
Chinua continues peering down. "Not just him. It seems like that muscular silver-masked boy is staring at you too."
"No way, he's probably looking at you," I ensured her. I wished they were gazing at her. I was so frightened by the thought they had interest in me.
Chinua chuckles. "Really? Look at them yourself."
With bravery. I glanced down the balcony and I found those two boys whispering and staring at me in awe.
Chinua's right. They weren't looking at her. They were both looking at me. And it appeared they were talking about me.
I turned away, embarrassed. I placed my hands on my burning cheeks.
I've been around hundreds of men... I've wrestled with muscular models before... I've seen gorgeous guys shirtless bathing in rivers.. And I didn't feel anything. But why are these two boys stares making me so nervous and vulnerable?
Chinua lowly whistles. "I know I did this masquerade ball so I wouldn't judge anyone's appearances.. but wow, those guys are dressed so differently from everyone else at the party."
"Right? Nobody in our kingdom dresses like that." I agreed.
Chinua nods. "They're definitely foreigners. And probably rich, too. Wow, Amira you've got a great taste in guys."
My cheeks flushed at her comment and I needed to explain I didn't like those guys that way.
"Although they caught my eye, I don't have any romantic interest in them. There's just something so familiar about them, but yet I want to stay far away from them as possible. I feel I've met them before in a nightmare-"
"Excuse me, Miss?" I heard a husky voice behind me.
"Just a minute. Anyways, what I'm saying is, those men seem like trouble-"
Someone grabbed my arm and forcefully spun me around.
Right in front of me, were the striking men that I spotted from the balcony below me. I was planning to avoid them the whole night, but yet here they were. Like a nightmare come alive.
"Sorry. I'm not a very patient person," the silver masked guy sneers, still holding my arm.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: this is a random rant but I have to stop watching kdramas and cdrama and tv shows in general.. the male leads r portrayed soo unrealistically & the stupidity of some characters get to me.. thts one of the reasons why I started writing fanfics is bc I wanted to make my own ending and plot twists to stories tht would satisfy me .. I make the decisions about what happens
BUT ALSO I hate (like I really hate) perfect characters with no flaws especially in tv shows. They're so unrelatable they feel like aliens to me!you might as well give them superpowers because they don't even feel human. For instance I was watching this cdrama called "when we were young" and the male lead is so perfect, it actually annoys me lol. He's kind, positive, most girls like him, super genius, attractive, athletic, barely studies yet tops the class, can beat up a mob of kids alone, a leader.. like ??? how is the audience supposed to relate to tht? Like it's interesting to see I guess but characters with flaws and emotion r so much more important to see because most ppl aren't perfect.
Another example would be in hwarang. Dog bird was clearly the most "perfect" character but he felt so inhuman to me with all of his natural talents with no hard work, i just could not relate to him. at all even tho he was a good person.
meanwhile ji dwi may been born wealthy, but he had many flaws and lacked courage to become king & I think tht finding courage to take what's urs is what audiences can sympathize with and learn from.
In conclusion: characters without flaws aren't good characters
End: long rant 😁