Shelby was right about the busy schedule she kept in the days before the ball, filled with tasks that left me either bored out of my mind or standing outside a meeting room with Emmanuel in complete silence as we waited for her and Gideon. I kept my mind busy with memorizing the layout of the city, of the visible rooms in each building, and the identities of every person I met during the first week in Carolus.

On the morning of the ball we had our hair styled, sitting on barstools and leaving with the frizz atop my head tame into a partially pinned-up look, the rest loose at my shoulders. When we returned Shelby took time to be pampered by her staff and ate dinner under the premise that it would be unrefined for the queen to indulge in food during a ball.

I stayed in my room, dressing and trying to come to terms with my appearance in the mirror. I didn't look bad, quite the opposite actually, but I hadn't seen myself like this in so long that it felt alien. I picked the nail polish from the tips of my fingers, ruining the manicure Shelby insisted we get earlier that day and tugged at the petticoat under my dress until I had to accept that there was nothing that could make me comfortable in it.

My shoes clicked against the floor an hour before we were set to leave, my fingers tapping at Shelby's bedroom door to begin my assistant duties for the evening. Abigail opened the door, her usual smile faded as she carried an empty tray of food on one palm, nodding as she passed me on her way out.

Shelby stood in front of a full-length mirror, already dressed in a shift, corset, and petticoat that extended her hips significantly. Normally, we would have cackled over the sight of ourselves like this but we lived in a different world now, Shelby's eyes lit with joy as she turned to me.

"You look incredible! Emmanuel will love it." She cheered.

I paused my approach, the door shutting with a loud click behind me. "Emmanuel?"

She waved me forward with a rush, turning back to the mirror while I retrieved her dress from where it hung on the closet door, the heavy weight taking me off guard.

"Yes, he may have mentioned that he likes you." She grinned, obviously elated at the thought of Emmanuel and I connecting.

"The man hasn't even said two words to me." I scoffed, positioning myself at the top of the dress so that my body was practically inside the bust, reaching my arms out so that it stretched over her head without messing up her hair.

She chuckled, wiggling a little so that the dress fell into position. I was already hot from the task and my own gown, a thin layer of sweat starting to form on the bridge of my nose. I fanned myself with my hand as I moved to stand behind her, tugging at the laced back the way the shop owner showed me.

"He's just shy and maybe a little too serious. Plus, you're a bit more intimidating than before." She looked over her shoulder playfully, gasping when I pulled the strings a little too tight with a giggle.

"I'm intimidating?" I questioned, fixing the ribbons into a bow at the bottom of her back.

She waited to answer, brushing at the beaded design on her dress and admiring the gown in the mirror. "You feel more kick ass now. Gideon told me you came in with a machete, gun, and like eight knives." She smiled like she commended me. "I know things are different around here and that I'm a little different, but believe me as the person who's known you the longest, I'm not the only one of us who has changed."

I didn't doubt that she was right, my eyes widening when she turned from her jewelry chest, carrying the largest gem I'd ever seen on her palm. It dangled from the end of a necklace that didn't look strong enough to hold it, Shelby handing it to me and turning back to face the mirror while I clasped it around her neck.

"Gideon likes to get me jewelry. He says that gems were left behind because they were waiting for the most valuable, beautiful person to adorn." She touched the ruby fondly.

There was a knock at the door and I was thankful, Shebly's position as the queen blurring my ability to tell her it sounded like a crock of bullshit. I opened the door, noticing the way Emmanuel's cheeks flushed for the first time when he looked at me.

"Good evening, the king has arrived for our entrance to the ball." He nodded.

I looked over to Shelby who took a final glance at herself before crossing her hands at her front, Emmanuel and I stepping from the doorway to make room for her to exit. Gideon stood at the bottom of the stairs, his hand slicked into a neat ponytail and his long coat matching Shelby's dress. When I looked over to Emmanuel I observed that his jacket was accented in the same gold lace as my dress, my steps too quick as I scurried down the stairs ahead of him.

We took the walk to the same building we'd been brought to on our first night, a buzz of murmurs from inside echoing through the open doors. Emmanuel offered me his arm as we climbed the few stairs to the building, already visibly packed with people who had parted down the middle of the room, creating a straight path for Shelby and Gideon to their seats.

An ambassador had announced their entrance by the time we were at the door, a wave of bodies bowing one after the other as they stepped into the room with gracious smiles. I dropped Emmanuel's arm as soon as we were through the door, my gaze shifty as I looked around for the four people I longed to see.

Gideon and Shelby took seats at their thrones before the music picked back up, a quartet of instrumentalists in the corner giving the cue to continue socializing.

Shelby was immediately blocked by people who yearned to speak with her, my chest rising and falling with nerves as I searched for a familiar face. People dispersed, some of the building dedicated to a buffet of hors d'oeuvres and the upstairs space fashioned with extra room for mingling. Where I stood people transitioned into pairs, creating a circle of couples who danced around me and that I wanted to find my way out of.

A hand reached out, grabbing onto my arm and leading me from the chaos to the outside of the dance floor, a relieved sigh blowing past my lips when I turned to find Jin, the deep blue coat he wore making him look even more regal than Gideon. He nabbed two glass flutes from a passing tray, holding out the drink to me and reaching to grab food from every serving plate that went by.

It was difficult to talk with the constant stream of other voices around us, one group of men bragging about their duties within the city, a woman scolding her partner for gazing in another direction, and what sounded like a million other tiny conversations.

"Do you know how to waltz?" Jin asked when the music shifted into another song.

I glanced toward Shelby who stood next to Gideon now, her arm tucked into his as they made their way to the dance floor, nearly every eye set on them in admiration.

"I do." I answered, recalling the summer that Shelby signed us up for every class and event that piqued her interest after a semester where we barely left our apartment because of non-stop studying. She had much more fun at the waltzing class than I.

Jin raised a hand though I couldn't see who he waved to, Jimin appearing through the sea of people a moment later. He held out a hand for me, the other tucked behind his back as he led us to the edge of the dance floor. He faced me, moving our hands into place before pulling me into a close hold, his chin right by my shoulder so that he could talk into my ear discreetly as he steered our steps.

"We need to find a way to see each other once Gideon and his men leave tonight. So we can all talk privately." He whispered.

It felt like we were floating across the room, spinning through the other pairs of people with expert steps. "I'm sure there has to be a way to sneak out at night." I assured him, deciding that I'd tie up every dress in my room and scale out my window if it became necessary.

"And tonight, make sure they have no reason to question our doubts about this place. Namjoon thinks a part of tonight is about seeing how we're adjusting to their lifestyle too." He kept his mouth so stable that no one would have been able to tell he was talking, bowing to me as the song came to an end.

I turned, hoping to get back to Jin, when someone else grabbed my hand, Emmanuel's hold keeping me from leaving the dance floor. "May I have the next dance?" He spoke with a quiet confidence, like he'd rehearsed the words until they felt right.

Despite hardly being able to see past his thick build, I managed to catch sight of Namjoon, keeping his eyes on me from the floor above as Emmanuel moved us with heavy, discoordinated steps around the floor.

The entire room fell silent again when the song ended and though thankful for the dance being over, I didn't appreciate the hand that Emmanuel pressed into the small of my back as Gideon stood on a platform, opening with a joke about Shelby referring to his speeches as boring. I tuned him out, making sure I had eyes on Namjoon and Jin, still in their same positions, and Jimin, standing out at the corner of the dance floor.

I wonder if Yoongi was around or if he managed to sneak away somehow. "Alena, we need to clear the floor." Emmanuel leaned into my ear, directing me into the space that opened around the edges of the room, Gideon concluding his speech.

"Without further ado, let's move on to our entertainment for this evening. I know you all have been anticipating their return since we moved into a tie during the last ball. Please, bring in the fighters!" Gideon's voice boomed, the crowd breaking into a roar of excited energy as the doors were opened again, four of Gideon's men surrounding the two they escorted inside, their hands and feet chained, heads covered in the same black hood we were graced to wear upon our welcome.

People jeered from all around me, my heart already racing as they were shepherded into spaces across from one another, Gideon's armed men unlocking the chains and tugging the hoods from their heads before stepping into positions at each side of the floor.

I knew from the moment the doors opened, at the sight of the tattoos that covered his arm and side, showing through the nearly shredded t-shirt he wore. Jungkook's brow pulled into a tight line as he looked across the room at an equally as hardened Taehyung.