This was it. It was now or never. I took a deep breath and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked fine. My hair was fine, my shoes were okay and although the dress was long, it wasn't a length size that I couldn't manage. All would be fine. For a moment as I looked at myself in the mirror I was reminded of my mother and of her beauty. I would never forget about her as long as I lived and I was sure that she was watching me from somewhere and that she was keeping me safe. That alone gave me the courage to open that door.

As my heart beat with rapid speed I walked as carefully as I could. I seemed balanced enough to do so. After the many months that I had spent here I already knew the hallways like the back of my hand. I walked towards the stairs and as I held on the rails I saw many people who were natively from Sha. All of them had blue skin, but some had pale hair, others black and others an orange tone. Their eyes were mostly the same though, most of them had that golden color regardless of their hair color. Only one of them had dark eyes. Most of them were of a medium height and not as tall as the prince, but they did have strong bodies and their wives seemed to have them too.

Luckily, they were all dressed in formal dresses and suits. I wasn't going to be an embarrassment. Hopefully, they would appreciate some great Sha food and human music. There was no way in hell that I was listening to that other stuff.

I walked down the case of stairs and the stares on me were unavoidable. As soon as I paced down, everybody was looking at me. Their voices now hushed in a silent glamour. I instantly shook knowing that all of the attention was now on me. I wasn't used to such attention and it made me increasingly nervous.

The prince stared up after the people who accompanied him pointed towards me. A male and female Sha were with him. They both had dark hair with streaks of silver on it and their faces looked more mature than Brok's. I assumed they were his parents. Brok pulled or shoved people away nicely to make space for himself and by the time I reached the last step, Brok held his hand up towards me. I took it and he led the way for me. Everyone seemed shocked by this, but nobody talked about it. Everyone stared.

Brok looked different and handsome... I meant to say, that he looked fine. The thing that distinguished him the most tonight from all other nights was his hat. He was wearing a beret that had long, pitch black feathers on its right side. A dark scarf dangled on his neck like a necklace and a golden belt hung at his side like strip band of a beauty pageant contestant. A long dark coat wrapped his muscled body and I wasn't sure, but I thought that his long hair was probably in a tail.

The prince ignored everyone around us. Most of them would not take their eyes off me and I could see them whisper in each other's ears. Not only that, but I noticed the two little horns on their heads. Everybody had them, all of them except Brok. The prince however ignored them all and walked towards the two Sha people who accompanied him. He never let go of my hand and every time I glanced at him, he smiled with gentleness. All I could do was thank him for his kindness and for his compassion.

"Father, this is Anabella. Anabella, this is my father King Mroutt," Brok said. I bowed gently towards his father, but I could barely repeat the name. I didn't want to embarrass Brok, so I didn't ask for the name again. I simply bowed to the king in the most respectful way. The King nodded.

"This is my mother, queen Kristta," he said and I bowed at her just as I had done with his father. Kristta was an easier name for me to pronounce. I would ask about the king's name again when we were alone. She wore a white dress with long sleeves and a v line. It was shaped like a bell. She looked beautiful in it. Her hair was long and straight. It was jet black just like her son's hair.2

"Nice to meet you," I said.

"It is interesting to meet you Anabella. Is it true that my son has asked to marry you?" The king asked. Wow, these creatures were direct.

"Yes," I replied.

"And what is your answer?" The King asked. The prince gazed at me with a frown and then he interrupted the conversation before it could go on.

"Father, she is still contemplating the idea. I do not wish to obligate her to make a choice," Brok answered.

"That's a miracle. Tell us Anabella, how were you able to change our son's heart?" His mother asked.

"I don't know," I confessed awkwardly. Krimla came to greet the guests in their language. I didn't understand why, but everyone was laughing and then the guests began to follow her. We were going to the party room. Brok grabbed my hand again and stared at me. I looked back at him. Then he whispered in my ear.

"You look mesmerizing," Brok said. I smirked, but I didn't respond.

"I am almost tempted to obligating you into marriage," he said. Then I whispered back at him.

"I know you don't really mean that."

"I do mean that, but I won't," Brok said.

"Good," I replied back at him as we walked on.

"Do you know why not?" Brok asked me. I didn't answer, but I shook my head.

"Because I love you," he said. I was shocked. I couldn't believe it. He said to me again. How was I going to make up my own mind if he would constantly whispered in my ear that he loved me. Instead of feeling confident, I felt more nervous. I tried to calm down, but instead I almost tripped. Brok grabbed my arm and avoided my embarrassment.

"Are you alright?" Brok asked me.

"Yes," I replied.

"I didn't mean to make you nervous. I was just trying to be courteous. You know that I won't obligate you into doing anything you don't want to do. That is the curse of loving someone. To love and to acknowledge that they are free," Brok said. I swallowed hard.

"Ah," the people said when they entered the party room. They seemed astounded, but in a good way. I was grateful. The room was brightly light with lights of white, although small lights of green and blues flashed. With its large mirrors as walls and the additional ornamental plants that I incorporated later on made the room look incredibly exotic. It was like stepping into an unknown jungle, but instead of using their plants, I used Earth plants and instead of using their flowers, I used red roses instead. The tables were all placed at the far right of the room. There was quite a buffet there with pastries of different colors, foods of all sorts and a booth with drinks on the side. Rox was in charge of the drinking area. He had already opened many bottles of champagne and wine and with his rapidity he served them in their glasses and he continued to serve.

"Please eat and drink as much as you want. Enjoy the music," Krimla said to them. The people walked towards the buffet. They grabbed plates and Krimla helped with the serving.

"What is that sound?" Queen Kristta asked me. We were listening to some piano notes.

"That queen Kristta is Earth music," I replied.

"How appealing. I am enjoying this Earth music," the queen said. I smiled for the first time feeling at ease.

"Thank you," I replied.

"King Mroutt, are you listening to this?"

"Yes," the king replied. However, his mood wasn't as cheerful as the queen's. He pulled Brok's arm and went to a corner with him. I was going towards him, but the queen stopped me and asked me about the music. I tried to explain the best I could, but I couldn't keep my eyes off from Brok and his father. What was going on and why did his dad seem to be in such a bad mood.

"And tell me... do you know how to play these instruments?" The queen asked me.

"No, I don't," I replied.

"Oh, that's too bad. I would have loved to see you play something."

"Yeah," I replied. Brok's voice raised and others around him began to glance at his way. Something was going on, but whatever it was, it didn't last long. The king walked out of the dancing room.

"Excuse me," I told the queen and walked towards Brok.

"What's the matter?" I asked him.

"Not now," the prince replied annoyed.

"Brok!"

"Let me be," he grumbled before he left the room. I was going to follow him, but the queen stopped me.

"Don't worry about them Anabella. They will soon return," The queen said.

"But I don't understand... what's going on?"

"They have a difficult relationship," she answered. I didn't want to tell her what Brok had told me about them, that they didn't really love him, but that they just tolerated him. I felt that it wasn't my place to say something like that to them, plus I barely knew them. I kept my mouth shut. Soon another Sha man came towards us. He wore a dark green suit. His long gray hair was in a ponytail. The queen glanced at his way and introduced us immediately.

"Oh Anabella, this is the economic leader of the Senate, his name is Pundok," the queen said. Pundok grabbed my hand and kissed it.

"How very nice to meet you," he said. I took my hand back as gently as I could and I smiled.

"Nice to meet you too," I said. Pundok, Pundok... where had I heard that name before?

"I must say that your Earth music is lovely. The Beetles are my favorite," Pundok said. I noticed his two little dark thorns on his forehead. They seemed to be sharper than the usual horns that others had, but I didn't say anything about them. I knew too little of what they meant to actually say anything about them. I only knew that Brok thought that he was ugly because he didn't have them.

"You know of the Beetles?" I asked. I was honestly surprised.

"Yes, of course. After the Senate studied your world we knew many things about it and music was one of those things. Is their record part of the menu?" He asked me.

"No... not really, but I'll include it in a next party," I said.

"Yes, you must do more of these parties. However, I don't see any of your foods on the buffet. I wonder why?"

"Well... I wanted to make the people of Sha more comfortable."

"That's a relief. Thousands of our men died because of the consumption of your food," Pundok said. The queen shushed him.

"Pundok, don't say that. How rude of you!" Queen Kristta said.

"Oh, I'm sorry queen. It was not my intention to be rude, but to be honest," Pundok said. The queen sneered at him, but I waved at her.

"Mr. Pundok, wait a minute, is this true?" I asked.

"Yes," Pundok replied.

"That is not yet a fact Pundok, that is only a theory," the queen replied. I frowned suspiciously not knowing what to think.

"A theory... yes of course my queen, but it is a very strong theory," Pundok replied. His dark eyes didn't leave my face and I wondered where I had heard his name.

"Mr. Pundok, have we met before?" I asked him and he laughed.

"Why Anabella, I thought that the prince Brok was the only Sha that you knew. I didn't know that he allowed you to meet others like myself," he said.

"Oh... right..." I said. What an idiot. How could I have met him when Prince Brok was the only Sha being that I knew, but his accent, his voice or something seemed familiar to me. I shook my head and laughed in return.

"You're right. Maybe you remind me of a human," I laughed. Pundok laughed again.

"I doubt it," he mumbled out loud. He never took his eyes off me. Other Shas came to me and asked me thousands of questions. I felt alright. I really didn't feel as bad as I thought I would, but there was something missing in this party and that something was the prince.