Yuuri's costume for the ball will be the one pictured above and Phichit's costume will be the one from his short program.

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update I've been focused on My other book a lot but I'll take some time to write a few chapters of this nowww.

Thanks for reading!
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"Thank you, have a lovely day!" Yuuri chirped as one of his regular customers left his shop. He sighed and tapped his fingers against the counter before walking to the back room where His best friend was putting together extraordinary bouquets of flowers. He smiled and leaned against the wall.

"Business is going well today, we've had far more customers than usual." Phichit commented and looked up at his workmate.

"Hmm, is there any reason for that you know of?" Yuuri asked him. Phichit was right; business was going eerily well today, because despite being the best florist in the kingdom, they had never had as many customers as they had today. Phichit got up from his seat and made sure that nobody was in their little shop before turning back to Yuuri.

"There is word that Prince Viktor is to hold a ball, and that every eligible person in the kingdom is to be invited. Some even say that he will choose a partner to rule his kingdom with him." Phichit whispered into Yuuri's ear. Yuuri's cheeks immediately turned a tad bit red at the thought of being at a royal ball. The thought was unusually appealing to Yuuri due to the fact that the Prince was involved.

"E-everyone is to be invited?" Yuuri stuttered.

"Some speculate that his advisor will only invite the kingdom's highest class citizens and its best business men and women. It hasn't been confirmed yet, it's lightly to be only talk." Phichit replied as he found his way back to his chair and resumed with preparing his bouquet. "Don't tell me the thought doesn't excite you though, Yuuri."

"P-Phichit!" Yuuri stuttered before walking out of the room to gather himself together.

Phichit had always been aware of the fact that Yuuri had a thing for the Young Prince; his devotion to him was admirable. Yuuri always talked about his greatness and kindness towards everyone, and how he treated everyone equally regardless of their class. Yuuri had admired him from a young age. He often heard stories of him from his parents before they passed away. It had always been Yuuri's dream to meet Prince Viktor, so yes, the thought of a ball held in his name excited Yuuri more than he would ever be able to express.

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly, a lot more customers popped in to buy some bouquets and roses, making it painfully obvious that there was something going on because not even on Valentine's Day had they had so many customers in such a short period of time. Yuuri huffed as he finally got the chance to sit down after a busy afternoon of rushing about trying to serve everyone in time. He felt unexplainably relieved when he finally flipped the sign on the shop door to 'closed' for the night.

"Not up for dancing tonight then, Yuuri?" Phichit asked as his best friend who looked like he was about to pass out from tiredness.

"O-of corse am, i just have a lot on my mind..."Yuuri trailed off and ran his hands through his hair.

"And might this be about the ball?" Phichit replied, making Yuuri turn a deep shade of red "Awe, someone is nervous to meet the Prince, I see."

Yuuri nudged Phichit playfully before going to grab his dance shoes and leading Phichit out of their flower shop. Phichit made sure that his Violin was with him before they both disappeared into the back alleys and the music started.

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"Your highness, you have got to be out of your mind." Yakov yelled across the table to the silver haired prince who didn't seem to be effected by any of the old man's words.

"I have told you time and again; and I will tell you once more: the class or gender of a person does not matter to me, as long as it is love, nothing can stop me." Viktor repeated himself for what felt like the billionth time as he gazed out the window from his spot at the table.

"Don't you think inviting commoners is a little...too far? It is not necessary either because there is no way that I will allow you to marry one of them." Yakov turned his nose up at Viktor, earning a scowl from the prince.

"Don't they breath the same air as up? Don't they bleed the same blood as us? Tell me, what is so unappealing to you about them? We're all human, aren't we?" Viktor questioned.

"Vitya, the idea of you marrying or even inviting a person of that class into the palace is absolutely outrageous and I will not allow this conversation to continue any further. Get out of my sight until you know your place, young man, or there will be no ball!" Yakov yelled at the Prince.

"My goddamn pleasure." Viktor mumbled to himself before leaving and slamming the door behind him. He stood there fore a minute, rubbing his forehead before storming off down the corridor to his bedroom.

He would never understand why Yakov opposed to him marrying for love instead of wealth and power. He saw no point in devoting his life to someone just for the benefit of others. For once, he wanted to put himself first.

He opened his bedroom door and flopped down on his bed. He let out a long sigh and rubbed his face in his hands. He'd had enough. He was sick and tired of his advisor trying to steer him though life in a way that only he desired. Viktor hated that. He was adamant that his ways were right and that his mindset was how everyone else's was, but how wrong he was. For years upon end, he'd pestered the prince about finding himself a wife but he took no interest in doing such a thing because the way that Viktor looked at it, being with a man seemed much more appealing than being with a woman.

He slowly got up and out of his room and entered the one next to him, where his personal messenger, Chris, was busy writing invitations. Viktor sat down next to him and grabbed a roll of paper and a quill.

"Busy day?" Viktor asked as he began writing.

"Yes, your highness. I've been working on these since dawn, yet I still have a lot to go." Chris let out a laugh before turning to the prince. "May I ask, what is it you're doing here?"

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm sure Yakov has been to give you...specific orders in regards to these invitations. I am simply here to adjust them slightly." Viktor spoke as he began working through Chris' pile of Invitations.

"You'll be in your grave before you know it if he finds out about this. He forbid commoners to be invited, I'm sure you're well aware of the consequences of your actions, your highness." Chris replied in a concerned tone.

"Please, spare the scolding for later, I have heard more than enough from Yakov lately." Viktor huffed and looked up at the man next to him. "I am simply adjusting the rules to meet mine and Yakov's wishes; no harm will come to anyone." Viktor reassured him.

"What...exactly have you changed them to, your highness?" Chris questioned.

"Hmm, it doesn't matter for now, but I'm begging you not to show Yakov until the day of the ball." Viktor looked at Chris with pleading eyes.

"You'll be the death of me one day, your highness. I'll be thrown in the dungeons before you can turn around." Chris let out a dry laugh. "But I am willing to do anything for you"

"Thank you Chris, I promise this won't be forgotten. As long as I'm around, no harm will come to you and I can promise that. And please make sure that these are despatched to the lower class before the higher class because word will spread quickly. I'll be off now, I have...I have somewhere I need to be." Viktor gave Chris a smile before leaving his room. Viktor pulled his golden pocket watch out and checked the time. Perfect. They should be out by now.

Viktor made a quick stop in his room, only to change the cloak that the was wearing to a less flashy one before hurrying out of the palace. He snuck passed the guards (which was alarmingly easy) and strolled off down the street. The sun was setting in the sky, the colours painted across the sky like it were a canvas.

Viktor kept his gaze to the ground, not wanting to make eye contact with people because he was pretty sure he'd get slaughtered is he was found roaming the streets. He would never hear the end of it from Yakov. He slipped into the back alleys where he had visited often in the past few nights.

The sound of a Violin in the distance made his heart warm up and he immediately made his way towards the sound. He smiled to himself as he got closer and finally mustered up the courage to peer around the wall. As he'd expected; the beautiful dancer that had captured his attention some nights ago was there again, dancing as beautifully as ever. He'd be lying if he said that he didn't think of him each day. For some reason, he was intrigued by this stranger. He'd never talked to him in his life; he couldn't bring himself to. Maybe it was the emotion that he poured into ever moment. Maybe it was the way he moved so effortlessly and gentle.

Viktor could Only dream of the day that the both of them would engage in conversation. There was something about him that made Viktor feel like he was hopelessly crumbling, and Viktor had never experienced a feeling like that before. All of his loneliness seemed to obliterated too whenever he watched his boy dance his heart out in front of him.

After watching the stranger dance for what seemed like years, Viktor decided to head back to the palace in case people became suspicious of his recent absence. He quickly yet quietly sneaked back in and headed to his room. He smiled to himself as he flopped down on his bed.

He definitely knew who he'd be looking out for at the ball

                  -----------------------

Another busy day at the florist, and Yuuri was so exhausted that he didn't think he could move his limbs for any longer. He was sat in the back room, in the middle of putting together a fresh bouquet of flowers that consisted of amaryllis, carnations and roses. He was ever so relieved when he tied the bow around the last one and immediately flopped back in his chair. Business was over for today, but since the demands were high, Yuuri spent all the free time he had putting together different bouquet and flower crowns.

There was a sudden knock at the door, and Yuuri let out a groan before slowly getting up. He walked to the door and slowly opened it. He was surprised to find the kings messenger, Christophe Giacometti by his door step with a massive list in hand. His heart immediately started pounding out of nervousness, because what on earth was he doing outside their house?

"By order of the prince, you are to be given an invitation to his highness's royal ball." The man said before handing him an envelope and rolling up his scroll. "Have a good day."

Yuuri stood watching as the man walked away and moved on to the next house. He looked down into his shaking hands, in denial that such a thing was happening. It all seemed too good to be true. A ball held by the prince, and he, Yuuri Katsuki was invited?

He carefully opened the envelope, as if it was made of glass. If he was in denial before, all of his doubts were washed away as he recognised the kings seal st the back of the envelope. He carefully tore it open and found two slips of paper in it.

The honour of your presence would be greatly appreciated by his royal highness,
Prince Viktor Nikiforov
At Saturday's royal ball.
Food and drink will be served from 6pm forward
The lower class will be required to leave at 12:00am
Everyone is welcome to bring a partner
We sincerely hope you will be able to attend

Yuuri could feel a wave of excitement course through his body. He immediately rushed to find Phichit and showed his the invitations. His best friend's face lit up and they both celebrated with a massive hug.

"Maybe you'll finally get to meet the prince!" Phichit said excitedly, knowing that Yuuri had been idolising him for years.

"I don't really want to get my hopes up..." Yuuri trailed off and blushed. "I'm a worthless florist; nothing more."

"Yuuri, don't think like that! You are so much more than just a plain old florist and you know it." Phichit gave him a reassuring smile.

"Thanks, Phichit." Yuuri breathed out and smiled. He went back to work, and after putting together a few more flower crowns, Phichit popped up in the door frame.

"Yuuri, Shouldn't we be gathering some costumes ready?"

"Oh- yeah! G-give me a minute!" Yuuri fumbled around, adding the final touches to the one he'd been working on for the past 20 minutes. A little part of him was staring to worry about the price of a decent costume. He knew that they weren't the richest people in the kingdom, but they ran a damn good business so they had quite a bit of money, but that didn't stop Yuuri from worrying.

Yuuri had no real interest in going to the ball if he was honest, who was he compared to anyone else? He was bland compared to everyone else; there was nothing particularly special about him other than the fact that he had a talent for dancing and ice skating. He was like a blank canvas void of colour, while everyone else had a thousand different colours splattered across them.

"Yuuri, are you coming?" Phichit snapped him out of his thoughts and opened the door. Yuuri nodded and followed his best friend out of their shop and down the busy street. It didn't take long for them to reach their destination; a small tailors shop right next to the old bakery. The bell chimed as they opened the door and a friendly Voice welcomed them.

"Welcome to- oh! Phichit, Yuuri! It's been ages!" The brown haired girl greeted them once she realised who they were.

"Sara, it's been awhile!" Phichit smiled back at her. "How have things been?"

"Good, good, and you?" Sara asked and earned a nod from both men. 

"I was wondering if you happened to have any costumes for the royal ball?" Phichit asked the girl. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Of course I do. Follow me." She smiled at them and lead them behind the counter and into the back room. She pulled out a measuring tape and began taking both Yuuri and Phichit's measurements so that she would be able to make suits for them for the ball. "You know, I already have two costumes that'll fit you two perfectly. Give me a sec."

Sara rushed out of the room for a few minutes and soon came back with two suits in hand. She handed one to Yuuri first before signalling for him to go behind the curtain to try it on. Yuuri quickly shed his baggy old clothes and started pulling on the suit that Sara had given him.

He buttoned up the white shirt before pulling on the black trousers that came with it. He slid into the jacket before turning and looking at himself in the mirror.

The suit fitted him perfectly, just as Sara had said. Yuuri loved The gold swirls against the blue and black colour of the jacket, and adored the softness of the material. He buttoned up the middle of the jacket after tucking his shirt into his trousers and stepped out from behind the curtain.

"Yuuri, you look-" Phichit started, but was at a lost for words. For a moment, Phichit could feel the childhood crush that he'd had on Yuuri come back to him. His best friend looked absolutely stunning, there was no way that he'd go unnoticed by the prince if he looked like that.

"I-i like this one. I like it a lot." Yuuri said while stretching his arms out in front of him and examining the patterns. "I think I'll take it."

Yuuri stepped back behind the curtain and began taking his outfit off. He carefully folded each item of clothing, not wanting to damage any of the beautiful material. He changed back into his normal old clothes, feeling underwhelming insignificant again. After all, he was just a worthless florist who had not chance in hell with the prince, no matter what he did.

He swapped places with Phichit and handed his outfit to Sara before thanking her.

"So are you planning on going to the ball?" Yuuri asked her if while smoothing his hair back.

"Unfortunately, I didn't receive an invite. N-not that I was expecting one in the first place" She replied sadly. "I always dreamed of attending a royal ball since I was a little girl. I guess things just don't work out for everyone..."

"Hey, don't think like that. I was wondering, w-would you like to attend the ball with me?" Yuuri blushed. "T-the invitation says that we're allowed to bring a partner."

Sara's eyes widened for a moment before filling with sadness.

"Oh Yuuri, I thought you knew, I like g-"

"I-uh, I know, don't worry, I-I didn't mean like that, I mean, you are well aware that I also, you know-" Yuuri reassured her and Sara nodded. "I was thinking that we could maybe look out for each other."

Sara smiled back at Yuuri and nodded.

"Well, in that case I'd be honoured to attend the ball with you." She giggled and thanked him. "But for the love of god, please don't mention a word of this to Mickey."

Yuuri reassured her that he wouldn't, him himself being terrified of what he might do to him if he found out.

"How do I look?" Phichit asked before stepping out from behind the curtain, interrupting the current conversation.
Yuuri smiled when he saw his best friend, he looked amazing. The gold and red really complimented his skin tone and brought out the grey in his eyes. Yuuri assured Phichit that that was the costume for him before he went back to change.

They purchased their new outfits for the ball, excitement coursing through their bodies at the thought of it. They skipped down the street with linked arms, gaining questioning looks from the people around them, but for once, Yuuri didn't care what people thought of him. He was too excited. His heart was beating loudly in his ears and he could feel the butterflies in his stomach rise. And it was all because of one man-

Prince Viktor.

••••••
Started: 10/1/17
Published: 30/1/17
Words: 3300

The next chapter will be about the royal ball, in super excited to write it ahhhh

Thanks for reading!