"Can I have everyone's attention, please?" said the headmistress, Georgiana Seymour.

It had just dawned on me, as I turned to face the headmistress, that I'd never really seen her in person. I've heard of her, but I've never seen the woman. It would make sense, as I'd barely been here for not even a month. Nat, Sebastian, Geoffrey, and I sat together at the same table. We'd formed our own little group. Nat and I had hit it from the start, and our friendship was growing beautifully. We glanced at each other, clearly confused.

"Headmistress Georgiana hardly ever makes an announcement, unless it's really important," Nat hissed.

"What could she possibly want from us?" Sebastian asked.

"An essay, maybe?" Geoffrey smirked. "Or a school project?"

"But that's usually Professor Barnevelt's idea," I muttered. "He's the essay/class project expert. And that would usually be for social studies."

The cafeteria had not quite yet died down, so Headmistress Georgiana clapped her hands together several times before the whole room went quiet. Once she saw that everyone had their attention on her, she smiled.

"Thank you, everyone. Now, as you know, it's February at the moment. And you know what that means?"

"There's only three more months until the school year is over?!" Trudy, who sat at the same table as us, squealed hopefully.

Everyone laughed at her answer, including Headmistress Georgiana. As much as that was true, I knew that would not be the answer.

"Well, yes. But we also have another special event coming up. Can anyone guess what happens at this time of month?"

"European football season is close to ending?" one kid who I did not know, suggested. He looked a lot younger than our group of Seniors. Maybe in sixth grade?

A lot of the boys, and a few girls, groaned at his answer.

"Why did you have to say that, bro?" one boy whined from across the cafeteria.

"What?" said the first kid. "It's true."

"Then we have to wait for an entire summer and parts of fall to wait for the football season to start back up again!"

"Boys, boys," said Headmistress Georgiana as she caught our attention again. We went quiet and put all of our attention on her. "While those answers are what happens in February, we usually have what's called a Winter Formal."

The boys groaned again. A smile made its way to my lips. I knew why the boys hated Winter Formals, Homecomings, and Proms. It would mean that it was their job to ask a girl out. I glanced over at Geoffrey, who looked very embarrassed. He shifted around nervously in his seat, biting at his lower lip. Something that he usually did when he got nervous. And, I had to admit that what he was doing was kind of cute. But I tried hard to not get too distracted by his lip biting and turned my attention to Headmistress Georgiana again.

"The event will take place on February 21. The theme is Snowflake Soiree, as it's winter. I expect everybody to be there with a partner so that no one will feel left out. Also, our party planners need to set up a meeting before the end of this week. It is Tuesday and you should have everything planned out by Saturday afternoon. That's all the announcements I have. Thank you for listening, and you can go back to whatever you were doing."

We watched as Headmistress Georgiana left, her heels clicking as walked out of the cafeteria. I turned to glance over at Nat, who grinned dreamily.

"What?" I asked.

"Wanna go dress shopping with me tomorrow?" she offered. "I'm planning on asking Sophia and Trudy as well."

"Wait, why can't we come with you?" Sebastian whined.

"Because the dresses are supposed to be a surprise," Nat answered stubbornly. "So you can't see our dresses until February 21, as Headmistress Georgiana had said."

"But that's a week away!" Sebastian continued.

Nat rolled her eyes.

"Sucks to be you. Don't you and the boys have to go shopping for tuxedos?"

Sebastian groaned, leaning back in his chair.

"Don't remind me!"

"As a matter of fact," Geoffrey interrupted as he got Sebastian's attention, "you and I can go tux shopping if the girls are going together. We can have Philip come along with us."

"The Spanish prince?" I asked, trying to remember who Philip was. I remembered hearing about him on the news a couple of times during important world-wide events. "Doesn't he have two younger sisters, Leonor and Sofia?"

"Yes. But he's first in line for the Spanish throne."

"Aren't all male heirs first in line?" I asked.

"Technically, unless you're an only child." He gave me a look. "So for instance, my nephew, George, will become king when he's of age or when Uncle William passes away. But I don't think that will be any time soon."

"I highly doubt it. George is still pretty young. I don't think he's even ready to rule his own country."

"Eh. He's got a few years to wait. I don't think he's eager to become king any time soon, though."

"I don't blame him. He's only, what? Ten years old? That's way too young to rule a country on their own."

"I agree. I'm 18, but I don't think I'm quite ready to rule Great Britain yet."

"I'll bet that Vivienne is ready to rule her own country and all that stuff." I glared over at Vivienne Anjou, who was chatting with some friends. She threw her head back, laughing loudly at something one of the girls had said. She glanced over at me and glared before turning away again.

"Well, she's Vivienne. She's always ready to do something fancy, such as ruling her own country the way she wants it run. And I'm betting that not a lot of the rules are going to be nice."

"It's Vivienne. She doesn't like to be nice. Scratch that. She's never nice. She's even worse when you get on her bad side, or under her skin."

Geoffrey sighed, shaking his head. Nat waved her hand in my face, surprising me. I'd forgotten she was still there.

"So? Are you in or not?"

"For what, now?" I asked, confused.

"You know what I'm asking. Winter formal dress shopping!"

I shrugged.

"I'm all in. Maybe I can find a decent dress for next week."

"I wish that I could see what you girls are choosing to wear," Geoffrey sighed forlornly.

"You'll get to see this weekend," I tried cheering him up. "For now, you'll just have to wait! Go tux shopping with Sebastian and Philip to distract yourself, or something."

"Or hanging out with George and Charlotte?"

"Exactly that. So that way, you won't have to wait as long."

"That's not going to help, Stace!" Sebastian whined.

"Too bad." I glanced over at the clock. "It's almost time for World History. Should we go ahead and go?"

"I know you're trying to change the subject," sighed Sebastian. "But, sure. Professor Barnevelt would not be pleased if we were late. We'd get a tardy."

"We know," Nat and I chorused over our shoulders as we made our way to throw our trash in the trash can by the door.

"So. Who are you hoping will ask you out by the end of the week?" Nat whispered as she made sure that none of the boys heard us.

I blushed a little, glancing down at my feet.

"You know who I hope will ask me out. You just want the answer to come out of my mouth. I'm guessing that you want Sebastian to ask you out?"

Nat blushed as well.

"What? He's cute!"

I laughed.

"I know you think he's cute! And while I agree that he's decent-looking for a prince, I don't think he's the right one for me."

I glanced over my shoulder to get a glimpse of Geoffrey, who seemed to be in a deep conversation with Sebastian, with their heads literally put together.

"I'm assuming you want Geoffrey to ask you out?" Nat teased, elbowing me in the ribs. I laughed, slapping her hand away from me.

"Shut up!" In a quieter voice I added, "but, yes. I hope he does."

"He will, Stace. I'm positive."

"Ah, you never know. There might be some other pretty girl he wants to ask out."

"Are you thinking that he's going to ask Vivienne to the Winter Formal?"

"I highly doubt that he will. He broke up with her a few days ago."

"About time! I was getting really worried about him."

"And so was I."

I then remembered what the Romanov family from the past had warned me about, what would probably happen if Geoffrey had broken up with Vivienne.

She can become a threat, if you're not careful.

I pushed that thought aside. Sure, Vivienne was not nice, but she's not that dangerous, is she?

World History was slow that afternoon. After we had finished art class (our last class of the day), Nat grabbed me by the hand, pulling me along. She squealed as we made our ways to our lockers. I laughed at her enthusiasm. We ignored Thea, our school nurse and assistant, as she screamed at us for running in the hallways.

"No running in the hallways! You know better than that!"

We didn't even bother to answer. Nat and I were too excited about dress shopping to even say 'sorry'.

We approached Nat's limo. By then, she was panting from all the running she'd done. But she was grinning all the same. I began to climb into the limo, but Nat grabbed my hand, stopping me.

"Wait! We have to wait for Trudy to come! She's joining us!"

"Okay!" I answered, grinning.

We hung around her limo for a few minutes before Trudy came sprinting down the marble stairs. She skidded to a halt in front of us, panting. She leaned against the car, breathing hard.

"Did you really have to run all the way over here, Trudy?" Nat teased.

"Sorry. Professor Kingsley, the Algebra II teacher, let us out a few minutes later than normal. I had to run all the way here because I thought that you guys had forgotten me!" Trudy whined, pouting.

Nat threw an arm around her friend, grinning broadly.

"We'd never forget you, Trudy! You know that!"

"I know! But I didn't like the thought of you guys leaving me and that I'd have to get Nora to drive me over to the prom dress shop!" Trudy continued to whine.

"Well, you're here, now," said Nat. She patted her friend reassuringly on the shoulder. "Anyways, we should go, now! Ma and Pa would like me to be home by at least 6:45 for dinner."

"I don't think my parents would mind me being out for a little bit. They can have dinner without me. I can get something from one of my kochs later."

"Is there a specific time your grandmother would like for you to come home, Stace?" Nat asked as we began to climb into the limo.

We made our way to the round seats. One of Nat's butlers began to pass us sodas. Nat took hers gratefully with a sigh of longing.

"Well, grandmother is usually busy. She always has something to do to run her country."

"Russia is known for its size," Nat smirked. "As well as America. But I don't think there are any monarchs in America, is there, Stace? I mean, you know more about America than Trudy and I do."

"Well, kind of. But it's hard to explain. We have what we call a 'president'. Meaning, he rules for a course of two years, and then another, if he gets elected again."

"So your president is not a full-time ruler?" Trudy asked, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

I laughed at the look on her face. Seeing Trudy's reaction was just absolutely priceless! But at the same time, I couldn't blame her. She was not born or raised in America like I did before I came here to fulfill my place as Grand Duchess. Even being declared as the final Romanov heir as a teenager was still a lot to take in, even now. No wonder I felt out of place as a kid. We talked a little bit about how our countries were run, until we got to the Slender Boutique.

I had a close look at the prom shop. The front walls of the building seemed as though it was made of up white quartz that glittered in the overhead sun. The stairs were made up of bronze with silver filigree decorated on top. Prom dresses lined up at the windows so that people could view them.

"You coming, Stace?" Nat called out to me. I realized that I still found myself staring at the amazing building, that I hadn't realized that Nat and Trudy had gone up the stairs, waiting for me to come up.

"Yeah. Sorry."

I hurried up the stairs after them, and we made our way into the air-conditioned lobby. The interior of the room was also stunning, with onyx walls and ceilings. Sparkling diamonds seemed to be scattered across the floor.

"Hello, and welcome to Slender Boutique. My name is Ella Montefort. I will be around if you have any questions about our glamorous dresses," said the woman, Ella Montefort.

"Okay, thank you!" said Nat. She showed Ella her appreciation by waving, before the woman went back to the rose-quartz desk to fill something out.

Nat grabbed both mine and Trudy's hands and pulled us towards a row of prom dresses.

"C'mon! Let's pick out some dresses!" she squealed excitedly.

Trudy was already looking through the many prom dresses and turned to face Nat, grinning.

"And remember: we don't have to pick out a dress today. Winter Formal is not till February 21. That's not for another week."

"And a long time to wait," Nat groaned as she went through some dresses, frowning.

We picked through some dresses, pulling out several dresses before going to try them on in the dressing rooms. The first dress I tried on was a purple silk, flowing dress. But unfortunately, it was too tight for my stomach to handle. It was pretty, though.

"Hey, are you two done yet?" Nat asked from somewhere in the dressing room nearby. "We need to show each other the first dress to see if it works for the Winter Formal!"

"Uh . . . . yeah. I think so," I answered hesitantly.

"I was pretty sure that Trudy said something but I didn't really notice, as I was still focused on how the dress shaped my body. I frowned, staring at myself.

"C'mon, Stacey! We're already out here!" Nat's voice rang out again.

I took a deep breath before hesitantly coming out of the dressing room. I fluffed my hair out a bit before giving the dress a twirl.

"Well? How does it look?" I asked anxiously.

I could see on the looks of their faces that this dress was clearly not for me. And I agreed. While the dress was a pretty color, it was too tight.

"Well . . . .," said Nat hesitantly as she and Trudy glanced at each other.

I shook my head, not letting them speak, as I already knew the answer.

"You don't have to say anything. I already know the answer, and I agree. This dress is obviously not for me. Sure, the color is pretty. But the dress around my stomach area is too tight."

Nat's and Trudy's shoulders relaxed.

"You wouldn't be mad at us if we told you the truth?"

I shook my head, laughing.

"No. Because I already know the answer."

I examined Trudy's and Nat's dresses. Nat wore a silky gray dress that had a tulle skirt, with a diamond-encrusted top. A silver belt connected at the waist. I had to admit, it did look good on her. Trudy picked out a gold-colored dress that was satin and the sleeves were crossed and beaded.

"I don't know about you guys, but I love those dresses," I commented.

Nat frowned.

"You sure this isn't too much?" she asked anxiously.

I shrugged.

"I mean, if you don't like it, that's your choice. But I'm being honest and telling the truth, this time."

Nat frowned, examining her dress.

"You know? I like this dress, but I want to try out some more in case that's the dress I want. I'll hang onto this one."

"And, same. This dress is nice, but you never know if you find anything that's better," Trudy asked.

We went back to our changing rooms and changed again. The next couple of dresses were alright. But nothing really caught my eye. Finally, I found a red mermaid-style dress, with its hem flowing to the ground. The fabric was made of satin and felt smooth to the touch. It actually looked very flattering on my thin body. I examined the dress I wore in the mirror in front of me before Nat insisted that I should come out and show them the dress. I took a deep breath and walked out.

Both Nat and Trudy squealed when they saw the Winter Formal dress.

"That looks so perfect!" Nat squealed.

"Totally suits you!" Trudy added. She grinned like an idiot.

"I agree. I think that this is the best choice," I agreed, looking down at the red dress that I wore.

"Well, I think we all chose the dresses we wanna wear to the Winter Formal," Nat said as she patted a purple, sparkly crepe dress in her arms. "Should we pay and then get going?"

"Sounds great!" Trudy trilled enthusiastically.

We quickly paid for our dresses. Then we went back to Nat's limo where her driver, Svetlana, was waiting for us, doing whatever she did on her phone. She straightened herself up when we came over with our bags in our hands. When we got in, she started the engine before turning to face us with a frown on her face.

"Got your dresses already?" she asked with a thick Bulgarian accent. I noticed that her accent was thicker than Nat's.

"Oh, yeah!" said Nat enthusiastically as she settled in one of the rounded seats. "How long did it take us, Stace? Trudy? An hour?"

"That should be about it. The sun is starting to set," Trudy replied, gesturing to the setting sun.

"Can you two girls please tell me where you live so that I can drive you there?" Svetlana asked.

"Russia," I answered.

"The Netherlands," Trudy added.

"Thanks, girls. We'll go to Russia first, as that's the closest from here."

We chatted enthusiastically about what we hoped would happen at prom as Svetlana drove us.

"I really hope that Sebastian would ask me out for the Winter Formal," Nat sighed dreamily. She then glanced over at me with a teasing smile on her lips. "I suppose you want Geoffrey Windsor to ask you out?"

I fidgeted with the hem of my shirt, trying to not feel embarrassed.

"Yeah. I hope so, but I shouldn't get my hopes up about it." I turned to Trudy and grinned, wiggling my eyebrows teasingly at her. "I suppose you want Leon to ask you out?"

Trudy grinned, embarrassed.

"What? He's cute!" She turned to face me with an equally teasing grin on her face. "You think that Geoffrey is cute, don't ya?"

I shrugged. "Who doesn't think that he's cute?"

"He's decent looking. But not my type, unfortunately. I'm just glad to have him as a friend, you know," said Nat casually.

We talked some more until we reached Yekaterina Palace. Svetlana pulled up the top of the round-a-bout and parked.

"Hope you ladies had a fun time going shopping for the Winter Formal tonight?" said Svetlana as she turned to face us.

"Oh, we certainly did! I have no regrets on choosing the dress that I chose!" said Nat enthusiastically.

"Thanks for letting me tag along, Nat. It was so much fun."

Nat laughed.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it, Stace! When we have our prom next, I'll be sure to ask you and Trudy to come along with me."

"I like the sound of that," I agreed. "Good night, Nat. Good night, Trudy. I'll see you guys at the school tomorrow."

The girls said their goodnights to me and I made my way to the Yekaterina Palace.