I waited nervously in front of the door of Yekaterina Palace for Geoffrey to come and pick me up. Me, Nat, and Trudy have all been asked to the Winter Formal by our dream boys: Geoffrey Windsor, Sebastian Schleswig-Sonderburg, and Philip Bourbon. Finally, the doorbell sounded, and I knew that it was Geoffrey who was at the door.

"Grandmother! Geoffrey is here!" I screamed loudly, using my outdoor voice, so that she could hear me.

"Okay, dear. Have fun!" she screamed back.

I walked over to the door and opened it. There stood Geoffrey, who looked very gentlemanly in his black tux. I smiled at him and he smiled back, his eyes glowing with delight at the sight of me in my dress.

"Well?" I asked nervously as I twirled around. "How does it look?"

"Stunning. Absolutely gorgeous," he breathed in return. "Red really compliments the red hair and blue eyes."

He suddenly scooped me in his arms, making me laugh. He buried his face into the crook of my neck, sending pleasant shivers down my spine and on my arms. I had the chance to inhale his scent, which smelled of vanilla, amber, and a light scent of musk. The combination was really nice. A warm feeling settled into the pit of my stomach as I inhaled his scent. It just felt so right. So inviting.

"Are you ready to go? Aella is waiting for us in the limo so that she can drive us to the school for the Winter Formal."

"I'm ready when you are," I answered.

"Great. Let's go!"

He grabbed my hand, tugging me along. I laughed as he pulled me along. He opened the limo car door for me so that I could get in. He quickly got in soon after. Aella turned to look over at us and smiled.

"It's nice to see you again, Your Majesty," she greeted me.

"I've already told you, Miss Aella. You don't have to call me 'Your Majesty' or anything of the sort. Please. Just call me Stacey."

She looked very surprised but recovered with a smile on her face.

"Alright, Miss. If you insist."

As we drove, Geoffrey placed a corsage flower around my wrist. The flowers were made of white and red roses, mixed with the red-and-white mixed Tudor Rose that was situated right in the middle of the other roses. I remembered reading in World History that the red-and-white mixed Tudor Rose was a sign of the Royal family.

We approached the school, where many other students had already arrived. I could see familiar and unfamiliar faces. Girls wore sparkly, fancy dresses with glittery, or shiny high heels to complete the look. Boys wore the traditional tuxedos that they'd wear to a typical Winter Formal or to any sort of special event.

Geoffrey got out of the car before holding the door for me before gently taking my hand. He grinned at me before helping me out. I straightened out my dress, looking around myself.

"Hey, guys!" said the familiar voice of Nat.

I looked over at her to see that Sebastian was clinging to her. I noticed that his hair was slicked back with some sort of gel. His brown eyes twinkled with delight. Trudy came around, too, with her date, Phillip Bourbon. I noticed that his hair was parted to the side, and also gelled to make his hairstyle stay put. He had a big smile on his chubby, boy-ish face. His smile was so big that I thought his eyes would turn into slits. And it almost did.

"Hey, guys," I greeted.

We chatted for a little bit before a photographer came over and asked us if we'd like a picture together as a group. Which we'd agreed to. After snapping a few pictures together, we noticed that people began to head inside the school together.

Linking arms together, the six of us made our way into the coolness of the lobby. Laughter and chattering echoed on all sides of the room. Loud DJ music could be heard from the school's cafeteria. I was amazed that our every-day cafeteria room had transformed into a ballroom.

Silvery-blue drapes hung from the ceiling, meeting up at the center before going to the sides of the room where they were held in place. A sparkly, silver buffet table was placed on one side of the room. I could see people lining up for the buffet. At the end of the buffet, on a separate table, was a huge chocolate fountain. Other couples from the school were already starting to crowd around the fountain to dip their treats into the velvety, smooth chocolate-y liquid.

"Just the same as last year," said Geoffrey with a shrug as I continued to stare in awe and amazement.

"Who — Who did you go with last year?" I asked nervously, though I had a feeling who he went with.

Geoffrey stiffened, looking rather uncomfortable.

"Who do you think?" he asked quietly in return.

I blushed.

"Sorry."

He shook his head.

"It's alright. Vivienne and I are no longer together. Tonight, I just wanna focus on you, and you only. Don't worry about Vivienne."

I allowed myself to relax. I smiled at him.

"Okay. Whatever you say, Geoff."

"C'mon! Let's go to the buffet before the chocolate runs out!" she squealed, jumping up and down excitedly.

Sebastian, her date, rolled his eyes at her.

"It's a chocolate fountain, Nat. There's no way that the chocolate is going to run out!"

"It probably will, eventually," Nat argued back.

I laughed.

"Guys, if you want to grab something to eat, then you guys go ahead."

"You don't want anything, Stace?" Geoffrey asked in shock.

"Not at the moment, no. But if you want to go ahead and get yourself some, my feelings are not hurt."

He smiled, linking his arm with mine.

"The chocolate can wait. But for now, I just want to focus on us."

We grabbed a table that's able to sit the six of us, and we patiently waited for Nat, Sebastian, Trudy, and Phillip to come back. When they did get back, I nearly laughed when I saw that Nat's plate was covered in chocolate. She looked really proud of herself as she sat down before giving me an offended look.

"What?" she said defensively as she pulled her plate of chocolate-covered whatever towards her.

"I just like that you're obsessing over chocolate. That's all," I answered, grinning.

She rolled her eyes before grabbing a toothpick and poking it into the nearest chocolate-covered treat she had. She took a bite out of it and her eyes went wide with delight. She bounced in her seat before going for more. We all stared at her in surprise. She noticed us staring, swallowed, and glared.

"What?"

"This is probably the most excited I've ever seen you, over chocolate," Sebastian teased.

She rolled her eyes, but she smiled.

"It's not just any chocolate, Sebastian. It's Belgian chocolate."

"What's the difference between Danish and Belgian chocolate?"

Nat swallowed and answered, "Belgian chocolate is usually richer than most chocolates and has a higher cocoa content."

Sebastian snorted.

"That's it?"

"It tastes better, too. Here, wanna have a bite if you want proof for yourself?"

Sebastian rolled his eyes.

"I've got some of my own, thanks."

"I can't tell which is more amusing, seeing Nat get a little too excited over Belgian chocolate, or Sebastian not being amused," smirked Trudy.

Nat glared playfully at her.

"Oh, shut up."

After a while of sitting and talking, the DJ master got to his feet, and nearly half of the room went quiet.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," he said in a loud voice over the microphone. "I'd like for all the couples to get together. We're going to be doing some dancing now."

There was a loud sound of chairs scraping against the floor and people chattering over each other. Geoffrey got to his feet and offered me a hand so that I could stand up. I smiled shyly at him before returning the gesture. The lights began to grow dim and the disco ball lights ahead in the center of the ceiling began to shine. We made sure to dance together near our friends so that we wouldn't have to go and find each other at the end of the dance.

The DJ turned on a slow-moving song and we all seemed to sway to the music. I hesitated before placing my chin on his shoulder. Geoffrey responded by wrapping his arms gently around my waist, bringing me closer to him, resting his head on my shoulder as well.

The night was fun. We chatted for a while before taking a break and dancing in between. We ended the dance with Cupid Shuffle, a popular dance for proms and formals like this one. Then, right as the dance was over, a photographer insisted that we should have a class photo so that we could remember this night. Although we were noticeably tired, we agreed, allowing the photographer to take one big photo of everyone that had attended.

By the time we'd reached the doors and exited Arcadia Prep, the British limo was already waiting for us. Aella, the driver, was waiting for us outside the car and straightened up to look more professional as we approached her. She smiled at us when we came nearer.

"Did you two have a good time?" she asked as Geoffrey held the door open for me so that I could climb in. He climbed in after me, and Aella did the same seconds later. She turned on the ignition and we slowly began to make our way around the round-about so that we could get out of the school parking lot and to the portal that would take me to Russia.

"It was quite fun. We hung out with Nat, Sebastian, Trudy, and Phillip for the most part, though," I answered as Geoffrey slid an arm around my shoulders, bringing me closer to his side.

"You guys didn't dance at all?" Aella asked, shocked. "I remember doing that, myself, in my highschool days."

"We did, only when we were told, or if we really wanted to do a group dance. There were at least two slow dances that they threw in there. The Dj-ist was probably getting tired of all of us loud teenagers. He probably wanted a break."

Aella laughed.

"Well, DJ-ers do need a break at some point."

I agreed with her. The rest of the drive to Yekaterina Palace was spent in a tired, comfortable silence. In the meanwhile during the drive, I rested my head gently on Geoffrey's shoulder. He wrapped a protective arm around my waist, bringing me closer to his side.

When we reached Yekaterina, Geoffrey shook my shoulder gently to wake me up. I jumped, a little startled, that I'd fallen asleep. I glanced up at him to see that he was grinning. I found myself blushing.

"Hi," I greeted.

"Hi. We're here at Yekaterina."

He motioned to the palace ahead of us. A shiver ran up my spine when I glanced over at the towering building. It looked a bit creepier than it did in the daytime. Nearly all the lights were off, confirming that nearly everyone was in bed.

As I began to sit up, I felt something fall softly onto my lap. Frowning, I picked it up and noticed that it was the same jacket that Geoffrey had been wearing the entire night. I glanced over at him and I could feel my face burning with hot embarrassment. He grinned a little sheepishly, avoiding my gaze.

"I — er — noticed that you were a little cold since you were wearing a sleeveless gown. So I thought that giving you my jacket for a while would keep you a little bit warmer until we got to Yekaterina."

I found myself blushing again. I gently folded the jacket and handed it back to him. I tried hard to not feel a little shy. Why would I be shy around Geoffrey? We're practically dating at this point!

"Um . . . . thanks," I said shyly.

"Of course," he answered. He leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the cheek, leaving me all flustered and embarrassed. "Shall I take you inside?"

"If that's okay with you," I stuttered.

He nodded and got out of the car before offering me a hand. I graciously took it and allowed him to pull me out of the car. Geoffrey turned to Aella, and I'd just now realized that she'd been watching us this entire time.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, Aella," he reassured his chauffeur. "I won't be too long. I promise."

She nodded, smiling, before turning to face the window in front of her. Geoffrey offered me his arm, which I linked with mine. He led me to the door. He opened it for me and let me in first.

"After you," he said politely.

"Thanks," I said quietly. And I went into the palace.

Someone must have turned the heater on because the air around me felt warmer than normal. I guess that I never realized that it was so cold outside because I'd been so focused on Geoffrey this entire time.

"Did you have a good time tonight?" he asked quietly, making sure that he didn't wake anybody up.

I gave him a genuine smile this time.

"I did, thank you. Did you?"

He nodded sincerely. I noticed that he glanced down from my lips, to my eyes, and back to my lips again before he slowly began to lean in for a kiss. I leaned in as well. He got a little rougher with the kiss, startling me a little bit.

But, to my surprise, I actually kinda liked it. It was a new feeling I'd never felt before, apart from the butterflies that swarmed in my stomach as he brought me closer to him. I could feel my heart pounding furiously in my chest. Then, quite suddenly —

"Oh, hell, no! Not in the entrance hall!"

I jumped and turned to face Andrei Petrov, who looked horrified and shocked. My face burned, feeling hot with embarrassment.

"Sir, we were just kissing," said Geoffrey, who also sounded embarrassed.

"Go kiss somewhere else! Not in the entrance hall where other people could see you!" Andrei insisted. It looked like fire was literally coming from his nostrils as he spoke. He was clearly furious with the two of us.

"Well . . . . I'm sorry, sir," said Geoffrey sincerely. "Really. We are."

"Apology accepted, young man," said Andrei with a heavy sigh as he passed his hand over his face, looking flustered. "Just be careful next time. Please. Other people could be watching,"

I tried hard to not roll my eyes at Andrei's paranoia.

Honestly, we were just kissing, I couldn't help but think to myself.

Geoffrey nodded his head, letting Andrei know that he'd heard. He then took my hand and I looked up at him with a smile.

"I guess that I gotta go, anyway, Stace. I promised Aella that I'd be back shortly."

He squeezed my hand gently, gave me a peck on the cheek, and left, glancing back at me as he left. Once the door closed and Geoffrey was no longer in my sight, I found myself rounding onto Andrei, clearly embarrassed that he interrupted our kissing.

"What the hell were you thinking?! You scared him away, Andrei!"

"I'm sorry, Your Royal Highness," he said sincerely as he straightened up to his full height. "It just shocked me, I guess."

"You could have been a bit more polite about it," I couldn't help but huff angrily. I crossed my arms over my chest, scowling. "Now he might not come back!"

"I will apologize to him in person when I see him again and tell him that I didn't mean it and I was just shocked, if that pleases you, Your Majesty."

I nodded my head stiffly, still a bit shocked and surprised at Andrei's behavior. Sure, he's stubborn and easily annoyed, but never like this!

"Thank you. Now I'm tired, and I'm going to head to bed. Good night, Andrei."

"Good night, Your Royal Highness."

And with that, I went to the hallway, yanked off the high heels that were killing my feet, and made my way to the bedroom.