Chapter 33: Wall Flower

The ballroom is a beautiful sight. There is the picture of a half moon and half sun, just like Ji described. The whole room is painted with gold and silver. There are even diamonds on the chandeliers and an assortment of jewels coating the walls. Everyone gasps in astonishment at the beautiful ballroom.

"Everytime I see this, it surprises me!" a couple people say.

Others stare speechless. The two Kings and the Queens stand on the podium.

"Let the ball commence!" they announce.

I meet up with KaiZhen, and we dance the first dance, just like what escorts are supposed to do. He isn't a bad dancer… After that, I leave the dancefloor quickly, avoiding as many people as I can. I meet with Xing, at the refreshments.

"Xing! Why aren't you out there dancing?"

"Ah, I don't enjoy dancing, and I'm not really good at it," she explains.

I nod and take a glass of sparkling lemonade. I look at the dancefloor with the Kings and Queens dancing together, chattering with their friendship known. The maids and servants dance too. It is quite a joyous occasion for everyone in this palace. If any kingdom were to invade now, the people here would be absolutely livid. Maybe even destroy the other kingdom. I laugh at the image in my head.

Xing starts to talk, "Ah? You're not taking any alcohol? What a pity."

"Haha, I don't like it. I've also never tried."

Xing gulps down an entire glass.

"Ah! You'll get used to it once you drink it," she says with a dreary smile.

I laugh as I relish some truffles and macarons. I look over at the dancefloor, as I munch. XiaoLong and TianYu are dancing together for the tenth time or something. Wait why am I counting? It's none of my business. As long as he doesn't come here, I'm fine. I turn away and focus on other things.

But after a couple minutes, that moment comes to reality. XiaoLong comes up to us as Xing and I converse.

"May I have a dance with you, Princess YingYue?"

Cold sweat drips down my back as I fill with fear. One wrong move and we're all done for. Xing nods at me and smiles. I look over at my parents who do the same. All of the eyes in the ballroom are on us. I gulp down nervously. My shaky hand reaches out and takes his. He pulls me in as the orchestra starts a new piece. I dared not to meet his eyes. I look around the ballroom, light on my feet, dancing.

"You remind me much of a friend of mine," XiaoLong starts to talk.

"Oh? Do I look like her?" I try to answer as normal as possible.

"Not really," he responds, "She's really beautiful and sweet."

"O-oh…"

"However, she left me."

I try to look for an opening to switch partners.

"How do I remind you of her?" I ask as I try to stall time.

"Well… I just get the feeling…"

I am surprised to see XiaoLong blush and turn away. I catch myself staring and turn away quickly too.

"Well, I hope you find her," I lie.

I leave the dancefloor as the song ends and return to my room.

"What's wrong?" Ji asks.

"I'm fine," I respond, "Just a bit tired."

I ask the maids and everyone to leave and enjoy the rest of the ball, as I stay in my room and read. The novels and fairy tales take me into an imaginary land where I escape to get my mind off things. I laugh and smile as I read.

About a half hour later, a knock comes from my door. I put away my book.

"Come in."

Mother and Father enter the room. They slowly walk over and sit on the couch. I sit across from them. A moment of silence fills the room, and I realize the serious topic they address.

"YingYue," father says in a somewhat sad tone, "You're the QiLing they're trying to find, right?"