Chapter Four: The Big Reveal

All dances were over and it was now time for the big unmasking. All guests got in a circle. The king and queen, in their couple masks that had the design of the sun and moon, were in the center. Luckily for me, I ended up next to Mira and near all the men I danced with. The king asked, "Will my daughter please step forward?"

Mira stepped forward. Gasps, whispers, and some exclamations of "I danced with her"s were heard all around the room. "And will her guest of honor step forward as well?" I stepped forward, next to Mira. I could feel the eyes of the people I danced with burning holes into my back.

"And now they will take off their masks," stated the queen.

We did as we were told. Gasps of surprise and delight were heard all around the room.

"The guest of honor is quite the looker."

"Yes, but the princess's beauty is unparalleled."

"I believe they are both quite gorgeous."

"My eyes have been blessed."

I turned around to the guys I danced with. They looked pretty shocked as well.

Then, the queen and king, with broad smiles on their faces, said in unison, "NOW EVERYONE CAN TAKE OFF THEIR MASKS. SOCIALIZE, EAT, AND ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR NIGHT IN OUR PALACE!"

Immediately, all of my dance partners, except the green and the black and gold masked ones, flooded me.

"So, would you like to see what's behind our masks, oh honored guest of the princess?" winked Gold Mask. I grinned.

"That'd be great. Your names too, if you don't mind."

Blue Mask took his off first, and gave me a toothy grin. He was pretty good-looking. "Hi, I'm Prince Jadon of the Sapphire Kingdom."

Gold Mask took his off next. 'Are all of them this handsome??' I thought. "Hey~, I'm Prince Azaan of the Ruby Lands. Am I as good looking as you thought?" He gave me a flirtatious smile. I blushed and moved on to my next partner.

Maroon Man took off his mask with a small, heart-shaped smile and said, "Hello honored guest, I'm Prince Camron of the Rose Province."

Purple Man took off his mask, a smirk present on his face along with twinkling eyes, and stated, "Yo, I'm the Amethyst Realm's prince, Kye."

Silver then unmasked his face. "Hey! I'm Prince Farhan of the Silver Isles. Also, what did the buffalo say when his son left the house?"

I stared. "What?"

He giggled.

"Bison!"

For a moment, my face was blank. I then burst out into laughter.

"Bwahahahhahaaahaha, that was really good!! HAhahahahahaHAHAhahahaHahAHAhaha!"

The others rolled their eyes.

"Man, he's always like this…" said Prince Jadon. Prince Kye facepalmed. Prince Camron was laughing along with me. Everyone else groaned and sighed in exhaustion. I then turned to the yellow man.

"Hi, again, I'm Prince Devin of the Amber Empire. I liked our dance together." The other princes looked and him and me in shock.

"Whoa, am I seeing things?? Devin isn't stuttering or anything! He's always like that in front of other females... How'd you make him talk normally, Ms. Guest of Honor?" asked Prince Azaan, in an amazed tone. I then realized something.

"Wait, so you all know each other??" I inquired. They nodded.

"Um, we never caught your name," said Prince Farhan.

"Oh, right. I'm Princess Mira's best friend, Suri. I'm not a princess, but I'm Mira's maid," I said sheepishly. The men looked at me in shock.

"You're a maid? You can't be! You seem more like a princess!" exclaimed Prince Jadon. My face became a tomato.

"Well, I'm flattered, but I'm a maid... " I replied. Prince Kye put his arm around my shoulder.

"Well, to us, you're not. You are now dubbed Praid Suri of the Lyre Kingdom." He then jokingly bowed to me.

"Praid?" I inquired.

"Princess-maid," replied Prince Camron. I giggled. The others nodded along with him and then jokingly bowed too. I curtsied in return. Mira then came over. The guys immediately bowed towards her. She curtsied. She then asked them,

"Could I steal her for a moment, gentlemen?" They all said that it was okay and she took me to the nearby balcony. "So, Suri, I have something to tell you." I looked at her in curiosity.

"What?"

"Ray was here tonight. Did you dance with a green masked man?" My eyes widened.

"Yeah. Don't tell me, that was RAY??? WHAT??? Whoa…" She laughed at my reaction.

"Yup. And guess whatBy the way, those men seemed to enjoy your company a lot." She wiggled her eyebrows.

"No, I think they like me in a friendly manner."

"I doubt it~"

"Oh, hush!!"

"Anyways, I have to go. Byee! Have fun with them~!" I pushed her jokingly away.

"Sure, whatever. Bye." I turned back to the boys. For the rest of the night, we said a lot of jokes, had a lot of laughs, and talked about random things. The boys then turned to a subject that interested me.

"You know, Suri? You would've really gotten along with our other friend, Crown Prince Liam of the Emerald Lands," said Prince Azaan.

"Do you happen to remember dancing with a man with a black and gold mask?" asked Prince Camron. My eyes widened in shock.

"THAT WAS HIM???" I exclaimed. For the second time, my mind was completely blown. The boys looked at me, faces of amusement, shock, and surprise at me because of my outburst.

"Haha, yeah. Why, Suri, do you happen to admire him?" Prince Kye asked in a teasing voice as he gave me a mischievous gummy smile. My face flushed.

"No, if she had to like one of us, she'd like me because of my awesomeness, my amazing jokes, and my, of course, very handsome face," said Prince Farhan. Prince Jadon rolled his eyes.

"Sure man," he said in a voice that had a 'Why am I his friend?' tone to it as he patted Prince Farhan's back. I giggled as all the other guys laughed.

Later in the night, the ball room was getting hot as many people were bustling about and dancing. Some of the boys were drunk with champagne.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna retire, okay? It's pretty late and stuff," I said.

"AwwWWw, oKay SuUurRi," replied Prince Camron, his face red as a rose, for he was drunk. He slung his arm around my shoulder. "GoOdnigGht thenN, PraId." I chuckled, rolled my eyes, and hauled him over to Prince Kye, Prince Devin, and Prince Farhan, the only sober ones. The others were partying their hearts out and stuffing their faces with food.

"I'll leave him to you. Goodnight everyone. I hope we all meet again someday," I told them. Prince Kye nodded.

"Okay, me too. Goodnight Praid Suri," said Prince Farhan.

"Me too. Sleep well. Goodnight," said Prince Devin.

"Same. Sweet dreams. Goodnight," said Prince Kye as he patted my back. I then retreated outside for fresh air before going to my chambers, heading towards the royal rose garden. This was a normal routine for me because I liked to sit amongst the flowers and gaze and the beautiful stars and the shining moon. I looked up into the night sky, and smiled.

"What a night..." I thought, still not over the dances, the princes, and the big reveal at the end of it all.