The ball part 1

"Just one more thing…" Evodine was helping out with makeup and disguising their non-human features, she changed Brem's skin color to be a bit darker and eventually the green disappeared. He looked at himself in the mirror and touched his chin. He still had large teeth but he more or less seemed more human. He just smiled and let out a small laugh before he placed on the mask which covered his whole face.

"There we go… Now I pass as a human." Evodine then fixed Edeltria's hair so it would cover her ears and made her dress slightly more shiny. And lastly it was Eris' turn. She wore the black dress with the gloves and the necklace was hanging down, being the only other color she wore. She held the mask in her hand and seemed insecure.

"Don't I look too depressing?" She asked to which Evodine placed her hands on Eris' shoulders.

"Of course not. Let me paint your face dear, you'll soon see the results." Evodine's hands felt gentle as she placed makeup on Eris, painting her lips red then placed the mask on her as well before styling her hair.

"You can look now." Evodine seemed extremely excited as she moved away from the mirror. The reflection Eris saw wasn't her, or at least she didn't recognize herself. Her hair was no longer blue with shades of purple. It was dark brown.

Her skin seemed only pale without any scales being visible. Looking at herself with red lips, a beautiful gown and her hair beautifully styled, she felt like a princess. She turned around to look at Evodine and smiled.

"Thank you, you did an amazing job." Evodine seemed flattered but just shrugged and laughed.

"Just doing my job!"

The high priestess soon joined who gave a warm smile.

"You all look beautiful. No one will notice anything." The high priestess then moved away from the entrance to let the other priestess in and gave each one of them a weapon and a blessed item. Daggers were strapped to one's thigh, hidden under the loads of fabric. The blessed items were jewlery like rings, necklaces and earrings.

"Use the weapons to protect yourselves and may the goddess Edel protect you. Now follow me. General Haagensen is waiting for you at the surface with the carriage. He'll be waiting for you outside the palace close to the ocean." They followed her to the surface and then entered the carriage. It was rather small and the three of them would just fit to be comfortable.

"Take care… And good luck. I'll be praying for your sake." Eris nodded and swallowed harshly. When the carriage started moving, so did her stomach. Soon they'll be there… She had no idea how things would go. They barely had any plan except making the king unfreeze the kingdom. How hard could that be right?

Edeltria reached out her hand to hold Eris' which comforted her slightly. They looked at each other with determination. They had each other and they will stick together. They went through their plan. They would mingle a but and gather information about the king and wait for him to appear. Then they would need to sneak off with him. However it was a difficulty because they didn't know the castle's layout.

That's where Cashimir comes in, hoping he would help them…

The sun had already set when they arrived. Haagensen dropped them off a bif further from the palace so they wouldn't notice it was a dwarf who was controlling the carriage, then they went their own ways.

Arriving at the entrance of the castle, there were a ton of carriages parked outside, the poor servants having to wait outside until they had their fun. And it was extremely chilly outside as well. The three of them quickly rushed inside and went past the guards without a problem, assuming they were guests as well.

The ballroom was filled with nobles, wearing tons of expensive jewelry and clothes. Their masks were decorated with gemstones as well. Eris how nervosity was bubbling inside her while Brem and Edeltria seemed confident.

They were walking around and mingling, after a while they got separated. Which is when she saw Cashimir, wearing all white with a white swan mask, looking almost like a tiara on him.

His hair was in a braid as well and he seemed to be talking to someone else who looked like the night sky itself.

The girl soon was pulled away by someone who looked like ice. So she took the chance and moved closer to Cashimir then tapped him lightly on the shoulder. She quickly straightened her back, trying to seem more confident and appealing.

He slowly turned around with a smile on his face. He looked straight into her eyes and she could feel how her knees weakened.

"Excuse me, but may I have the first dance with you?"

"Of course, I've been saving it just for you. You can have my last dance as well." He reached his hand for Eris' then together they moved to the dance floor as the music started.

Eris' heart was beating, the touch from his hand felt comforting against her back. She missed his touch more than she imagined. But she doubted if he knew it was really her… Would he say such a line to someone he doesn't know?

"Black really suits you." He whispered into my ear during the dance, keeping me close. She felt how her face became hot, trying to hide it more than the mask already did. That's when she noticed a crystal flower pinned on his jacket. Colors that looked similar to her eyes.

"I would have recognised you even if you didn't wear the flower. But I appreciate the gesture, Eris." Cashimir gave her a warm smile and then twirled her around, soon pulling her close into his arms again. It didn't matter if they were surrounded by other people, it felt like it was just the two of them. Eris almost forgot what she actually came for, almost.

"I was worried you would wear another type of costume but… Seems like white swans are really what symbolizes you now. It was easy to find you in the crowd." He bit his lip and rolled his eyes.

"Original I know. But I didn't actually pick the costume. The king did." The blood suddenly froze inside of her when he mentioned the king. Cashimir who seemed to notice quickly changed the subject. But before he could say anything, the music stopped and thus the dance ended.

He slowly let go but both of them seemed to hesitate, like once they let go they wouldn't be able to touch each other again.

"Th-the buffet is said to be good-"

"I have something else I need to take care of. I'm sorry Cashimir." Eris slowly turned around and walked away from him, no matter how painful it was. Her mission to make him end the eternal ice was more important than her own feelings…