the beast’s first ball

Three days flew by quickly for Kiera. She occupied her time with training, and when training was over, she regularly visited King William. Most of their time together they spent talking about the different human customs they thought were odd.

Her king sometimes asked about the Third Prince. Kiera kept her cool, not allowing her king's knowing smiles and direct questions shatter her composure. She answered the questions about the prince with one or two sentences that conveyed neutrality. King William was content with her dry responses and he wouldn't pry any further throughout their time together.

On the morning of the ball, Kiera bathed with the water that was brought into the bath of her room. The palace maids wanted to assist with her bath but Kiera dismissed them. She wasn't comfortable with the thought of a stranger's hands touching her naked body. Beasts were raised on the belief such intimate touching is only done between Mated partners.

She bathed in the lukewarm water provided by the maids, and after her bath, she didn't bother touching the bottles of lotions and other fragrances the maids had left behind. A Beast's sense of smell was far too sensitive for such strong scents.

Kiera was almost dazed by the smell when she uncorked one of the glass bottles.

She quickly recapped the bottle and took the tray the maids carried them in and stored them at the most remote corner of her room. It was a mystery how Humans could douse themselves with such off-putting scents.

Kiera's ears perked up when she heard a polite knock at her room door. She quickly and half-heartedly ran a brush through her dark hair before she went to check who it was at her door.

"Pardon the intrusion your Grace." Kiera was surprised by the introduction of a new servant she hadn't seen before. This one was much more polite than the others.

"I was sent by his Highness Prince Sam to help the General prepare for the ball."

"Prepare?" The Beast General showed confusion on her face, she thought she was done preparing for the ball.

"Yes your Grace. I can help with your hair and face." The woman was of a different skill and prestige, Kiera noted as soon as the madam sat her down and began working with her hair. Her hands were nimble and they soon made quick work of Kiera's wild and rough raven locks.

The woman massaged a fine-smelling oil into her scalp and with another product, she lathered it thoroughly throughout her hair and even down to her ends. By the time the woman was done, her hair had become irresistibly soft to the touch and smelled divine. It was hard for her to resist the urge to continue stroking and smelling her own hair.

The maid twisted and curled her hair into a beautiful bun of a single braided part of her hair. When it came to her face, the woman was so focused on her that the Beast General made sure to stay deadly still as she pressed different powders onto her face. She took great care, and would sometimes step back to evaluate the progress she was making on the General.

She dipped her finger into a glass jar of rouge and gently applied it to Kiera's cheekbones. Then she cleaned her finger of the rouge to add the finishing touches to Kiera.

The servant took the tiniest brush Kiera had ever laid eyes on and picked up a sticky substance from a golden container. She gently swiped the brush over Kiera's lips, painting them a color similar to a deep berry wine.

"I have finished your Grace."

Kiera tore her eyes away from her mirrored reflection to nod at the maid.

"Thank you for your hard work. You are dismissed."

The woman only smiled faintly at her spoken gratitude, she respectfully bowed her head and left the General to watch herself through the mirror once more.

Kiera reached out to the mirror and brushed her fingertips against its smooth surface. She wondered if the maid was a sorceress hired by the Third Prince. The different powders and the different substances put on her face created a completely new image of her that it was hard to believe magic wasn't involved.

It was the same face she had always had, except, her eyes were bigger and more eye-catching with its shimmery color on her lids. Her lips were lined and painted, and all together they gave her a rather different look about her.

She couldn't go out in public looking like this. Could she?

Kiera's head quickly turned as she heard approaching footsteps outside her room. A knock shortly came afterward.

"General?" Jade's voice came out from the other side of the door. "Are you ready?"

Kiera sighed, now it was too late for her to clean off her face.

She squared off her shoulders and went to open her room door. It was now time for her first ball.

***

Kiera found out that while the woman was working on her hair and face, another servant was called to Jade's chambers to do the same. Jade could not stop telling her about the many things the maid did to her face and hair. By the sound of it, it was exactly the same as was done to her except for Jade's hairstyle, which was brushed and left to fall below her shoulders in wavy ringlets. Her makeup was kept relatively light in color.

Kiera was again amazed by such mastery. Jade had become an unparalleled beauty, so much so, that she could feel the stares of various people on them as they entered the ballroom floor.

"Entering Jade Trotter, the Second Captain of the twelfth battalion and," the announcer's voice bellowed throughout the sparkling room, "Commanding Officer and Twelfth Beast General, Kiera Blackwater."

The people below the grand and red carpeted staircase all turned to stare at the two as they descended into the crowd below.

They quickly looked for and found her other two Captains by the small banquet table that was set up. Kiera and Jade made their way towards them fairly easily as the people practically parted as soon as they neared. Kiera kept her head up as they whispered about her but made no attempt to listen in to any of their conversations. She couldn't care less what they were talking about.

She was greeted by Bryan first, but when it came to Cody, she found her young Third Captain in shock. He was frozen still, his eyes locked on Jade. Her Second Captain took it to mean something different than what Kiera was thinking.

"I look quite foolish right?' She said as she tucked a ringlet behind her ear.

Cody was so shocked by her that he completely forgot how to speak, he only quickly shook his head.

"You look wonderful," Kiera reassured her and Bryan quickly followed suit with a wordless reassuring smile.

"I must agree." All four of their heads swiveled in the direction of an incoming prince. The golden haired man walked confidently towards them, an air of radiance enveloped him. Kiera immediately noticed his hair was slicked back.

As he approached them, Kiera remembered to curtsy.

"Greetings Prince Sam."

The prince accepted hers and her captains's greetings with a simple friendly nod of his head. Then his green irises settled back on Kiera.

"You look divine General." His words sounded sincere and warm to her ears. The look in his eyes as he took her all in made something stir in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to squirm in her heeled shoes. She wanted to run away from whatever feelings that were taking root inside of her.

The music suddenly began playing, filling up the air of the room with beautifully orchestrated songs that her ears instantly enjoyed, and the guests started moving to the middle and began to dance with their chosen partners.

Kiera's eyes watched them as they seemingly glided around the floor, the dancing pairs spinning around each other in circles.

"May I have this dance?"

Her face turned in the direction of the outstretched hand. The man behind the hand smiled, and his green eyes sparkled as brilliantly as the crystal chandeliers hanging around the room.

She knew she had to reject him in order to put some distance between them. She knew and despite that, her hand moved as if it had a mind of its own.

Prince Sam gently pulled her along with him to the middle. Kiera blanched when she realized her grand mistake. She didn't know this dance.

"You can follow my steps." The prince already knew her worries as if already anticipating this problem.

Kiera nodded and before she knew it, the prince wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. She was startled by the quick action, but after he gave her a playful smile, she steeled her facial expression.

She placed her hand on his shoulder like she had seen the other women do with their partners. With their other hands clasped together, they began dancing to the music.

The dance moves were fairly simple enough for her to replicate. She had always been a fast learner anyway, but she never thought such skill would come in handy when learning how to dance in another kingdom.

"You are doing amazingly well." Prince Sam whispered to her. "I think you can stop looking at your feet now and look up."

She shifted her eyes up to the prince, not wanting to give him the idea that she had been focusing on her footwork in order to avoid his gaze.

The effect of peering into his emerald eyes was almost instantaneous. She had the rising urge to run her hands through his golden hair and mess it all up. She was scared that she wanted to do much more than that so she shut off her thinking completely and only stared back at the prince.

Their spinning figures glided across the marble floor easily with the prince's direction. "I can't seem to take my eyes off of you." He spoke in a low murmur, his voice once again stirring the unknown feeling inside her stomach. "That dress seems as if it was made for you. It makes you look like a goddess."

Kiera lowered her dark eyelashes, the feeling in her stomach was growing, becoming bigger. She was also getting warmer.

"Of course." She spoke, her voice matching the prince's volume. "It was all perfectly planned it seems."

"Your Captain earnestly asked me for my recommended shop. I only had an inkling that she would ask you to accompany her." He chuckled as she expressed her doubt on her face.

"Next time," he began, "I will take much more care not to let it slip that it was me."

"Oh, and how will you be doing that?" Her lips naturally curved into a smile.

The corners of Sam's own lips picked up, matching her smile. For a single second, his eyes went down to glance at her lips before looking back into her eyes.

"I have my ways."

Her chest rose and fell back. She couldn't deny the heat inside her now. The small action of looking down at her lips made her almost lose her restraint. Perhaps he already knew she was quickly slipping. If he asked to be her Mate, she would have accepted without much struggle.

It was like a bucket of cold water was thrown at her when she heard the screams pierce through the room.

Her head whipped around and as she pulled away from the prince, her mind sobered up as another wave of screams burst through.

"Help! Someone's been attacked!"

Those words reverberated and all the people in the ballroom sprang into a disarray in no time at all. It was utter chaos as the bodies of the different nobles crashed into one another.

Kiera left the prince's side without looking back.