Bonne Appétit

(Isabelle Pov)

I was awoken by Clara tapping on my shoulders, " You need to get in bed and Princess Jumanné along with Lenora decided to stay in here with us " she stated. "Right, right, I'll go get them" I answered before yawning and getting up of the sofa. I checked the time, and it was around eleven, there was a different guard on my balcony as expected. "Guess he took over for the night shift", I thought as I walked towards the door. I opened it slowly to come face to face with two other guards, talk about a good night scare. I told them I was going to the first guest room on the right of my bedroom, and they decided to escort me which was so unnecessary. I realized that two persons were also guarding the room that Princess Jumanné and Lenora were staying in. I acknowledged the two guards before tapping lightly on the door, couple seconds passed before the door was opened by Lenora. I greeted her again and reminded her of the plan, she then told Jumanné who was sitting on the sofa in her night gown, and we had the guards move their belongings to my bedroom. After a few minutes we re-entered my bedroom where there were now two guards on my balcony and four guards at my bedroom door. Clara and Lenora shared a bed while I shared mine with Princess Jumanné, I clapped once, and the lights went out after which we slowly drifted to sleep.

(End of Isa's Pov)

The curtains were drawn by Leo and the sunlight pierced through the windows in Princess Isabelle's room. " I was given direct orders to wake the Princesses" he said smiling cheekily. Princess Isabelle and Jumanné woke up and sat in the bed, Princess Isabelle turned to Clara realizing that Clara was mouthing something to her. " Aren't we excited for the day's proceedings that will lead up to the big event tomorrow?" he asked beaming with excitement. Princess Isabelle sat there wondering what Leo was talking about, she then turned to Clara again and that's when she realized what Clara was trying to tell her. " Oh but of course, Princess Jumanné and I are looking forward to finish planning and finally executing the annual ball" she said smiling guilty. She was ashamed that she forgot about the ball firstly and to make matters worse she forgot that it was the future Queens' responsibility to finish planning it; taking up where their parents had left off. This symbolized leadership in their Kingdoms, just like they would have to continue their parents' legacy in being Queens. The Princesses had to showcase their leadership skills by taking over the final preparations for the ball and it was their responsibility that everything ran smoothly. "Well then, I'll leave you to get dressed and you will have breakfast using the smaller outdoor dining table as you will be meeting with the grand council for us to get your final opinions on the concept for the ball . As for you two, their attires should be ready to be approved by the Royal family by eight tonight and remember it is a Masquerade ball so they will need a fitting mask to go with the attire. Allow me to remind you that the theme is mystical, so I'll leave you to get to it. Princesses Isabelle and Jumanné, you are expected to arrive for breakfast in the next hour, thank you" he finished while bowing before exiting the room.

" No pressure" said Lenora and everyone chuckled at this. Lenora had drawn the layout of Princess Jumanné's outfit, and she had brought all the necessary materials to bring it to life, Clara had also made some sketches and had an idea of how she wanted Isabelle to look. The two designers got up and went in the dressing room to choose an outfit for the Princesses to wear throughout the day. It had to be something comfortable as they would be doing a lot of walking and work so changing during the day would be entirely out of the question. Clara settled on a casual pink and white floral dress with pink flats and a white tiara while Princess Isabelle took her bath, she had told Señor Kenny to take the two days off since his services were not needed by Isabelle. After Princess Isabelle emerged from the bathroom, Princess Jumanné went to take her bath while Lenora picked out a purple and white skirt suit with white flats and a Silver tiara. Princess Isabelle got dressed and was now sitting patiently as Clara gave her a ponytail. Princess Jumanné came out of the bathroom and got dressed, soon after her hair was braided in two and they had a couple minutes to spare. " Well, I wish we could help you; I mean from just standing here I can imagine the amount of work that the two of you have to do" said Clara with genuine care. "But you can, both of you could help with choosing the color codes for the decoration of the ball room," said Princess Isabelle. "Better yet, we're going to do something that should have been done a long time ago, both of you will help with the planning of the Masquerade ball as I'll appoint you as our assistants, be ready in ten minutes " Stated Princess Jumanné smiling. "Superb idea Jum, now we can have your opinions on everything", said Princess Isabelle turning towards Clara and Lenora in approval.

"Really? thank you so much" beamed Lenora, both designers were excited, they would finally be a part of an important tradition. Princess Isabelle agreed with the decision and after hugging both designers, the Princesses exited the bedroom making their way to the outdoor dining table where they could hear laughter. They greeted everyone before taking their seats beside each other with the grand council sitting on the other side. "Lovely morning Princesses, let's get down to business, what color floral arrangements would you place in the ball room" asked Leo, the head of the grand council. " It is a lovely morning indeed, Firstly, let me just say that we appointed Clara and Lenora as our assistants. They will help with any decisions in tandem with the decor and they should be down any minute now" announced Princess Isabelle proudly. Leo's face fell, " you appointed your maids?" he asked rudely, designers actually" Clara stated arriving at the perfect moment with Lenora at her side.

"Please sit, here" Princess Isabelle said gesturing towards the dining table, Clara and Lenora hesitantly sat down. "Now Listen, our parents have no problem with this decision, am I correct?" asked Princess Jumanné, to which King Dejean, Queen Latifa, Queen Melaine and King Rafael agreed, that was all the confirmation they needed. The grand council's vote was not necessary, "Now Leo, you will treat our two assistants here with the same respect that you would use with the grand council. They are just as important, understood" enforced Princess Isabelle, it was more of a statement than a question. Leo sighed and agreed before proceeding. Clara and Lenora had breakfast with the Royal family and the grand council for the first time and they enjoyed it. They made creative suggestions and answered the questions that the grand council threw at them with ease, they were so helpful in the theoretical part of the planning and after breakfast it was time to see to that everything went as planned.

After breakfast the first stop was the Royal office where Princesses Isabelle and Jumanné would sign of on all the received invitations to confirm that the guest coming were actually invited. They arrived in the office and took a seat while the grand council waited outside, to the Princesses surprise three of the invitations were already signed for. Clara and Lenora were going to look in the records, but Leo came rushing in to verify that he had special orders to sign for those three invitations, orders from the Kings. Princess Isabelle then left the three invitations and signed for the remaining four hundred and ninety-seven with the help of Princess Jumanné. They also had to sign for the flowers, decorations and other materials before leaving the office. Upon the completion of that tiring task, they had a ten-minute break to rest which they all appreciated. They sat on a nearby sofa while Señor Kenny and two waitresses delivered bottles of water to everyone along with novelty sandwiches, they were life savers. After eating, the next stop was the grand kitchen where the preparation of all the food, drinks and juices would take place.

Princess Jumanné made sure that all the ingredients needed for tomorrow were there by checking with the chefs and the food manager, ticking items off her long list as she went along. In the meantime, Princess Isabelle made sure that everything was perfect with the seating arrangement for the dinner after the Masquerade ball. The other royal families would be upfront, and the people would be seated to the back, the seating arrangements had to give enough space for the waitresses to move freely to avoid accidents.

After Princess Isabelle met back up with Princess Jumanné, they all headed to the ball room where the most work awaited. Upon arrival Princesses Isabelle and Jumanné turned to Clara and Lenora the same exact time whispering with wide eyes. " The ball attires" to which the realization hit Clara and Lenora like a brick to the head. They were so caught up in helping the Princesses that they forgot that they had to design the dresses. Luckily, they remembered early, it was after eleven, so they had enough time to work their magic. Clara and Lenora hugged the princesses, " you two were naturals at this but we can take it from here, now go and do what you do best" said Princess Isabelle before letting go of them. They then ran back in the direction of the Westward region of the Kingdom before disappearing in the distance. " Why, are they leaving so soon, did they finally realized that they belong in a clothing store" whispered Leo to another member of the grand council. But being as observant as they were, both Princesses heard this and turned around in sync, " Is there something you would like to say Leo" asked Princess Jumanné. " Is there?, say it now or forever hold your peace, because those two who " belong in a clothing store" are now official members of the grand council. We will vote on it when we are through here" stated Princess Isabelle. The displeasure was showcased on Leo's face while the other members of the grand council were pleased with Isabelle's decision, after all Leo could be a prick sometimes.

They all entered the ball room and looked around, there were roughly forty persons already in awaiting the Princesses orders. There were twelve members of the grand council if Lenora and Clara were counted. Princess Isabelle divided the persons in groups of five with herself and Princess Jumanné being a pair. She assigned different tasks to each group, such as cleaning, decorations- placing the banner, repainting walls to match the theme, floral arrangements, creative decorations, replacing the carpet and so on, checking security, lighting arrangements, arrangements with the assigned musicians. Princesses Isabelle and Jumanné took it up on themselves to deal with the seating on the grand stage for the Royal families while everyone else went to work. "Fifty seats can be placed here, after all everyone will be dancing, so the seats are for when the Royal families are tired so I don't think we need more than Fifty" said Princess Jumanné to which Princess Isabelle agreed. They started out with the set up and spacing; three hours later they placed the last Royal chair. "Phew I wonder how Clara and Lenora are holding up" asked Princess Isabelle, " The rate at which those two work, I think they finished a long time ago and are just relaxing" said Princess Jumanné chuckling. "You're right, we are finished but we can't relax knowing that you need the help" said Clara, again walking towards Isabelle at the perfect moment. "Don't even ask, you won't see them until you're getting dressed tomorrow", said Lenora smiling widely.

"Well fair enough, I'm just glad that you guys are here" said Princess Isabelle tiredly, " This place is huge" stated Clara looking around in awe. "Tell me about it" agreed Lenora, it was their first time in the ballroom but definitely not their last. They all used the stairs to leave the grand stage and when they were in the center of the room once again, Leo walked over to where they were standing. "Princesses, Bows or Roses" he asked holding up a black and white bow and a red rose. Clara answered, " The Roses look more mystical which is the theme so you can alternate between the black, red and white rose with the cloth that you're going to use as decoration to bring of the mysterious vibe. You can also make the background of this whole place based on like a night in a mystical forest with the lighting and some special effects". Lenora agreed " yeah that would be perfect, and the tablecloth use could also be black or grey to bring of the shady look. The floral arrangements that will be placed on the tables can also be black, red and white roses alternatively" she said looking around. "The Princesses!" Leo emphasized rudely, " What they said" answered Princess Isabelle gesturing towards Clara and Lenora with the same amount of sass. Leo bowed and walked off with a scowl knowing that he was not allowed to argue with the decision.

Four hours later a tired looking Clara, Lenora, Princess Isabelle and Jumanné exited the ball room with the grand council and the other assistants following suit. It was now after seven and they finally wrapped up feeling pleased with what they had achieved. The team completed the more tiring task leaving the easiest ones for tomorrow morning. After bidding their fair wells they started walking back to where the outdoor dining room was. They greeted the guards and entered the palace making their way up to Princess Isabelle's bedroom. After entering Isabelle and Jumanné went straight to the bathroom and in the meantime Clara and Lenora picked out their night gowns and bed slippers before leaving to meet with the Royal family. The Royal family was seated in the living room awaiting their arrival. They entered the room and showcased their pieces with dignity, everyone was in awe as expected. Clara and Lenora were on point with the theme, accurate in their measurements and creative with their designs as always. Every member of the Royal family approved of both attires and Señor Kenny took them to hang in the dressing room.

After the Royal family finished praising Clara and Lenora, they returned to Princess Isabelle's bedroom to find them dead asleep. They smiled and covered them with the blankets. "About Luke and Alejandro" Clara said before being interrupted by Lenora. "Yeah I find them sketchy too", " ok great just wanted to make sure we were on the same page" finished Clara. Queen Melaine knocked lightly before entering, "Oh they are out cold, must have been a long day" she said. "Yeah it was but you aren't supposed to be concerned about it your highness, you shouldn't even see them until they are dressed tomorrow" said Clara smiling."Well this will be our little secret, nobody has to know" she said whispering causing both Clara and Lenora to chuckle. Queen Melaine wished them a good night before exiting the room. Clara and Lenora went to bed and clapped once taking the lights out.

Leo's (Pov)

I answered an unknown number, "Look Lee yang, I'll get......", "Woah Leo take it easy, I find it impressive that you know Lee Yang but I'm just here to say congratulations" replied a Raspy voice. "Ohh John, it's been a while" I said smiling forcefully as I was in the elevator with the other members of the grand council. "Cut the bullshit, Leo, you have just become a very wealthy man, thank you for your services today and tomorrow in advance" he finished before hanging up. I came off the elevator and made my way to my assigned room, "Yeah but do the consequences outweighs the benefits" I asked myself before entering.