Tonight is the Night

Princess Isabelle woke up and yawned before getting out of bed, after her vision cleared, she saw a satisfying looking Jumanné coming out of the bathroom wrapped in a bath towel. "Look who's finally up", she said as she walked over to Clara's bed. Princess Isabelle looked over to the bed to find it well made with two attires laid out, "Good morning, where's Clara and Lenora?", she asked curiously. "They went with the rest of the grand council early this morning to finish up the decorations for the ball room. In the meantime, we should head down for breakfast where there will be a vote for their membership, after which we will check to make sure all the baked goods that were delivered this morning are what we ordered, then we will have the rest of the day to get prepped for the ball" stated Princess Jumanné. "Sounds good, Clara and Lenora deserved to be on this team from day one", said Princess Isabelle. " Exactly, never seen two persons more passionate about what they do and who they do it with, there loyalty is unmatched" agreed Princess Jumanné.

Princess Isabelle agreed before disappearing in the bathroom, she reappeared ten minutes later to see Princess Jumanné dressed and ready for the challenges that the day would bring. She was wearing a grey sweater dress that rested comfortably above her knees with grey boots and a silver tiara wearing her hair in a messy bun, "Clara and Lenora really went for a chill look today", noted Princess Isabelle now eyeing her outfit. Princess Isabelle got dressed in a baby blue jeans dress that sat above her knees with a heart cut out at the back and a golden-brown wedge sneaker with a gold tiara, sporting her hair in a messy throwback. They looked in the mirror, then exited the room heading to the outdoor dining table ready to get the results for Clara and Lenora. They greeted Mr. Kenny who handed them the envelope with the results as they took a seat around the empty dining table. The grand council were apparently still in the ball room and the Royal family wouldn't be seen until it was time for the ball. The waitresses came and served the meal, While Princess Isabelle opened the envelope with her heart pounding in her chest. "Don't be nervous Princess, open the letter", pushed Mr. Kenny to which Princess Isabelle smiled eagerly.

She opened it and took out the results, seeing where nine out of ten members voted for Clara and Lenora. Princess Isabelle also saw where the Kings and queens approved of the voting. She smiled relaxed this time and shared the results with Mr. Kenny and Princess Jumanné who were waiting anxiously. Princess Isabelle was so happy that she even showed it to the waitresses who had no idea of what was going on. Princess Jumanné and Mr. Kenny both laughed at her silly but genuine reaction. "This is it, Clara and Lenora are officially apart of the grand council, maybe being a princess isn't that bad ", stated Princess Isabelle aloud. She then realized her mistake and looked over to see confused looking waitresses and Princess Jumanné dying of laughter. Whether it was the results or the upcoming ball, the Princesses realized that they couldn't stop smiling as they ate their breakfast. The next stop would be the grand kitchen.

They arrived in the kitchen twenty minutes later and we're consulted by the head chefs and the food manager. "Today should be your day off, both of you have done so much already, we will take it from here", said Lehydra, the food manager. The Princesses were up for an argument, but they realized that they were outnumbered so they gave the orders to the food manager, thanked the entire cuisine team and left heading back to the palace. "Well talk about bossy", said Princess Jumanné laughing, they learnt from the best, agreed princess Isabelle chuckling. They re-entered the bedroom and immediately realized that Clara and Lenora had returned. Princess Isabelle and Jumanné gave them a warm hug before sharing the exciting news. The color left their faces for a split second before returning, they looked at each other with wide eyes then looked back at the princesses. Clara and Lenura gave them another heartfelt hug but this time holding onto them a little bit longer. It came as a complete shock to them because they had no idea that they were even considered to be a part of the council let alone being successfully appointed as new members. "When did you? How? Being your assistant was already an honor but this, I don't know what to say", stated Clara feeling overwhelmed; while Lenora was still frozen unable to speak.

"Well, it was about time, let me give a brief summary of what these positions will entail, you will be invited to every event, your opinions will help to determine what's best for the kingdom, no major decision can be made without your vote, you will have to learn all the languages that we know, you're invited on all of our vacations as well as when we visit different kingdoms. Basically, you will have to multitask because I wouldn't choose anybody else in this world to be our stylists, ohh I've been going on and on haven't I", beamed Princess Isabelle. " Yes, you have isa, but I hope it's not too much" stated Princess Jumanné concerned. "Are you serious! Too much? more like too much of a dream, thank you so much", Lenora finally said recovering from her frozen state. The Princesses let them in on the perks of being a member of the council, well the perks of being royalty and they took it all in. The girls would have to meet with the rest of the members after the ball to be directed on the important tasks that lied ahead. The ball was scheduled to begin at seven, so they had until four to start getting ready.

It was time, Clara and Lenora had that crazy look in their eyes as they returned from the Royal dressing room with the Princesses costumes. The princesses' breaths got swept away, they couldn't believe that those pieces were created for them. Clara and Lenora looked at each other and nodded before getting to work, an hour later they both did the finishing touches before exiting the dressing room. Princess Jumanné, you first, stated Clara sitting on the bed. Princess Jumanné strutted out of the dressing room before turning, giving a wink and posing for Clara to see Lenora's creation. Clara gasped with the first glance, Princess Jumanné was portraying a dark angel, she was wearing a black skin fitting dress above the knees showcasing her curves with black mesh sleeves and black mesh covering the cut out at the stomach. Black laced high knee boots, a tiara with halo covered in black diamonds, a meshed mask that covered her eyes, black contact lens and her dark hair was pinned to one side flowing freely down her waist. Princess Jumanné had on black eyeshadow and a little mascara, golden highlights, fangs with shocking red lipstick and to top it all off black wings that had traces of black diamonds at each corner and a necklace with blood red Sapphire rocks to bring of her lipstick. She looked deadly magnificent. "Lenora! (Sigh) How? how did you even come up....... I'm left breathless, Julia, no offense but Princess Jumanné has Alejandro on lock tonight ", Clara stated whilst breathing heavily and holding on to the left side of her chest. Lenora chuckled at Clara's dramatic reaction.

Princess Jumanné stood there smiling dangerously as Lenora called out Princess Isabelle, "Isa your turn to stop my heart, she said, and she did just that. Princess Isabelle modeled towards where Clara and Lenora were seated, she did a turn and flashed a seductive smile. She was slaying a black riding hood look, sporting a black leather dress that sat perfectly on her tiny waist and extended at her hips sitting comfortably above her knees. A black leather cape pinned at her neck with a white diamond shaped as a skull and of course the hood was at the back. Princess Isabelle was wearing black combat boots, her snowy white hair was braided in a fish bone style with a few strands curled at the front and in her not wearing a crown, Clara made up for it with jewelry pins. At the opposite sides of her braids there were pins with black diamonds shaped like roses to contrast with her hair, her mask was made out of black leather, and she was wearing a choker with black and white diamonds covering it alternatively. The mask covered her eyes only showing her white contacts, she was wearing grey eye shadow with a little mascara, pink highlights and fangs with red lipstick. To top it all off she had a fake sword that she stuck in the scabbard designed on her dress which was connected to her belt. "Girl, you better go back in that closet so I can breathe, Clara! My lungs! Send her back! Isa Luke is already lifeless, I see his spirit levitating, a dream but a nightmare" stated Lenora in bewilderment. "A saint but a savage", Princess Isabelle replied cheekily looking at princess Jumanné, they both did an evil grin before asking Clara and Lenora to use the remaining 40 minutes to get dressed.

The feeling that came with seeing the pieces on paper and creating them is nothing compared to how Clara and Lenora felt after seeing the Princesses wearing them. They heard a knock on the door before opening it to find Leo holding four small boxes handing it to them. He then bid them farewell and left. In the boxes were four bracelets two silver and two black. All of them however had the same design, they curled around your hand and extend to the finger kind of like a glove, the interesting part though was that their names were imprinted on the bracelets. This must have been the finishing product of what they were creating to help with security, stated Clara handling the bracelets with care. you're right and they finished in time for you guys to get also which was amazing, replied Princess Isabelle. The Princesses slid on the bracelets that tied in perfectly with their outfits not bothering to ask how they worked. Now it was time for Clara and Lenora to get dressed. They entered the dressing room to get ready while Princess Isabelle and Jumanné sat on the sofa waiting for them to showcase their attires. Twenty minutes later Lenora called from inside the dressing room, "Are you ready? It's nothing like yours but.... she was interrupted by Princess Isabelle, "Just get your butts out here".

Lenora walked out of the dressing room confidently and waved smiling as she went, she was portraying cat women. Wearing a black leather crop top with the same color skirt that was really short to begin with. Her brown hair was loose, and she had on a black cat ear with silver boots, her silver bracelet and a silver mask that highlighted yellow contacts. She was wearing hot pink lipstick, grey eyeshadow, silver highlights and to finish the look a tail along with extended nails in the form of claws. Lenora looked almost perfect, Princess Isabelle got up and look in her Jewelry drawer where she found a cat ear with silver Sapphire rocks. She replaced the black cat ear with the silver, "Now you look perfect", she said. " Len, you look extravagant", beamed Princess Jumanné giving Lenora a long look. "Clara it's your time to shine", shouted Princess Isabelle, " I was born ready ladies, here I come", she replied, walking out slowly, smiling, she was portraying an elf. Sporting a black sleeveless dress that had a split to the left side. The dress had a heart shaped opening at the breast, and it fitted her petite body wonderfully coming to an abrupt stop at the knees. She was wearing Red wedged boots, A floral crown made with red and black roses, cute elf ears and her curly black hair was loose. She had on red eye shadow with a touch of mascara and red lipstick, her silver bracelet, red mask that highlighted light green contacts and a green glove made from Vines with roses for the extra touch. Princess Jumanné took out a pin with blood red diamonds that shaped like roses and placed it at the center of Clara's floral crown. "Both of you look dashing, you'll definitely marry a prince tonight", exclaimed Princess Jumanné. Now the squad was ready, it was almost time for the introduction and the start of the masquerade ball, it was going to be an interesting night.

They arrived at the entrance of the ball room where they saw the grand council. Princess Isabelle realized that only members of the grand council had silver bracelets, the Royal family had black, and the guards had dark blue. She wondered what the specific colors meant. Princesses Isabelle and Jumanné were greeted by their parents for the first time since yesterday morning. They too looked breathtaking, Queen Melaine was portraying an angel wearing a white ball gown that covered silver heels, white mask and her dark brown hair was in an elegant upsweep. She was also sporting a silver crown with diamonds and white wings. On the other hand, King Rafael was wearing a white tuxedo to match Queen Melaine, white shoes, white mask and also white wings. In contrast Queen Latifa and King Dejean were portraying vampires. She was dressed as Mina Harper; Dracula's wife and he was dressed as Dracula. They looked stunning, her hair was in an asymmetrical style as she rocked a red gown with a black high collar. A black tiara with red emerald, fangs, red lipstick, gothic makeup, red mask and to finish the looks a pair of black heels. King Dejean was in a black tuxedo with red high collar, red shirt, black shoes, black mask, fangs and a black crown with red emeralds. There attires were not only fashionable but on point when it came to the theme. The grand council were greeting the royal families from the other kingdoms and escorting them in the ballroom.

The musicians started to play, and it was time for the Royal family of Roséno and Loudéfe to enter the ballroom. It was astonishing once again seeing Clara's and Lenora's ideas coming to life. The overall look was like a foggy night deep in a mystical forest, the musicians added to the mood with the type of instrumentals that were being played. The carpet was a dark green and where there were fake trees, there were scattered leaves under them to carry the forest theme. The lighting was a round chandelier that represented the moon, the table with snacks had black, red and white roses as the center pieces. The tablecloth was crimson red, black and white alternatively, there were Vines hanging from the roof with roses on them. The banner left everyone speechless, it read, "Welcome to this mysterious Masquerade ball where your love for mystery is deemed more important than your identity". The banner was red, with black and white designs and it was truly a sight. Upon entering Princess Isabelle thought she saw Luke and Alejandro staring at them before exiting the ballroom. She mentioned it to Princess Jumanné but after another glance, they disappeared as if they were swallowed by the crowd. The Princesses quickly recovered from their distraction and accompanied the royal family on the grand stage. They greeted the other families before taking a seat. Leo came on the stage with a microphone and did the general introduction for the ball to begin.

"Here comes the trolls", whispered Clara to princess Jumanné and when she looked up, she understood exactly what Clara meant. It was Maverick and Mason, the two most annoying Princes in the entire kingdom. Princess Isabelle sighed deeply already annoyed with anything that was going to come from their mouths. "Lovely night isn't it, you guys did a magnificent job with the decorations, mmmh , but I would have used a lot more expensive stuff like diamonds, gold, emeralds even", stated Mason in his Italian accent as he scanned the ballroom. " My oh My, I apologize for not decorating OUR Masquerade ball to your liking Prince Mason, you should have given direct orders, maybe then we would value your opinion, in terms of your request of fancy jewelry, we have nothing to prove if it is that you're questioning the wealth of our kingdoms", finished Princess Isabelle. "But of course not, my brother, here was just making a suggestion, never mind that, the real reason we came over was to ask for your hands in the first dance", said Maverick breaking the tension. "Well, he should work on his communication skills, because his "suggestion" sounded more like a stuck-up opinion trying to be placed nicely as a command for future reference and my team and I worked hard to bring this theme to life", stated Princess Jumanné. Both princesses were planning to decline the invitation as politely as possible when their mother's but in who were oblivious to the previous conversation.

"Oh but of course they would love to dance" they replied in unison. Princesses Isabelle and Jumanné bit their lips in annoyance before getting up to go on the dance floor. Princes Maverick and Mason were princes of Unerria in Italy, they were really handsome, but they didn't have an inch of personality to accompany the good looks. The country and the people were amazing as are the King and Queen, but Only God knows what happened to the princes, they were a complete pain in the ass. Maverick took Princess Isabelle's hand while Mason did the same with Princess Jumanné. They began to salsa and the crowd stopped to watch, in doing this energetic dance the princes decided that it was the "perfect" time' to have a conversation. "My My, black riding hood, did I mention how stunning you look tonight", prince Maverick said before switching Princess Isabelle with Princess Jumanné. "Tell your brother, that if he keeps looking at me like that, I'm going reduce his chances of having any children", stated Princess Isabelle in disgust while Mason gave her a fast spin and caught her back by the waist. "But I don't blame him, I can't take my eyes off you", he said, Princess Isabelle scoffed. They switched back places and both princes supported the princesses backs for them to do a back bend with one leg in the air. "ooh la la", the princes said in unison, they switched places again but this time princess Isabelle and Jumanné were shimming together while the princes were doing the same.

"I don't know how much more of these two I can take", stated princess Jumanné with obvious annoyance. "I agree, I can't wait for this to end so those sorry excuse for princes don't have an excuse to put their hands on me", replied princess Isabelle giving Princess Jumanné a spin before continuing to salsa. The crowd was now cheering them on, "Well yeah but then another prince will come along asking for the same thing and then another, have you forgotten that we are supposed to spend time with them to choose ten to court", stated Princess Jumanné. "Ooh don't remind me, I beg", pleaded princess Isabelle. They switched back places and both Princes held on to the Princesses waist and pulled them closer as the song came to an end.

The Princesses gave a polite smile and turned away walking breathlessly to return to their seats. Someone else approached them but upon observation, the Princesses realized that it was Leo to their relief. He gave them a letter saying two gentlemen outside wanted them to read it. Princess Isabelle got excited remembering what she saw earlier. The letter read "Black riding hood and Dark angel, I would recognize you both from a mile away, meet us in the outside fitting room, yours truly Alejandro and Luke'. They didn't even think it through, the Princesses wanted to leave the ball room before another prince approached them. They winked at Clara before making their way to exit the ballroom and Leo volunteered to make their parents aware of their whereabouts. The princesses made their way through the darkness with the aid of the moonlight, lighting on the palace and the lamps beside the pool. Two guards were standing in front of the pool, they greeted the princesses as they walked by. "Bet you fifty Euros, they come back out in the next hour", the other replied " I say the next thirty minutes but deal, seriously what do women do in the bathroom that takes so long", questioned the other guard. The light in the fitting room was on so they gladly entered, only to find it empty. The Princesses were about to leave when they heard the doors being closed followed by the whisper of a Raspy voice. "Aaah, princesses, treasures Worth stealing right", the Princesses panicked as they felt a shiver run up their spines. "Authur!" Their trembling lips whispered in unison. The lights went out and with it their consciousness, "but, but the ball", was the last thing that princess Isabelle uttered before being engulfed by complete darkness.

"Ok you win, here's your fifty but let's check on the Princesses, they have been in there for a while now", said one of the guards paying the other. They both went and knocked on the door only to hear complete silence. They then waited five more minutes before deciding to use a spare key to open it. Clara and Lenora were now looking for the Princesses as they had been gone a while, so they came walking in the same direction and saw the guards at the door. "What seems to be the problem boys, we aren't peeking are we", asked Clara amused by their embarrassed reaction. "No definitely not, it just that the Princesses went in there over an hour ago and they haven't return" one said genuinely concerned. Clara's and Lenora's heart stopped, they ran to the doors and used the Spare key to open it pushing the haunting thoughts to the back of their minds. The door opened and they turned on the lights revealing Princess Jumanné's halo tiara on the floor along with one of Princess Isabelle's rose pins. All positivity disappeared along with Clara's and Lenora's emotions, they felt numb. "Is this some kind of sick joke, because it's not funny", said Lenora turning to the guards with fear in her eyes as she had flashbacks of the happenings since week. The person on the balcony, Isabelle's phone call, the note, they all lead up to this moment.

I promise you it isn't, we would never joke about something like this, replied one of the guards. Lenora's head started spinning with thoughts of confusion, denial, sadness, anger and fear. They went a little further to see the backdoor of the fitting room open. Lenora found a note on the floor and after reading it, the emotions came rushing in, she burst in tears and hugged Clara. Clara too started crying without seeing what was on the note. She knew it couldn't be anything good, after reading it her knees gave out, she fell to the floor and handed the note to the two guards. Lenora tried to comfort Clara but she herself needed comforting, she sat on the floor and hugged Clara as she felt exactly what Clara was feeling. The guards after reading the note wasted no time in contacting the rest of the team. They pressed a silver button on the bracelet and started to speak reporting the matter to everyone wearing a bracelet. The hologram of the guards speaking came up on Clara's and Lenora's bracelets, but they were in no state of mind to focus on what was really happening. The guards after reporting comforted them and carried them back to the ballroom bridal style, they brought them on the grand stage to sit down. The guards were so sweet that if it weren't for the situation Clara and Lenura would actually have been interested in them. Clara took the note and handed it to King Rafael with tears running down her face, ruining her makeup. He wasted no time in reading it aloud, "Princesses are treasures Worth stealing, yours truly Authur", Kings Rafael and Dejean expressions darkened as they looked over at their wives.

"Look, you have to move fast and get out of the country now! The entire Kingdom has just been alerted, it's just a matter of time before the search starts", Leo whispered on the phone. "Why are you so scared my friend? We are now at the airport, there's nothing to worry about, I'll wire your amount to you as soon as we arrive", answered a Raspy voice. Clara needed some air, so she went outside only to overhear Leo talking on the phone. "We are not friends, Authur", he said before hanging up and re-entering the ball room to speak with the king. Clara called Lenora and told her what she just found out, "he's probably going to inform the kings about it now", finished Clara. They re-entered the ballroom hand in hand returning to the grand stage to be of service to the Royal families as the grand council and not once did Leo bring up the phone call. Clara and Lenora did not know what to think.