It was the night before the masked ball and my nerves were killing me. The prince, just like he promised, brought me a dress and a mask. The dress was in the colour of blood, strapless and expensive looking. When I tried it on, I felt like a princess and the devil at the same time. If I had to describe it in one word, I would choose 'empowering'. I looked royal, beautiful and deadly. The mask was the same colour as the gold I have stolen from the vault and decorated with rubies.
Next to the box that the mask and the dress were in, there was another. When I opened a pair of golden shoes appeared and I gasped. They were the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. Heels, three inches high and the golden strap that circles around the leg up to the knee.
I stared at them in awe for a moment longer and then decided to try them on.
Funny thing, though. They were painful as fuck. At the moment I put them on my feet cramped. And don't even get me started on walking with them. I made two steps before I first fell on the floor and scraped my knees.
"Devil's work." I whispered as I tried-and failed-to take another walk around the room.
This just won't work. There is no way I would get used to them before the ball begins.
I took the shoes off and put them back in the box. Then I put my boots back on and just hoped the dress was long enough to hide them.
And it was, thank goddesses. Now, all that there's left to do is to come up with a plan on how to embarrass the king.
Many ideas swam through my head; throw a drink at him, cut his hair off, stole the crown from his head, put a knife through his heart...
And no matter how entertaining the last thought was, the problem remained. In order to do anything, I would have to get close to him. Which, considering his personal guard won't be easy.
I thought and thought and thought. At the end there was only one solution to my problem. I would have to seduce him, get him to notice me and ask me for a dance.
I wondered how am I going to do that, when it hit me.
"Damn him!" I shouted. The dark prince bought me that dress on purpose! Of course a girl like me would never get anything like that. And while we are at it, let's just point out that the reason I got this assignment was for my special set of skills, skills of seducing. Although, I have none to be honest, but I guess the prince wouldn't really know what my previous job entailed. I am a dork, not a mistress and a seducer. There is no way I will get the king to ask me to dance, unless the dress holds some magical power.
--
Next evening, after I got dressed up and went downstairs, feeling ridiculous, I still didn't know what exactly I'll do to get king embarrassed.
In the main room, the prince was already waiting for me, along with Median and Evren.
"Damn, girl, you look incredible!" Median shouted as she saw me and I blushed at her words, my eyes escaping to the dark lord involuntarily, who didn't bother acknowledging my presence and just kept on playing with his nice.
"Al-, I mean Diana, you clean up nicely." Evren told me and I smiled up at him.
"Thank you. I am here to catch an eye of his royal highness, after all." At that, the prince actually looked my way and I tactically added. "I hear king is hard to impress."
"Are you ready?" The impatient voice asked, "I have a carriage waiting outside."
"A carriage?" I wondered.
"How else would a lady attain the ball? Although, you are no lady, but the dress is deceiving." He said, as kindly as ever.
I send a glare in his direction and went to the carriage. "Let's not keep the horseman waiting."
The carriage was just like the ones you see in fairy tales. It was big and red, matching my dress, green and gold branches painted all over it. In the front of it sat a horseman dressed in all black and a red tie. The horseman held a long whip in his hands and the three black as the night horses eyed it warily.
He joined me in the carriage a second later and already, we were on the go. After a few minutes of silence, in which I tried my best to keep my nerves at bay, the prince spoke:
"You're not wearing the stilettos I got you. Did you not like them?"
"They are beautiful," I said, still gazing out of the window of the carriage, "but impossible to walk in."
"And how do you like the dress?" He asked, tone unreadable.
"It's beautiful." I answered plainly and let the silence to consume us once more.
"There is something I have to ask you," I started after a while, "in order to embarrass the king, I will have to come close to him."
"Not necessarily."
"How else am I supposed to embarrass him, then? The only other thing I can think of is starting a rumour, but we both know that wouldn't really be sufficient." I argued, irritation clear in my voice.
"You are probably correct." Was the pointless reply I got back. God, there is just no way one can efficiently converse with him.
"Yeah, no shit." I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to calm myself. "Do you happen to have any ideas on how to get him to dance with me? Since that is the only way I can get near him." Hopefully, he will agree to that as well.
"Just get him to notice you. The king will try to dance with as much memorable women tonight as possible. Thanks to the dress, you will be one of them." He replied reassuringly and put his hand on my thigh. "Don't worry, that won't be the tricky part." Before he finished this sentence, the hand was already gone and ice back in his voice.
Just before we reached the castle grounds, the carriage stopped and the prince stepped out. I was about to follow, when the carriage started moving again. For a moment I just stare at the door in pure confusion, when I realized that I wasn't supposed to be seen with him.
I spent the last minutes of the ride doing numerous breathing exercises, trying desperately not to lose my shit. Literally and figuratively.
When the carriage stopped next, I immediately put the mask on and waited for the door to be open for me. A hand of a skinny servant boy was offered to me. I took it and climbed out, this time careful not to show my shoes.
Outside I straightened my dress and my back, lifted my head high and walked as confidently and princess-like to the main gate as possible.
Inside, the usually boring looking castle, was decorated with gold ornaments and white roses. From the look of it, you would never guess that the men who lived there were cold and heartless.
I climbed the stairs and found myself in front of another bigger-than-necessary door. I took last few relaxing breaths and nodded to the doorman.