Jaspar knocked on the door to the castle room Maude had been assigned to. She straightened her Kelly green satin ballgown, and walked carefully across the heavily rugged room to the door. Her heart was glowing with excitement; though Cristyne had not been at the awards ceremony that afternoon, Maude suspected that the Zellers family would have likely been invited to the celebratory ball.

I never got a chance to apologize for my behavior at Helena’s wedding, Maude thought. If she is here tonight, I will definitely apologize.

Maude opened the door and saw the dashingly dressed Jaspar, complete in his white and gold military uniform. His blue eyes stood out more than usual.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked her, looking her up and down. “You look incredible.”

“Thank you,” Maude replied, feeling her cheeks flush. “So do you,” she added.

He smiled warmly at her and offered his arm to her to escort her. “Thank you,” he said.

“Thank you,” she replied back, taking his arm.

They moved quickly through the castle, and made it into the ball, the announcer shouting their names to the small group of people who were already in the ballroom.

“This must be the first ball we’ve arrived to so early,” Maude said, looking at how much space there was to move around in.

“It’s also the first ball where we’ll actually get to act like lovers,” Jaspar shot back, looking down at her. She turned her head up to meet his gaze. He was smiling at her, his eyes twinkling. She smiled back, feeling her heart skip a couple of beats.

“You’re right,” she replied. “We don’t have to pretend anymore.”

“And thank goodness that we don’t,” he said. “That was tiring.”

Maude giggled a little, and noticed that Melissa was hovering by the food table.

“Do you mind if we go talk to Mellissa while we are waiting for the music to start?” Maude asked Jaspar.

“Sure,” he said. “Plus that will give you an opportunity to try some of the palace baker’s treats since you didn’t get a chance to last time.”

He was smiling at her, and she smiled back. “You’re right,” she said. “Last time I had forgotten that they typically serve pastries at the ball.”

Jaspar began striding over towards the tables, with a bit of a limp in his walk.

“Will your knee be okay to dance on?” Maude asked. “Are you sure that you don’t need your cane?”

Jaspar’s facial expression turned to more of a pained smile. “It should be,” he said. “I just may not be able to dance very much and we may have to leave a bit early if it starts to bother me too much. It has been a long day.”

Maude nodded. “Just let me know when it’s too painful,” she said.

He nodded sharply once, not looking at her. “I’m trying to get my full function back, but it will probably take a long time,” he said.

Maude nodded and looked at the floor. The doctor had told Jaspar that he would probably be using a cane for the rest of his life to walk, but Jaspar was bound and determined to prove the doctor wrong. I know he hates it because it makes him look weak, Maude thought. But most people ought to understand it’s because he saved his country. I don’t understand why he’s so sensitive about it.

Up ahead, Melissa had a pile of pastries on her plate, and she picked one up and popped it in her mouth, nodding enthusiastically. Maude had to choke back a laugh at her friend.

“Maude!” Melissa exclaimed as they got closer.

“Baroness Wrighton,” Maude said with a little curtsy.

“Oh stop,” Melissa said, her face flushing red instantly.

“What?” Maude asked, cheekily. “Why wouldn’t I call you by your newly minted title?”

“Don’t,” Melissa replied as if she was asking Maude to stop poking her as a small child.

Maude laughed. “Congratulations again,” she said.

“Congratulations yourself, Viscountess Holloway,” Melissa replied with a pout on her face. “Though I imagine it will be Duchess Rosenberg before I know it.”

Maude felt her face flush this time and she looked up at Jaspar. He was smiling at Melissa, his ears pink. “That’s presumptuous of you, Baroness Wrighton,” he said.

Melissa just laughed at him. “I’m happy for you, Maude,” she said.

“And what of your betrothed?” Maude asked as Melissa popped another one of the pastries in her mouth. She made a face that implied it was sour.

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“Unfortunately, my betrothed passed away in the war,” Melissa said, swallowing hard. “Earlier this summer.”

Maude clutched her heart “Oh no,” she said. “Melissa, I am so sorry.”

Melissa just shrugged. “I knew it was a risk that my parents were taking when I got engaged when the war started. I am grateful that I did not have much opportunity to get too close to him beforehand.” She nodded a little at her own words. “It was still sad to hear of his death, though,” she admitted.

“It must have been hard,” Maude replied, shaking her head at her friend’s misfortune. “Even if you weren’t close to him.” She didn’t know what else to say. Though Melissa didn’t seem too upset about the death, Maude knew there were still no words of comfort she really had to offer.

“It was,” Melissa said. “But the war is over now, which means it is time to find a new candidate,” she said.

“I hope you find someone who piques your interest at the ball, then,” Maude said as Melissa put the last pastry in her mouth.

“Me too,” she said softly. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to go mingle now.”

“Of course,” Maude said with a smile. “Oh, actually, one last question.”

“What’s that?” Melissa asked.

“Do you know if Cristyne will be here this evening?” she asked.

“Mm,” Melissa said, tapping on her lips, clearly thinking about the question. “I’m sure her family is on the guest list, but I’ve not heard if they are back in Aulbert yet.”

“Alright,” Maude said with a short nod. “Thanks. And good luck finding someone!”

“Thanks,” Melissa said, a bright smile spreading across her face. She left, leaving Maude and Jaspar alone at the dessert table.

“Which one of these would you recommend I try?” Maude asked Jaspar.

“Probably this one,” Jaspar said, pointing down at a purple colored square cake substance.

“What flavor is it?” Maude asked as she lifted the small cake slice up to examine it closer.

“It’s Autumn,” Jaspar answered, tapping his chin. “So, it’s probably plum flavored.”

Maude gingerly took a bite. “Mm!” she exclaimed. “It’s delicious.”

The room had been filling up during the conversation with Melissa, and Maude heard the orchestra warming up to begin playing the first song for dancing.

Jaspar turned to her, did a small bow, and offered her his hand. “May I have this dance?” he asked.

Maude giggled and took his hand, feeling a grin getting plastered all over her face. “With pleasure,” she answered him.

He grabbed her hand tightly, squeezing it gently. Though he was saying nothing as they walked towards the dance floor, she could tell from his movements that he was excited.

He’s so cute, Maude thought. He’s so excited to just be able to dance with me at the ball.

The music began, and Jaspar gracefully spun her onto the dancing floor. He spun her around and round, nearly as good as he had before his injury. Perhaps to someone else, his movements may have looked as smooth as they ever had, but Maude could feel some of the jerky clumsiness of his movements. There were a couple of times she’d had to take measures to protect his foot from getting stomped on by one of her own.

It’s a good thing that I learned how to dance with him before the war, Maude thought. Otherwise he would have been suffering even more from having his feet stomped on so much.

“Are you sure this won’t be too much for you?” Maude asked, knitting her eyebrows together as Jaspar spun her around another time.

“It’s definitely a lot of work,” he replied. Maude looked closely at his face and noticed that he was perspiring. “I probably won’t be able to dance with you more than once.” His face looked disappointed. “And during our first ball as a couple…” he pouted.

Maude laughed a little. “Don’t worry about that too much,” she told him. “We will have plenty more balls in the future. It’s not like how have any reason not to be together anymore.” She smiled at him.

Jaspar chuckled softly, his eyes meeting hers and twinkling. “You’re right,” he said. “We have forever together now.”

“Besides,” Maude said, throwing her long ponytail behind her head with a flick. “We both agreed that we couldn’t go all out for this ball since you were still healing. You only agreed to come because I wanted to come to see Melissa and Cristyne.”

Jaspar sighed and twirled her again. “I know, you’re right,” he said. “It just feels exceptionally bad to feel so weak in the moment that I can’t dance more than once.”

“Well, then, let’s not call this ball our first one as a couple, then,” Maude said. “We got together on the evening after a ball, so why don’t we call that ball our first ball as a couple?”

Jaspar laughed. “I suppose that’s true,” he said. “And Lady Von Wickten ruined our second ball together. We’ve just had exceptionally bad luck, haven’t we?”

Maude chuckled a little. “But we’ve overcome it all.”

A wide grin spread across Jaspar’s face. “Somehow,” he agreed. “For a while there, I was concerned that we were doomed to go our separate ways.”

He reached over up to her hair, and tucked a flyaway strand behind her ear. Maude felt her face warm up. He was looking at her with such affection that she had to look away.

“I’m still surprised that you decided to fight,” Jaspar said. “That you fought for our relationship.”

Maude heard herself letting out a quiet laugh. “You’re not the only one who is still surprised by my actions,” she said. “But I’m glad that I did them.”

“Me too,” Jaspar said as the song ended. He offered her his arm and escorted her from the ball floor. Maude could tell that his limp was definitely worse than it had been before they had started dancing.

“Do you mind if I go and greet some nobles and then we head out?” Jaspar asked. Maude could see some of the perspiration building up around his ears.

“Will you be alright?” she asked him.

“I’ll be okay,” he replied, taking a deep breath. “I just can’t dance again.”

Maude nodded. “Alright,” she said. “That will give me a bit of time to find Cristyne and talk to her.”

Jaspar nodded back in response. “Sounds like a plan, then,” he said.

“Where should we meet?” Maude asked.

Jaspar gestured towards the main entrance stairs that nobles were still descending from. “How about near the entrance in about thirty minutes?” he asked.

“Sounds great,” Maude replied.

Jaspar squeezed her hand and then let go of her. “See you soon, Viscountess Holloway,” he said.

Maude couldn’t help but giggle a little. “See you soon, Duke Rosenberg,” she replied back.

Jaspar walked away and Maude continued her search for Cristyne. Luckily, Maude found her quickly. She was hovering near the edge of the room, scanning the room as if she was also looking for people she knew. Maude started walking over in her direction and their eyes ended up meeting. Cristyne smiled broadly at Maude, and waved a little. Maude smiled back and waved a little back. Inside, she could feel her heart clenching up. Not only did she need to apologize for her behavior at Helena’s wedding, but she also needed to apologize for not realizing the value that her friend had brought to her life. Maude had been willing to give it all up in order to not fight.

As Maude got closer to Cristyne, she could feel her heart picking up in her chest.

I hope she can find it in her heart to forgive me, she thought.