June’s father sent the four of us off with some other guards as they escort us to our room. I am so excited to have privacy again. Nothing against my friends, but going to the bathroom alone and in peace is a luxury I will never take advantage of ever again.

The guards stop our group in the middle of the hallway to let us in our rooms. They lead June and Cheleste into a door and Pierce and I in a different door across the hall. We walk into a room that is filled with luxurious things all around the room. The walls are painted sky blue and there are gold lining on the borders of the walls and picture frames.

The two beds are both bigger than any bed I have seen. The blankets and pillowcases are white and the headboard is white with golden swirls on the border. Above the beds are two paintings. Both of them show landscapes of trees and mountains.

I glance up at the ceiling where there is a painting on thatthe ceiling as well. It is of pale pink and white clouds and the frame is also gold. Out of the middle of the painting is a golden chandelier that has white balls on the end of each end. It looks like a tree of pearls.

“Woah, we really hit the jackpot, huh,” Pierce says quietly. Still in a trance of luxury, I can only respond with a nod of my head. This room alone is bigger than my entire house.

Before Pierce and I can get a chance to settle into our new rooms there is a knock at the door. Two guards come in the door and behind them is a servant carrying what looks like fabric. Behind the servant with the mountain of fabrics in her arms is a tall, skinny lady. Her legs are bony under the pair of bright orange pants and her black blouse with white polka dots clash with the pants. Her head is a curly, white tower on her head. She doesn’t look old so I am assuming that she does something to make her hair look that white.

“Are you Pierce and Xavier?” the woman with the white hair asks. Pierce and I nod in silence. “Good, I am here to get measurements for your suits.”

“Our suits?” I ask.

The woman with the white hair stops in her tracks and looks between Pierce and I.

“Did no one inform you?” she asks.

“Inform us about what?” Pierce asks.

She looks between Pierce and I again and then bursts out in a hysterical laugh. “You two are funny. Come on, let’s get you measured.”

“No seriously, what were we supposed to be informed about?”

“Really? No one told you? Well, you are invited to Prince Asher’s and King Engeldeo’s funeral ball. It will happen tomorrow and I need to measure you two so I can go back to my shop and make your suits.”

We are invited to the funeral ball? I guess it makes sense since most of the guards will probably be at the ball, someone would need to keep an eye on us, even though we are completely innocent.

The lady with the white hair put different colored fabrics against Pierce and I. I always thought that men would wear black suits but maybe the attire is different since this is a royal funeral ball. She decided that navy blue looks great against his tan skin. It took the lady with the white hair some more time on me because she couldn’t find the right color that would go with my features. We eventually decided that a traditional black would go well.

After the lady with the white hair and the servant leave we are finally able to get some alone time. Pierce huffs and flys to his bed. He jumps up before belly flopping on top of the mattress. He gives a satisfying sigh that makes me curious how good the mattress really feels.

I mimic Pierce’s actions and belly flop on top of my mattress. It feels as if I am floating on clouds. I can barely feel the springs under me. The bed in my room at home is lumpy from the springs getting old and the cloth is stiffening. When I lay on that mattress it feels like I’m sleeping on the ground. This mattress feels completely different. It feels like I am floating on a calm lake where there is no wind and no wild life to break the perfect body of water.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Another knock at the door interrupts my peaceful state. A guard comes in with a young servant boy. “Your dinner is ready. I can escort you.” His voice is shaky as if we terrify him or will send Darkness after him personally. When he heads into the hallway to show us where to go, the guards motion for us to get out of our heavenly beds and follow the servant.

Pierce and I follow the servant boy down the green carpeted hallway, down a set of spiral stairs, and to two massive golden doors with two guards in front of it. The doors look like they are about twelve feet tall. There are little golden engravings all throughout the door, making it impossible to decipher what is going on in the scene without spending hours staring at it.

The guards open the doors for us to enter and the smell of roasted chicken and vegetables fill my nose. June and Cheleste are already sitting at the table across from one another. They are in a conversation that consists of loud giggles and a bunch of did you hear?

As soon as they realize that Pierce and I have come to join them, their voices quiet down but their smiles grow brighter.

“Hello boys, I thought the girls were supposed to be late,” Cheleste teases.

“We may be late, but of course we are fashionably late,” Pierce responds.

The girls giggle as Pierce and I pull out our chairs to join them at the table. No doubt the meal front of me is a meal for The Magnificents. There is a full roasted chicken, seasoned perfectly. On the side of the chicken there are dill carrots and mashed potatoes and gravy. The napkins are professionally folded green cloths instead of the white flimsy paper that I am so used to.

Pierce and I clearly didn’t get the memo to dress up for this dinner. The girls are both in dresses with their hair up in bunspuns. June has a light blue dress that match her eyes and go well against her blonde hair. Cheleste has a forest green dress that looks amazing with her ginger hair.

“So, why were you guys late? Were you causing any trouble?” June asks casually.

“No,” I respond, “We were getting measurements done for the royal funeral ball.”

“That’s real? I swear, the guards were trying to make June and I look stupid by tricking us. Are we really going to the funeral ball?” Cheleste chimes in.

“I guess so,” I say.

“It would be such an honor. Getting invited to the royal funeral ball means we are going to be able to have access to the kingdom,” Cheleste says. Her voice is almost a squeal.

Only the honored guests get invited into the castle during the royal funeral balls. Citizens are allowed to come to the royal funeral ball but if they don’t have a personal invite, everyone must stay outside of the castle in the courtyard where most of the celebration happens. I always thought celebrating someone’s death was weird but apparently it helps people feel better about their lost ones. I haven’t lost anyone in my life yet so I guess I don’t really get an opinion until it happens to me.

“You do realize the only reason we are invited is because we are prisoners,” Pierce states.

“Yeah, but most of the civilians never get to step a foot inside of the castle. It is still an honor no matter what the circumstances are,” Cheleste responds.

In some way I am jealous of Cheleste. How can she see a positive side to our imprisonment. All I can be positive about is that in four weeks we will be able to be free citizens again. I can’t wait for that daysay to come.