Princess of Illéa

Chapter 10 - Halloween

The day of the Halloween party comes. I'm so excited that I decide to have breakfast in my room. I spend the day in my chambers. Right after lunch my maids start helping me get ready for the evening. They prepare a bubble bath for me, which lasts almost an hour, then I spend another half hour having my skin treatment, which I always do before a big event, then Leah does my fingernails and Aria my toenails. The two of them get my costume ready to wear, as well as all the accessories.

And then when it get closer to the party starting, they do my make-up, a very strong eyeliner, with a detail on my left eye of an Egyptian symbol, and the eyeshadow mixed a shade of gold with a watery green. I choose to dress up as Cleopatra. History has always fascinated me, and Cleopatra, ruler of such an ancient kingdom, was a woman I've always admired. My hair is tied up in a bun so that I can put on a black wig that resembles her hair. Finally, I put on golden earrings and a golden accessory on top of my head that resembles a tiara.

My dress is black silk, with a plunging neckline and a sort of gold belt. To complete the look, I'm also wearing gold bracelets, along with gold high heels, but a more discreet shade of gold than the rest of my outfit.

As agreed, I meet my parents and Maxon by the stairs so that we can go down together. We, the royal family, will have a grand entrance (as usual) and a guard will announce our arrival to everyone present.

I take a look at how my family is dressed. Mom is wearing a fantastic long dark blue dress, almost black, full of diamonds reminiscent of the night sky. My father, dull as ever, is wearing a king's outfit, but quite different from the ones he usually wears. Maxon is dressed as a pirate.

I get close to my mother, who, as soon as she sees me, breaks into a huge smile, amazed at my choice of costume.

"You look absolutely wonderful, darling." she says, as she hugs me.

She let go of me and let Maxon greet me.

"You look really beautiful, Kitty." he says, also hugging me.

My father simply nods, saying nothing more. I barely have time to get angry with him, because I hear the guard announcing our arrival.

"Ladies of the Selection, gentlemen of the guard, friends and relatives of the royal family: please welcome King Clarkson, Queen Amberly, Princess Katherine and Prince Maxon Schreave!"

The band plays as we descend the stairs. Everyone there bows. My eyes immediately go in search of Celeste, and when I find her I can't help but smile, she looks wonderful, wearing a short dress full of feathers and plumes, a dazzling peacock costume.

The décor in the Great Hall is all gold, so I end up matching it. There's both a band and a DJ booth to play more modern music. There are also several cameras filming and taking pictures of everything.

After I've noticed everything, I start to look at the other people there. Marlee is dressed as an angel, next to one of the soldiers. Kriss and Natalie are wearing matching outfits, one as and the other as fall. Elise wears a dress that represents Asian culture. America wears a long colorful dress with wings, a butterfly costume.

The families of the Selected are also dressed up, even the guards are dressed up, I notice a few costumes: cowboy, baseball player, and one of them is dressed as Gavril Fadaye. Some other guards have chosen not to dress up, instead wearing the gala version of their uniforms.

The DJ then asks everyone to make room on the dance floor so that my mother and father can have the honor of the first dance. I greet the Selected as I pass through the hall, then stop next to Celeste. She looks me up and down, admiring my outfit with a smile on her face.

"You look perfect, Your Highness." she says with a mischievous tone, since she called me that on purpose.

I nod. "And you look magnificent as always, Celeste." I say, looking into her eyes, and they quickly go to her mouth, for less than two seconds before I look back up at her. "But obviously you know that."