"Hey. Do you want something to eat?" One of the twins asked softly and you felt a hand rest on your arm. You couldn't tell who was talking.

You shook it off. You were sitting on your bed, your knees drawn up to your chest and your arms crossed on top of them. Your head rested against them as you stared off into space.

"Is that a no?"

You didn't reply.

One of them sighed, "Dear you can't act like this the night before the masquerade."

You shifted slightly and cursed inwardly. You couldn't care less about the masquerade.

"Speaking of, we should probably have her try on that dress just to make sure it fits her properly."

You tensed. There was no way you were going to do that. You just wanted to sit in your room and hope that time would pass you by and you would be forgotten by everyone.

"(Y/n) dear, can you come with us for a few minutes?" You clenched your teeth together angrily. That voice was so soft, yet it had commanded countless terrible things to be done.

The hand took hold of your arm again and gently pulled you towards them.

"Stop." You mumbled, trying to yank your arm again.

"Please dear, just for a while."

"No."

"(Y/n)." The voice turned bitter.

You paled but didn't make any motion to move. You didn't care if they did anything anymore.

"Brother come help me."

You could hear faint footsteps come towards you and suddenly two sets of hands yanked you up and off the bed. They caught you before you hit the ground and you looked at them numbly.

"Kill me." It even shocked you slightly to hear it come from your mouth.

Aidens eyes widened, "What?"

"I don't want this anymore. I'm tired. I'm emotionally drained. You guys won't let me leave...I'm a prisoner...but I never did anything wrong."

Connors jaw tensed, "Dear, you're not a prisoner. Please refrain from saying such things, it makes us worried for your health."

You glanced at him dully before looking at the floor. There seemed to be a difference in opinions.

"Just come with us for a few minutes, and then you can sulk until dinner. Okay?" Aiden looked at you cheerfully which made you want to throw up.

You gave no answer and they shared a look before the took your hands and started walking towards the door. You numbly followed them.

"I'm sure you'll love the masquerade." Aiden said as the three of you walked down the hallway. "There will be tons of guests and elaborate decoration. Oh! And there will be amazing music..." He glanced down at you to see your reaction but your face was indifferent.

"We're here." Connor glanced at you before he opened the door.

Stepping inside, he switched on the light and the room was lit up in front of you. Your eyes widened. The room had been emptied out except for the dress. It stood in the middle of the room.

Everything...Its gone. You peered around looking for a hint as to where everything went.

"Is something wrong?" Aiden asked, noticing your change in mood.

"It's all gone..." You murmured.

"We had the room cleared out, this room no longer has a purpose." Connor explained.

You balled your hands into fists, "It was that easy for you..." You looked at them angrily. "Everything that Florence and Micah had made. The incredible effort, precision...Their mark. You just...erased it."

Connor looked at you with a confused expression, "It was just clothing dear."

You glared at him, "You wouldn't get it Your Highness. Everything's always been given to you two without you having to expend effort. You've never had to work for something."

Connor raised his eyebrows, "Did you just-"

"Get out. I'm going to change." You growled as you shoved them through the door and slammed it shut.

You turned around. The room was too empty. You slowly made your way towards the single dress.

You two worked so hard...and they just erased it all.

It made you so angry.

You stopped in front of the dress and looked at it. The (f/c) fabric didn't look that vibrant anymore.

Micah...Did you want to see me in this?

You reached a hand out and grabbed a handful of the skirts fabric.

What were you thinking when you made this...

You slowly went behind the mannequin and unzipped the dress. You carefully lifted it up and off and looked at it sadly. If you focused enough, you could almost imagine him standing beside you, giving some witty comment about the dress or your expression.

Your lip quivered as you silently took off your other dress and slipped the more elegant one on. There was still a mirror hanging on the wall. Silently making your way over to the mirror, you analyzed the dress.

It looked beyond beautiful. The mesh and diamonds gave you a commanding quality. The skirt looked like water with how it rippled and billowed out around you. He had outdone himself in every way possible. It took all of the energy you had to not cry.

You heard the door open and turned to see the twins step inside. Connors eyes widened as he stared at you. Aidens face went red and he glanced away.

"Y-You look..." Aiden murmured.

"...Beautiful." Connor breathed as they slowly made their way towards you.

You looked away from them, opting to focus on the mannequin.

"I think it's safe to say it fits you wonderfully." Aiden whispered as his gaze trailed down your body.

Your cheeks reddened in embarrassment.

"Just one thing." Connor said as he pulled something out from behind his back.

It was a mask. It matched the dress in the ways that it was (f/c) and had small diamonds outlining the shape of it. Gold lined the holes of the eyes which gave it a regal feeling.

You carefully took it from him, "Did Micah make this too?"

Connors expression hardened for a moment, "Yes."

You turned it over in your hands a few times and noticed something engraved in the back.

𝓜. 𝓞

You ran a finger over it, tracing the letters. Your lip quivered slightly.

"Is something wrong?" Connor asked softly.

You shook your head, "No. Everything's perfect."

Aiden smiled and turned you so that you looked into the mirror, "No. You're perfect."

Your breath hitched as you looked at the scene in front of you. A pair of green, blue, and (e/c) eyes stared back at you. There were two handsome princes on either side of you...It seemed like something out of a fairytale. You scowled. A fairytale hiding a nightmare.

"Alright. You can change back. We don't want the dress to get ruined beforehand." Connor murmured as he turned away and headed towards the door.

Aiden nodded and smiled before he turned and followed his brother out into the hallway.

I miss you Micah.

You looked at the engravings one more time before silently slipping the dress off and putting it back on the mannequin. You put on your old dress and glanced at the room one more time before turning off the lights and opening the door.





You had sat silently through dinner and no amount of coaxing or threats could get you to eat. Nothing mattered to you today. Everything mattered tomorrow. Now, you were sitting on your bed again, staring at the wall. Connor and Aiden were discussing the schedule for tomorrow but you didn't care to listen.

"I'm tired." You muttered as you laid down and pulled the covers over you.

"Okay dear. I guess it's time we should all go to bed. We have a long day...and night waiting for us tomorrow." Aiden grinned as he climbed into bed next you.

Connor smiled softly and laid down as well.

"Just think...this time tomorrow...you'll be our queen." Aidens face lit up with joy as he wrapped his arms around you and hugged you tightly.

Oh joy...You thought as you closed your eyes and prayed that sleep would take you away soon.





A/N: Not a lot going on this chapter, but sometimes you have to get through the slightly boring parts to get to the exciting parts. I just wanna say thank you for all the support you've shown this book through votes and comments and messages <3. They make me laugh so much.