Connor and Aiden sat up, watching your sleeping form. The sunlight was filtering in through the window, lighting the room up.

"How long has it been since we've truly been excited for a day to come?" Connor murmured as he looked at you lovingly.

Aiden sighed and leaned his head back, "Too long."

You sighed and mumbled something in your sleep, but neither brother could hear it.

"What jewel should we put in her crown?" Connor thought aloud and tapped a finger to his chin. "Diamonds are too mainstream nowadays. She's a rarity, so the jewel should reflect that."

Aiden nodded silently as he tenderly pulled a few strands of hair out of your face. "It should be (f/c). She seems to really like that color."

It was Connors turn to nod before he stretched and carefully got off the bed.

"It almost feels like a dream." Aiden said, his gaze still on you, "I've imagined today in every thought I've had, but now it's here..."

Connor smiled as he grabbed a set of clothing sitting on the chair, "By the end of the night, she'll be ours." He hugged the clothing as if it was you. "All of our hard work will pay off in a few hours."

Aiden nodded and silently heard his brother change into his suit. You were so mesmerizing even while you were asleep.

"You should get changed. We have to oversee everything this morning." Connor advised as he came up beside his brother.

Aiden glanced at you one more time before nodding and getting up.

"What's our degree of leniency today?" He inquired as he slipped his arms through the jacket.

Connor hummed for a moment before smiling, "None. If there is any mistake, we'll just eliminate the root of the problem."

Aiden returned the smile and placed a hand on the door, "Shall we?"

Connor looked you over one more time before turning to the door.

~~~~

The sunlight hit your face, causing you to grumble and turn over however no matter which way you turned the light always hit you.

"Stupid light." You mumbled as you slowly opened your eyes and looked around.

Your room was empty and quiet. No twin was in sight.

You raised your eyebrows. How long had it been since you had been truly left alone without having to pull something to get the twins to leave.

Yawning, you slid off the bed and made your way to the bathroom. You could finally take a shower in peace. The sound of the running water relaxed you as you silently took you shower. You got dressed again and brushed your hair, looking at yourself in the mirror.

You truly had changed...to the point that you wondered if your parents and friends would recognize you. You looked like a shell of your former self. You sat down the brush in disgust and walked back into your bedroom.

You had no idea when the masquerade would start today. The twins hadn't mentioned much of a schedule to you so you were left with silently waiting in your room.

Time seemed to tick by slowly. You had been reading and slowly watching the suns path in the sky. You glanced at the door and furrowed your brow. You didn't want to risk angering the princes or bring attention to yourself so you really didn't have any other choice but to stay in your room, but the lack of the twins presence was weird.

After a while, the door to your bedroom opened. You glanced up and jumped at the unfamiliar face standing in your doorway.

"Please excuse my intrusion Miss, but the princes have sent me to give you a message."

He looked at you, his face completely emotionless.

You narrowed your eyes, something about him seemed slightly familiar. "Alright."

He cleared his throat, "They say that they are currently dealing with the setup for the masquerade and are very sorry that they can't spend much time with you during this special day. In an hour they've requested that you get changed and meet them in the ballroom."

You raised your eyebrows, "Where exactly is the ballroom?"

His eyes flashed in annoyance, "Down the stairs at the end of the hallway. There are large doors, you shouldn't be able to miss them."

"That's it!" You exclaimed as you looked at him triumphantly.

"What's what Miss?

"You're one of the messengers that came to get me from the village." You stated.

His eyes widened for a second before his face returned to a stoic expression, "Yes, you are correct."

"That was bothering me. Anyway, thank you for the message, now please leave." You went back to reading your book.

The door softly shut, and you glanced at it in worry. Pretty soon it would be time to put your plan in action and the anxiety and worry was starting to pile up on you.

For the next hour you went over the plan internally multiple times. It needed to be perfect. There could be no mess-ups. You were walking down the hallway towards the fitting room silently, wondering why they wanted you so early.

You opened the door, turned on the lights, and stepped inside. The dress stood silently in the middle of the room how you had left it yesterday. Silently, you walked over and pulled it off the mannequin.

You put the dress on and glanced in the mirror, a sudden sadness sweeping over you. Micah had worked so hard on the dress, and yet if things went according to plan, no one would see it. You shook your head and quietly exited the room.

You followed the messengers orders and found yourself in front of two large white doors. Sighing, you pushed them open and prepared yourself for the worst. The sight that met your eyes made you gasp.

The ballroom itself was two stories. The main floor was a polished white marble with quartz pillars. The second floor was a balcony with gold railings that wrapped its way around the room. The main three walls were floor to ceiling windows. (f/c) fabrics wove together around the pillars and railings and (f/flowers) were pinned wherever the fabric met. On the far-left side of the ballroom sat a long white table that had the different arrays of (f/f) placed intricately around each other. Directly in front of you sat two thrones similar to the ones in the throne room.

Your eyes widened as you saw servants polishing and cleaning them. It was the first time you'd ever seen workers in the palace. Upon closer inspection of the room, you could see Connor and Aiden talking with someone in the far right corner.

You made your way over trying to ignore the dozens of eyes that constantly landed on you.

"Your Highness's?" You asked as you slowly came up to them.

They turned their heads and smiled as you approached.

"You look so beautiful!" Aiden exclaimed as he pulled you into a hug.

"I-I...Um...Could you please let me go?" Your face reddened in embarrassment.

You could feel another pair of arms wrap around your waist and press into you, "Why dear?"

"Connor. I'm uncomfortable."

They both laughed, but neither let go.

"Sorry dear, that's not a good enough excuse. You look so stunning it almost makes me want to skip the party and get straight to the main event." Aiden murmured in your ear.

You tried to push them off, "T-That's not funny! Just give me my personal space."

"We might as well. You'll only have it for a while longer." Connor laughed as he let go of you. Aiden dejectedly did the same.

You busied yourself with smoothing your skirt, "Why did you want me to come here?"

"Oh! We'd almost forgotten." Aiden smiled as he and Connor took an arm and guided you toward the center of the room.

"Your entrance tonight. We need to tell you about your role in all of this." Connor explained as he gestured around.

"I'm not just coming in with the rest of the guests?" You inquired.

"Why of course not! It's your masquerade and you need a special entrance." Aiden winked.

You sighed, "What am I doing?"

Connor pointed to the door, "After all the guests have made it to the ballroom we'll announce you. Then, you'll come in through the doors and make your way to the thrones where we'll be. You'll give a small speech and thank everyone for coming and then the masquerade will start."

Aiden nudged you, "Doesn't that sound great?"

You looked away, "Yeah..."

"Oh please. Contain your excitement." Connor scoffed as he stepped away from you and pulled a list out from his pocket.

You glared at him, "I'm not one for extravagant parties."

Aiden clapped his hands, "Well. You'll be getting used to it, my queen."

You froze. Oh how terrible that sounded.

Connor glanced at you, "What? Having second thoughts?"

"It wouldn't matter would it?" You mumbled as you looked at the floor.

Aiden laughed, "No. It wouldn't. Now! I think that's all we needed you here for, so you can wait in your room until we send someone to get you."

You let out a sigh of relief.

"But don't go anywhere else (Y/n). Just to your room." Connors voice had a sharp edge to it. You nodded silently.

Making your way back down the hall and up the stairs, anticipation and anxiety ate at your thoughts.

There was nothing left for you to do. Your future was left in Reeds hands now.







A/N: Only one update today because I need the updates to line up right for tomorrow. Who knows, you might be getting three tomorrow ;).This story is almost over which is insane to me because I've never actually finished anything I've written. Stick with me, we're almost there!