M e m o r y T h r e e
» Celebration «
» Celebration «
Two years came and went, and we were all still the closest of friends. Time pretty much flew between us, and before we knew it, my tenth birthday was upon us all.
I know, someone's birthday, big deal, right?
Wrong.
On Centrillia, the new Oonani-ta is always crowned on her tenth birthday. It doesn't matter what else is going on on that day 'cause everything is forgotten in the celebration of the next ruler. Our castle hands had actually started cleaning the place two weeks ahead of the ball, and once all of the thorough cleaning was done, they started decorating.
It felt odd, really.
I was being surrounded by all kinds of people, asking me how this looked, what color that should be, what dress I was wearing, how my hair should be done, and etc. I was never really paid attention to before, but now it was like I was a movie star...
But I guess I kinda was, in a way.
As the week progressed, I started seeing more and more of my job as the next Oonani-ta and less and less of my friends. But, finally, the day of the ball dawned on the castle.
And I'll never forget that day for as long as I shall live...
-x-
"'Nani-ta?" A soft voice said, gently shaking me awake from my rather peaceful slumber. I had dreamt of Rynu that night, as I had every night before since the start of the week.
"'Nani-ta, vribae," the voice said again as I blinked my eyes opened and yawned.
"Whut, Azrah?" I mumbled, leaning on one of my elbows, rubbing my eyes with the other hand.
"Come on, 'Nani-ta. It's time to start getting ready for today."
I groaned and flopped down on my side again. Azrah sighed, then started shaking me again.
"Oh, 'Nani-ta. C'mon. The sooner you get up, the sooner it'll all be over."
I groaned again.
"Up, up!" She said finally, thumping my back twice as she walked away. I layed there for a while before heaving a big sigh and finally crawling out of bed.
After six hours of primping and pampering, hell was finally over. The ball was to start in thirty minutes, and guests had already started arriving, so I had to stay locked away in my room until I was officially announced.
"I can't believe how worked up people are over this," I muttered, resting my head on one hand, staring into my vanity mirror. My hair had been elegantly done up, curls tumbling from an extravagent ponytail high on my head. My small, Princess-In-Waiting tiara was nestled in at the base of the ponytail, glittering in the light while a much larger tiara lay on a plush pillow on my vanity. I frowned everytime my eyes landed on it, my wings twitching restlessly.
"Well, can you blame them?" Yuppi said, appearing behind me in my mirror. She had arrived to the castle when the hands were doing my hair, so they grabbed her and did her up too. Her light brown hair was done up in a half-ponytail, wavy and curled slightly at the ends. Her dress was the prettiest part though. It was strapless, a dark forest green color, and made from satin. Green sparkles had been dusted across the torso and bottom of the skirt and she also wore elbow-length, mint green satin gloves. "Everyone gets excited when there's a new oonani-ta. It's nothing new, really."
I watched her in the mirror, then looked down at my own dress and sighed. It was a silver strapless ball gown, a layer of gray mesh overlaying the entire dress. Sky blue sparkles were inlaid in the mesh in swirls, a 'slit' in the front of the skirt revealing a light sky blue underskirt. Light gray satin gloves covered my arms to above my elbows. "I know, but, really, I'm tired of all of this attention..." I trailed off and stared out into space, my eyes glazing over as I slipped down into my thoughts.
"Get used to it honey," Yuppi said, patting my shoulder and leaning her head down next to mine. "You'll be getting a lot of it for the rest of your life."
I groaned and my head fell onto my arms. Yuppi sighed and rubbed my shoulders a bit, and then a knock sounded on the door.
"Good evening, ladies," a familair voice said as the door opened. I looked up in my mirror and a huge smile broke out on my face. It was Rynu at the door, dressed rather nicely in a black suit with a dark blue tie. He strode into the room and then stood right by my side, holding out his arm. "Your escort for the evening has arrived, Oonani-ta," he smiled at me, then returned to his normal self before continuing. "Azrah said that it's time, Akyera. She wants me to take you down."
"M'kay," I said, standing up and smoothing out my dress. Rynu held out his arm again and I took it this time (but not without my face going pink), Yuppi grabbing the pillow and we all started down the hallway, trying our best to seem mature and sophisticated, but that didn't last very long. Ten feet from my bedroom door, we all burst out laughing at some inside joke, but we did manage to maintain the appearance of a mature Oonani-ta before anyone saw us. Azrah was waiting for us at the top of the staircase into the grand ball room, and she announced me as I started to descend the staircase, Rynu on my left and Yuppi just behind me. I smiled. Maybe being the oonani-ta wouldn't be quite as bad as I thought it would be.
Rynu walked me through the crowd to the thrones where my father and brother were waiting. I smiled at them, stepped onto the platform and stood next to my family and Rynu, Yuppi following us up and setting the larger tiara on a table next to my throne. And with that simple gesture, the ball officially begun.
It was rather uneventful for the first few hours, but once the sun went down outside the tall windows, all of the fun started. The grownups retired to the grand hall for some food and drink, which left all of the kids aged nine to sixteen to dance and have fun. It was a blast. Rynu and Yuppi never left my side, even though I got asked to dance by pretty much every boy there. They'd dance right next to me, and I could always feel Rynu's eyes watching me, and I loved that feeling. However, I was actually starting to get rather tired of it when midnight started rolling around, and I decided that I needed to tell Rynu something rather important...
"Hey, Yuppi?" I asked, turning to my friend. "Have you seen Rynu anywhere? He kinda...disappeared...and I need to talk to him."
"Umm," she said, scanning the crowd for our black-haired friend. "Oh! There he is! Right over by the staircase." She pointed over the crowd to the figure standing at the foot of the stairs before turning back to me. "Now, hurry up! He's not gonna wait forever." She smiled as she shooed me over there, laughing as my face started going red.
I made my way through the crowd, blushing deeply as I thought ahead to what I was going to say to Rynu once I got to him. But, once I got to the stairs, he disappeared down a hallway, even though I was sure that he saw me. I tilted my head in confusion before following him anyways.
Little did I know that that simple decision would change me forever...
