I stared at the young man who entered the room. He was interesting, to say the least.

"Malachi, what are you doing here?" Cecilia said,  sounding slightly angry.

"Meeting the princess of course."   Malachi said.

"Get out. We're in the middle of something." Cecilia says.

Malachi looks at me. He walks over to me, bows and kisses my hand. "I'm Malachi, son of King Tyrin of Argenti."

"Um.... I'm Annalise. Daughter of Jackson, and host to the demon of death."

"So it's true. You are the princess of Inanis. I guess that makes us allies. I look forward to getting to know you better, Princess." Wow. News sure does travel fast around here.

Malachi walks away and leaves the room, without a single word.

"Sorry about him. He thinks that he can just come in and bother anyone he wants to. Don't hesitate to kick his butt if he comes and bothers you." Cecilia says.

"Who is he, anyway?" I ask.

"Malachi, as he said, is son of king Tyrin. He's Argenti, as he previously stated. In addition to being prince, he's also a general. We're cousins, too, which is probably why he thought he could just barge in here." She goes over to the closet and pulls out some clothes. "I'll leave while you get dressed."

As I got dressed, my mind floated back to death and the mysterious "master". Who was this guy? Why was "the man" no longer of use to him? What did these guys have to do with me?
Stop, I told myself. There was no use in worrying, or asking myself questions that I didn't have the answer to.

After I got dressed I opened the door and walked out into the hallway. The ceiling was high, the walls were lined with gold, silver, and polished wood. There were portraits hanging up all the way to the ceiling, though not too many portraits as to where you couldn't see the beautiful walls.

"Cecilia?" I called out. I walked around the corner, and by the marble staircase I saw Cecilia, Olivia and Adrian talking.

"... I don't how she'll react, she's never really been interested in boys before." Adrian was saying.

"But she needs a date, and he's perfect." Cecilia said.

"I say they go together whether or not they like it. If they don't, then too bad." Olivia stated.

"Okay... " Cecilia said hesitantly.

"Cecilia?" I asked.

"Miss Anna, you're here... great... I think we need to talk." Cecilia answered.

"Okay. Explain to me why I'm here."
"Anna..." Adrian started. "You're here because of the ball of the four brothers."

"And what is the ball of the four brothers?" I ask.

"It was a ball put on for the four orignal kings, the four brothers. We put it on in honor of them, and of our alliance with the two other clans." Cecilia answered.

"Okay, continue."

"We needed a descendant of the first king of Inanis, and you were the only living one."

"What exactly happens at these balls?" I ask.

"A huge feast. Dancing. Lots of dancing. Only with your date, of course." Olivia says.

"I don't have a date..." I say.

"About that..." Cecilia starts off.

"You're going with me." Malachi says.


This is not how I pictured my first date.