All Shades of Magic

A Peace Foundation

The peace ball was held shortly after my coronation, only 10 days later. Me, Kimi, and Zinta work separately on it. Kimi's kingdom was in charge of decor. Mine was in charge of everything else, since it was to be held in our palace. Luckily, me and Zinta made an awesome team. We had everything ready by the time the day of the ceremony rolled around.

Luckily, the weather was nice, so our plan to have the ballroom french doors open was successful. Food tables lined the sides of the room. Potted plants and hanging vines layed about everywhere. Food was delivered. The DJ booth was set up with all of its disguised speakers and a tiny (also disguised) turntable. The room looked beautiful.

Or so I heard. I wasn't even dressed yet.

Today, I got to choose my dress. So I decided on something truly fabulously me.

It was an emerald green dress with lighter and darker ombre on the skirt and sleeves. It was long, ending around my ankles and almost hiding my gold-speckled sandal-like heels. The whole thing was very flowy and breathtaking. There was a small gold chain belt and a rustier gold link on the end of each of our sleeves. My hair was down now, but I would do two or three, maybe four braids in it with Zinta. She was going to help me with my makeup too. Because I'm terrible at it.

But I needed to get to her for her to help me.

She was staying in the guest corridors down the hall, and I walked to her door and knocked. An immediate response was initiated. She opened it wide and smiled.

"Hey! Are you here for me to help you out?" She said, I smiled and nodded.

"Yup," I replied. "Braids, makeup, maybe some jewelry will help? Do you like this dress by the way? I've been told I don't look good in green," I started to ramble.

"You look great! Now c'mon, let's get you looking perfect,"

She started to help me out. My hair was put up in braids, my makeup was put on. Green eyeshadow with artful black eyeliner. A touch of light pink blush. Dark avenue lipstick. And my crown. The crown of the queen. I hadn't worn it since the coronation. It felt heavy still. Too heavy. Some more gold jewelry such as a gold chain necklace and 7 rings for my 10 fingers (placed randomly). Two wrist wears. One fancy gold watch and one plain gold bracelet. But my favorite were the earrings. Multiple little gold-rimmed circles held polished, beautiful emeralds on chains. They were so simple yet so cute.

When Zinta was done she led me to hermirro and stepped back.

"How did I do?" she asked, grinning ear to ear. I stared at my reflection. I looked gorgeous. Almost perfect. I turned around a little and examined the small details. Everything looked so aligned. It all matched so perfectly.

"Wonderfully," I gasped, knowing it was the truth. Zinta looked satisfied.

"Glad I could help. Now go! I need to get ready too,"

I waited on the balcony as Zinta got changed. Yesterday she wore a white dress, which was customary for coronations. It was so you didn't pop out in the crowd with bright colors. But today, she could wear whatever she pleased. I was super excited.

It took her about 10 minutes to get ready. Her hair was up in millions of micro braids, silver beads dotting them every now and then. I don't know how she got her hands on those beads though, because I've wanted to buy her some so many times and I can never find them. Maybe magic. Her makeup was simple. Dark eyeshadow and eyeliner with bright red lipstick. She had silver jewelry, including a broach on her dress.

And oh her dress. It was ruby red, like deep velvet. A darker red corset made her look even taller than she usually did, which was saying something, because she was super tall. There was a slit in it, traveling up her leg and revealing a dark red bit of fabric that is slightly longer than the top skirt. The dress chut off at her knees perfectly, leaving room for a silver pair of ballerina flats to be seen. The dress was perfectly ruffled. Almost like a photo instead of a real life person's outfit.

She looked beautiful. And I told her so.

"You look gorgeous!" I cried out. "So not fair!"

"Thanks, I was worried that maybe the silver didn't look good with the red. It took forever to get my afro to be straight enough for the braids though. I had to use magic in the end. I already miss its puffiness," she giggled.

"Well, it can return in a few hours,"

"Should we head down?"

"No, it's too early. We've got about 30 minutes left before we have to be there," I said, checking the gold watch she had given me. "Why don't we just hang while we wait?" I suggested. So we did. I showed Zinta my room, and where I was keeping the books I was borrowing from her. She approved.

Keeping ourselves busy made time pass quickly, and soon it was time for the festivities to begin. We walked into the ballroom together. I quickly faded into the crowd, dancing, schmoozing, eating. And the whole time I made sure to act like the queen I now was. I saw Kimi and Zinta through the crowd a few times. Kimi didn't talk to me at all, but Zinta and I chatted. I continued to wonder what had happened between me and Kimi. I felt bad. Because for some reason I felt like it was my fault.

I was pulled aside about halfway through the celebration and I knew why.

Peace treaty time.

Me and Kimi's parents walked to a side room, which was set like a court's office. Judge Nohl was sitting there with the treaty and some quills. He looked at us neutrality, and something about it intimidated me.

"Hello royals," He said. We curtsied and bowed. He bowed his head in response. "I suppose you all know why you're here?" we all nodded. "Good, that means we can start right now then. Queen Valerie. You lost your father in this war, your farms have been destroyed, and you are tired from an epic quest you committed to fix the issue. Are you prepared for it to be over, for everything to be at peace?"

"More than anything," I replied. And I meant it.

"Good then, now. Queen and King Bourbon. Your daughter went missing during this war, your silk factories were partially destroyed, and even though you suffered no personal losses, your niece feels great sorrow for a knight who killed her fiance. Are you ready to sign, and allow this suffering to end?"

"Of course," They said. I felt relieved for some reason, even though I knew they would say yes. This felt official somehow. I guess maybe because it was official.

"Both of you, sign and then shake hands. This is the end of the war, and the beginning of a new peace," Judge Nohl said. I wondered if he had said the same thing when my dad had to do this 4 years ago. Queen Bourbon took my hand and shook firmly. I made sure to have a tight grip too, and perfect eye contact. I did the same with the king. And it was over. We signed and there was peace.

There was no war. No legal grudges, nothing.

It felt good. So so good.

I walked back out into the party feeling light as a feather. Zinta and I danced and ate. I kept celebrating. I kept it up for hours.

Just as the night was coming to a close and the sun was setting, I walked out into the garden. I wanted a breath of air. I walked over to the crabapple tree in the corner, luxurious somehow, even in its humble form. I was surprised to find Kimi there too, crabapple in hand, standing, watching the sun set.