The Infinity Ball

Chapter 6

Rowan

Felicity let me stay at the ball! She was mad at me but was thankful when I told her that King Peter was the one hiring the private investigators. Felicity and I argued about what I could tell King Peter, but we're compromising and all I'm allowed to tell King Peter is that the princesses are going to the Infinity Ball, nothing else like relationships or Felicity's dancing skills. Felicity promised not to tell her sisters I was there as long as I promised not to tell King Peter more than that. Aside from our argument, we had a good time and she taught me how to do the foxtrot since I was only learning how to from how all the other dancers were dancing. Apparently, people at the Infinity Ball call Felicity the Foxtrot Queen.

Anyway, right now, I have to inform King Peter that the princesses have been going to the ball. I enter the throne room and see a bored-looking King Peter.

"Your majesty, I got into the portal last night," I tell him. "The princesses are going to the Infinity Ball."

"I suppose that means that I was right," King Peter remarks. "As a reward, I'll pay you just as I paid all of the private investigators. I will also have you continue to go to the Infinity Ball. I need someone to watch the princesses. Report back to me the morning after each time to attend the ball and let me know if they ever fall in love with anyone they meet there. I don't like them attending the ball, let alone starting a relationship there. So you will have to inform me if any of my daughters fall in love. Do you understand, Rowan?"

"I understand, your majesty," I agree. "I will tell you if any of the princesses fall in love at the Infinity Ball. But, if you are willing to tell me, why don't you want them going to the ball? What do you have against them falling in love there? You've hired several private investigators only for damage to be caused. What makes it worth the damage?"

"I am willing to tell you," King Peter agrees. "As long as you do not tell anyone, especially not the princesses. I am willing to tell you to help you understand why I want you to keep going to the ball. When I was young, I went to the Infinity Ball with my younger sister, Duchess Delphia. We slept on the same floor as most of my daughters do and noticed the door sooner than they did. We'd go once a week, sometimes with our cousins or friends if they were visiting, and would dance to both new pop tunes and older classical songs. We loved to go and hang out with our friends. Some of my current political allies were friends I made at the Infinity Ball."

"It sounds like you had a great experience," I comment. "So why don't you like the Infinity Ball now? Is it a parenting thing?"

"It's not just that I'm a parent now," King Peter tells me. "And my experience was only good when I started attending the Infinity Ball. Did you know that the ball is in the ice fairy kingdom, Nixllapis? It's hosted by Queen Zorana, the elderly queen of Nixllapis. Well, when I went to the ball, Queen Zorana's daughter, Brigitta, was still living in Nixllapis. She was around my age and one day, I asked her if she wanted to dance."

Just like last night. Wherever this story is going, I'm afraid that I'll repeat the king's mistakes. Especially if his mistake starts with asking Brigitta to dance.

"She agreed," King Peter continued. "We had a great time and became friends. If we were both at the ball one night, we'd definitely be dancing together. We were good at dancing, especially the foxtrot."

Crap. Felicity's the foxtrot queen. Have I fallen for the wrong girl?

"One time she asked me out and I agreed," King Peter kept telling his story. "I asked her if her mother was okay with it and Brigitta told me she didn't tell Zorana about me. I knew that made it sound like a bad idea, but I agreed to go out with her. We dated semi-secretly. My parents knew. They were happy I was going out with someone since they had put the betrothal rule out of regulation for me. And even though I knew Brigitta hadn't told her mother she was going out with me, I could tell every night from the way Zorana stared at us that she knew something. We dated for several years. Even our kingdoms knew about our relationship. The press loved to write about us. But with the publicity, Zorana had to have known about us then."