Across boundaries (1D series - Book two)

Across boundaries >> XX <<

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Across boundaries  

Across boundaries >> XX <<

"Holy shit!" Niall swore as he knocked into me. Immediately, his arms flew up to steady me as he apologised hastily. "I'm so sorry, Allie!"

"It's okay," I assured him. "Let's try again."

There were two more days to the state ball and we had moved to stay at the Castle. Personally, I would prefer to stay at my own palace and travel down to the Castle on the day itself, just like Mia and Venn. However since the boys were visiting, they thought it would be fun staying at the Castle and besides, it was nearer to town.

One of the biggest highlight of the ball was of course, the Genovian national dance which was usually done as the finale item. The ball would kick off with the First Dance – led by the Queen and her Consort, and the Princess and her dance partner. Since I was unmarried, the choice of my dance partner would be an official decision. He would have to be the prospective person becoming the princess' consort – which in this case, was Chester since we had not officially annulled our betrothal. I could insist on making Niall my dance partner, but if you recalled, he had nicely agreed to Prime. So I was basically stuck with Chester. In fact, he had been my dance partner ever since I was allowed to the ball.  

 The minimum age to attend the state ball was sixteen, even if you were the princess. So, there were no children under sixteen in the ballroom. The children of all the attending adults would be placed in the 'nursery room' where they could catch a movie or play computer games.

The ball would usually start at seven in the evening with an opening speech by the Queen and if necessary, the Prime Minister as well. This year, I had been asked to make a speech as well to report on the progress of the shipping line. And secretly, I planned to announce the annulment of the betrothal but that remained to be discussed with Mia.

The late Queen, my grandmother, used to make such long speeches such that the guests fell asleep waiting for the dance to start. Mia, not wanting to repeat the same, kept her speeches short and sweet and that usually meant approximately five minutes which was really good.

After the speech, the guests would be invited for a round of cocktail and refreshments, which literally meant dinner. The state ball's variety of food would probably make your eyeballs drop out. Ranging from appetizers, to main course followed by desserts, it was similar to a buffet. And the range of food was international since we had international guests.

The state ball was not limited to the royal family and the ministers. Foreign visitors were also invited. Such as ministers of so-and-so nations, especially if they happened to be in discussion of some crucial treaties at the moment when the ball was held. Sometimes, our distant relatives – some royalties from other nations, would also be invited. It was more of a formal night of politics and discussions, rather than just simply a ball of gathering.

At eight sharp, the orchestra would start playing for the First Dance where people would gather in a huge circle around the dance floor. The couples dancing would complete one entire waltz movement which usually would take approximately three to five minutes. If there were invited royalties of other nations, they would also join in the First Dance. After the first waltz had been played, the rest of the people were free to join in. Any gentleman could also take up the offer to invite the royal ladies for a dance.

A lady would have to be invited to be able to dance, unless you were thick-skinned enough to ask a man for it. Nowadays, it was quite common but the majority of the ladies would still wait for a man to come along. Sometimes, you could end up with no dance for the entire night as well. On the other hand, being a man, if you were shy, you would probably have no dance either.