Part Three: The Ball

Tabitha came running to Maggie as she was laying on the ground crying. She helped Maggie to her feet.

"What is wrong? Why were you on the ground?" asked Tabitha.

"I heard Lawrence call me. Please tell me that you heard him. " Maggie's voice was begging Tabitha.

"I didn't hear anyone. The sea is making you hear voices. You loved Lawrence so much and that is why you think that you heard him. I know that he is watching over you. Come now. We have to get ready for father's ball. We will get through this." Tabitha hugged her sister and they walked back to the castle.

Tabitha and Maggie went to their rooms as their maids dresed them for the ball. Tabitha wore her favorite purple dress while Maggie wore her red dress. She wanted to wear black but father wouldn't hear of it.

The young Princesses were breath taking as usual but Maggie was going to hate every minute of this ball. Two of the knights, Andrew and James escorted to the Princesses to the Ball Room. The Ball Room was huge and there were tons of food and drinks for everyone. Andrew patted Tabitha's hand and asked if he could have the first dance. Tabitha told him "Yes" and smiled. She loved flirting with Andrew. What she didn't know was that Andrew was in love with her.

The Princesses sat next to their father King Lectivas and were wearing their new emerald and blue sapphire crowns. Maggie hadn't smiled. She looked bored. The King announced that they would eat first and everyone could dance as long as they wanted.

The Count's sons Brady and Pierce walked in. All the women thought that they were the most handsome men in the room. They were identical twins with dark hair and blue eyes. The women stared at them as they walked in. They bowed down to the royal family and Lectivas welcomed them and had them sit at a table to him and the girls. Maggie barely glanced at them. Tabitha thought the young Counts were so handsome and she had flirted with them, too. She worried about Maggie.

The Counts couldn't keep their eyes off the Princesses. Finally, it was time for the Ball. The knights asked the Princesses to dance and Andrew danced with Tabitha. He whispered to her that he loved her and Tabitha backed away from him. "Andrew, don't ever say that to me again. Father would be so upset. I will have to marry someone of equal class. You are a knight. You serve my father. We will never speak of this again." Tabitha walked away from him and Andrew thought that Tabitha had felt the same way about him. She had just flirted with him. Andrew left the Ball with a broken heart.

Maggie danced with the knights but she was like a robot. She was here because her father said she had to be.

The Counts Brady and Pierce asked the Princesses to dance. Maggie thought Pierce was handsome but she couldn't stop thinking about Lawrence. She did smile at Pierce. Brady danced with Tabitha and she was using her charms on him. Tabitha didn't know anything about love but she danced with Brady the rest of the night, This pleased King Lectivas. He wanted his daughters to marry the Counts. They would be the perfect husbands.

Brady and Tabitha went out on the balcony and he kissed Tabitha by the rose bushes where they couldn't be seen. Tabitha had never been kissed before and she liked it. She felt so lucky to be a Princess.

Maggie had to admit to herself that dancing with Pierce made her feel better. He didn't try to kiss Maggie. He wasn't as bold as his brother.

In the Carribean, Lawrence's fever had broken. He couldn't remember what had happened. Amenta helped feed him and she bandaged his wounds. He was so grateful to have this young black beautiful black woman take care of him. He kept thinking about another woman but he couldn't understand why.

Back at the Ball, Tabitha was loving Brady's attention and his kisses. Unbeknowst to them. a heart broken woman and Brady's Mistress, Katrina Fenton was jealous as she had just been jilted by the handsome Count Brady. She cried and she hated the Count and the Princess both. Brady liked the Princess and hoped that her father chose him to be her husband. As for love, Brady wasn't even sure what that was. He hoped to have it someday. Katrina hadn't meant anything to him. She had been a diversion. Brady and Tabitha danced and he held the Princess close. Let's hope that Tabitha doesn't end up with a broken heart. As for Maggie, she would end up being married to Pierce and Tabitha to Brady. Would they end up living happily ever?

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