Emerson's POV

"So, who's all gonna be at the ball?" I asked as we walked down the hall. "I mean, I know that we're all royal now, but is it like dukes, dutchesses, and people like that?"

Danielle shook her head. "If it's anything like what Elaine’s coronation was, it'll be all of the townsfolk, and maybe some friends of Wilford and Dark."

Mom spoke up. "About how many people live in this kingdom?"

"50,000 in the kingdom, 500 in this town. So only about 500 people will be there." We got to the big ballroom. "Well, are you ready for your practice dance?"

I took a deep breath. "I guess."

Mom grinned. "Hold on. Danielle, let's tell them that you're here." I nodded, and they walked through the double doors.

After a couple quiet seconds of waiting out in the hallway, a male servant passed by. He looked to be about the same age as me, with brown hair and hazel eyes. He walked up to me with a curious look on his face.

"Pardon me, Your Highness, but what are you doing out in the hallway?"

I smiled at him. "Please, none of that. Call me Emerson, or Em if you'd like." He gave a small smile. "And I'm waiting for my mom to come back. You see, I'm practicing for the ball tomorrow, and Wilford wants it to be perfect."

He nodded. "Ah, that makes sense. Neither of the kings want this to go poorly. They're counting on you, Emerson. And my name's Erik, nice to meet you." He bowed.

I curtsied back to him. "It's nice to meet you, too. Now, I don't want you getting in trouble with Dark, so run along." He nodded, gave me a quick smile, then walked off.

Just a couple minutes later, I heard muffled voices through the door. I strained to listen, then I heard a loud voice- one that was loud enough that I could hear it from five feet away from the room.

"Announcing, her Royal Highness, Princess Emerson Mae Nestor." The doors opened, and I walked onto the balcony, seeing Wilford, Dark, Ethan, and a new guy below us.

"Smile, Emerson." Wilford commented. "The whole town will be watching." I put on a smile, making it seem real enough for them.

The new guy walked to the bottom of the stairs and held his hand out. I walked down to him and took his hand lightly. He gave a quick bow and walked me to the platform where the thrones would be placed.

Dark clapped. "Well done, Emerson. That was great for your first try."

I sighed. "Let me guess, I need to work on it?"

The new guy grinned. "Aww, what's the matter? Do you want to hurry up so you can get to that special someone?"

I scoffed, turning to him. "For your information, I'm single, and I plan on staying that way."

He chuckled. "That's exactly what your mother said while she was starting to date Danielle."

"Anti!" I turned towards the balcony, seeing Danielle and mom up there. They must've been the ones who opened the door.

She marched down the stairs. "Do you want me to hit you? Because I will, and boy, oh boy, will it not be pretty."

The guy- supposedly named Anti- grinned wider, his right eye turning green with a blue iris. "Do it. Try and hit me."

"Girls, girls!" Dark said, standing between the two. "No fighting, please!"

"Did you just call me a girl?" Both Danielle and Anti said at the same time.

"I can break your neck in less that five seconds." Danielle pointed out.

"I can make you choke on poisonous gas."

Danielle stared at Anti for a moment. "You win." She stepped back.

Anti laughed, his green eye fading away to a regular blue one. "You knew I would from the beginning."

"Shut up." Danielle walked back up to the balcony.

"Uhh, what just happened?" I said, confused.

Wilford walked up to me. "Emerson, this is Antisepticeye, also known as Anti. He's going to help you on your path to the ruler of this kingdom."

Anti smiled politely at me. "How do you do, Emerson?" He bowed.

I walked to where dad was standing. "So much for a first impression." I hugged dad. "How was it?"

He smiled, hugging me back. "I might be biased here, but I think it was great."

I pulled away. "You think everything I do is great."

"Like I said, I might be biased."

Dark rolled his eyes. "Okay, let's try this again. Emerson, go back outside."

Needless to say, we practiced this about fifteen times until Wilford let me go.