Once Upon A Time [BxB]

Chapter Eleven: The Royal Ball

The castle was nothing like I had ever seen.

Stairs descended upwards to the entrance of the castle like a stairway to heaven. Soldiers stood every several steps, unwavering and still. The castle glimmered under the night sky like a newly lightened candle in a quiet, dark room. Long, golden pillars supported the entire palace, and had several of them on each floor. There was a fountain in the middle of the round-a-bout, and a statue of the founding king on top of it. And a large garden filled any leftover space in the front with carefully cut bushes and trees. Since I arrived late, the only other people outside were the soldiers.

Beelzebub stopped the carriage at the bottom of the daunting stairway, hopping off of his seat to open the carriage door.

I left the carriage and immediately looked at the soldiers to find Christopher only to find disappointment. I fidgeted with my sleeves as I looked up at the ginormous castle.

"Are you okay?" Beelzebub asked.

I stiffened and turned to him, "Beelzebub?"

"The one and only," he smirked with his arms crossed. "Dad, what's wrong?"

"I'm scared," I gulped. "I'm just a servant boy."

"And I'm just a cat," Beelzebub chuckled. "Make the most of tonight while you still can."

I smiled and wrapped my arms around him.

"Thank you, bub," I sighed.

"You're welcome," he replied, hugging me back. "Now go on, you can't keep him waiting."

I let go of Beelzebub and took a deep breath. Turning around, I climbed up the stairs with only one thing on my mind.

Christopher.

***

I ran through the candlelit halls of the palace, taking a quick glance at each soldier. A guard motioned at me to the entrance of the ballroom, and I said a quick thank you before running in that direction.

The same pillars from the outside of the castle were also standing tall on the inside. The walls had delicate wooden details and candles glowing brightly. The floors were made out of clean tiles with a symmetrical pattern that repeated throughout the palace. And on the roof were clear mirrors that made me gasp when I saw my reflection.

I quickly made it to the entrance of the ballroom and took a deep breath.

It's now or never.

Knock, knock, knock.

The large doors were opened by two soldiers, none of which were Christopher.

I walked into the room until I was peeking over the mezzanine. I looked at the crowd of people and scanned it, trying to find Christopher. When I didn't find him, my eyes found the other mezzanine where the royals sat. My eyes widened.

Christopher was sitting on one of the thrones with a black suit, red sash, and a golden crown.

He wasn't a royal soldier, he was the crown prince!

Christopher stared back at me with wide eyes. His mouth was slightly opened, but after a few seconds, he smiled. He left the mezzanine to join the crowd.

I also left the mezzanine and climbed down the stairs, stopping halfway to bow at Christopher.

When I climbed down to the main ballroom, I was met with a handsome prince.

"Hello," Christopher greeted with a bow.

"Hi," I replied with a cheeky smile.

"Would you join me for the first...?".