1x1 with it.will.rain

[it.will.rain]

The man was dressed nice and he walked in. "Miss. Lenore, King James wanted me to make sure that your dog returned safely from the trip to the palace. He also wanted to apologize that he did not realize he was being followed and let him spend some time with him." The man said sitting the dog down. James was in his office in a meeting. The meeting was about the war and he sat thinking about what the man was saying to him. He had to take his advice. He then got in a meeting about the next ball and scheduled it a few weeks out not wanting to deal with it right now. He then started working on budgets. They were not due for a while but he wanted to get it done.

[~*AsMaDaSaHaTtEr*~]

(Would you like to skip forwards a few weeks?)

[it.will.rain]

(Yep! You start?)

[~*AsMaDaSaHaTtEr*~]

Lenore handed over one of the last dresses of the day and at this point she still didn't know if she herself wanted to go. It wasn't as if she had a lack of dresses, money, or time, she just didn't know what the king wanted. She hadn't heard from him in a few weeks. She walked into the back of her store and looked at the dress and mask that she had made earlier in the week. She touched the blue tulle and blue flowers, picking up the blue mask. But she wouldn't fit in, she had no crown, not even a tiara since most of them had been bought out for this ball. She sighed and looked down at Moose. "What am I going to do sweetie?"

[it.will.rain]

James got ready. He had a black suit with a blue tie. He picked up his blue and gold mask thankful that he did not have to wear his crown tonight. It made things a little less painful. He figured that Lenore did not want to see him anymore. He had to move on from that. He sighed and walked into the ball not being announced this time. He was just another person in attendance. It made things a little easier to not be bombarded with questions. The amount of girls with gold and white dresses made him think. He looked around the room and asked one of the girls along the wall if she wanted to dance. He then danced with her but she avoided any questions other than small talk. As soon as the dance was over, he excused himself and went to get a drink.

[~*AsMaDaSaHaTtEr*~]

Lenore's neighbor was actually one of the jewelers in the city was she was lucky enough that he lended her a crown. So Lenore got dressed, sent Moose up to James' bedroom and entered the ball. She was looked stunning in a sea of gold and white she stuck out in blue, recognizing all the dresses she had made, down to which little girl had made the bows. Lenore's crown outshone any of the women's little tiaras, she truly looked how a queen should look and dress. Her mask, while delicate, beautifully both covered and complimented her face. As necrosis as Lenore was she was ready to have some fun.

[it.will.rain]

James stood close to the wall as he drank his punch and looked over at one of the guards who was watching the party and specifically keeping track of him. He did not mind that much though. It kept him safe. They all knew who he was out of everyone else. They had been briefed on his exact attire for the evening. He looked as a girl in a blue dress came down the stairs and around. He smiled a little bit before handing his drink to one of the guards who was in charge of his food and drinks for the evening. He then walked over to the girl in blue. "It looks like we match." He said smiling at her. His tie and mask matched her dress perfectly like it was meant to be. He realized who it was and was not sure what to do. He debated walking away but he still liked her. He was saved from making a decision when a woman walked up to him and asked him for a dance. He looked over at Lenore. "Please excuse me." He said and went with the woman and danced with her as requested. He could tell by her questions that she was trying to figure out who was the king out of all the guys there. But he did not give her what she wanted. He finished the dance with her before going back to his place by the wall.

[~*AsMaDaSaHaTtEr*~]

Lenore blushed a violent shade of red but was disappointed that he didn't stay to chat so when she saw him leaning against the wall she walked over and leaned next to him. "So may I ask what gave me away James?" She smiled, the fact that they matched by pure chance made her laugh a bit. "Was it the not gold and white dress?" Lenore played with a pearl on the skirt of her dress. "Because I'm starting to get the impression that you're not into me anymore." She but her bottom lip and looked down at the marble floor.

[it.will.rain]

James looked over at her as she talked to him. "Honestly, it was not the dress. That is what made me come over but as soon as you looked at me with your stunning blue eyes and blushed, I knew." He said looking at her. "But the dresses are beautiful so I do give you props for that one. I do like yours the best. Though." He said and frowned a bit when she said that he was not into her anymore. "Actually, that is not it at all. You pushed me away before. I thought that it was too much for you so I stopped coming around thinking you did not want me around. I was just doing what I thought that you wanted. I have just been trying to move on because you did not seem interested." James said and shrugged. "But you are the only one who has figured out who I am so I give you props for that. I have had quite a few women try to get me to tell them but you just knew." He said not really looking at her. He was watching the people dance.

[~*AsMaDaSaHaTtEr*~]

Lenore sighed, sitting down in a chair in front of him. "Well your grace. You could tell me to leave right now and not to speak to you again, or you could decided that you'd like to spend tonight with me. You choice." She looked at the hundreds of women trying to figure out which man was the king, and the hundreds of men trying to take full advantage of that. "And it was your voice that gave it away. I suspect I won't be forgetting that voice for a very long time." Lenore noticed that not a single girl in the whole ballroom went without a tiara. "They all want to be your wife, they're preparing for it." She couldn't help but the one person in the room who truly deserved the crown wasn't wearing on, the King. Lenore could pick out her king with the simplest word, it didn't take a thousand questions, it was a gut feeling and it was without a doubt."So what is your decision your grace?" Lenore couldn't believe the immense weight that was the crown on her head, she didn't know how James did it every single day. Meanwhile Moose was making himself right at home on James' bed, plopping himself down on a pillow for a nap.