Misha the Beast Tamer.

I then proceeded to lead Stefan to my room and introduced him to Aqila. Their introductions were awkward and stiff at first. Aqila eventually warmed up to him, so much so that Aqila let Stefan give her a cuddle and farewell kiss on the forehead. It warmed my heart and cheeks seeing Aqila be accommodating to Stefan's shows of affection. I led him back to his room and left him to unpack his belongings, we would see each other at dinnertime which would be held in the grand hall of the academy where there will be tables and tables of food, enough room and food for everybody staying at the academy. I was excited.

On return to my room, Aqila was hunched over her desk writing. I sighed,

"Are you seriously doing school work now? It's the holiday's, you should use the time to take a break and relax. Plus, it's the dinner tonight, have you chosen an outfit to wear?"

Aqila replied with an inaudible mumble and pulled the curtains seperating our beds across. I sighed, that was definitely a fuck you and leave me alone statement.

There was just two more hours before the dinner was scheduled to start. I went to the communal bathing room which was quite busy. There was still plenty of room to sit in the naturally warm water and wash, but the mixed sounds of excited voices, giggles, and whispers echoed through the room and made my ears hurt. I left as soon as I could and returned to my room. As expected Aqila was still hunched over her desk and had made no effort to get ready or even organise her outfit. I sighed in annoyance,

"Are you going to bathe soon? Have you got an outfit to wear? If not, you can see if any of mine fit?"

Aqila sighed, frustrated at my hounding.

"Just focus on yourself Princess, Ill get ready soon. Don't worry." And dismissed me with a wave of her hand.

I gave up and flicked through my wardrobe. I had already chosen my outfit, it was just a matter of finding it. I had rarely worn any of the clothes that I brought with me, mainly because they were too formal, and fancy to wear everyday, like I had back home. I was happy that the dinner and ball tonight were a formal occasion and I would finally get to wear one of my Princess dresses.

I finally found the dress, it was dark blue and gold patterned dress with long sleeves, white lace details on the cuffs and around my bodice. While it still fitted my figure, it had gotten slightly tighter around my breasts. I put my hair up with two dark blue and gold combs and proudly wore the glass pendant necklace that Zac had gotten me. I pinched my cheeks and coloured my lips. I looked in the mirror and realised I looked a lot older than I was. I looked once again like a Princess.

After I had gotten dressed, i poked my head through the curtain. I expected to find Aqila still hunched over her desk, but to my surprise she was not there. I guessed she had snuck out while I was getting ready to bathe. I was hyped and excited to see Stefan again. So I couldn't stand waiting for Aqila. I left a note on her desk telling her that id gone to see Stefan and that I'd see her at the dinner. The echoes of my footsteps bounced off the walls as I made my way over to Stefan's room. I knocked on the door, the smell of my Father's favourite perfume wafted out of the room as he opened the door. When he saw me, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"Oh! Wow, Misha you're stunning. You look like a true lady, a beautiful Princess." He pulled me into his chest into a warm, comforting hug. The smell of Stefan's perfume had an instant calming effect on me. I pulled away from his embrace, and stood back admiring his outfit. He was wearing a black justacorps, a black patterened waistcoat which was detailed with golden silk threads, black breeches that reached just above his knee, tied by golden ribbon, white socks that met with the breeches and nicely buckled heels. He hadn't gotten to his raven black hair, which hung limp around his face, still shining with moisture.

"You look very handsome, Stefan, exactly like a Prince."

He smiled and thanked me. I helped stefan with his hair. Large wigs were popular at the time, we had always both refused to wear them. I thought they looked unnatural and weird. Stefan was proud of his heritage, he was descended from the gypsies that roamed the roads in between kingdom's hundreds of years ago, and he thought the wigs somehow hid that.

Once we were both ready we walked hand in hand to the grand hall. The doors were wide open and the hall was buzzing with excitement, chatter, and the soft sound of music pushing through the voices. The smell of food made my stomach rumble. The hall was a feast for all the senses.

We took our place at one of the tables that filled the room. Stefan had pulled out my chair for me to sit on. Once seated I scanned the room, looking for Aqila. I noticed that I had somehow drawn the attention of a couple of fellow male students. This did not go unnoticed by Stefan,

" Oh! dear, Princess it looks like you'll not get a break from dancing tonight. I see at least five boys showing interest in you, so far."

I sighed heavily and fiddled with the glass pendant around my neck. I wished Zac was here, I'd dance all night in his arms. My face went red and just like always Stefan knew exactly how I was feeling. He squeezed my hand and whispered,

"Zac would've come with me if he could, he truly wanted to see you. He still loves you. He is working so hard to become a knight, and he is doing so well at it too. He has become a very popular jouster, maidens are fighting for his affection, but he remains true to you Princess."

I smiled slighlty, proud of Zac's achievements and his loyalty. I also wondered if he had made any progress in becoming who he truly was inside. I even wondered if Stefan knew that Zac was physicaly a woman and what would he think if he knew? My thoughts were interrupted by Stefan tapping me on the shoulder.

"Look who has just arrived, and she looks absolutely handsome."

I followed Stefan's gaze and saw Aqila, she looked uncomfortable and did draw the attention of everyone in the room. Awkward silence hung in the air.

She was dressed in a man's suit, her hair tied back. I was surprised, I half expected her to be wearing a dress, but the man's suit actually fitted her nicely and she did indeed look handsome. I then realised that Aqila would not look right in a dress. Wearing a dress did not suit her at all, but a man's suit did look right. I excused myself from the table and ran up to her. I felt the eyes of everyone in the room follow me. Aqila was struggling, I could tell as she seemed to be teetering between the open doors and making her way towards our table, not knowing whether she would stay or go. I finally reached her. She saw me, her amber eyes widened, and her mouth became agape. I hugged her and grabbed her hand. The eyes continued to watch us as we made our way to the table. We sat down, still the awkward silence remained, all eyes were on us. We didn't know what to do, Aqila choosing to wear Men's clothes tonight was risky, frowned upon, and considered taboo. For a further couple of minutes the heavy fog of silence suffocated us. I was desperate for something to happen to draw their attention away and onto something else. I was relieved when the band began playing again and soon the chatter of vioces once again filled the hall. It was finally okay to let out my breath. Stefan squeezed my hand once again and said proudly

"That was brave of you Princess. Again, Im so proud of you." He then focused his attention to Aqila who was still recovering from the recent event.

"I'm so happy that my suit fitted you so well. You are very brave and it suits you. It suits you so much, I'm going to give it to you as a gift."

Aqila smiled and replied gratefully.

"Thank you Stefan." Then stood from her chair and threw her arms around him. Stefan's face went red and he patted Aqila's arm in response.