Miri's POV

Today is the day of the banquet. Yesterday was the most exhausting day ever, but it was fruitful as I came to learn a lot about the empires, and my family came to learn a lot about Ali and I. And the Dragonian prince is not that bad; he's actually nice and very free to speak with, especially since he attaches no emotions to conversations. I was so nervous I was unable to sleep properly, and it didn’t help that I had my nightmares again last night. I’m just thankful we bought makeup while on our little shopping spree and a very beautiful dress. I’ve never been a fan of dresses, cause most of them tend to restrict my movement, but this one doesn’t.

We still have a few hours left before it’s time for the banquet that is taking place here in the castle, so I head over back to the bed and wake Alira up so we can go and get breakfast and start our day. We go into the bathroom and get ourselves ready, cause no matter how much I love food, Alira and I can agree we’d rather get killed in an assassin attack than allow everyone in the castle to see our bed head cause we look like clowns. So we quickly freshen up and run down for breakfast.

Unlike what I first expected when I came here, every meal with them is so lively, and I can tell they love me so much.

“Miri, Alira, I have arranged for the best salon mistress to come to the castle so you guys can have a massage, do your hair, nails, and whatever you might need before tonight,” Tarin says.

“Thank you, brother, you are so thoughtful.”

I think Tarin might be my favorite among my brothers, but I really would love to build a relationship with Aeren. He is my twin, after all. I can see how close Fenn and Renn are. I would love that for myself and Aeren, but I really don’t know how to actually build it.

“Miri, are you okay? You zoned out there, love,” my father asks.

“I’m alright, Father,” I say with a slight bow.

Once the meal is over, me and Alira excuse ourselves and head over to the huge spa room that Lior had informed me belonged to our mother. We had a massage, did pedicures, and even fixed my nails a dark shade of glittering black while Alira did hers red. We styled our hairs with Alira doing a packed up messy bun, while for my hair it was let to fall, with a claw clip holding some of it at the back and a side parting done to the right. It looked so beautiful.

Before we knew it, 3 hours had passed, and we had only an hour and thirty minutes left until the ball, and we had just finished our makeup. Alira went for a no-makeup makeup look, with the only thing that makes it noticeable she had makeup on being her dark red lips and the dark slight shade of her eyeliner. While for me, I went for light makeup with nude lipstick, a light pink blush, and sparkling silver eyeshadow. It was simple but elegant just how I liked it.

We head over to our rooms so we can put on our dresses. Alira and I got the same dress design of dress, which we both love. She heads over to her own room to get ready, and I dress in mine. After putting on the dress, I go to the full-length mirror to admire this dress. Upon reaching there, I take a step back and let my eyes wander over my mirror’s reflection.

The dress clings in all the right places. The bodice is fitted, with one shoulder exposed and the other wrapped in a delicate sweep of sheer fabric that trails down perfectly. The tiny diamonds that adorn my chest catch the light and give me an ethereal glow. The color is a soft muted lavender that could easily be mistaken for purple. It's cool and elegant, shifting gently with every turn. From the waist, the skirt flows down in rich gathered folds, the fabric parting high along one thigh in a clean, confident slit. It moves when I move without stiffness or drag. There is something powerful in the simplicity of it, not loud, not flashy, just effortless.

I pair this beautiful dress with a silver pencil heel and a single simple silver necklace that my adoptive parents had given me. I look stunning and that is only confirmed when Alira walks in and gasps that I look gorgeous. But I found it ironic, because she looked breathtaking herself, with the same design but a dark royal blue color that goes so well with her tanned skin and red hair, paired with gold platform heels, gold bangles, and the most beautiful pearl earrings she looked truly breathtaking.

“Girl, you are so going to be the center of attention today,” I say to her.

“Riri, modesty is not a good look on you. I might be the center of attention simply because with the way you look you could even be in the corner, and that’s where the attention would go,” she says in a joking manner.

We hear the knock of the door. It's time. My brothers and Ryden came to pick us up. Alira is the first to walk out, and then me right after. They are left speechless, unable to form a coherent word, and I jokingly add,

“This is the point where you tell us we look beautiful.”

“My dear sister, beautiful is not good enough of a word to describe you. In all four empires, even the sun would be envious of your glow,” Rian says and that confirms it for me. He really is a flirt. What normal guy has those compliments off the top of his head?

Even though I hide my blush and simply say, “Thank you,” Aeren speaks next.

“Let’s go,” he says, as he walks to my side and takes my hand in order to escort me. Malric goes and takes Alira’s hand to escort her.

Apart from Aeren and Malric, all the other princes join my father at the podium, while we wait at the door of the main entrance. From outside, we can hear Father’s speech "Thank you all for coming to celebrate this wonderful day with our family. Most of you here were present on the day of the coliseum and witnessed the power of our princess, so there shall be no need to doubt her legitimacy. We hope for your continued guidance for our newly found youngest, and I would also like to announce that I have also taken in an adoptive daughter who shall be considered the interim princess of the shadow empire, as she is a sister and good friend to my daughter, and I as a father couldn’t bear to separate them. So I do hope you all give her the respect you would give to any other member of our royal family.

And now, without wasting any more of your time, let's join hands and welcome in our princesses."

We take that as our cue as we both walk in through the main entrance and across the hall. All eyes are on us, and almost all mouths are wide in astonishment, looking between me and Miri. But the reaction that surprises me the most is the one from my father. He literally tears up, as if he’s looking at me but not really seeing me.

As I reach the stage and take Father’s arm, I whisper to him, "Father, what’s wrong?"

He chokes a bit. "My beautiful daughter, you look exactly like your mother. She would be so happy to see you right now."

And now I understand my father must have really loved my mother. Everyone knew about the death of the queen and how it broke the Shadow King. That’s why I never mentioned her or asked about the fact that my eyes were a mixture of black and red, but simply made them look black alone through my inner energy.

My dad controls himself and has me and Alira stand on both sides beside him and says,

"These are my daughters, Miri Velmorne and Alira Greystone."

And everyone cheers at his words as the ball officially begins. I watch as everyone speaks to one another, but the other empires’ royal families came to introduce themselves.

First, it was the royal family of the Dragonian Empire.

"Greetings, Shadow King, and my ethereal blessings to the newly found princess. I am the king of the Dragonian Empire, Thane Flintmaw. This is my beautiful wife and queen, Rowena Flintmaw, and these are my two sons, Balen and Torun Flintmaw."

"These two humble princes introduce themselves to the princess," they say in unison as they bow.

"Greetings to the truest dragon blood left to fly. I am Miri Velmorne. It is my pleasure to meet you and your royal family," I say with a bow as a sign of respect, reciting what I had learnt while still in the human realm.

He laughs. "You truly are the princess so effortlessly graceful."

"Thank you for the compliment, even though I am unworthy, Dragon King."

He simply laughed. "Then I would not take any more of your time."

And I bow in respect. Just as he left, the Demon royal family approached us.

"Greetings, Shadow King, and my ethereal blessings to the newly found princess. I am the king of the Demon Empire, Bramik Malzakar. This is my beautiful wife, Tahlia Malzakar, and my only prince, Draven Malzakar. I do hope you can be good friends."

"This humble demon prince greets the royal Shadow family and the newly found princess."

I just met this boy but I don’t like him. His greeting just now was like a jab to me. Isn’t it too early to already be dealing with political problems? But I swallow my discomfort and bow.

"Greetings to the ethereal red of darkness, may your blood flow eternally red. I am Miri Velmorne. It is my pleasure to meet you and your royal family, and I am unworthy of being close with the dearest demon crown prince," I say with a final bow.

The king laughs. "No need to be so formal. You will still get a chance to know each other better when you get to the academy. He is entering his final year. I'm guessing you will be starting this resuming semester?"

I look over at my father as he answers.

"Of course, our princess has no problem going to the academy. No need for the ethereal red to worry."

"Of course. It seems my good intentions and worry are not needed. Me and my family will take no more of your time," the demon king says as he leaves.

The rest of the party goes by in a flurry of meeting dukes and archdemons and all other important figures and their kids. And then suddenly, one of the ministers of the Demon Empire speaks up.

"Shadow King, it has been a tradition that on recognition balls all the adults are to leave the room and leave only the peers of the imperial person being recognized and allow them to interact without any adult interference. Don’t tell me you intend to disregard this tradition?"

"Of course not."

My father looks to me for confirmation, as if silently asking me if it is okay, and I nod my head to confirm that I am okay with it.

"Alright, please, esteemed guests, we shall move somewhere else and leave the younger ones."

As they were being led out, Tarin, Rian, Fenn, Renn, and Ryden were to leave, and I asked Alira to go with them. As she was about to object, I reminded her that this place wasn’t filled with humans, and she begrudgingly left with the rest.

I was now alone with a room full of snobbish elite kids who wanted to tear me apart, and only three out of my seven brothers left with me but even they are not allowed to interfere.

Then suddenly, a girl walks out and stands in front of me.

"Hi, princess. My name is Vessara Mooncrest. I am the daughter of the Mooncrest minister of the Demon Empire, and I have volunteered to teach you how the academy is going to work before you start in about a month’s time. I would like to start by saying I am a second year and I rule the academy. In the academy, royal status or even power doesn’t matter, because all our powers are unable to work in the premises except when we are in Energia class. And the only rule is to not kill but that means you can beat someone to one inch of their life as long as you don’t kill. Do you understand what I’m trying to say?"

I look at this girl that calls herself Vessara. She is a demon with oxblood eyes and lavender hair that looks quite close to the shade of my dress. She is beautiful and walks around with the confidence of someone who knows that. She has a light complexion and is wearing a dress that reveals not too much but enough of her cleavage, and she has a smile that seems forced. She is intimidated by me but refuses to show it.

Things really will be interesting.

I laugh a full-blown mocking laugh and then look into her eyes with a smile that never left my face.

"In short, you are trying to tell me that I can neither rely on my princess status nor my inherently strong powers. That without my power or my status, a girl who has lived all her life in the human realm is nothing to you, especially in your own domain. You are trying to threaten me even though we are still in my father’s domain right now trying to threaten me when my powers, which I haven’t fully learnt how to use, can simply go out of control."

I say all this while slowly walking to her. I get close to her, look into her eyes. She is a bit shorter than me so I have to take my gaze downwards to look well into her oxblood eyes.

"Tell me, Vessara," dragging out her name, "are you bold, stupid, or simply have a death wish?"

I end while widening my smile. I can see her legs shaking. She's scared and so is the rest of the room. My voice is chilling and cool but exuding power in every word.

"Princess, you seem to forget who my father is, right? You wouldn’t want to cause trouble for your father and your kingdom, right?"

She stammers out in an attempt to regain control of the situation.

"I am simply an uneducated lost princess who was found recently. I am ignorant of the rules and unable to control my powers and impulses. The Demon King and my father will understand."

And as I raise my hand, her legs give out and she crashes to the ground.

"Don’t make threats you can’t fulfill, and don’t act tough if you can’t see it through."

I bent to her level on the ground and whisper into her ear,

"That’s disgusting."

I see her clenching her fist and gritting her teeth, but she says nothing. I look around and see no one making any attempts to move forward, and then I walk out.

I go to the terrace and look out at the stars, and then I hear someone behind me. I turn around to see it is Aeren.

"Hello, sister. I hope you are okay," he asks as he hands me over a glass of water.

I take it and look away from us and back at the stars. We fall into a comfortable silence before I break it.

"Will they ever accept me, or will they always see me as the uneducated princess found in the human realm?" I ask, voicing out my insecurities for some reason.

"They might not, at least not in their head. But you can always shut them up like you did today," he looked at me with a smile before staring back at the sky.

"I grew up hearing from these same people that it would have been better if I had been taken instead of the princess, cause she has the power to make the Shadow Empire even stronger and I was weak as a child. There was a time when I thought if you ever came back, I would hate you. Cause even when you weren’t here, I was still fighting with your ghosts living up to an expectation that I don’t know who even set. But when I saw you, I fell in love with you. I knew I would always protect you as your big brother, and I knew that I don’t have to care about those insignificant people cause I have a family who thinks of me as perfect, and a sister I know will have to rely on me in the future. So pay no mind to them, my lil Riri. You are perfect and are destined for great things, and have seven brothers who would kill and die for you."

He ends it with a kiss on my forehead and hugs me as we stay in silence.

"Renren, thank you."

"No need for that, Riri. You are sharing my face. I can't bear to see it sad."

"Yeah, imagine seeing your own face look better even with a frown or scowl. It does sound like it would hurt," I retort, which earns me a jab to my waist as we both laugh and play around a bit more.

Heavenly, thank you for giving me my smile once more. I just hope you don’t take it away from me again. That truly would be too cruel.