Prince Alexander Olleander, heir to the throne of the north kingdom, had always avoided the ballroom like an illness. Day’s before the actual ball began, Alexander would try to convince himself it never existed in the first place.

Except it did. Now he was trapped in a place he was sure was made to torture him. The crowd, full of other royals from all far reaches of the land, wasn’t even the worst thing about it. It was the ladies. Lord, how they gave him a headache. The touching, the high pitched voice. All of it.

Alexander, finally fed up, somehow managed to sneak away from a conversation and into a slightly dark corner of the ballroom. Some peace and quiet. At last.