Today was the day for Nicholas’s solo date, and I was trying my very best not to think about it. Ever since receiving Joseph’s threatening letter, I’d been hiding out in my room as much as I could to avoid him and the mean-looking guards. With the First Ball fast approaching, I used the extra time in my room to help my maids work on me and Elva’s gowns. The dress had to be perfect. The order of introductions for the girls at the ball was to be determined by the princes’ preferences of the dresses. Once the gowns were finished, pictures were to be taken of them and given to the princes, who would then select their favorites. Those favorites would be the first ones introduced at the ball, and therefore given the most time with the princes. And with the cameras. A major component of the