In Love With The Ebony Queen

Carnival

I grabbed my purse and we stepped outside and got into Dimitri's truck. My heart was pounding the entire time, nervous about whether or not someone would recognize me. I was hoping to fly under the radar. 

 I undid the tight bun my hair was in and put it into a low ponytail, then put on my sunglasses. "What are you doing?" Dimitri laughed. "What? I'm trying to blend in. I'd like to walk down the street without people gawking at me or snapping pictures." 

I tied my shirt up in the back and put on a hat that Dimitri had sitting in his truck. I pulled down the visor to check myself in the mirror. "How do I look?" I turned slightly to Dimitri and he shook his head. 

"You look like someone conspicuous trying hard to not be conspicuous." he laughed.

He reached over and took the hat off my head, then the glasses off my face. "Take your hair down." he instructed. I hesitated a moment, then did as he said. 

"There. Now instead of looking like a princess in disguise, you look like a random hot chick." I glanced over at him. "Hot? Me? Whatever."

He laughed again. "No one has ever told you that you're hot, have they?" I shook my head. "Of course not."

"Well let me be the first. Princess Serena, you are very hot." He glanced over at me and winked before putting his eyes back on the road. 

I felt myself blushing at his words. I had honestly never thought about whether or not someone would find me attractive. As a princess, any male interaction I ever have is during formal events where a big ballgown with my hair up. 

And if any of them told me I was hot, my father would probably have his head. I looked at the side view mirror and watched the 2 guards my father insisted follow me around in a black car. 

"So where are you taking me?" I asked Dimitri. "We're already here." I looked out the window and see a bunch of people at what looks like a giant party. 

There are big striped tents everywhere, with balloons, games and a huge Ferris wheel. Some kids are walking around holding cotton candy and giant stuffed animals. 

"Wow, what is this?" He stepped out of the truck and came around to the passenger door to open it. "It's a carnival. They have this one every year around this time." 

I was so nervous I didn't move. "What's wrong, Serena?" 

"Shh!" I said, looking around. "Don't use my name! Someone might hear you." I said. The guards stepped out of their car and walked into the park into different directions. At least they are keeping their distance from me. 

"So then what should I call you?" He leaned against the passenger door. "I don't know. Umm." I did not think this through. I should have come up with an alias before coming here.

"What about Ebony?" Dimitri said. "Ebony? Why ebony?" I looked at him, puzzled. He leaned close to my face and whispered. "It goes well with your beautiful brown skin."

My heart flutters at his words and my face gets hot. He is looking at me with a smile, but his eyes say something else. I'm not sure what. I try to brush him off. "Whatever. Ebony is fine I guess."

Dimitri offers his hand and helps me out of the truck. We head towards all the commotion. "What would you like to do first?" he asked.

"I don't know. What is there to do here?" He looked around a moment, then grabbed my hand and pulled me towards one of the tents. "How about we try this one?" 

We came up to a booth with a gun that shoots balls and some targets. "I'm going to win you one of those." He pointed at the big stuffed toys hanging on the wall. 

I laughed. "Sure, let's see." I crossed my arms and stepped aside to give him some room. He paid the man behind the booth and the man gave him a gun and 5 balls to hit the bullseye in the target. If he were to hit it every time, he would win the toy.

"Alright, whenever you're ready kid." The man said. One, two, three, four and five shots. Only three bullseyes. I laughed. "Very nice, Dimitri. My turn." 

He looked at me like I had grown two heads. "You? You think you can do better?" He raised his eye brow with a smirk on his face. 

"I will have you know, I have taken archery as well as shooting in my spare time. My father didn't approve of it, but he never tells me now." 

"Well of course he wouldn't your a prin-" I elbowed him in the ribs and he paid the man. "Thank you." I gave him a toothy grin. 

Dimitri stepped back and I took aim. I ended up hitting all 5 targets

I flipped my hair and strutted away from him. "We have a winner! Nice shooting, young lady." I handed the man the gun and smiled. 

"Thank you very much." I smirked at Dimitri. "Choose your price, hun." As I looked over the giant prizes, I heard a small girl talking about a big unicorn another girl had. 

"I wish I had a big unicorn, mommy." the girl sighed. "I'm sorry sweetheart, but we are out of money. It is time to head home, okay?" 

I looked back at the girl and she looked so sad. I turned back to the man and didn't see any unicorns, but I did spot a Pegasus. I pointed out the pink winged horse and the man handed it to me. 

I ran over to the woman and her small daughter. "Excuse me! Excuse me. Is it alright if she has mine? It's not a unicorn, but it's close, right?" The girl's face lit up.

"Mommy, could I please have it?" She tugged at her mother's shirt. Her mother was glaring at me with narrowed eyes. "You look very familiar." she said. "Mommy! Can I please have the horse?"

The woman looked down at her daughter and smiled. "If the nice girl is offering, then yes sweetheart." I handed it to her and she squeezed it tight. 

"That's it! You look so much like the princess!" The woman said. My eyes grew wide and I laughed nervously.

"I wish I was the princess. It would be nice to be royalty, huh?" I said to the girl. trying to play it off. "Ebony!" I heard Dimitri call for me as he jogged to my side. 

"Ebony, we have more stuff to do." The woman looked at him, then back at me. "What do you say, Lila?" the woman asked her small child. 

"Thank you very much! I love it so much." I smiled. "You are very welcome." I stood there a moment as the woman and her adorable daughter walked away.

I let out a big exhale. I didn't realize I was holding my breath. "She said I looked a lot like the princess." Dimitri gave me a confused look. "I wonder why she would think that?" 

I rolled my eyes and playfully slapped his arm. "Come on. There are lots of rides and games to play. 

We spent the next couple of hours playing games and giving away our winnings. I was finally getting hungry seeing everyone walking around with these wonderful smelling treats. 

"Let's get something to eat I am so hungry." I sighed. We made our way over to a food stand and Dimitri asked me what I wanted. 

"Umm Dimitri. I have no clue what any of this stuff is. The only food I've ever eaten was what the castle cooks make." I whispered to him. 

"No problem. I will order for you." I raised an eyebrow. "What? We have known each other half our lives. I think I have an idea of something you might like." He smiled at me, then looked up at the menu. 

It's kind of weird, but I never noticed how beautiful his smile is. He has been giving me weird butterflies lately. But I try not to think too much about it. He's my best friend, and he's always been nice to me.

"Hi, uh...can I get two corn dogs, a funnel cake and two large lemonades, please?" A moment passed and he got out our food and we sat at a bench. 

"Here, try this." He handed me something fried on a stick. "What is it?" Of course he couldn't help himself but laugh at me. 

"A corndog. A hot dog battered and deep fried. For someone who has everything, you sure are out of the loop." He took a big bite of his corndog. 

"Dimitri, I am very sheltered. But not by choice. And why do you always talk about what I have like you resent me for it?" I scolded him.

He looked taken aback by my words. "I was only kidding. I don't resent you for anything. When we first became friends, you being royalty never phased me. It doesn't phase me now. 

Crown or not, you are just you." His words made a big grin cross my lips. "Come on, give it a try."

I dipped it in the cup of sauce he held up in front of me then took a bite. The flavor was amazing! I was instantly hooked. "Wow! That tastes amazing!" I dipped it again and took another big bite. 

"Now try this." He broke a piece of the sugar covered cake and fed a piece to me. Another culinary experience I'd never had the pleasure of experiencing before. "That is so damn good!" 

I practically inhaled the food and lemonade in a very short time. "I want to get on that." I pointed up at the large Ferris wheel a few feet away from us. 

"You sure? You won't get scared or sick?" I shrugged my shoulders. "Won't know until I get on. Let's go!" I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards it. 

The line wasn't very long. After only 2 or 3 minutes we were seating in the ride and began going up. 

I inhaled and held my breath. "Don't do that. You'll probably make yourself pass out." Dimitri warned me. I exhaled and closed my eyes, realizing I didn't like being up this high after all. 

The ride made a slow ascend and I became too scared to actually look. I felt the ride come to a stop but still afraid to open my eyes.

"Serena." I heard Dimitri whisper to me. "What?" I whispered back, but didn't open my eyes. He chuckled. "It's okay. Open your eyes." I shook my head vigorously. 

He laughed, then grabbed my hand. "Really, it's okay. Just look." I opened my eyes slowly. We were even higher than I originally thought.  

I squeezed his hand tightly. "Relax, Serena." I looked around at the breathtaking view. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. 

"It's hard to relax when you're this high up. All I can think about is falling." My heart was pounding in my chest. "But I thought you could fly?"  I look over and he's smirking at me. 

"Yeah, I wish. I'd fall and die for sure." I laughed. Dimitri moved closer to me, his lips gently brushing my ear. "I'd never let you fall."

I turned to look at him and he had an expression I have never seen before. Dimitri almost always has a smile or a sarcastic smirk on his face. But right now he was looking down at me with such a seriousness that I am unfamiliar with. 

I felt my heart skip a beat and my body grow warm under his gaze. I looked away from him, hoping he would stop staring at me. 

"I have another place I want to take you before it gets too dark out." Dimitri said as we began our slow descend back down to earth.