The Crown Princess of Lorule looked out over the crowded ballroom. She bore the heritable dark purple hair and vivid crimson eyes of countless generations of Lorulean royalty. A young man around her age stood next to her. His hair color was much like hers, although his eyes were the color of emeralds.

"Ravio, please... Enjoy the ball," the young woman urged.

"You put a lot of effort into putting this event together. You should enjoy yourself as well, Hilda, Your Highness."

"I will wait… Until he arrives. Although, I can't stop thinking about the possibility that his reincarnation cycle has ended…" Her voice wavered as she stumbled over her words, alarming Ravio. He had no idea what she was talking about, but whatever it was had clearly been affecting her emotional state, and her secret motivations were coming to light.

"Until... who arrives?"

"You don't remember, but… You will soon."

The offhand remark took his breath away, the crypticness of it. Ravio found himself walking away with an unsettled feeling. He spotted the Captain of the Guard in the crowd and went to him.

The older man greeted him, and smiled reassuringly, perhaps seeing the disjointed look on the boy's face.

Ravio frowned and lowered his voice in a conspiratorial manner.. "Captain… Can I confide in you? Promise to keep it to yourself?"

The Captain's eyes lit up, sensing the seriousness of Ravio's request. "Of course!"

"Okay but not here. Follow me."

Ravio and the Captain exited the ballroom and went out into the foyer, which was empty. The heavy, ornate doors muffled the sounds of the crowd and the music to a low hum. The two came to stand in front of an ancient painting of a woman.

"The Princess said something very strange… It seems she organized this entire ball as a ruse to try to find someone who doesn't exist. As you know, she has spared no expense or effort to invite everyone in the kingdom. Couple that with the fact that she is obsessed with the ancient legends and worse, I have a suspicion she actually believes in them. I mean... No one has even believed that members of the royal family are descendants of a goddess for centuries. It's all hogwash after all. And now I have this terrible feeling that I can't explain away.

"Yes, very strange, indeed..." The Captain agreed. "That reminds me…" The Captain smiled. "I have often observed her completely entranced by this particular painting…" The Captain nodded to the portrait behind them.

The engraving on the frame had long been worn away, but the painting itself featured a strikingly beautiful woman with sharp features and wavy, orange hair. Her breathtaking crimson eyes were not unlike those of the Princess Ravio knew, but... Wasn't there another reason they were so familiar?

"Uncle Wormy..." A redheaded young girl in resplendent royal dress calls out to him. Her fathomless scarlet eyes break down all his barriers. She wears far too much makeup for a child. Likely her father's handiwork, Ravio thinks to himself.

And then the moment faded in an instant, leaving him with a sense of confusion and wonder.

"Ravio?"

"Oh…" The boy snapped back to the current time and place. "It's nothing, Captain."

"You were just standing there slack-jawed for a moment."

"Yeah..." Ravio said, still trying to recall what had been on his mind a moment before, but it had left him as quickly as it had taken over.

Likely her father's handiwork... The words were there if he strained his mind, but that was all they were... Words without context. An echo of a thought from long ago.

It was as if his mind itself was many thousands of years old. He'd never felt that way before. It didn't sit well with him, especially in light of Hilda's recent behavior. Was this how she felt all the time? It was driving him insane.

"As I was saying, before your apparent brain fart… This painting is said to depict a princess that lived 10,000 years ago." The Captain continued. "I think it is her unique features that make so many believe the legends of her extraordinary beauty and power never seen before or since. That is if she even truly existed and she's not just a legend to inspire Lorulean princesses..." The Captain trailed off, his attention on a strange man who'd just entered the foyer.

The strange man moved with a pretentious feminine gait, coming to a stop in front of the painting. He looked at the painting for a long moment, as if not seeing the Captain and the young knight also in his presence.

"What a breathtaking masterpiece…" The man said, speaking in a melodic, falsetto tone.

Ravio cleared his throat, already put off by the man's appearance and pompous attitude. "And just who are you? Do you have an invitation? You're a little late."

The man finally cast a glance at them, looking down his elegantly long nose. "Yes I have an invitation, you hideous smear of a doodle, and no I am not late! My arrival is right on time." He said, setting his red lips into a tight smirk. He turned brusquely, thick orange curls swaying back and forth over his shoulders as he made his way into the ballroom.

The Captain and Ravio looked at each other speechless.

"That guy definitely looks like he takes the legend of that princess to heart. The resemblance is uncanny." The Captain joked.

Ravio frowned "Yeah… Weird, creepy bastard…"

Emerging into the ballroom, the strange man moved through the crowd. The people turned, all eyes drawn to him. They looked as if scrutinizing his eccentric, but alluring appearance. The crowd parted to reveal the princess. Catching sight of him, she stood very still as if frozen in time. The man continued to make his way towards her. And the music in the ballroom swelled, breaking her from her momentary trance. She pushed herself towards him at last, her legs feeling unsteady. The crowd watched with rapt attention. This was the first time the Princess had moved from her seat during the entire ball. Her breath hitched, and she extended her hand. Her lavender lips parted to say something, but the words caught in her throat. The man smiled as he took a knee and kissed her hand.

"Your Grace."

A/N: Thanks for Reading! This is the longest and most developed fanfic I've written so far. Thanks for bearing with me!

Prometheus17: Thanks for keeping up with the story! I must admit I got inspired by the ballroom scene in your fanfic 'Demise's Gate" and it made me want to write this as the epilogue. Thanks again for all your reviews over the years it took to write this crazy fanfic. Happy New Years Eve!