~1~

Third Person POV

(Y/N)'s eyes fluttered open to reveal the same dull ceiling she's seen all her life. She's lived alone for the past 9 years, since her parents had left her for unspoken reasons. They were always away throughout her childhood regardless, so now she had assumed it was just another business matter that they had been attending to overseas.

(Y/N) hadn't really cared too much about them leaving, but she had always dreamt of having company ever since they had left. Living alone without home rules wasn't all it had cracked up to be.

The sun had risen only hours before she had woken up, meaning it was not yet noon. Yawning, she stretched as she stiffly shuffled out of bed.

It had been 3 days ago since the ball had been announced, and the ball was tomorrow. (Y/N) had not yet gotten her dress, mostly because she had no intention on getting married at the age of 16, and also because she was too lazy to go out.

I guess now is as good as ever to get a dress... (Y/N) thought to herself as she lugged herself to get ready to leave her home.

After changing into a simple blue dress, she walked over to her front door to notice a pouch of money lying on the floor. It appeared to have been shoved through the hole in the door. This isn't the first time it had happened, but she imagined it was her parents doing, since they had not been keen on seeing her in years. After so long, she had learned to just accept it as normal.

I guess I can use this to get a better looking dress!(Y/N) glowed with excitement.

Little did she realize the pair of jade eyes keeping close attention to her every move, as they did often, lurking in the shadows from across the street.

"Soon, (Y/N)...

Soon you'll be mine...."

First Person POV

I turned the creaky door handle of my front door and nonchalantly walked outside holding the pouch of money in my hand. There were people walking about as usual, and children playing next to the street. The village was bustling with villagers always, but ever since the ball announcement there has been at least double the mayhem.

I swiftly walked along the gravel road to avoid drawing attention to myself as usual. The seamstress was only a half a mile from my home, so I headed there right away.

~♛~

I opened the door to the small apartment and was greeted by a faint chime from the door. The room seemed filled with articles of clothing and fabric scattered everywhere. A young girl not much older than me, scrambled into the room trying to organize her way out of the mess. She quickly turned her attention to me and jumped in surprise.

"Ah! O-oh uh, Pardon me! I just hadn't heard you come in! I do apologize for the mess, I've had so much work to do since the news of the ball, my business is sky rocketing!" She announced happily.

"My, seems like you have quite a handful of work cut out for you! I actually came for a dress too, but it seems like you could use some help! Is there anything I can assist you with?" I asked politely.

Automatically, her eyes lit up in delight. "W-would you really do that?! Oh dear I can use all the help I can get!" She exclaimed. "Do you know how to tailor clothing?"

"W-well, not exactly, but I'm a fast learner!"

"Well! Anything can help at this moment! Oh right, I never caught your name, Ms...?" She paused waiting for an answer.

"(Y/N)," I replied. "(Y/N) (L/N)."

"Wonderful to meet you (Y/N)! I'm Aki Shiro!" She smiled brightly. "I've had so much on my hands recently, with that ball around the corner, I don't know how I'm going to finish all of this!"

"Here, I'll help clean up around here for you, and maybe you can show me how I can help." I offered. She looked up at me with her eyes watering. "You'd do that for me...?"

"Of course! Free of charge!" I replied slightly laughing. She pulled me into a death grip hug.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" She squealed with happiness.

After escaping her suffocating grip, she skipped to her desk and began sewing more fabric, while I organized the cloths and such into their proper places.

Nearly 4 hours had passed when she leaned back in her chair and groaned. "Man, I think we deserve a break, don't you?" I nodded. "Let's go to that small café down the road for some lunch!"

~♛~

Aki and I sat down in her backyard garden eating our well deserved lunch that we brought back from the bakery. During the time I had spent with her, I learned a lot about her. Aki's family had always been farmers, but when her mother saw her love for fashion, she had used nearly all of her money to buy her a sewing machine. Luckily Aki was a fast learner and soon made money for her family, and so they moved out of their farm and started a new life in the city.

"So what about your family, (Y/N)?" She asked with a curious look in her eyes. I hesitated for a moment.

"Well, I was never too close with my family, they sort of, left when I was young," I sighed. Aki's eyes widened in horror.

"I am so sorry! I didn't mean to make you relive your past, pardon me I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine Aki, It isn't your fault, you didn't know," she apologized before I interrupted her.

"You know (Y/N), you have such a pure heart." Aki said with a faint smile. "I don't think I've ever met someone as kind as you are, and to me, a total stranger!" She paused, continuing. "If anyone is to be crowned at that ball, it best be you."

Her comment threw me off guard for a second. I laughed slightly. "Me? Fit to be royalty? You're too kind," I answered laughing.

"What, the fancy clothes, the riches? (Y/N) dear, you would look fabulous~!" She joked adding an impression of a wealthy woman's laughter at the end of her comment.

"Ah, dearest Aki, ((hehe, see what I did there)) you flatter me,~" I added before we both busted out laughing.

When the two of us finally caught our breath, we decided to go inside and continue our progress with the dresses.

It feels so nice to make a friend, especially one like Aki. I think I feel genuinely happy for the first time in a long while...

Unknown POV...

I'm aware it isn't polite to spy on another person, but I cannot control myself when it comes to her...

There's something about her, her scent, her personality, her pure heart, her kindness, I can't help but find all of it just so...

Intoxicating...