<div style="text-align: center">It was a strange feeling. She was betrayed, hurt, angry and lied to. But sending him away like this was relieving in a way. How many times she wanted to do this up until this point. He's hurt her, a lot. No matter what she would've done, it seemed hopeless. She didn't know if she should feel at ease or cry, yet she was too to blame, because of what she has done with the wolf. And as Valentine pulled her away, she realized that this is something she'll have to think over - hard. And to top it all off, the next evening is the ball. This is going to be extremely stressful, because if she's going to be by herself and with Varus absent, people will come to her. She didn't want to have anything with them.<br/>
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As they walked through the hall, Ellanore was pondering about everything that has been happening and what is coming. She'll have to speak with her parents about this, she wasn't sure how her father will react. She decided not to bring what happened up until the ball is over. Once she recognized the door to her room, it was then that Ellanore has returned to reality and looked at Valentine. "Thank you. If you weren't there, who knows what happened. He never raised his voice like that on me." she stated as she walked to the door, before turning to him. "I... Don't regret what happened." she added, not specifying what it was directly, but it was clear about that little moment in the bar. "I'll see you tomorrow at the ball. I need to be alone now." she gave him a light smile and a nod before walking inside her room and slowly closed the door behind her. She sniffled as the tears began to pile up and she didn't want to cry, but she couldn't control it. It had to be let out eventually, it's been piling up for quite some time, so she allowed herself to cry, just to spare herself some pain and relief. <br/>
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The next evening was a bit painful to start, since Ellanore has not rested well.While even on a normal day things go crazy, it's when events such as the ball goes absolutely insane. The servants woke her up much earlier than usually, the bathing routine was far more thorough with all kinds of oils and of course, shaving. And then the make up. They spent a lot of time accenting the eyes with smokey eyes and bringing out the emerald glow of her orbs, because the eyes during the masquerade balls must be accented and to attract attention, giving the fabulous masks they'll all be wearing as their fancy tradition. Ellanore's red hair was curled and tied high on her head, allowing the locks fall over her one shoulder like a red waterfall. The <a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2F564x%2F23%2F10%2Fda%2F2310daf0cf302430d5218ce0633a8e61.jpg&amp;hash=6a7a2755e704dd3b88e3717f49eb1ab7" href="https://i.pinimg.com/564x/23/10/da/2310daf0cf302430d5218ce0633a8e61.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">dress </a>which Alissa brought over was long and black, with see through sleeves and tight at the front. The cleavage wasn't long, it was decorated in lace and had cups for her breasts to keep everything in shape. It was backless dresses, personal Ellanore's favorite detail in dresses, but on her shoulders were golden lions sown on and chains that fell across her naked skin were attached to both lions on her shoulders. Every curve was accented on Ellanore's body, blissfully would condemn whoever would look at her. Her <a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2F736x%2Fe0%2F3f%2F9e%2Fe03f9e1bf49608c92789ed0070cb7c78--gold-masquerade-mask-masquerade-party.jpg&amp;hash=d66e14acb8f81bef5175534a806492b4" href="https://i.pinimg.com/736x/e0/3f/9e/e03f9e1bf49608c92789ed0070cb7c78--gold-masquerade-mask-masquerade-party.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">mask </a>was made of gold and painted with red details and a ruby at the center high above the nose bridge and richly decorated. Red was considered the color of the LaCroix, accented with the black, but true royalty colors were red and gold.<br/>
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After the make and dress was finished, Ellanore put on the mask and slipped into her heels. The ball has started some time ago, and usually as the royalty, those come later, luckily there won't be any formal announcements. As she opened the door, she saw Donovan, wearing expensive red and black suit, with black satin tie with a ruby on it and a devilish black eye mask, she smirked and offered his arm to her. Ellanore accepted and walked with him towards the throne room. "I heard what happened with Varus. Do you want to talk about it?"<br/>
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"No." Ellanore immediately answered. "I'll just be present today and have my drink. I'm not really in the mood." she confessed, the preparation for the ball alone tired her. Donovan just nodded to her, without really poking for any details and they arrived at the throne room which was already packed with visitors, musicians were playing, bartenders walking around with a plate filled with champagne glasses, some were normal alcoholic drinks, but most were alcoholic drinks mixed with blood for the Nocturnals.<br/>
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Ellanore took a drink along with Donovan who began to speak about some irrelevant things, as he wanted to keep her occupied, while Ellanore pretended to be into the story. Truthfully, she stuck close to Donovan so others would take the hint that she's not currently greeting anyone personally, but with Donovan, she knew that won't last for long, knowing that he'll eventually find his victim to spend the rest of the evening, as it usually happens.​</div>