Serene’s POV

We turned around to see who has spoken so boldly and found it was the same witch who had shouted to Zilver calling him a beauty. The Witches of Tomorrow had just entered the Dining Hall and they must have heard him.

Ralph almost blushed at her words but he cleared his throat and spoke: "I am flattered milady but this King is already taken and he has only one Queen. Queen Alvene."

"Ignore her, she will flirt with anyone and everyone she can find." Her friend and their team leader replied, earning a frown from her as she stepped forward and introduced herself.

"I am Sibine, Queen of hearts and the most beautiful witch in Haxum Realm. I am currently looking for a Prince Charming or a King Majestic. Anyone will do. Nice to meet you all." She raised her head and flicked her red hair. She was indeed beautiful with red hair and light brown eyes. All her friends rolled their eyes at her.

"Nice to meet you Sibine, I hope you find your Prince Charming soon." I smiled at her and she came running towards me and got hold of my hands.

"Oh! Serene you beauty. Help me, pleaseeee. I want a handsome boyfriend like yours as well." She winked at Zeph who was taken aback by her boldness. He frowned at her and turned his face away. The whole table roared with laughter.

"Now Sibine, behave. Let’s not bother our hosts this much. I am Ruaina and it’s good to meet you all." Their leader stepped forward and introduced herself. Everyone greeted her while Ralph and Druine grabbed some extra chairs so they could join us.

"Ruaina you were amazing in the battle." I complimented her.

"I completely agree, she single-handedly defeated us all," Ayrden added making Ruaina smile while she said:

"You people are praising me too much. Serene, I have never seen someone fight with such finesse as you did. You were perfection out there. It’s an honour to meet you. How are you feeling now?"

"Pleasure is all mine. I am so much better now. Thank you." I replied with a smile.

"Everyone, we are deviating from the original topic I need a King for today’s party. Help me, where are all the pretty guys." Sibine was scowling.

"Well all the boys in our group are taken but maybe I have someone in mind. Ralph is Xin Li committed to anyone?" I called out to Ralph.

"No one that I know of."

"Can you make an introduction?" I pointed to Sibine.

"Sure why not. I love matchmaking." Ralph’s face lit up with excitement. "Let me go find him."

"Ohhh!!! Serene. Thank you so much." Sibine hugged me tightly. Everyone laughed at her actions.

"You better behave with him. Don’t pester the poor guy too much." Ruaina gave her a meaningful look while Sibine blinked at her several times, feigning innocence.

Druine took his leave while all of us sat there talking. Ralph soon arrived with Xin Li and Sibine’s eyes began to sparkle at the sight of him.

"Don’t drool and don’t make him uncomfortable by falling all over him. Be nice." Ruaina instructed her and I had to bite my lip to suppress a chuckle.

"Hello! everyone," Xin Li greeted us all.

"Hi,"

"Heya,"

"Well, hello to you as well handsome hunk." Sibine blinked at him seductively. That made Xin Li’s whole face turn crimson.

"Sibine, be nice. Baby steps." Ruaina whispered and kicked her under the table.

"Ouiii..." she squeaked.

"Xin Li, this is Sibine. Can you take her out and show her the gardens?" I asked him with a smile.

"Umm, sure." The poor guy wasn’t that confident anymore. Sibine quickly got up and linked her arm with his to be led away. Xin Li looked a bit taken aback but smiled at her directness.

"Let’s go, lead the way my Prince Charming." She smiled at him wholeheartedly and her friends just shook their heads.

After they were gone, the Witches of Tomorrow took their leave as well to get ready for tonight’s party. Ralph went away to find Alvene, leaving Ayrden and Zeph with me.

"Serene, shall we go and get ready as well?" Ayrden asked me.

"Yes, sure." Then I turned to Zeph. "Will you wait for me by the stairs, tonight?"

"I will always wait for you." He touched my face and smiled a little. I pecked his cheek before leaving.

We were making our way to our room when we were hijacked by Alvene and some of our other seniors.

"Ladies, tonight we will be getting ready together to dazzle the boys. Come on now, let me take you to the magic room." Alvene took my hand and lead me away.

"Where are we going?" I inquired, feeling flustered.

"To the girl’s common room."

When we entered the common room it had completely been transformed to look like a boutique and my mouth flew open. Several floor-length mirrors lined one side of the room. Boxes of Jewelry and make-up had been neatly piled up on tables and tens of clothing stands stood at one side, from which hung all kinds of dresses. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Knee-length, floor-length, backless, ball-gowns, gowns, cocktails, peplums, bouffants and so many more. They ranged in all kinds of sizes, colours, materials, and styles.

All the girls were here. Some were already dressed and were wearing jewelry. Others were still deciding on what to wear. I saw Dria standing in a corner with a red strapless dress in her hand.

"Wow, where did this all come from?" I exclaimed.

"We get grants from all the realms. This year the grant was doubled and of course, one more realm was added to the list of beneficiaries. Guess who?" She winked at me.

"Ohhh, father." I couldn’t help but giggle. We were the wealthiest realm amongst all the realms of our world. Of course, father will send plenty of grants.

"I am on the committee that manages grants, your father is very generous." Alvene smiled as she pushed me towards the cloth hangars so I could choose a dress for myself.

"He is," a warm feeling hit me as I thought of my father. He was always looking out for me.

"Choose a dress, Serene," Alvene instructed.

"Help me, I am not good at this."

"You are a Princess, how are you not good at this? She teased me.

"That’s exactly the reason I am not good at this. I always had help at home." I replied sheepishly and she couldn’t help but giggle.

"Ok, let’s see. Everything will look good on you. You are so beautiful but today I want you to look extremely gorgeous so Zeph can’t peel his eyes off you."

"Well, he already doesn’t. You know how he is with girls. I am astonished that he has opened up with me as much as he has after that episode with Lourden." I recalled the bitter memories.

"Yes, I know and let’s not sour our moods thinking about her." She began to rake through the dresses and took out a baby pink ball gown. It was beautiful but not my colour. I shook my head.

She showed me a few more but none of them had that feel to them. She then took out a gorgeous gown.

It was a greyish-green dress made of fine tulle fabric. The inside of the tulle fabric was lined with rich silk which shone through the pores of the light tulle fabric

The neckline was dangerously deep cut, almost reaching the waistline. But it was held firmly together by the thin straps that served as the sleeves of the dress.

The front of the dress, just below the deep neckline, was a beautiful design of pure gold and silver rings which were meticulously designed into the shape of a roaring lion. The design held the middle of the dress together and would accentuate the figure of the wearer.

I almost gasped when I saw the back of the dress. There was no back, only thin gold chains hanging from it.

"Alvene, this is beautiful but I can’t wear something so revealing." I sighed.

"Yes, you can. This is the dress you are wearing." She pushed me towards the bathroom so I could take a bath and change.

Alvene helped me dress up. "My goodness, you look absolutely stunning Serene. I can’t wait to see the look on Zeph’s face." She winked at me and I couldn’t help but blush. I had never worn such a revealing dress and I wasn’t sure how he would react to that.

The dress hugged my body down to the knees and cascaded down to the floor in a flare. I could feel my exposed breasts, which made me blush.

Gold chains all gathered behind to form a design on my bare back. There were gold roaring lions on both shoulders. And unto those two lions, long trains of tulle fabric hung on both sides, making it look like I was wearing a long flare coat over the dress.

Ayrden brought me bottle green high heels and gave me a golden collar necklace to adorn which had thin gold chains hanging from it, with matching earrings.

Ziva styled my hair, she let them fall freely on my bare back. They were adorned in beautiful gold sparkly rhinestone hair vines with jeweled leaves. A golden crown of these chains covered my head.

Alvene then applied makeup and went with a bold look. She highlighted my cheeks and chose plum-shade lipstick. My eyes had a smoky look to them and when they showed me the final look, I couldn’t recognize myself. I had been completely transformed from Serene the novice to Serene the seductress.

"Ladies, I am not so sure. It looks very revealing, I don’t feel very comfortable." I whined.

"It’s good to get out of your comfort zone every once in a while. You look stunning, let’s give Zeph a heart attack today. Seduce him a little. Take your relationship up a notch." Ziva winked at me with a knowing look.

"I hope she keeps her seduction limited to her own boyfriend." Someone spoke in a disdainful voice from a corner.