Epilogue: One Year Later

"Misa! Hurry up or we'll be late!"

Misa stumbled rapidly around the bedroom stuffing her hands with jewelry, makeup, and her little black purse, her barefoot feet crashing into everything but soft cushions and the carpeted floor.

 "Aagh!" She screamed, bouncing around while cradling her aching stubbed toe. 

In the year since her turning, Misa had grown adept at encountering plenty of vampire-driven issues, just like the stubbed toe. For instance, her speed did her as much damage as it did her good.

"Misa!" Prince Ran called again from the hallway.

"Okay, I'm coming! Wait... Wait... I'm here!" Misa smiled up at him with a cheeky grin, prompting an exaggerated eye roll from the vampire prince who remained as unsmiling as the day she'd arrived.

Misa guffawed at his defiant reaction. The prince would do anything to keep himself from smiling these days. Especially since Misa kept slipping up and calling him adorable, cute, and totally kawaii whenever he did show her a genuine smile--all words Prince Ran claimed were now in his so-called 'Black Book of Absolute Bile', BBAB for short.

As such, those smiles of his were almost totally elusive now.

"You know what, don't worry," Msia said to Prince Ran, boop-ing him on the cheek with her finger, "you'll be smiling in no time."

We can practice. She thought as she marched right past him and into the grand foyer as if it was she who had been waiting ages for him.

No, we won't. Came Prince Ran's voice in her mind, startling her enough to jump in her skin.

Oh, you heard that?

Of course. You are absolute cow's manure at concealing your thoughts.

Misa turned to look back at the prince and stuck her tongue out at him. He chuckled but ensured no creases indicating a smile of any kind appeared on his face. 

Misa laughed at him until he frowned. "Okay, I'll stop now. " Still, she giggled. "Let's go!"

Misa was excited. Sooooooo excited! She sang in her head.

She and Prince Ran were headed to the human town hall, of all places, to have a masquerade ball in honor of their first wedding anniversary. It was an amazing development in the ever-improving relations between the humans and the kingdom of vampires. 

Over the past year, Misa had kept up appearances at Copperwood Village, periodically treating ill families and helping where she could with whatever else she could. It was fun in the human marketplaces, seeing them dance in the streets and eat a ton of great-smelling food.

There were hardly any remaining homes that Misa needed to be invited into, as she had already fostered many deep and lasting connections with plenty members of the community there. 

Doli and Bola helped her, especially those first few months. As expected, many of the humans had still doubted Misa's intentions and had been unwilling to even be near her if she happened to visit the quaint town. Slowly but surely, though, Bola whispered in enough ears all of the good deeds Misa had done for families throughout the village.

So, when people started to come knocking on Bola's door asking for favors that only Misa could fulfill, things slowly began to change for Misa until she became a household name. The good kind, of course, and now, she could bask in it.

She and Prince Ran climbed the large front steps of Copperwood Village's town hall. It was the largest and best kept building in in the village, all red and gray brick with large gray pillars and a pretty vaulted roof.

Misa tapped her toes on the stones and looked up excitedly at Prince Ran who was already staring down at her. It made those familiar butterflies flutter around in her belly. "What?" She asked, smiling.

Prince Ran shook his head, his chartreuse eyes gleaming in the moonlight. "Nothing, just admiring." Misa blushed hard. The prince then dug out his black and gold bedazzled facemask for the ball, a look that matched his dapper clothing charmingly. 

It was thin over his nose and eyes like the superboy Robin's mask, but swooped far down his right cheek, covering the remainder of his face. The golden patterns on the black mask were beautiful music notes that Misa imagined would capture the allure of the ball perfectly.

He put his on and afterwards waited to help Misa put hers on. Misa's was white with red glittery sequins all up and down the mask. The mask covered the top half of her face and the right side reached upward, shaped like a passionate white and red flame. It, too, matched her flowing red and white ball gown.

She felt like a mysterious kind of princess bride tonight and loved it more than anything.

Once their masks were settled on their faces, Misa looped her arm through Prince Ran's waiting one and they opened the grand doors to the town hall. All eyes in the room immediately looked to them. Though masked, it was quite obvious who the two of them were.

This night was one to celebrate the two of them, after all.

They walked inside arm-in-arm and, like something straight out of a storybook, the music from their first waltz played as the prince and princess came to the center of the large ballroom.

Immediately, Prince Ran swooped in front of Misa and asked, "May I have this dance?"

She smiled widely, finally pulling one from his perfect lips and shiny white teeth as well. "Why of course, my prince."

And they swayed together to the one-two-two-one-two-two of the enchanting waltz that would always welcome them under the moonlight.

Around the room, trusted vampire guests and willing humans found themselves partnered on the dancefloor. Masks helped everyone to blend in, but every human knew there were others in the room who weren't like them, but they had no fear. Lending blood was now as safe and common as tying one's shoe. 

They waltzed among one another as friends rather than foe. 

It was the type of ball Misa would always hope to be invited to, and she hoped Prince Ran would be her dance partner for eternity.