(Subtle panic.) No. No this mustn't be the case. The Kimura’s weren’t supposed to be invited to the ball. I haven’t seen a member of the Kimura Royal Family in six years. What were they doing here? 

Iris Kimura looked much older than when I last saw her.  I knew she’d be sixteen by now. I never really dealt with her much. She was a quiet child who tended to stay out of the way. It was how she had to be. Her older brother Aspen stood by her side. He had always been protective of his sister. 

I shouldn’t hold a grudge against the two, they’ve done absolutely nothing to harm me. Yet seeing them invoked something instinctual in me. I wanted to run, I wanted to scream, I wanted to hide. So I took a broad stance, I turned my head away and I took a deep breath.

(Calming down.) They aren’t her. She isn’t here. I’m not the person I used to be; I’m stronger.