PeaceMaker

The room was filled with performers, a total of 50 performers and 25 maids to assist with them getting ready. Annabeth and her sisters sat on one side of the room, their brother on the other as they got ready. There was a line in the middle of the room, and a long curtain suspended from the ceiling that completely blocked one side from looking at the other. It was the line separating the males from the females while there were little rooms in the room where the performers could get ready without seeing each other. 

The event had been running for a while now and no one really knew what part of the event they were at. That was, until footsteps echoed through the room, echoing into the little room each performer was in with their group. 

"The performing segment of the event has begun," the voice announced, loud and clear, her voice being heard by all the performers in the room. A chill ran through the room, competition, and tenseness hung in the air. 

The announcer repeated her words again but it was already drilled into the minds of the performers. 

"Please wait for your turn," the announcer smiled, "each group will go first and then individuals come after. Everyone understand?"

There was no reply. The announcer smiled, she knew they had understood her words.

Annabeth and her sister sat in front of their own mirrors, their faces were done and they were dressed to stun, their dresses a dazzling mix of red, gold, and black. Their underlying clothing was a deep black, silk, and slightly slim-fitting clothing that ended in loosely bottomed pants. It covered up all of their body but gave the base for the colors to be laid on top. 

On their chest, they wore a gold bra styled top, and on their shoulders, gold puffs of clothing. Attached to the bra were loose strips of gold and red clothing which were wrapped around their arms loosely, sewn into the side of the front side of the bra, and swooped down their hand to the back of the bra where the motion was repeated again but this time to the front. The remaining pieces of the long clothing were left to hang. 

On their waist was a large red belt with large gold circles and designs on it. From the belt hung little bell shaped gold clothing, cut into separate strands. They moved when the person wearing it moved. In addition to the bells were strips of gold clothing that were sewn into the belt and hung from the front of the belt to the back of the belt where it was sewn in again. On those strips were little bell shaped clothing like the ones that hung on the belt. 

To complete the look, each sister had their own additional accessory, Annabeth some jewels on her forehead, Maria, beautiful gold necklaces that hung don to her chest, and Jena, large dewdrop shaped earrings. The last accessory was a thin, sheer long piece of clothing on their face that acted as a mask. It covered their nose and hung down to their collarbone, covering everything that was displayed there. It brought full attention to the girl's beautiful eyes. Jena with warm hazel, Maria with striking blue, and Annabeth with hypnotizing green. 

The entire look both covered the girls and displayed their curves in full glory, the gold and red accents giving a royal feel against the black. 

Mrs. Crowly stepped back from her masterpieces and quietly clapped her hands in glee, the maid beside her simply stood there, star-struck at their beauty and mystery. She felt special, having been the one to power their faces and line their lines in a light-red lip stain. 

The girls were ready for their group dance. 

The piece had been practiced multiple times and perfected. So were their individual performances. Jena dominated dance and embroidering, Maria the second-best dancer and best singer, and Annabeth being an all-rounder was the third-best dance, second-best singer, and the absolute master of poems and literature. 

Mrs. Crowly had been there during every one of their practices and her sons. She knew what he looked like and it was one of those moments that she didn't hate the results of the raising she had given her family.

Time passed and all the performers could hear for 10 minutes between intervals were footsteps of performers leaving the room. Annabeth nervously tapped her feet. 'Two more…' she thought to herself. She had been counting.

She was nervous. Maria was nervous and so was Jena but at the same time, never had they felt more ready. 

Steps filled the room and Annabeth let out a deep sigh. 'One more.'

"Time to stretch," commanded Mrs. Crowly. 

The girls stood up and began stretching, each of them pressing their legs onto the wall and doing a leg spilt easily. They winded up their arms, swinging it around, and shook their legs to warm it up. Then they all sat down and their mother began to massage their legs, loosening up their tense muscles. 

Mrs. Crowly did Jena's feet then after a few minutes switched to Maria and then to Annabeth. Mrs. Crowley stood up and looked over her daughters. "Are you ready?" she asked. 

The girls responded with slow nods. 

Mrs. Crowly smiled and motioned for them to stand up. When they turned around, she gave them all back massages and then tapped their backs. 

Knock Knock 

Annabeth flinched a little, her heart starting a race of its own. It crossed the finish line 5 times and continued to run. She had lost count of time and now it was their turn to perform. 

Mrs. Crowly opened the door and outside stood the announcer. Without a word, she mentioned for them to follow her and so they did. As they passed by, the group that was coming back gasped as they watched them, their confidence plummeting. The announcer led them out of the room and into the hallway, on the other side of the hallway they had entered from. She then walked them past the pictures on the wall and to the door that led to the banquet room. It was a special entrance for performers. 

Slowly, she opened the door and the sounds of the banquet filled their ears. 

Mrs. crowly turned and faced her girls. "I know you remember everything that you've practiced. Your bones have the movements embedded in their structure. Just move and flow with the music. Never bask on the number of people staring at you but the number of people you are wowing with every move you make."

She pulled her girls into a hug and grinned. "Go out there and make me, the Crowlys proud." she looked at the announcer and then turned back to the girls her voice dropping to a loud whisper. "I better see buckets of marriage proposals tomorrow."

Annabeth and her sisters chuckled, Jena nodded in agreement. 

"Now, we welcome the newest addition to the banquet, the daughters of the Crowly's family. Lord Mannerism had tried his best to keep them hidden for the past years but they were back for their first performances in the palace," a male voice boomed throughout the banquet room, his voice drowning out when cheers poured in. 

"Wow, Justin really surprised us with that one," Louis grinned, turning to his friends. 

Only he, Antonio, Dramio, Falls, Walter, Santiago, and his wife sat at the table. The other additional friends had to be moved as they weren't as closely related to the families of the group of friends at the table. 

They sat in the middle of their family's tables. Antonio's family in the front, Walter's to the right, Louis' to the left while Dramio and Santigio's were behind them.

"Yeah, he had a whole sword dance," Addison chuckled, nudging her fiance, "you're going to have to learn that."

"Yes, yes, I will. Adding that to my list of things I need to learn," Louis sighed.

Addison nodded in agreement. She looked around, her eyes searching the room. "I wonder if his sisters are also performers."

"Hm, they most likely are but I don't know if we saw them yet or not," Dramio muttered. 

"I don't think so," Antonio sighed. He wanted to see, and he was growing impatient.

"How would you know?" Falls teased. 

"I know," Antonio turned to him, absolute confidence in his eyes. "That and the fact that they haven't announced them yet."

Walter chuckled. "That's true."

"I think the performances are almost over though, at least for this round. There were supposed to be 25 right? We're at 22, if they don't get call-"

"Now, we welcome the newest addition to the banquet, the daughters of the Crowly's family. Lord Mannerism had tried his best to keep them hidden for the past years but they were back for their first performances in the palace," a male voice boomed throughout the banquet room, his voice drowning out when cheers poured in. 

Antonio's head sparked up, his curiosity brimming.

"And there it is," Santiago grinned, clapping his hand excitedly. 

"How do you think they dressed?" Addison asked, turning to the group to ask. 

"I'm not sure we'll se-" Antonio's voice trailed off, his words being cut short and jaw being dropped when he noticed the red figures moving in.

"What is it?" Addison cocked her head, confused when everyone in the room went silent. 

She turned around and her eyes widened. 

The room hung in silence as the song seeped into the room and the dancers began to move.