‘Assassinate the prince’ was my only thought as I showed up to the ball, dressed in a dark red ball gown that was sure to turn heads. Descending the staircase, I thought about how much training and work that I had put into this. The Baudelaire family was known for being well-trained assassins. I was the oldest out of all my siblings, so it was my turn to prove that I could carry on the family legacy. I’d spent months planning this assassination meticulously so that the job would be done and I would be out of the scene. 

The ball had begun and the orchestra had started playing. Couples began to waltz and others began to mingle amongst each other. The only difficult part of this mission was identifying Prince Vincent. The night that I had chosen to assassinate him had to be the night of the masquerade. Prince Vincent’s image was no secret to the public unlike my own. He had been pictured on the cover of papers printed across kingdoms. Meanwhile, I worked for my whole life to keep myself on the down low. The second that my image got out, I would be prey. Assassin or not, anyone from any kingdom would love to capture a Baudelaire. 

Suddenly pulled out of my thoughts, a gentleman came up and offered me a dance. I smiled politely and accepted. He took my hand and we joined the group of people waltzing in the center of the ballroom. As we were waltzing, a golden glimmer caught my eye. ‘Of course the prince would be wearing gold.’ I thought to myself. His golden mask could be seen from across the room. My target was marked. I continued to waltz with the stranger until the piece finished and I gave him my goodbye. I found my place on the sidelines as the prince began to make his way through the crowd, greeting people and making small talk. 

A couple of hours later, I danced, ate, and made friends with a small group of princesses who had complimented my updo. My hand reached up to touch the dagger that was keeping my hair up. No one would expect a female to assassinate the prince. Especially if the murder weapon was in plain sight. I knew the time wasn’t right every time that I saw the prince. It was too early in the night to pull this off. As light music rang throughout the ballroom, the clock struck midnight. I smirked. Midnight had struck and it was time for my plan to go into action. I glided back onto the dance floor and began scouting out Prince Vincent. I found him speaking to a couple of governors of different kingdoms and I approached them shyly. I tapped Prince Vincent on the shoulder and the conversation ceased. 

“Does his highness have a dance he can spare for me?” I said, holding out my gloved hand in his direction, praying that he takes it. Prince Vincent looked at my hand then looked at the group of governors. “Of course I have a dance for you m’lady.” He took my hand and guided me to the center of the ballroom, right under the sparkling chandelier. 

“So… any reason you asked me to dance?” Vincent asked a couple seconds later, twirling me around the ballroom. 

“Can a lady not ask someone to dance?” I smiled, letting him lead me through the waltz. He laughed and I could see a sparkle in his eye. 

“I didn’t mean it like that. I’ve just never had a lady ask me to dance before. They usually just wait around me and wait til I ask them.” He dipped me towards the floor as the piece began to escalate.

“Well, I guess I’m not like most girls then.” I laughed, as we spun around the ballroom, trying to keep up with the orchestra. We danced for what seemed like years but finally, the orchestra pulled the piece to a close. I was trying to catch my breath as I did not expect to dance through four movements of life. Vincent turned to me and gave me a bow and I returned his gesture with a curtsey. I looked over Vincent’s shoulder and saw a meteor shower. My eyes lit up and I ran towards the balcony. “M’lady wait!” Vincent called out as I dashed past him. 

I stood out on the balcony and stared at the sky. I hadn’t seen a meteor shower since I was a toddler but I can still remember seeing all the pretty “falling stars” in the sky. I walked along the long balcony, so that no one in the ballroom could see me. I heard panting to my left and saw Vincent running towards me. He had taken off his mask and began to use it as a fan. He stopped his next sentence and looked up at the sky. 

“Wow… It’s beautiful.” he said, dropping his mask to the floor. 

“You want to know what’s more beautiful?” I spoke, my eyes now focused on the prince standing next to me. 

“What?”

I placed both hands on his cheeks and turned his face towards me. He wasn’t that much taller than I was, so I began to lean in and pecked his cheek. With one hand on his cheek, my other hand went up towards my dagger and let my hair loose. I placed kisses up his jawline and brought my dagger closer to his neck. 

“This.” I took my lips off his jaw and drove my dagger through his neck. Smirking, I left the prince to die, his blood on my hands.