Mai smiled as Liviana responded in a surprisingly candid manner. "Oh, why of course," Mai said. "It was my pleasure." Her smile widened as Liviana continued speaking, telling her that if there was anything that she could do for Mai while they would in Aciras, she would do all she could to make it so. "Thank you, Princess Liviana," Mai answered in a soft voice. "I appreciate it." [i]And I shall remember this,[/i] Mai added silently. Mai glanced at the time at Liviana's mention of her own preparations. "Oh please, do not worry," Mai assured Liviana. "I will be fine. Nevertheless, I shall be on my way now. I am sure that you would like to have some time to yourself with your handmaidens before the ball, and I would hate to intrude." Mai nodded and smiled at Aelia and Claudia before taking her leave.

Mai strode briskly through the corridors of the elegant Aciran palace back to her own quarters after gathering up all the make-up that she'd brought with her to Liviana's room. When she returned, Zheng was there. "How has everything been?" she asked him.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," he replied. "Zhou left Liang this morning, but I am sure that you were already aware of that."

Mai laughed softly. "Indeed. I do hope that he doesn't cause the poor pilot too much trouble on the way here." She left Zheng to whatever he was doing before and retreated to her own chamber. 

Mai immediately set to work. She had curled her naturally wavy hair just a [i]little[/i] bit earlier that morning, so there was no need to do that again. She slipped into the [url=https://www.polyvore.com/roses/set?id=187326280]dress[/url] she had prepared for the occasion, taking a moment to critically examine herself in the mirror. The dress itself was a dark grey at the bottom that faded slowly into the white of the bodice. It was loose and billowy, and the skirt was decorated with red accents that resembled flower petals. There was a thick black sash with a rose that cinched the dress in at the waist. The dress itself was strapless, which gave Mai the perfect excuse to don her favorite pair of black satin gloves that ended halfway in between her elbows and her shoulders. 

Next came her hair. Mai had curled her naturally wavy hair just a tiny bit that morning, so there was no need for a curling iron. Mai ran a brush through a few sections of hair and slowly and carefully arranged her ink-black tresses into an artfully loose [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/53/05/b1/5305b1450d06c5f484cd2a07f8d8072b.jpg]hairstyle[/url] that involved the bulk of her hair being messily braided back and a couple of curly tendrils left in the front. Mai completed the look with a silver hair piece that glittered nicely under the light.

Finally, it was time for make-up. Mai left the deep red lipstick that she was wearing mostly as it was, though she gave it a few slight retouches. She carefully wiped away the eye-shadow and eyeliner that she had applied for breakfast, replacing the thick, defined eyeliner with a softer, more subtle look. She re-applied the black eyeliner, this time opting for a thinner, less conspicuous line (though it was still rather noticeable). Mai replaced the light coating of black eye-shadow with a dusty bronze hue that emphasized the chocolate-brown of her eyes. 

Mai surveyed herself in the mirror, and satisfied with what she saw, and she slipped into the high heel suede "laser-cut" booties that she'd selected. She added a few pieces of jewelry to the ensemble-strands of pearls for her neck and dangly pearl earrings for her ears-and picked up a black velvet clutch, into which she placed a few emergency make-up supplies and a bladed fan made of black lace. She checked the time-the ball was due to begin any minute now. She supposed that it would only be proper to arrive with Niklas, so she set off with Zheng on her arm in the direction of the ballroom in the most roundabout route that there was, hoping to stop by Niklas's quarters as they did so.

[hider=make-up][img]http://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/media_photos/low_1460459234_Godmother-Fan-Bingbing-Leisure-High-res.jpg [/img][/hider]