Page 49 of The Rose in the Shadows

“Come now, my lady.” She grinned knowingly. “Certainly, you must feelthrilledknowing that the Crown Prince personally gifted you your wardrobe for tonight’s Peace Ball.”

I shivered. “Claypicked this out?”

Nessira laughed softly to herself and grasped my hand, pulling me from the bed. The new ladies exchanged panicked expressions, not accustomed to my hatred for pompous palace fashions. Geia bit down on her lip to stop laughing as she pulled out dozens of glittering diamond hair clips from the bag.

“Well.” Nessira shrugged. “The Dragon wanted to be sure that you look your finest when meeting your marriage prospects, so Prince Clayton insisted we dress you in this.”

I faked a gag as she prepared my bath. Nessira and Geia had returned to my service the day after the Council meeting. For the first two days, I refused to leave the suites at all. I was far too shaken by the experience to face the outside world, so Nessira and Geia were the only people I saw during those days. They brought constant snacks from the kitchen and left me in my nightgowns all day. We sat, talked, and ate from sunrise to sunset until I finally dozed off in the evenings, and they excused themselves. Sleep had been hard to maintain. Constant nightmares of coughing blood and underground caverns kept me from waking up and feeling rested.

So now when I greeted myself in the mirror, I saw pale skin and dark circles under my eyes.

And while my ladies and friends might have understood my need for some isolation and recuperation, the court didn’t share that concern. The Peace Ball was here, and the Dragon expected me to smile and wave to our foreign dignitaries. He insisted I attend and meet all of my apparently many marriage suitors. So while my stomach was in knots trying to envision the night that lay ahead of me, there was nothing for me to do but simply accept what the Dragon and his son declared I must do.

“What color is it?” I questioned, glancing suspiciously at the heap of a dress delicately draped across my bed.

A sudden image of that hideous black ballgown I’d worn to the court briefing flashed in my mind, and I shivered. Surely, this one was no better—another depressing thing to mark me as the lone Descendant of the God of the Underworld.

Geia’s grin spread from ear to ear as she began combing through my wet hair. Clearly, she was excited to get to play dress up with me once more. “You’ll be pleasantly surprised, I think.”

“Hmph,” I grunted, seriously doubting that.

Geia only giggled before beckoning in the other ladies. Together, they worked as a team of five. One dried my hair while the other smeared smoothing cream up and down my legs. I wouldn’t allow any of my suitors close enough to judge the softness of my legs, but it wasn't worth protesting. Another girl attempted to hide the dark circles under my eyes while the next painted my lips red. I suppressed the urge to shrink away from the hand that poked and prodded at my hair. It felt like hours until they finally decreed I looked perfect, and it was time to dress.

I narrowed my eyes at the gown, still covered, eager to see how bad the damage was. Nessira whispered in my ear to close my eyes as she walked past me to lift the gown into her arms. I wanted to protest, but knew better than to deny Geia the joy of surprising me. The small girl was practically bouncing up and down in excitement.

It took quite some time for them to get me into the gown fully, but finally, they pushed me in front of the mirror and instructed me to open my eyes.

Geia was right, I realized with a gasp. I was, indeed, pleasantly surprised.

The gown was a shade of pale blue that brought out all the blonde hues in my hair. It fell neatly to the ground, fitting myhips perfectly and emphasizing my curves in a way that my typical loose-fitting gowns did not allow for. The entirety of it was covered in crystals that swirled elaborately over me in waves of shimmering light. The bodice was sheer, with the intricate beading serving as a second skin for modesty. A stiff piece of boned fabric weaved across my chest, offering one delicate sleeve that rested off my left shoulder. The crystals danced as I approached the mirror, sending light across the room.

“And here I expected a ballgown,” I whispered, gently running my fingers over the bodice.

Geia giggled in excitement. “Well, who are we to disappoint?”

That’s when I realized I still wasn’t fully dressed. Geia held out a sweeping, solid blue, cape-style overskirt that clipped onto each of my hips and pleated neatly to the ground in falling waves. It wasn’t too heavy of an addition, but it added just a simple elegance to an otherwise elaborate gown.

It was far more intricate than my usually preferred styles, but, as much as I hated to admit it, I didn’tloathethis particular choice in fashion.

“At least it isn’t black,” I muttered.

The ladies had folded my hair into a delicate arrangement, with soft curls already beginning to fall around my face. Nessira approached me and tucked a sparkling diamond diadem of ivy leaves onto the crown of my head. I rolled my eyes at it but didn’t bother to protest. After all, diamonds were already adorning my ears, wrists, and fingers.

I might have had nightmare after nightmare of warnings not to trust those at court, but tonight, I looked like the princess everyone claimed me to be. And maybe, for the first time, I saw myself as that princess too. I looked like their princess, but I still looked like myself. Perhaps I was truly adapting to my life here.

A knock at the door sounded, and Rankor stepped in, looking strapping in a grey overcoat, clasped together with silverbuttons. He looked me over appreciatively, and for a moment, I expected his usual crude joke, but he only tucked his right arm at the waist and bowed. Then, when he righted himself, a few impossible moments later, he nodded to me.

“You look divine, my lady.”

I rolled my eyes but felt my cheeks flush. “What are you doing here?”

Rankor shifted uncomfortably and averted his eyes. “Clay has asked me to monitor your guard team.”

I lifted an eyebrow. “Guardteam?”

As if on cue, I saw them line up outside my door. Dimitri stood front and center of a team of ten–tenpalace guards.

No way. Not happening. I did not need to be paraded around this castle with anarmysurrounding me. I drew enough attention as it was.

---