Chapter 66 - Dressed To Impress

Evanna stood facing the tall, slim mirror and couldn't believe how different she looked. Gone was her breeches, boots and shirts; even her Dracosbain shirt lay on an armchair next to the wardrobe. She also felt quite bare; her arms were always covered, whether that was by a long-sleeved dress or the shirts she wore.

The light green dress she wore now flowed down lightly, without any corset needed; the material around her bust was thick enough to keep her chest from bouncing when she moved. The design was beautiful but different. It was definitely of elven make, her shoulders were bare, and the sleeves only covered the top part of her arms before they flowed past her waist, revealing her forearms.

Her raven hair shone in long silky tendrils down her back; Rina pulled one side of her hair up and clipped it back, placing a cream rose in her hair along with little flowers she had never seen before scattered in different parts of her thick locks.

Evanna stared back at her reflection and saw an elf in her stead. The light makeup put on her face accentuated her eyes and lips. Rina only put a light pink paint on the princess' lips and on her cheeks, along with some black liquid styled on her eyelids. Evanna came closer to the mirror, observing Rina's handiwork, she had never worn makeup on her eyes before, but of course, the elves seemed to have a great deal more than the humans. She decided it looked nice, but she preferred to keep her looks to a minimum; she was not trying to find a husband but to stay alive.

Evanna tried not to grimace at the cut still on her lip and the bruising on the side of her face. Rina wished to put powder on her face, but she refused. She did not care for the dark splotches on her face and hardly wore makeup in the first place.

"* Beautiful*"

Evanna glanced up from her reflection and saw the prince standing behind her. She spun around, alarmed by his words, but feigned ignorance and drew her brows together, "Why am I here, your highness?"

The prince glanced at Rina, who bowed her head and left the room. He walked closer to Evanna, and she took a step away from him. Arawn narrowed his eyes slightly at her action. Evanna asked another question when the prince stayed quiet, "What did you tell Rina?"

Arawn smirked and turned to sit down on the armchair; he paused and grabbed the shirt placed on there. He arched a brow at Evanna, "You wore Dracosbain?"

Evanna shrugged, "It was extra protection."

Arawn burst into a throaty laugh and sat down, holding the material in his hands, "You.. We.. You were cheating the whole time we fought!"

Evanna leaned away from him, startled by how much emotion he just showed from his standard icy façade; with a small smile, she said, "It is not cheating. It does not help me in a fight. It is mere protection."

Arawn parted his lips to say something, but as he continued to look at the garment, his features hardened. "Evanna," His voice deepened and took on a note of seriousness. Her name rolled off his tongue exquisitely, and she couldn't help but feel her heart beat a little quicker. She couldn't understand how her name sounded so fine coming from his lips and how it affected her so.

"I do not wish to torture you to find the answers I want. Not in the way that you think anyhow.." He continued.

Evanna gulped subtly; what did he mean by that? "How would you torture me?" Her voice was small, and she felt her blood go cold. She knew the bath and dressing up was some form of tactic from him. Evanna sighed and subconsciously held her gemstone on her chest in one hand.

Arawn's eyes glanced down to the stone in her hand, and he stood up, flinging the Dracosbain shirt onto the chair, and stepped towards her. This time she did not move away from him; it was pointless.

"Oh, in a much more joyous way. For me anyway," Arawn smiled wickedly.

Evanna felt the colour drain from her face, she really didn't know what he was talking about, but he was the Flori's cold-hearted prince; his words finally sunk in, and her eyes widened, this time she took a step back, whispering, "You.. But you saved me.."

Arawn tilted his head to the side, confusion running over his features before surprise and red-hot anger flashed across his eyes before a stone-cold mask replaced it, "Evanna, so sweet. I do not mean by assaulting you. Do you really think of me so wickedly?"

He took a step towards her again and played with a tendril of her hair. Evanna searched his eyes and was satisfied with what she saw. Arawn would not assault her, and he would not hurt her that much, she was sure. Unless he was an outstanding actor, and his temper was nothing more than an act in the cell.

Evanna grimaced, "I do not know you, only of the rumours of you."

Arawn smiled broadly. "The rumours? Of me?" His smile made Evanna think that he enjoyed the rumours spoken about him.

"That is all I can go by, and what you did for me in Kuramji," Evanna said and turned away from him, "So, what happens now?"

Arawn walked towards the double doors to the chamber, "Now, we go to dinner."

Evanna turned around, alarmed by his words and scrambled after him, grabbing him by the arm to stop, "What do you mean dinner?!" He turned his head and looked down at her hand. She did not release it until he arched one of his defined brows.

"Are you not hungry?" He asked while opening the doors and stepping through. Evanna hastily caught up to him and strolled by his side.

"You know I am. But why? Do you not wish me to stay hidden?" Evanna whisper-shouted as she looked around. Unlike the night of the celebration, the hallways were guarded as usual, and the servants continued with their daily tasks.

Arawn glanced out the corner of his eye, the only indication that he heard her. But he did not reply and continued to walk. Evanna had to stop herself from pouting as she followed him; she also scolded herself for not paying attention to the twists and turns after descending the stairs and walking past the great hall.

As Evanna walked by the prince's side, she became slightly overwhelmed by the many elves glancing her way. Yet none glared at her.