Chapter 19 - [Dress Successfully Acquired]

I stormed out of the dressing room, humiliated.

"Bravo!" Fleur clapped her hands, sitting down on a sofa she had specially asked Sir Gradral to move in front of the dressing room because apparently, he was 'a grand hunk of a man'. "Bravo! It is wonderful."

"Fleur, please. I look awful."

She nodded. "The dress is wonderful," she said, gesturing towards the skirt. "But not on you. Babita, it is not for you. Try on the other one."

Sighing, I went back to the dressing room and slipped off the bodice after I had cautiously closed the door. This dress had actually been quite to my liking. It was yellow and had white and orange gems embedded on the front in a symmetrical pattern. The skirt was plain but layered with tulle and white, detailed lace. The dress itself was gorgeous but Fleur was right, it wasn't for me. My purple hair didn't go well along with the warm undertones of the dress and altogether, it was just a disaster.

I hung the dress on the hook embedded to the white wall and took off another dress from the next hook. This one was even more stunning than the one before. It was blue, this time, giving away big ocean energy. Made with extreme care, the flowy net sleeves showed my bare, milky skin, giving my arms a lovely blue tint.

I slipped on the light blue skirt which had been absolutely showered with rhinestones of various sizes, arranged exquisitely, like an abstract painting. The top was just as beautiful, with rhinestones on the chest and along the collar bone. Overall, the dress was absolutely breath-taking.

I quickly got dressed, trying to avoid letting my escaping hair get caught up in the rhinestones. Even though I had tied my hair up, some sneaky strands weren't afraid to escape the rest of the bunch.

"I'm coming out!" I called to Fleur outside the door.

Trying not to trip over my skirt, I opened the door and exhibited the dress for Fleur to see and judge in all its glory.

"Good heavens, Your Highness!" Fleur gasped. "Might I say, you look ravishing. O' Great Priestess, give me strength for my eyes can not bear much longer in the presence of such a lovely being." Fleur paused to give me another glance. "But it is much too lustrous, don't you agree?"

"Hmm..." I lifted the skirt with my hand, but the prickly rhinestones prevented me from doing it so with ease. "I suppose you're right. But surely it is an eye-catcher, don't you reckon? I'm really loving these sleeves as well. This style helps get much more air inside compared to the previous one. The yellow dress was quite stuffy."

"Also, doesn't it feel rather heavy?" Fleur asked, studying the dress. "Won't it limit your movements while you're dancing?"

How very thoughtful of her. I hadn't planned so far ahead, yet Fleur was four parallel universes ahead of me. Haha.

"Fleur..." I said, trying to attempt a twirl. "Maybe we shouldn't opt for this one as well, for you are correct. Comfort was always and will always be my top priority. What else do you have in store for me?"

Fleur got up from the sofa, her thoughts elsewhere. "Maybe that one will be good..." She mumbled to herself. "Yes...that one..."

She left me for a while, still mumbling to herself and came back carrying a large dress over her shoulder.

"This one," she wheezed, "will be the winner." She handed it to me and then steered me inside the dressing room. "If you *wheeze* need any help *wheeze* do call me..."

Confused, I closed the door. I hung the dress on the hook and stepped back to take a better look. My, this was a beauty.

The dress Fleur had deemed a winner, was tinged a soft pink. The bodice was white and it was the skirt that was colored, yet the whole dress looked as if it had been suffused with a soft pink. Where the light hit the dress, the skirt shone like a rainbow. It was like those holographic sneakers I had seen often on my way to school in the display of the expensive shoe stores. I was so entranced with the shifting colors that I would move my head back and forth just to see the yellows change to greens. It was as if the shoes had no fixed color. I was surprised to see this same concept in such an old era.

The bodice was mainly empty, but on the sides where one places their arms, was a pattern made from pink rhinestones that sort of spread out to the front. Above that, on the collar bone, was a lace covered in flowers. I touched to see if these were real flowers but was disappointed that these were just made from fabric.

The flowers carried on towards the sleeves of the dress where they withered and were continued by soft pink fabric. I put on the dress, trying to figure out how the sleeves worked. Oh! These weren't sleeves. It was just flowy fabric that would cover my arms, like a cape.

I turned to look at myself in the wall mirror and was stunned to see the princess's reflection looking ever so stunning. It was an absolute winner, just like Fleur had said. I looked so lovely, my hair complimenting the soft pink tones of the dress and the flowers on my collar bones making me look elegant and graceful. Exactly the definition of a princess.

I jerked conscious, as if waking up from a sweet dream as Fleur's high voice caught my ears. "Your Highness, come out now!" She laughed heartily. "I am so excited to see you all dressed up in my most fabulous creation."

The door creaked open as it was pushed by me and I locked eyes with Fleur, who's gaze widened by the minute,

"O-Oh wow..." She muttered, looking me over, up and down. "This turned out much better than I expected. I thought your hair wouldn't go well with the pink but my word, I am amazed." She jumped up from the sofa and approached me, her eyes moving speedily from the skirt to the top and back down again in a quest to find problems with the dress. "But there is still much we have to do. Oh yes…" She was talking to herself again.

"I think it looks fine like this. Can't I just pay for it and leave?"

Fleur looked up at my face as if I had gone crazy. "Of course not. The dress wasn't made to fit your body, and it looks exactly so. The waist and chest needs to be tightened...so does the collar. Oh and the skirt would flow much better if it was shortened a few inches, don't you agree? And these flowy things," she said, lifting the cape-like tulle. "It is far too long. Let us chop it as well. Oh, oh, oh, there's so much to do!"

I sighed which made Fleur look up at me once more, surprised. "What are you doing, Your Highness? Go change, hurry." And once again, I was pushed into the dressing room.

✿

"Ready to leave, Your Highness?" Sir Gradral asked, waiting for me by the door.

"Just a second," I said. Fleur had assured me that as a special-grade dressmaker, she would definitely bring no harm to my dress. But all the same, I was a bit anxious. "Don't cut it all up, you hear me?" I said to her as she rummaged behind the counter.

"Yes, yes," she smiled, getting up and handing me a slip of paper. "Here, take this. I've written down all the details of the dress and of your visit today. Of course, I have a copy. If you need to get anything changed last minute, you can send an urgent messenger down to this address." She pointed to some writing on the paper in my hand. "Got that?"

"Yeah..." I nodded. I turned to leave but then remembered something. "Hey, what about the cost?" Crap. I didn't bring any money with me. Did princesses even carry money?

"Oh, now why would you go and worry about that, Your Highness?" Fleur laughed as she picked up some boxes from the counter and put them on the floor. "It's a delivery to the palace. It's not like I can ask the Royal Family for payment directly. I'll receive it by the end of the ceremony if all goes well, so you need not worry."

Still skeptical, I looked over at Sir Gradral for confirmation and his reassuring nod finally made me surrender. "Alright. I'm really leaving now," I said, turning to the door. "Hopefully," I said as I looked back once more to look at Fleur, who was now busy rummaging through the boxes she had placed on the counter. "I'll receive the dress soon?"

"Oh, yes..." She glimpsed at me, not lifting her focus from the contents of the boxes.. "Let us all hope so."