The Hathway Kingdom. (Book 1)

Chapter Twenty-Three.

~Twenty-Three. ~

"Larissa? Larissa! Come back inside! They have sent the final product of your dress!" Larissa's Aunt, Lady Mariah called out as a messenger laid the box containing Larissa's dress on the desk within her Aunt's room. Larissa glanced over her shoulder and back into the room from the balcony before she sighed and turned to walk back into the room.

Larissa walked over to where her Aunt had placed the box on her bed now and she eyed it carefully. She loved her Aunt, with all her heart, but Larissa had the feeling that her Aunt had chosen something that was not something that Larissa would ever wear. Taking a deep breath, Larissa prepared herself before she opened the lid of the box. What she saw made her eyes widen in surprise before she lifted the dress up and out of the box to get a better look at it.

It was a deep navy blue in colour and made from silk with tulle over the top. The top was covered in lace, ruffles, and sequin embellishments in the pattern of leaves with crossed, lace straps from her mid-back down to her waist. The neckline was a V-neck and its skirt fell to the floor in a princess/A-line. And, by the looks of the sleeves, they were three-quarters in length.

"Aunt...It's beautiful. How did you..." she began to say, and her Aunt chuckled.

"I know my niece, Larissa. Did you honestly think that I would make you wear something ridiculously girly?" she asked Larissa, who stuck out her tongue at her Aunt. "Go and try it on! I want to see what it looks like on you," her Aunt said as she pushed Larissa behind a nearby screen where Elissa was waiting.

As she was changing, there came a knock at her Aunt's door. She tried to listen in on the conversation, but as she did, Elissa pulled tight on the straps at the back, causing her to gasp. Elissa muttered an apology before continuing with her work as the door to her Aunt's room shut.

"How's it coming, Elissa?" her Aunt called out and Larissa replied for her maid as she continued tugging on the straps.

"Tiresome, Aunt. Did you have to choose one with so many straps?" she asked as she let out a breath through her teeth as Elissa finally managed to finish tying the straps in a bow at the base of her waist.

"There!" she exclaimed, and she smiled at Larissa, who returned the smile.

"Let me see!" her Aunt called out and Larissa sighed before she picked up the front of her dress and walked out from behind the screen. Her Aunt was sitting on her bed, sipping at a glass of what looked like wine, as she waited for her niece, but she immediately put her glass aside and stood up with a shocked look on her face, causing Larissa to bite down on her lip as she let the skirt of the dress fall back down to the floor.

"Does it look that bad?" she asked as she looked down at herself before she looked back up at her Aunt as she came over.

"Do you honestly think anything could possibly look ugly on you, Larissa?" her Aunt said before she hurried over and made her turn to face the mirror in the room. "See? You may even up stage me at my own wedding!" her Aunt exclaimed as Larissa examined her reflection.

Her Aunt was right. The dress looked stunning on her and it worked well with her figure and her hair. She ran her hands over the embellished top, looking down at it a moment before she looked back up at her reflection. She then turned her eyes on her Aunt.

"Who was at the door?" she asked her, and her Aunt blinked before she seemed to remember.

"Ah...Yes! That was one of the servants, dropping off the shoes for our dresses. Here. Put yours on, Larissa," her Aunt said as she hurried over and picked up a pair of satin heeled, blue shoes. Larissa bit down on her lip as her Aunt placed them in front of her. She looked at her Aunt for a moment before she took Elissa's hand and stepped into her shoes.

"There! You look beautiful, Larissa," her Aunt said proudly as she looked at her niece, whose cheeks had gone almost the same colour as her hair.

"Stop it, Aunt. I'm going to get changed," Larissa said before she walked back behind the screen and Elissa followed to help her.

* * *

The day of the wedding finally arrived, and Larissa couldn't have been more thankful for it. She had spent the better part of the week running back and forth, helping her Aunt get ready and her Uncle to greet the rest of the guests that had been invited to the wedding. She hissed as Elissa ran a brush through a particularly stubborn knot in her hair and Elissa muttered an apology before she continued to brush and style the Princess's hair. A knock came at the door and the servant on the other side of the door spoke up before either Elissa or Larissa could ask who it was.

"His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Falconer!" came the servant's voice and Larissa quickly scrambled to her feet and bowed as the doors to her room opened and the Emperor walked inside.

"Your Imperial Majesty! To what do I owe the honour of your presence?" Larissa asked as she stood up and looked up at him curiously.

"I came to see how things were fairing with the preparations. And I have someone who was eager to see you," he replied before chuckling at Larissa's confused expression. He turned to the open doors before gesturing for the person waiting outside to come inside. Larissa's eyes widened before she beamed and hurried over, throwing her arms around the person, and hugging them close.

"Lizzie! Oh, Lizzie! I wasn't sure that you would in fact come to the actual wedding!" Larissa exclaimed as she pulled back enough to look at Lizbeth, who was smiling brightly at her.

"How could I not, Larissa? You invited me and I came. Besides...Someone must keep my brother out of trouble," Lizbeth replied, and Larissa looked towards Theodoras who was standing just outside of the room before gesturing towards him.

"Isn't that what the General is for?" she asked as Theodoras glanced at her with a slight, almost unnoticeable shrug of his shoulders and Larissa gave him a knowing look.

"More often than not, they are getting each other into trouble," Lizbeth said as she waved her hand before she turned to her brother now. "Go on now, Brother Dear. Go and get ready yourself. I am going to stay here with Larissa," Lizbeth said to him, shooing her brother from the room. Romulus turned to Larissa as he reached the door.

"I will see you at the church, Your Highness," he said to her before he bowed and left the room. Lizbeth shook her head at her brother before she shut the door and turned back to Larissa and Elissa.

"Come. Let's finish getting you dressed, Larissa. We don't have long before we need to get down to the church," she said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.