Splendid Fall

Ch.14 Illusion

Chapter 14

Jasmeen and Mina were giving Birdie the silent treatment.

When she had returned from Wren's room the day before, Mina was laid out on the bed with a heat pack on her forehead. Jasmeen rubbed oil onto the woman's scalp to calm her nerves as the fear of Wren's brass baton still had the woman rattling in her boots.

"As if things weren't bad enough," Jasmeen muttered while Birdie stood around, not knowing how to help. "Now we have to deal with this queen."

"Jasmeen, I'm sorry," Birdie stepped forward.

"Not," the jinn held up her finger. "another word from you."

And with that, the conversation ended.

At dinner, Mina and Jasmeen quietly sat by themselves in the warm balcony air and ate while Birdie played with her food inside. She had no desire to speak to them, but their silence still stung.

The next morning, before the sun even thought about rising, Jasmeen pulled Birdie out of bed. Not that it was hard. The girl barely slept.

"It's four in the morning," Birdie said, checking the clock on the wall. "Sunrise is at five."

"Are you going to the prince looking like death herself?" Jasmeen hissed, keeping her voice down and not disturbing the snoring Mina.

Birdie blinked at the girl with her wide silver eyes before giggling.

"What's so funny?" Jasmeen asked, dragging Birdie to the bathroom.

"Death does not look like me," Birdie said. "She only wears Prada or Valentino."

"What's that?"

"It's...." Birdie let out a breath and shook her head. "Nothing."

"Get in the tub."

"The water is cold."

"Aw my poor princess," Jasmeen pouted to mock Birdie as she shoved her into the tub and began to dump the soaps.

"It's freezing," Birdie shivered.

"Good," Jasmeen filled the small pail with water and poured it over Birdie's head. "Wash your hair. I'll get your clothes."

Handing Birdie the pail, Jasmeen rushed out of the bathroom. Birdie sat in the dark bathroom soaking in the tub with her knees drawn to her chest as she stared at Jasmeen moving around the room.

"Hurry up," Jasmeen poked her head in and hissed.

Carefully, making sure she didn't slip on the unholy amount of soap the jinn had dumped into the tub, Birdie walked over to the shower and rinsed out the soap in her hair. She wrapped a towel around herself and walked over to the vanity where Jasmeen snapped her finger for her to sit.

"Hurry, put this on," Jasmeen said, tossing Birdie a maroon dress with gold clips on the shoulders and a ribbon around her waist.

Birdie did as she was told. She avoided looking at the mirror as she dropped the towel and slipped into the dress. When Jasmeen instructed her to sit in front of the mirror, Birdie kept her gaze low. She did not wish to see her own reflection. Her eyes would be too big, her cheeks would be too hollow, her skin would be too pale. Her hair would be too unruly. Birdie simply did not need the reminder of her appearance.

"Look up," Jasmeen tilted Birdie's head back as she applied a shimmering dust to the inner corners of her eyes. " And now a little bit of this."

Birdie said nothing as the jinn rubbed blush onto her cheeks and applied a stain on her lips. She stared at her fingers and picked at her nails as Jasmeen set off to do her hair.