One Warm Winter

Viviane-Part 2

I arrived at the capital, brownstone townhouses and apartments lining the snow lined cobblestone streets. Fae of all kinds bustled through the crowded streets, sounds of laughter and the smell of roasting nuts floating through the air. Oh, how different than the rural country I was used to. I craned my head further out of the window, smelling the frigid yet warm air. At the very centre of it all stood a magnificent castle. It was a brownstone, like all the others, but its many towers rose above the city's skyline. The large illuminated windows cast paths of light across the city, illuminating the falling snow. We slowly grew closer and closer to the structure. We stopped at the massive arch that crowned the entrance to the castle. A stout man, his face traced with laugh lines, waddled up to my carriage driver. 

"Good Sir, may I ask if your passenger is the Lady Viviane Monserra Angleca-Laice of the Angleca-Laice line?" My driver happily agreed.

"Good, good. Lady Ilya-mae is getting quite antsy waiting for her." With a nod, he opened my door and assisted my departure of the carriage. He walked me to the front door, and stopped.

"Lady Viviane, you may proceed inside, I do believe that Miss Willa is waiting for you."

"Thank you, kind sir." I gave him a quick nod and opened the grand door.

The inside was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Golden chandeliers let of warm light, illuminating the grand hall from the floors to the unimaginably high ceilings. The floors were dark wood, glowing as courtiers and servants skimmed across them, chatting with each other. Massive portraits of High Lords encircled an enormous pillar, a fountain underneath. Grand staircases, each with banisters of gold, went in every direction possible. And the windows- I felt a light tap on my arm.

"Miss Viviane", a girl's voice whispered. I turned around. A young girl, maybe seventeen, just two years younger than me. She was the polar opposite of me. Platinum ringlets framed her pointed chin, a beautiful toothy smile planted on her cocoa-colored face. I liked her instantly.

"You must be Miss Willa."I responded, wonder still flashing through my head.

"Just Willa will be fine," she told me. "I'm to be you maid for these weeks, let me show you to your room." And with that, she took my hand and led me up one of countless sets of stairs. 

"Left, left, straight, right, left, straight to the end of this hall, up this staircase, down these, left again, right, right, up, straight till this set of doors. Make sure to remember these so you don't get lost." By the time we had gotten to my room, I was panting and drenched in sweat. Willa was still grinning ear to ear, still energized. " The castle is quite big. You'll get used to it."

She flung open the massive, heavy doors and led me in. My eyes widened. An enormous four-poster bed sat in the center of the room. The sheer canopy floated in the breeze of magic. A dark green plush carpet lined the floors. Bookshelves and cushy chairs encircled the bed, making the large room irresistibly cozy. But Willa gave me no time to soak all of it in. She immediately pulled me into the expansive closet. She wasted no time pulling out dress after dress, unsatisfied with each one.

"Why, Willa, are you such in a hurry?"I asked.

"Well Miss Viviane, you're supposed to meet your sister and nieces in an hour, and I haven't even started getting you ready yet!" A strand of curly hair fell from her messy braid. I laid a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, take your time."She took a deep breath.

"Okay. Thank you." She walked over to the bed with an armfull of long dresses. Willa laid them on the bed one by one. There were six. I looked at her, confused. She quickly cleared her throat and explained,

"You can choose the one you like. These are the ones that would look good on your complexion." I appreciatively nodded my thanks and picked up a dark grey dress. It was studded with small beads of mother-of -pearl, making it seem to shimmer in the warm light. Willa nudged me in front of the mirror. With pins already in her mouth, and thread in her hands, she, to my suprise, began altering it.

"You see here, the neckline is too high for you beautiful, graceful neck." She started to pull the collar of the dress down. "Here we go, that seems a good length-" She paused abruptly, examining the dark bruise on the back of my neck.

"It's nothing, continue," I said, dismissing any thought of Andri. She thought for a second, doubt clouding her eyes for a moment, and just shrugged her shoulders. She continued,

"Let's also bring up the hem a little bit. You can see here, you're a little too short for this dress." I nodded, agreeing. After just a few seconds, Willa was finished. I looked at myself in the large mirror. The dress had looked stunning before, but now, it was made, it seemed, exactly for my body, hugging where it needed to, but still modest. I turned to Willa, amazement in my eyes.

"You, Willa, are a worker of magic." She lowered her head modestly.

"No Miss Viviane, it is you who makes the dress truly shine. Not everyone can do that." She looked down at her silver watch, and grabbed my arm. "Oh my, thirty minutes! We must get your hair and makeup done!" I sat down in a plush chair, as instructed, as Willa dragged over box after box of makeup. She sat just in front of me.

"Natural?"She asked, lifting her brows. From just looking at me, she could tell what I wanted. I answered yes, a smile spreading across my face. She dusted a light powder across my face, liner across my eyelids. Willa's nimble hands drifted through my hair, steadily pulling, twisting my platinum locks. Lastly, I felt a creamy lipstick slowly settle across my full lips. She lifted my chin, to inspect her work. She nodded, satisfied. Delicate blush bloomed across my pale skin, accentuating my cheekbones. A shimmering light sienna shadow colored my eyelids, underneath my long, delicate lashes. Apricot glowing under a glossy pink blended on to my lips. I changed my focus to my hair. Naturally straight, it had been arranged into a simple updo, held by a single mother-of-pearl circlet gracing my brow. The circlet, made of silver and platinum, encircled my head, almost resembling a crown. The crystals danced playfully in the light, flickering like snowflakes on a dark night. I turned to Willa, and hugged her.

"Thank you." I whispered, finally feeling the confidence that I had lost returning.

"You like it, don't you," she whispered back." I'm happy to be of service."