Street Mouse 2

13. A New Companion.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, can I do your hair?" The blonde woman asked, dropping her formal aura as she took Y/N by the hand and pulled her towards her vanity. "Like old times..." She murmured under her breath, but Y/N still heard it.

"S-sure," she stammered, feeling a twinge of guilt at the mention of old times she could not remember. Perching herself on the edge of the stool, she waited primly for her to begin her work.

"Yay!" Lady Abela exclaimed happily, her face stretching into a wide smile as she reached for a dish of hair pomade, only to discard it when she found the content completely spoiled and dry enough to be a century old.

"Oh! You're really quick at this," Y/N gasped as in under a minute the blonde had sculpted her hair into an elegantly simple twist without the use of any product other than a brush.

"Well, I did do your hair all the time," she said lightly, heating a thin metal rod in the candle flame before wrapping a few loose H/C hair strands around the barrel, curling them to frame her face.

"You did?" Y/N asked, her eyes widening in surprise as she examined her reflection in the mirror closely, "Well... I guess this style does look a bit familiar."

"Of course!" Abela laughed merrily as she rested her head next to Y/N's, smiling brightly at her with her reflection. "It was your favorite!"

"Really?" she asked, turning her head to look at the woman standing at her side instead of her twin held within the looking glass. 

"Yes!" She nodded her head vehemently, her golden curls bouncing as she dragged Y/N towards the wardrobe."Now come on, let's find you a pretty dress to were!" she exclaimed, her voice muffled by fabric as she stuck her head inside. After digging around for several moments she emerged holding a beautiful blush and maroon-colored dress, with a full skirt and billowing sleeves that tightened at the wrist.

"I don't know..." Y/N mumbled, hesitating to even hold such a fine piece of clothing. "Is it really alright for me to wear this?" she asked uncertainly, feeling bad about taking it from the original owner of the room.

"Of course," Abela comforted her with a warm smile, placing the dress into her arms. "This is your room Y/N, everything in it belongs to you!" she exclaimed cheekily.

"I-I didn't know..." She looked down at the garment in her arms self-consciously, ashamed that she had no idea the room had been hers, or that this dress belonged to her.

"No worries," the blonde said lightly, poking Y/N's cheek. "I'll be waiting outside when you're done getting dressed," she walked towards the door with a skip in her step, her forest green skirt swaying around her legs. She flashed Y/N one last encouraging grin before closing the door softly.

Once Y/N finished getting dressed and emerged from her room, Abela took her by the hand and began to run through the halls of the castle, dragging her behind. They were moving at such a pace that Y/N couldn't keep track of the rooms they visited, not even when Abela was giving ecstatic commentary.

"Come on Y/N, let's play in the ballroom like we used to!" The blonde cried with even more enthusiasm than before as she came to a halt in front of the giant double doors across from the mighty entrance hall.

"But it's locked," Y/N panted, struggling to keep from doubling over from all the running they had been doing around the castle.

"Good thing I've had the only key all this time then," She replied with a smug grin, pulling an ornate gold key on a chain from within her blouse.

"Lady Abela!" the exclamation of a servant startled both girls as the sound of hurried footsteps approached them.

"Lady Abela! Lady Y/N is not to leave her room," the voice of another maid chimed in as five servants total flooded into the entrance hall.