Call of the North

Ch.3

"Your grace! I'm so sorry for waking you but it's almost time for the feast and the queen asked me to make sure you were ready."

Lyla spoke loudly as she came into the room with other maids carrying dresses, shoes, and jewelry for the feast.

"It's quite alright Lyla I was just about to get up anyways."

Maliya had woken up better than ever. It had been a while since she was able to sleep without being woken up by a nightmare.

"What are all of these dresses for?"

"Well they're for you of course. Queen Alicent wanted you to look your best and bought many dresses for you to choose from. She wasn't sure what you'd prefer to wear so she just decided to buy whichever ones she thought were prettiest. I hope they're to your liking."

All of the maids held up different dresses as if asking for Maliya to choose. She hesitated for a second then stood up to get a better look.

There were many colors from bright pink to dark blacks and she was unsure of which to choose.

"Which do you prefer, Lyla?"

"Me? I'm not sure my opinion has much say in the matter. Perhaps you would like to try a few on before making your decision." Lyla looked at the dresses before looking back at Maliya.

"Of course your opinion matters. I'd like to hear which one you favor and then I'll try that one on." Lyla grew a bashful smile before speaking.

"Alright then. I must say I'm very partial to this one." She walked over to a beautiful light pink dress. It had a tulle skirt that fell all the way to the floor and a corset tie bodice.

"Well I must try this one on then." Maliya smiled at Lyla and walked towards the dress as the maids helped her into it.

She looked into the large mirror in front of her while wearing the pink dress. The short sleeves fell gracefully off of her shoulders and the waist cinched her perfectly.

The more Maliya stared at herself the more beautiful she felt. She usually wore darker colored dresses or her chainmail as she spent more of her time training with her sword twilight.

This was a complete change to her usual outfit and she couldn't help but smile at the girl she saw in the mirror.

"I hope I'm not speaking out of turn when I say this but you look absolutely stunning in this dress, Lady Maliya."

Lyla walked over holding a gold necklace with a single pearl in the center. "May I?"

Maliya nodded, staring at her through the mirror. The necklace was a perfect addition to the dress, now all she needed were some earrings and shoes to match.

"Should we do anything to your hair?" Lyla says as she grabs Maliyas hair in an attempt to put it up.

"No. I'd prefer it down thank you." Maliya grabs her hair back and brushes it back down.

She refused to allow anyone but herself touch her hair. Being a fierce warrior such as herself it was rare she felt girly but her hair seemed to keep her sane.

"My apologies your grace." Lyla said while moving toward the door.

"It's quite alright. Thank you Lyla you've truly made everything perfect." She smiled towards Lyla softly.

"I hope we can be good friends."

"Of course your grace. Now let's get going before you're late to the feast."

They walked out the door with Nova following quickly behind, constantly searching making sure everything was safe.

Before entering the hall Maliya stopped looking a bit worried. Nova then came up to her and rubbed her large head on Maliyas dress as a way to call her down.