Love in Ireland

/29/

-Monday December 25th (Later)-

"You did an amazing job, Carrie! Thank you!" I gushed as I looked at my hair in the mirror. She had pulled half of my hair up into an elegant ballerina bun. She left a few of my front pieces out to frame my face and tied a red bow around the bun, which matched a bow on my dress. The rest of my hair was curled into elegant curls which fell a little above my waist. My hair was officially waist length again, and I loved having long hair, but I had to get used to managing it again.

"You're welcome." She smiled. "And Merry Christmas." Carrie had dressed up in a red and green outfit today for the occasion. And only she could pull off the outfit. She had on black dress pants, a bright green sweater, red heels, red lipstick, and red glasses. Her hair was braided and had green extensions in it. The outfit was very her and very bold.

"Merry Christmas!" I exclaimed as she left my bathroom.

As usual, I put on a little of makeup, I even added a little red lip gloss before putting back on my glasses.

I grabbed my dress from its mannequin and stepped into it. I struggled a little with the zipper in the back, but I eventually got it. Before I went to go look in the mirror, I put on my gold block heels that had gladiator straps, earrings, a simple gold necklace, and simple gold and white bracelets. I decided to wear earrings that matched my necklace and dress, but I still had on the bracelet Declan got me.

I turned to look at myself in the full-length mirror and grinned. My dress was perfect. It was a muted green color because at the Christmas ball, everyone wears some shade of green or red in their outfit. The bodice of my dress had a subtle sweetheart neckline and a modern corset bodice with visible boning. The sleeves of the dress were bishop sleeves that started at my shoulders and fell to my elbows. On the sides of the bodice and the tops of the sleeves were a white and red flower design. I had spent a while working on the lace and embroidery combination for the flower designs, and I thought they came out perfectly and added a little more to the dress. The waist of the dress had a thin dark red waistband which tied in a long thin bow in the front. The skirt was on two layers, but it swooped out in elegant pleats and fell in pools of fabric on the floor. In the middle of the skirt was a slit, which went up to a little above my knee. The same white and red flower pattern flowed onto the sides of the skirt from the bodice.

I loved everything about the dress. I did a little twirl in front of the mirror and watched as the fabric spun around me. This dress was probably my favorite dress yet. And the best part? I gave it pockets. That way, I could just slip my phone in and didn't have to worry about a purse.

I took one more look at myself and then grabbed my phone before leaving my room. I walked on down to the ballroom. The guests were being introduced and the whole area was buzzing with life. The ballroom was decorated with a bunch of different Christmas decorations and lights. Everything looked so festive. The quartet and pianist on the stage were playing classical Christmas music, and I smiled a little.

I scanned the area, looking for everyone in the royal family. Bridget was already here with Rayna. Bridget's dress was a dark red color which matched her auburn hair. The bodice had a round neckline and was made up of many layers of red tulle that had some sparkles. The skirt flared out from the bodice in many small layers of the same tulle. Each layer was made of bunched up tulle and built upon each other. It had been extremely time consuming to sew. The sleeves were detached and made of the underneath slip material of the dress and. They went from her armpits all the way to her wrists and had large bows on the sides. The sleeves were actually fun to make, and the big bows added something to the dress. Bridget had put her hair up into a low bun and had on a small gold tiara. She also had on matching gold earrings and an elegant gold necklace with a garnet pendent. Rayna was wearing a simple emerald green dress. The dress had a sweetheart neckline with off the shoulder sleeves and a wrap bodice. There was a small waistband made of the same fabric and the skirt fell in an elegant A-line style. Rayna took the simple dress and dressed it up with a fancy silver and emerald hair clip and gorgeous silver and emerald jewlery.