After a few weeks of practicing, it was time for the ball. And Christa had just the thing for her to wear.
First she had Nyxia take a good long bath, scrubbing every inch of her skin and hair. Fortunately, her skin looked healthy, and not sallow and pale as it did when she first got here. There were various scars on her body, including the ones on her back, but Nyxia found she did not care.
The scars were proof she had survived something horrible. And she would wear them with pride.
So she cleaned, and afterwards Christa dried her hair and put a dressing gown on her, ushering her into her room.
The dress was grey, and that was all that Nyxia could tell as Christa turned her around and eyed her. "We're gonna have to put a corset on you."
"A corset? What's that?"
Nyxia soon found out what it was. She also discovered that she hated corsets. She winced as Christa tugged on the strings tightly, restricting her breathing.
She glared down at herself. Her curves have noticably filled in. Nyxia hasn't paid much attention before, but she certainly did now.
"Why not just cut them off? It'd be easier that way." She grumbled. Christa laughed, as if she was joking.
Nyxia was not.
After that, Christa helped Nyxia put on the dress. Grunting, she slid it on over her body, and it fell heavily to the ground. It felt like it was weighing her down. She hasn't ever worn a dress this heavy before.
Would she even be able to dance?
She would definitely find out.
As she turned to face the mirror, all thoughts died out of her head, and her lips parted in awe. She was speechless.
The dress was... absolutely gorgeous.
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It was light grey, with small white pearls sowed into the top half of the dress, which sparkled when she moved.
Fake white flowers were down onto the bottom of her dress. Not too much, as to appear garish, but enough to make the dress from plain to exquisite. She could see the glimmer of tiny pearls at the center of the flowers.
The dresses sleeves were off the shoulders, but she didn't need to worry about the dress falling off.
The dress went all the way to the floor.
She looked—pretty, for once. Well put together. It was odd, but not unpleasant.
Christa did her hair too. She put it up in a stylish yet cute bun, pinning a little white flower in the side.
For her face, Christa just dabbed a little bit of lip gloss and some mascara. "You already have a pretty face, it doesn't need to be caked in makeup." She explained.
"Thank you?" Nyxia thought that was a compliment. She wasn't sure though.
After Christa did the finishing touches on her appearance, Nyxia peered into the mirror one last time before nodding in satisfaction.
"Its perfect." She said, a bit shyly. "thank you."
Christa nodded. "Thank me by having a good time. Don't let the whispers get to you, because there certainly will be whispers."
Nyxia sighed. Courtly stuff was in a whole class of stress by itself. For a moment, she hesitated, wondering if she should go after all. Then she shook her head. She had promised Kalix, and she wouldn't break her promise.
"Okay, let's go." Nyxia said, lifting her head up high, a determined gleam in her eyes.
The halls were empty asides from guards. Christa led the way, with a few guards trailing behind her. Nyxia's heart pounded loudly as they approached the huge ornate door that was the ballroom.
With her hands trembling very slightly, the guards opened the door, and she stepped in, eyes taking in everything.
The room was large, and perhaps one of the nost fancy room in the palace. There was faded fancy-looking wallpaper, as if no one could be bothered to renovate the ballroom into a more modern place.
A chandelier hung from the center of the ceiling, glittering. Four balconies were on the side of the room, two on each side. At the far end of the room, there were two thrones.
An older, distinguished looking man sat on one. Nyxia could see the glitter of the crown he wore from where she stood. He was the king, she presumed. And the male next to him was Kalix.
Indeed, Kalix sat straight up in his seat, his expression, while not unkind, was regal and unreadable. This was the prince she never saw. She always just saw Kalix the person.
He looked handsome in his princely attire, but Nyxia could tell that he was distinctly uncomfortable. She held back a smile.
Next thing she noticed was all of the people—ladies and lords and waiters—and felt her throat close up.
There were so many. So many people, so many dresses, so many clean suits. It was a bit overwhelming.
Nyxia noticed the glances she got from a few of the ladies—they were clearly envious of her beauty and the dress she wore. Men eyed her appreciatively, and it took everything she had not to shudder.
As she was heading over to a table filled with food and drinks, there was a tap on her shoulder. Tensing, she turned around, preparing for the worst.
