Mrs. Dawkins (The Artful Dodger) [TBS]

Part 12

Miss Hardcastle was merciless, She ran me a bath hotter than the sun and took a hard bristle brush the sort you would use to sweep a stone patio and made sure not an inch of me was left without scrubbing. The Lavender soap forced against my every bone and fleck of skin, leaving my skin feeling dry and tight desperate for moisture. She Got to the last spot and without a word forced my ribbon off my neck.

"NO!" I yelped covering my neck with my hands, breathing fast and fighting the urge to scream,

"Just this once, allow me this for today miss." She pleaded, 

I sighed as I knew how important this night was so I moved my hands, and allowed her to do so. But the moment she was done I tried my ribbon back in its bow. By the time she was done with my body, my water was almost cold but this was only halfway through her cleaning. She grabbed a brush and jug and poured the water over my hair, she used shampoos, conditioners, and brute force to ensure my hair was in the absolutely best condition it could be in, making my hair as long and straight as possible. 

"Come out," She demanded, Holding my towel. 

I climbed out and wrapped my towel around myself, we both headed out into the main part of my room and she forced me to sit at my vanity mirror. 

She grabbed some lavender-scented lotion and covered me from head to toe with the lotion, she then took my perfume bottle and spritzed me from head to toe, she then took a clay mask and put it across my face working it into my every crevice, While the mask dried and did... whatever it was meant to do she worked drying my hair with another towel. 

My body had gone from feeling rubbed sore and dehydrated to suddenly sticky and greasy.

Finally, once my hair was dry she removed the mask from my face and that did... nothing, I see no difference. She forced me up to stand in front of my mirrors. 

She squeezed me into a pair of tights all the way to my waist she then put me in a pair of white cotton bloomers that reached my knees to my waist lacing them tight with a double bow, she then helped me to slip on my white stockings with a little black ribbon bow on each the top of which very nearly touched my bloomers, next she helped me into a small white cotton shirt, if it could be called that as it only really wrapped around my chest lacing down my back, and finally, for now, she took my most impressive red corset I clipped myself in at the front and held it with my fingers between the top sweetheart neckline and the skin of my chest as slowly but surely she laced from the centre of my back all the way to my hips, it was slow, painful and monotonous. As I watched my body be formed into this shape without much of a say in it, I kept breathing with each of her lacing movements as she instructed me making sure she didn't make it too tight as I would still have to dance in this. Finally, the last bow was tied. 

"Curtsiy," she demanded so I did as she said "Good, good. Not too tight?"

"No Miss."

"Good, Sit down." She said, 

So I walked back to my vanity and sat at the desk, She brushed my hair once again and then took a pair of curling tongs sitting them in boiling water before picking them up and wrapping my hair around them hearing it crackle and singe my hair causing this scent of burning hair to fill my room as one by one she curled the strands of hair required that would sit on my shoulders, Once they where curled she pulled half of my hair back and up into a braided spiral using one braided spiral to cross my head like an Alice band her hands a madness of hair, pins, tongs and tools to ensure my hairs cooperation as my hair was infamous for not cooperating with me, Miss Hardcastle or frankly anyone for that matter. Until the final touch for my hair. 

Miss Hardcastle left a moment leaving me looking at my reflection, I did look pretty I couldn't deny and the day was growing later and later, Soon enough she returned with a small metal and ivory box in hand. I froze up upon seeing the box, she set it on my vanity in front of me.