Queen Of Glass

Chapter 9

Her first shipment of clothing had arrived the day before; large wooden crates filled with layers upon layers of rich fabrics, strands of pearls and jewels, and more shoes than Celaena cared to count.
Within the hour, Celaena was bound, dressed, and painted like any rich court lady; her dress was so tight that she could hardly breathe. The maids had been delighted when Celaena had ordered them to dress her in her most impressive dress, which turned out to be quite impressive indeed when she was finally dressed.
A powder green color with fine lace lining around the low-cut neckline, it was a dress that would have cost as much as a house. The blood-red sash at her waist, according to the servants, brought out the color of the dress and made her curvy form seem less, well, wide. Now able to eat full meals, a lot of her bones were less visible, and while Celaena was in no way heavy or in need of controlling the amount of food that went into her mouth, the dresses that the tailor had shipped to her were a bit small.
I told him to make them larger! I told him five times to make them a size bigger!
But she bore the smallness of the dress well, even if it did make her feel as if she would faint.
Celaena could have done without the sash, but what really drove her crazy was the number of petticoats that lay beneath the gown. The large skirts of the dress, in Celaena's opinion, made her look like an upside-down green and red umbrella. Her pale-green shoes were of the same style that she used when training with Chaol, and they were about the only comfortable thing she had on.

Her hair turned out quite nicely. Placed in pearl netting that draped down to her shoulders with a braided tiara of her own hair to hold it in place, Celaena found the style quite agreeable. She adored the tiara of hair, which got rid of the irritating strands that were too short to fit into the netting.
Celaena Sardothien hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch by the time that she was about to leave her rooms—and she was in a foul mood because of it. But then again, how could she possibly eat in this dress? How could any food that went into her mouth possibly not come up again?
Lord Chaol was suddenly at her door, looking quite out of breath and almost frantic. She had been about to send one of her servants out for him, but it seemed to Celaena that he had read her mind.
"Downstairs. Now," he panted, grabbing her by the arm and yanking her out the door.
"What is it?" Celaena stumbled, but kept her balance. She smiled sweetly at the guards standing by her door and then raced down the hallway behind Lord Chaol the best she could.
"I forgot to send a guard to fetch you so that you wouldn't be late." Lord Chaol said as they descended a large staircase that Celaena hadn't seen before. The palace seemed to get bigger by the day!
"Late for what?" Celaena held her hair in place for fear that it would fall out.
"For meeting the other ladies, you fool! They're all assembling now in a small dining hall, and one of the etiquette professionals has come to examine and eliminate ten of the twenty women. Lateness is not a virtue that they hold in high regard!"
They reached the bottom of the staircase and turned right, flying down a long hallway. She couldn't breathe!
Chaol tightened his grip on her arm. "When you enter the room, keep your head up, walk straight, and take a seat. Remember, do not tell the women your real name or occupation. Your name from now on is Lithaen Gordaina, your father is a rich merchant from Belaegyr, and you are heir to his fortune. Your mother died when you were young," they were reaching the door at the end of the hallway now, "and since your father raised you, he sometimes treated you like a son—which is why you can now handle weapons so well. Got it? Good." He stopped a few feet from the door and Celaena skidded to a halt.
He gave her a moment to catch her breath and regain her countenance. Her insides were surprisingly shaky. Her freedom was to be decided as soon as she entered this room. How pretty were these women in comparison to her?
Lord Chaol seemed to read her mind. "Don't worry about it, Sardothien, you're ten times prettier than any woman in that room." With a smile and a bow, Chaol turned from her and walked back down the hall before he could see her surprised expression.
With a sigh, Celaena turned the gold handle and walked into the chamber.
The smell of several different perfumes was almost suffocating.
Twenty chairs were lined in four rows, all facing a wooden podium. A scattering of women sat in these seats, and in the front row Celaena recognized the black-haired woman and her two blonde cronies. Wanting to stay as far away from this woman as possible, Celaena took a seat in the last row. From this seat she could see the competition and hopefully calm her nerves without being noticed.
Over the next five minutes, more women filled the room, and soon each seat was filled. Beside Celaena sat a small brunette in a blue dress. She was pretty, but looked rather weak and fragile. It was hard for Celaena to imagine a girl like this killing anyone.
Celaena would have made small talk with the girl were it not for the woman who then entered the room. She was large and old—with a dress that was so pressed and crisp that Celaena thought that the woman could have passed for a board of wood. Her posture was impeccable and her movements were so graceful that it made her width decrease. The woman floated to the podium and looked at the twenty women sitting before her.
"Welcome, ladies," she said with a smile that displayed her dazzling white teeth. "I am Madam Tul'rouse, your professional advisor and educator on the art of court etiquette and beauty."