Intemperate Seas

8

Thoroughly scrubbed clean, Ilara was thankful only salt water seemed to turn her, oils and creams were rubbed into her skin by the three maids. She began to feel slightly more relaxed and even came close to dozing off during her bath. After spending so much time with Melody, Ilara was much more used to this type of group event when it came to grooming. The maids scrubbed her vigorously dousing her in product after product, whispering to each other when gathering more off in the corner next to the vanity and table, when they thought she couldn't hear. It seemed they wondered if she could talk, and that they knew she had some sort of sea induced shell shock. Ilara smiled at the wordplay, and the maids glanced at each other nervously.

"Time to get you dressed now, ma'am." The tall
maid with large doe eyes and pitch hair streaked with stark yellow spoke gently to her, holding a soft cloth up in front of her clean blue uniform. Clearly the maids didn't think she was high ranking enough to be called "lady". Funnily enough, her previously calloused hands and feet, numerous scars, and layers of sunburns, had all but faded. After she turned her skin was quite smooth. In fact, she had been healed physically and mentally to an extent. Her transformation had made a significant change. She stood, steaming water dripping, allowing the maid to wrap the cloth around her. Bundled into the warm towel, Ilara was led to another room where the maids had her stand on a small pedestal as they dressed her in shifts, sculpted chest binders, and multiple skirt layers. The finished product was slightly heavy, and Ilara was unable to life her arms for long periods. The dress was deep green, long sleeved, went past her feet, and the neck hit high under her chin. It was the dress style of a woman of some level of rank, if not lower. After they dressed her, the maids sat her in front of the vanity and began to twist elaborate braids into her hair, pinning it up in ways she had never done before. A small mirror laid in front of her on the vanity. It was stained and speckled, but she could see she looked farther from herself than ever. Eventually, after much prodding and brushing and powdering, they deemed her fit for presentation.

Uncomfortable shoes on her feet, trying not to trip, Ilara did her best to follow the maids out of the bright washroom and back into the hallway. It seemed that the servants had been preparing the receiving room off of the hallway near where they had entered originally. As they walked through the arched double doorway, colored sunlight streaming in through stained glass in the hallway and windows. Ilara realized it was mid day and she was quite hungry. The maids curtsied upon entering, and Ilara was able to get a good look of the room. It was a large sunroom style receiving space, with tilted windows arching one side. A beautiful table was set in the center of the circular window area, laden with tiered trays of assorted sea food. She wondered at a small pile of seemingly raw fish before turning her attention to the other half of the large oblong room. Vases full of colorful tropical plants sat still around the edges of the room. Plush sand colored lounge chairs and sofas were arranged in conversational format around the center of the room, which was slightly lower than the rest of the floor. The floor itself was made of water smoothed wide stones, possibly collected from the nearby ocean floor. She could still hear the bubbling of the fountain from the outside garden, possibly through an open window. Cedric sat on one of the sofas in the conversation pit, seemingly cleaned and dressed himself, Wearing a crisp blue-gray military style suit. He was speaking with an older woman, dressed in a much more luxurious style of the same dress Ilara wore, her silvery blonde hair piled above her head, fingers dripping in gold. They seemed to be deep in conversation. Across from them sat a middle aged woman with light hair orange adorned with silver pins, patting the hand of a young man dressed in navy clothes. Somehow she had missed Resteros, also in navy clothes, standing a few feet behind the sofas, arms clasped behind his back at attention. The large man from before was also standing at attention, against the edge of the room. His gray servant's uniform nearly blended into the wallpaper. As Ilara entered the room farther, guided by the maids, the seated men stood and the women stayed primly seated. Ilara suddenly felt outnumbered. Can I trust Cedric to help me if I need it?