Marmalade's Love Potion

Chapter 18 Part 2 - A Gown of Flowers & Starlight

The days after passed quickly. There was so much to prepare for the upcoming ball that, during the daylight hours, Penelope found little time to dwell on misery or mortification.

She lost herself in the tactility of dressmaking for long hours each day. Early mornings found her pinning patterns by the wan blue light streaming through the windows of her workspace. Afternoons found her threading sleeves to carefully crafted bodices, or trimming yards of silk for flowing skirts. Familiar calluses formed on her fingers as she spent evenings embroidering cuffs with shining lines of thread.

Sister Heely's gown came together quickly in crisp, elegant lines of cream and blushing dusk, with golden accents that brought to mind an autumn dawn.

She twirled about the lounge as Penelope scrutinised the fit, skirts and long sleeves billowing outwards in airy folds.

"You should see me, Rosin!" Sister Heely called down the hall.

"You said no looking until the day, love!" Sister Rosin protested from the kitchen.

"No, you can't look, of course! But you should see me!" Sister Heely teased with another elaborate twirl that sent Penelope into giggles as Sister Rosin pretended to grump.

Sister Rosin's gown of flaming reds and burnished thread was designed to wrap gracefully across the shorter woman's torso, with short fluttering sleeves to accentuate the strength of her arms. Tiered skirts fanned outwards from the curve of her waist, trailing behind her like liquid sunset.

Sister Rosin fanned about the lounge with a wide grin. Raising her voice in a mocking lilt, she called, "Ooooooh, you should see me, Heels, you should—Oi! No peeping!"

Muffled giggles echoed up the corridor as Sister Heely's steps clipped away.

Penelope worked on her own gown long into the late night hours. Following the design she had sketched for herself, she crafted a dress with a long voluminous skirt and cinched bodice using the indigo silk she had chosen at Sooth & Crane.

Oh so carefully, Penelope layered veil upon glittering veil of starweave silk over the skirt, stitching them in place with opalescent thread. Thousands of tiny diamonds sparkled against the darker silk with each ripple of the fabric, shining like constellations swimming through ink.

After attaching sheer, billowing sleeves of starweave silk cuffed in silver lace, there was just enough of the precious fabric left for three pairs of gloves. These she stitched in secret, one pair for herself and the others as a surprise gift for the Sisters.

With the forms of the dresses completed, Penelope moved on to the finer embellishments. She embroidered fine leafy stems and added subtle flowers of folded fabric to the Sisters' gowns and gloves, using pieces of cloth from the others' dress so their designs would complement.

Immensely satisfied with the Sister's finished gowns, Penelope considered the designs she wanted for her own embroidery. In her design, she had sketched flowers across the bodice and yet, when it came time to thread them, something stayed her hand. Somehow the designs didn't feel quite right.

She fretted for several days, sketching and re-sketching different types of flowers, then patterns of constellations, crescent moons, crystalline trees, birds, butterflies, and even beetles.

Yet nothing quite captured the essence of the forest. The presence of life and raw magic that lurked in every shadow and nourished every fern.

As the ball approached, Penelope's nights became restless and her dreams fretful. Her gown remained unfinished as the days passed, and she became increasingly anxious with fewer hours of sleep each night.