The Prince or the Crown

chapter fourteen

I stood staring at myself in the mirror, admiring the long light green ball gown the seamstress was currently pinning to my body. It was the most gorgeous dress I had ever seen or worn in my life. The bodice was tight-fitted and heart-shaped, with loose straps that hung daintily below my shoulders. The skirt barely fit in the bathroom, with the edges blossoming out in thick layers of thin green tulle, glimmering light green and white butterflies hidden within. My hair hadn’t yet been styled, so I was holding the nearly-dry locks above my head as the seamstress worked. 

“Ms. Adere, I recommend a light lunch for today,” she advised, pulling tight on the waistline of the dress. “Otherwise I may have to redo the fitting of your dress.”

I nodded, trying to hold my breath as she etched something on the back of my dress in pencil. 

“And you’re done. I will be back by 6:00 tonight to refit you in your dress. Understood?” 

“Yes,” I answered as she began to untie my dress. “Thank you.”

“It’s my pleasure, Ms. Adere.”

As soon as she had left, Marko strolled into the bathroom and basically dragged me to the vanity. “It’s 3:07, Ms. Adere, and we still need to do your hair.”

“The ball is at eight!” I exclaimed as he began testing the dryness of my hair. “We have plenty of time.”

“Your hair is very long and takes a very long time to deal with. It’s already bad enough it needs a whole decade to dry, but it also takes another five years to detangle and braid,” Marko snapped. “And your nail artist is coming at five and your seamstress at six. That seamstress takes her sweet time and will probably leave us only an hour and a half before the ball to put the finishing touches on your hair and makeup. So, really, Ms. Adere, we are nearly out of time already.”

I rolled my eyes. He was so dramatic. 

—

Staring in front of the mirror, if someone had told me right then that I was secretly a real princess, I would’ve believed them. 

The dress hugged my curves, pulling my waist in tight before spooling out into the delicate layers of green tulle. Its natural forest color matched perfectly with both my brown eyes and hair, giving me the impression of a tree nymph bathed in Aphrodite’s light, a fairy who frolicked in the leaves. My hair was braided back in a thick dutch crown, twisting itself into a perfect bun on the back of my head. Hidden between the crevices in my braid were tiny glittering white butterfly and pearl charms, weaving in and out of my hair in different shapes and sizes. 

A thick pearl necklace wrapped around the base of my neck, with similar giant pearl earrings hanging from my ears. On my left wrist was a perfectly-fitting giant pearl bracelet, showing off the clear to light green ombre nails that matched the exact color of my dress. Even though the skirt of the dress covered my feet, Dr. Aven had fashioned magnificent white heels that peeked out whenever I twirled in my skirt. Which I did multiple times. 

My makeup made me almost unrecognizable, yet it was still light enough to the point where my face shape was near the exact same. My skin was a glowing, evened out version of my regular, near-white skin tone, and I was strangely satisfied with the fact that Marko hadn’t used a darker foundation to make me seem tanner like my mom had always recommended. My lips were perfect and heart-shaped, glowing like they were made of liquid diamond. My cheeks blushed rosy pink under my eyes and cheekbones, painting me in a soft, youthful image. My eyelashes weren’t thick but instead thin and long, framing my eyes perfectly and creating the illusion that they were larger than they were. My glimmering light green eyeshadow morphed into thin brown eyeliner that highlighted the colors in my eyes.