Shadows and Lies (formerly Her Pure Heart)

CHAPTER 8

I wake up to the slam of my bedroom door. Naomi strides in, a mountain of bags in her hands. I rub my blurry eyes.

"Naomi?" I question as the supposed Azurethia fashion designer dumps her bags at the desk in my room. "What are you doing here?"

I haven't seen her since the train ride here, which was a week and a half ago.

"I am here to prepare you for the ball of course!" She chirped her flaming hair bouncing up and down as she clapped her hands together. "Since you haven't been at classes, we get some extra time together."

Right. I haven't attended one class at the academy yet, courtesy of the explosion that tried to blow me to bits a week ago courtesy of my fathers army. I sit up in my bed.

"What happened to Phillipa?" I ask, referring to the young girl who had been with Naomi on the train.

"Oh she was just preparing me for you." Naomi dismisses, waving her hand in the air. "Now lets glam you up!"

Naomi unzips one of her bags, bundles of blue spilling out. She gestures to me out of bed and I obey, sliding out of my warm cocoon of cotton. She holds up a gown against me, tulle the colour of a robin's egg brushing against me. She clicks her tongue, discarding it on the bed again before picking up another dress, this one the colour of a clear sky.

She repeats this process until there are only two gowns resting on the bed, not the ten that resided there at the start. She holds up the three, passing them to me.

"Go try them on." She instructed, her voice leaving no room for protest.

I do as she instructs, picking out the lightest of the two gowns. I look down at my body, most of my wounds are healed from the attack. Just one cut remains, jagged on my side.

I slide it on the gown, clasping the ribbon and pulling it hard. The corset shrinks, molding to my body. It's the lightest blue, the shade before blue turns to white. It is heavy against my body. The gold embroidery swirls over the curves of my breast and down the skirt. The skirt opens up in ruffles showing the white shimmery layer underneath.

I open the door and walk out to find Naomi and Phillipa, who is holding another bag. Naomi crosses her arms, inspecting me. Phillipa frowns.

"No." She says simply. "This is another gown for you to try on."

I take the bag from her hand, returning to the bathroom. I slip out of the dress, letting it pool on the floor before grabbing the other blue dress. The colour of stormy water surrounds me, the silver embroidered on the hems of the ruffles like the white froths of the waves as they smash up against the boat.

I return to the prying eyes of Naomi and Phillipa.

"That one is better." Naomi states, "Go try on the last blue dress Phillipa brang."

I do as she demands, returning to the bathroom once more. I tug at the storm dress, letting it slip to the tiles. As I unzip the bag and dark purple fabric tumbles out. Not blue, the symbol of Azurethia. Purple. We should dress her in purple. Phillipa's words from the train.

Taking the dress in my hands, its weight surprises me. Unlike the blue dresses, it is light, light enough that I could fight in it. The purple of the outer ruffles is so dark that it could pass for black. The inner ruffles are a lighter purple but still darker than eminence. The gold embroidery swirls over my breasts and down the skirt, jumping out from the dress. It borders the hem of the ruffles and the bottom of the skirt.

I step out of the bathroom.

"That dress is not blue." Naomi whispers, her mouth open in shock.

"That is the one." Phillipa hums, her black hair swishing as she nods.