Egyptian Night

Preparation

"You must be the new girl," Diana's friendly tone carried easily through the small space between her and Jasmine.

"Um...yeah. I was told to wash up and the come in here?" Jasmine half-asked, half-told Diana. The girl's tone seemed easy going enough, but she was more than likely Egyptian. Maybe she wasn't though. Her bright red hair wasn't exactly what most Egyptians had.

"Let me guess, you've met Pauline?" Diana asked, although she didn't wait for Jasmine's answer before she launched into another sentence. "She'd kind of an old hag, but most people just leave her alone. Try to ignore her. Some people think she was here before the gods invented dirt," she joked, sure that Pauline would never hear that. Jasmine didn't look like a snitch, nor would Pauline hang around after depositing Jasmine to bathe.

So apparently she wasn't the only one that didn't really care for Pauline. She hadn't really bee expecting to make friends here, though, only try to survive. Becoming attached to Derek had been bad enough. Even if Derek was ever assigned to the palace she doubted that he'd be allowed a social visit with a slave girl.

"My name's Diana, sorry for not introducing myself sooner. I must seem just as stuck up as Pauline," Diana apologized in a slightly sheepish voice as she watched Jasmine, her bright eyes shining with hopefulness of Jasmine's forgiveness.

"Don't worry about it. I'm not exactly being proper now either. My name's Jasmine," Jasmine reassured Diana with a small, hesitant smile. She was obviously wary at making friends with her, but the girl had a certain spark about her that just made you want to like her. That's probably why Pauline didn't.

"Nice to meet you, Jasmine. I better get on with your makeup or the Prince will have my hide. Well, Pauline will take out any  impatience from him out on me. Just sit down here in front of the vanity and I'll get started," she instructed, her voice friendly, but slightly more focused now.

"Of course. I don't want to get anyone into trouble," Jasmine assured Diana in a slightly distracted tone as she sat down in the instructed chair. The mention of the prince brought her thoughts solely to him. What would he be like? Would an intoxicating aurora of power radiate off of him? Would his muscles bulge  under the soft, silky royal robes? Or would be be more nervous and out of sight seeing as he wasn't the pharaoh yet? It really wasn't her place to have these kinds of thoughts about him, though. If anything he might amuse himself with her, but certainly not have feelings for her. Or feelings that she would crave. Not that she would want the man that she belonged to, and that probably thought nothing more of her than dirt to love her. What did she want? Freedom, but that wasn't exactly possible now.

By the time she'd tried to pull herself out of her thoughts Diana was just finishing her makeup. Her complexion had been evened out by Diana mixing several clay mixtures and minerals with oil and applying it like a foundation. A soft pink blush graced her cheeks next. To be honest she probably should have paid more attention to the steps Diana had taken. If she was asked to replicate the look it would more than likely have to be perfect. A thick line of eyeliner framed her upper and lower lids, and at the top it winged out slightly. Her eye shadow was a simple brown shimmer to set off her baby blue eyes. A couple coats of the same kohl mixture that had lined her eyes over her eyelashes and a light pink color to her lips finished off the look. She barely even recognized herself as she looked in the mirror. She didn't look like a ragged slave that you'd expect. The makeup brought out her best features and made her resemble an Egyptian princess.

"T..thank you, Diana," Jasmine whispered, her voice soft in awe as she looked in the glass for a second more before looking to Diana who was grabbing a black hair brush.

"No problem, Jasmine," Diana hummed, although a small smile slipped onto her lips at the girl's awe and praise.

After Diana's acceptance of her thanks, Jasmine felt her brush her now dry hair until it shone with the effort. She'd managed to brush it completely straight, to where it hung in glossy sheets down Jasmine's back.

"My work here's done. Change into the dress on the bed and then go down that hallway. The prince will be waiting for you," Diana instructed the girl before moving towards the door. "Good luck, Jasmine," she stated, trying to reassure the girl before she left the room.

"Thank you," Jasmine whispered hoarsely, a little worried now that Diana was leaving her to face the prince alone. Once the room was empty she sat there for a few precious moments before she got up from the soft chair.

The light green dress was on the bed as Diana had instructed. It looked to be her size with jems running under the bust. Letting the robe fall to the cold, tiled floor, she slipped the dress over her head and let it slide into place. It fit perfectly! Fastening it in the back she couldn't help but admire the fit of it. It clung to her chest, stomach and hips before flowing away from her body into a loose skirt. Surely the man that wanted her to wear this couldn't think of her as trash? Taking a deep, nervous breath, she turned towards the hallway she'd been instructed to. As soon as her feet started to move she was well on her way to finding out.