The Next Cinderella

Chapter 34--Dressed In Their Best

The royal ball was just a few days away, which meant double-duty at the tailor shop to finish the lavish clothing by the deadline. There were no little blue birds or magical mice to work on the seams, but the children hired to be Rose's assistants were proving their usefulness in spades. Their tiny little hands were perfect for sewing on glittery embroidery, while their arms were so resilient they could hold up a piece of fabric for hours if need be. They did occasionally need to be fed in accordance with the kingdom's child labor laws, but with ravenous appetites they'd lick their plates clean and return to their stations in a speedy ten minutes or less.

Thomas had taken on a leadership role in managing the minion assistants, and even though Rose had concerns about him wielding a wooden stick as a tool of intimidation, as long as two gowns were completed by their hands she did her best not to worry about the details.

"No beatings," she vaguely said when she heard too much screaming.

The reason the children had to finish two gowns was so that Rose could focus on one. Hers was the gown that would turn all the heads, and this special gown could only be worn by one person.

In keeping with the contest rules, Rose wasn't aware of any specific developments, except for the fact that her daughter was still at the castle and had made it to the final three. Rose couldn't help but feel emotional when she realized her daughter would attend the royal ball, and even though she'd been told to make three gowns of equal magnificence, it was too vague a rule to properly enforce. She hadn't received detailed measurements apart from each girl's waist size and height, but it was all that was necessary to wield her power in deciding which contestant wore which gown. Josselyn was the tall one so that was easy, but Myrielle and Bella were similar in height. The difference was that Bella had a tiny waist, and Myrielle had a normal more sturdy shape that characterized the average healthy woman. It was nothing that a corset couldn't squeeze away, but there was no possibility of Myrielle fitting her body into Bella's gown.

Which would precisely be the difference between magnificent and 'meh.'

It might not have been the fair thing to do, but if mothers couldn't give their daughters special treatment, then what sort of world were they living in? Nepotism was alive and well in the year fifteen hundred and something, and as Rose added each shimmery detail to Myrielle's gown, she prayed that it would hypnotize the prince and make him choose her as his princess...

***

The big day had finally arrived.

Not unlike the afternoon when the contest had first been announced, the Enraptured Kingdom's struggling town square had been revitalized once again. The only difference now was that it was more; more ribbons, more flowers, more food stalls, more everything! (But fewer rat carcasses, which were swept into darkened corners so no one could see)

The peasants would spend the evening reveling and rejoicing in the square, as there was zero possibility of being invited to the ball, and zero possibility of forming a crowd outside the castle. The second part was impossible because the queen would never allow that many peasants in close proximity to her home. She took every precaution to spare herself from typical peasant illnesses, and even the contestants had been triple de-loused before getting anywhere near the point of sharing her high-end oxygen.

As the peasants would entertain themselves partying in the square, at some time after midnight, the castle would send word of the final results. From that moment on the peasants' lives would change forever. Or so had been the political promise drilled into their heads for weeks...

High up the hill and inside the castle, the promise was more concrete. Choose the right princess, escape your horrid debt. It was the promise Queen Enevere repeated to herself as she added the finishing touches to her outfit for the night. She was dressed in gold and shimmering blue, making for the most incredible gown she'd ever worn as the queen.