Heaven's Empire

Casting

The alarm clock went at seven, but I was already awake, not having had as much sleep as I needed but knowing there was little I could do about it now.

A moment later there came the sound of someone climbing the stairs and sure enough, it was Kensa, already dressed in a sleek, form-fitting dress and smart heels. Bearing a tray of breakfast, she set it down on the desk, saying quickly:

"Good morning, I hope you don't mind me coming up." I gave a half shrug that kind of meant I was OK with it. Having a stranger walk on in me when I was in my pyjamas wouldn't usually be something I would welcome, but considering the pyjamas in question were the stunning silk floral ones I found under the pillow last night, I wasn't quite as adverse to it.

Gliding over to the walk in wardrobe, Kensa strutted between the racks of clothes, explaining:

"The photographer will do some natural shots with you at first, so it's best if you come wearing something simple." I followed her through the hanger-laden rails to a set of drawers at one end of the room. She opened one, selected a pair of jeans and handed them to me: "I think these should be your size."

She reached into another nearby drawer, pulling from it some simple underwear. Then she strode purposefully over to a certain rail, slid a white cami from its hanger and passed it to me. She seemed to know exactly what she was looking for as she chose another item from another rack, this one an oversized grey fur coat.

"It's not real fur," she said, as though reading my mind. "Or rather, the animal wasn't killed for it. Heaven's Empire will never murder animals for their fur, so we either use faux fur or parts of the coat shed naturally. This is the coat of a wolf-" she said, running her fingers through the lush jacket, "- which was collected from a sanctuary for the species. If the wolf needs an operation, we will collect the fur that needs to be shaved off in preparation for theatre."

"But there's so much of this... it can't all have come from one animal, surely?" I asked confusedly.

"No, but that's why we have the most talented designers in the world. Fur collected from a number of wolves across the years was hand sewn together by Mario Fiorentino himself." She seemed still aware of my scepticism, adding: "Heaven's Empire is a brand with morals. We always make it a priority to ensure none of the real fur we use comes from animals who have been harmed in any way."

She handed me the coat, striding determinedly over to a series of pull-out shelves on which rows and rows of shoes are immaculately positioned. Once again knowing exactly what she wanted, she quickly withdrew a pair of black heels from the selection, placing them atop the pile of clothes in my arms.

She wasn't finished there, however. She opened a small cupboard, revealing a panel bearing a keypad inside. Not stumped for a moment, she tapped in a code and the panel inside the cupboard swung obligingly open, allowing her to slide a rack of jewellery from its depths. Eyeing me, she paused for a second or two, as though making her mind up about something. She seemed to decide quickly, producing a delicate silver bracelet, two silver rings and an ornate silver choker from the no doubt priceless selection before showing me out of the extensive closet.

Resting the jewellery on the bed, she made her way to the stairs, saying before she descended:

"I think everything you've got should fit, but if not, feel free to change it for something similar. Oh, and while all the cosmetics have been yours since you signed with us, it would be easier if you left off makeup this morning. One of our artists will see you when you get to the agency."

Not wanting to keep a woman who had the air of running like clockwork waiting, I took a bite of the croissant she had brought up, before realising I was too nervous to manage more than a few mouthfuls. Sipping at the glass of orange juice, I pulled on the clothes Kensa had selected for me.