Cursed

Chapter 30: The Moon Festival

Waking up on a day that might reveal crucial information on saving the world, felt like having been trampled by a dozen horses. My head pounded, which gave me an annoying headache and made me want to squeeze my eyes shut. My muscles felt sore, although that was probably from the rocky ground I had slept on. I could have slept in the nice straw bed, but that was where the princess lay, and I was in no condition able to close an eye with her breath hitting my face every few seconds.

With my hands rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I sat up. At that moment two women, in typical Tech Duinn colorless robes, walked in. On their arms they carried silken robes and heavy looking bags. The clothes still had the same dim colors of the Ahr a Donn, but somehow these dresses were elegantly made and shone like a silver blade. For the first time since we had arrived here, I didn't dislike their fashion choices.

What I also didn't dislike - although I had opposing feelings about those feelings - was that Kate was pulling off that awful gray robe she had been wearing the last few days. It revealed her strong legs, her silken black underwear - that pointed out her heritage - and her flat stomach. I averted my eyes before they could travel even further up her naked body, to her bare chest and her nowadays red-golden-brown eyes.

With fumbling hands, I combed through my messy hair while my cheeks were blazing.

"Beautiful, it suits you well," the tallest woman said with a dusty voice.

I kept my eyes trained on the rocky ground, trying to keep my head clear from uncensored images.

The other woman grunted in agreement, then walked up to me. Her hand on my shoulder made me look up into a telling look that said I was next.

"Right," I chuckled nervously.

Too aware of Kate's overwhelming presence in the small tent, I pulled my shirt off. I kept my left arm pressed against my sparsely covered chest and stretched my other arm out to the smaller woman, hoping she would give me the dress so I could put it on above my pants. I had no such luck. She shook her head, and stepped forward. Was she going to help me get undressed? I didn't think so. She was not going to steal my dignity like that. With a small huff, my hands had traveled to my pants before she was close enough to do it herself. The woman gave me an encouraging smile, I disrobed, until all I was wearing were two pieces of old rug - at least they looked like it compared to Kate's fancy lingerie. The woman looked me over, then nodded before she held the dress open for me to step into.

It fitted perfectly. Unlike their other clothes, this dress fell elegantly along my somewhat wider hips and chest. Dresses were clothes I had only seen worn in Holt, by rich noble women. Not something I had ever even thought about wearing. It felt strange and a bit uncomfortable. How did anyone fight in clothes this limiting?

"You look wonderful," Kate's voice made me shudder.

With an elegance that I didn't know I possessed, I turned around. Kate stood on the other side of the tent in a short, silver dress that reached above her knees, unlike mine that went all the way to the ground. Make-up was glistening around Kate's fine features, something the tallest woman must've done while I was getting dressed. The same silver decorated her eyes and cheekbones, her eyelashes were now almost white instead of their usual black. It made her unique eyes stand out, and it made my heart stutter in my chest.

I think I gasped for air, but I wasn't sure.

Kate smiled, in that way that was so rare. A smile that made her eyes sparkle and her cheeks darken in pink. My lips curled up in response.

"You could be a princess in that dress, no one would question it." Kate walked up to me, let her hand roam through my hair. She undid my two side braids, and let my hair fall down in long curls. Her hand rested on my cheek for a second too long. Her thumb caressed my lower lip, and my whole body suddenly went soft.