dusk until dawn (the selection)

helios is still missing but we have two girls being very friendly

In the morning, just when the sun started to break through the glass of the palace windows and the birds in the gardens started chirping, three neatly dressed chamber girls stood at the end of Dawn's bed. They were examining the weird way she had decided to go to sleep.

Her quilt was propped up into a pillow to rest her head on, instead of using a real pillow. She was hugging one of the sofa pillows and was barely covered by the thin and seemingly useless decor blanket she had forced around her shoulders. She seemed to be completely passed out. And strangely comfortable.

One of the maids in question was Amy, who surpressed a little smile from creeping up her face when she saw her fellow maids' weird expressions. However much she wanted to yell at Dawn for stuffing up the thick and beautiful quilt into a pillow, she just couldn't. Was the girl finally starting to grow on her? After this exhaustingly long week in Fennley?

The second was Julia, who was far less amused to see her suspicions confirmed. When guards returned to the staff quarters, she overheard a bunch of them talking about a guard and a selected akwardly conversating in the middle of the night. When Julia saw how cautious Lisander looked, it didn't take her long to put two and two together. She didn't want these two people to interact.

The third and last maid there to tend for Dawn during her stay in the selection, was Biha. A small girl with long eyelashes and a round face. Amy had picked her to help her but Julia — Amy wasn't sure how Julia had gotten on her maid squad, though. Which was weird. Amy was in charge of Dawn. But Julia just got shoved into her hands out of nowhere. And she didn't trust Julia.

"Lady Dawn?" called Amy out, and Dawn lazily rolled over.

"Lady Dawn." Amy called out again, a bit more stern this time.

Dawn shot up in her bed and stared at Amy like a lost deer. "What's wrong?"

She seemed worried.

Amy laughed lightly, no longer able to keep it in. "I would like to introduce to you Julia and Biha." she nodded at either sides of her to the maids. She imagined it would be pretty weird for Dawn to be introduced to two maids she had never met before like this. Amy insisted on being assigned to Dawn if she was also to help her get ready back in Fennley. She thought it would probably be easier for her to adjust. Amy meant well.

Every selected was going through this right that moment.

After their brief introductions, the girls got Dawn ready for breakfast. They got her into a knee-length beige dress and Biha applied simple make-up, as Dawn did not seem comfortable with as much facepaint as some of the other girls were. Amy respected this, although she wished she could use her talents to make Dawn an even prettier girl.

Amy had been a palace maid long enough to notice Julia was purposedly pulling on Dawn's hair when brushing it, and gave her a stern look. Julia clenched her jaw. How had she gotten into this team, honestly?

Dawn didn't seem to notice this, maybe for the better.

Amy escorted Dawn to breakfast, as did thirty-four other maids with their designated selected. As all knowing as Amy was, she noticed Dawn was looking for somebody. When a blonde girl with glossy lips joined Dawn's side and both the girls smiled, she realised that must have been who she was trying to find in the crowd.

This breakfast, the prince was not present. The ladies were released after breakfast and left to do what ever they wanted.

"Do you want me to take you anywhere?" Amy asked Dawn meaningfully when the two reconnected. Dawn shook her head with a smile, and left with the blonde girl to do whatever.