Guardians Of The Zodiac

Chapter 21

"Let us see!" Hazel complained from outside my bedroom door as I finished changing into my dress.

I tried to make the day go by as slow as possible, but before I knew it I only had an hour left before I had to arrive at the Estate.

"I look ridiculous!" I called back to her.

"Hey! I worked hard on that dress!" Naudia yelled back.

"The dress is beautiful, Naudia. It's the girl inside the dress that looks ridiculous," I rolled my eyes and made a face at the person in the mirror staring back.

Tara the Guardian or Tara the Outcast, I wasn't sure.

"Let us be the judge of that!" Miranda sang from the other side.

"Is the whole Guild waiting for..." I turned the knob and swung open the door to see the entire Guild cramped together in the hallway and trailed down the stairs into the mess hall, waiting for a glimpse.

Immediately everyone started cheering and whistling, making me feel even more self conscious than I already was. It was so...nontraditional. I wasn't used to it but I still liked it. Vanity. Another characteristic that I had discovered during my stay at Nexus. I was definitely not the same person that first walked through those front doors.

I looked down at the silky light blue fabric that hugged my body as it fell to my knees with a slant cut that traveled down my right thigh. It was also strapless so I kept feeling the need to pull it up more than needed.

"Okay, okay, you all saw her now go back to what you were doing," Miranda dismissed all of them and they all chorused to me, wishing me luck, commenting how nice I looked, telling me to have a good time...all that stuff a real family would say.

"I made these Invisi-straps for you to wear so you don't have to feel like you need to keep pulling your dress up all night," Hazel grinned as she hooked the straps onto the dress, giving weight to my shoulders.

"Is it supposed to be scrunched up like this?" I asked, pulling at the fabric around my stomach.

"Yes, so stop picking at it," Naudia scolded, smacking my hand away as she crouched down to fix the hem. "It's like you've never worn a dress before."

"Well the ones that I have worn were hand-picked by those who work at the Estate and they were a bit more...simpler."

"There is nothing simple about my designs," Naudia scoffed as if I had offended her.

"You look beautiful! You're going to be the center of attention! The sun with every other planet circling around you," Hazel cooed.

"That's what I'm afraid of..." I muttered.

"Stop worrying so much. You'll be fine," Naudia rolled her eyes as she stood back up and put her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, we'll be there! We won't let you flounder," Hazel winked.

"You really think we will let you hog all the sunlight for yourself? We'll be right there so just calm down a little," Naudia huffed as she hooked an arm around my own and dragged me out of the room.

"Exactly. Tonight is supposed to be fun so just try to relax," Hazel slung her arm around my shoulders.

They were right. The Guardian Ball was the one night when everyone, including the Dodeca, let their guard down to just enjoy themselves. People will be traveling from all four Districts to meet in one place and get some face time with the Guardian of their choice so it's still considered a work event. But, at least I won't feel so alone this time around.