Becoming Aredhel

Chapter Fourteen- A Haughty Elven King and a Gift

"Oh, Ar, that one is stunning!"

Arwen's eyes are wide as she takes in the sight of me in a sapphire gown that fans out at the waist, reminding me of something a princess would wear. The neckline is cut low, showing just enough of my small breasts to make it womanly instead of something an elfling would wear.

I spin in front of the mirror, watching as the material fans around me. I cannot stop the giggles from escaping my lips. "I look like a pastry!"

"I think Elladan would agree that you look good enough to eat," Arwen laughs, smirking at me as I whirl around to stare at her in shock.

"Arwen!" I exclaim, laughing brightly.

Her naneth enters the room with a deep emerald colored gown thrown over her arms. She stops in place, analyzing the dress I am wearing thoughtfully. "This is not the one," she concludes after a moment, shaking her blonde head decisively. "You need something simpler, like this. The blue gown is too overpowering."

"Aredhel said she looks like a pastry," Arwen adds.

Lady Celebrían laughs. "I would have to agree. The color is beautiful with her complexion, but the dress does not show off her good looks as well as I had hoped."

Rosanhi, the young seamstress, begins tugging at the laces of my dress before pulling the whole thing off and leaving me only in my undergarments. I flush slightly, insecure of my body, but Lady Celebrían is stuffing me into the green dress before I can think on it for too long.

This gown's sleeves are long and sheer, almost reaching the floor. It is off the shoulders, showing off my porcelain skin. I imagine Elladan's eyes darkening as he sees me, his lips wandering the slope of my neck. I surprise myself by how badly I long for it- for him. I wonder if he can feel my desire as he stalks the trees this morning, having been chosen for Border Patrol.

"Aredhel?" I blink, pulled from my thoughts by Elladan's mother. "What do you think?"

I eye my reflection, turning this way and that. I wrinkle my nose immediately, shaking my head. "I do not like this one on me."

"Why not?" Arwen complains in her usual soft tone, "I think it compliments your figure beautifully."

I stare at it for a few more moments before shaking my head again. "No, this is not the one."

Rosanhi appraises me, biting her lip in thought, before a grin alights her face. "I know the perfect gown. Hold on," she says quickly, rushing from the room with her chestnut hair flying.

Lady Celebrían unfastens my dress, and by the time we are sliding it down my body, the seamstress reappears.

My eyes widen with greed as I look upon the gown in her arms. It is breathtaking. Whatever material was used to create it is so soft and whimsical looking, like something I would have dreamt of as a child. "Yes, this is perfect," I breathe.

Lady Celebrían laughs. "You have not tried it on yet."

They help me into the champagne colored gown, and I cannot stop looking at it in the mirror as they fasten up the buttons that travel along my spine. The sleeves cover the length of my arms, embroidered to look like small clusters of flowers and vines, and the material does not cover my shoulders or collarbones at all. The neckline is very low, dipping down the center of my chest. It is fitted snugly to my form, as if made just for me. The skirts are light, yet layered to make them fluffy, and they move around my legs like rippling waters when I move. Vines and flowers are embroidered on the bodice and trail down the skirts of the dress. The inner portion of my small breasts just barely show- enough to make me look womanly. Somehow, even though the neckline is low, it does not look inappropriate. It is a work of art. It is whimsical, like something out of a storybook my mother would have read to me as an elfling. I look like a true child of the forest, a true elf. I could not love it anymore than I already do.