To the Stars | Throne of Glass

32

Celaena had recently discovered a new love for makeovers and beauty products. There was a shop in Rifthold - one she visited often. They knew her by the name of Dianna Brackyn, posing as foreign nobility. But they were always elated to see her, to pamper her, and Celaena enjoyed it thoroughly too. In fact, she'd visited so much that they had stopped charging her, and she had created a line of credit.

Dianna Brackyn also allowed Celaena Sardothien to go about the streets in full view. It was nice to parade around the markets in clothed in riches, and not the stuffy hood, as much as she relished the cloak. A year ago, when had Arobynn declared her to become his heir, all assassins at the Keep had sworn secrecy to their last breath about Celaena's identity. No one knew, or should know, what Adarlan's Assassin looked like.

Celaena raised the bar of soap to her nose. Lavender. She sighed, letting the essence trickle down her throat. She already had a basket full of hair tonics - new bottles, for personal use only. The wonderful scents were, in fact, so overwhelming that she felt slightly dizzy as she left the shop after bidding the shopkeeper good day. Winter was nearing - the cold nipped at her cheeks as Celaena hugged the fur coat tighter to her body. Celaena's sense of fashion seemed to grow quicker than her ageing.

To her utter delight, Celaena had finally been assigned a new room at the Keep. The room contained a private bathing room, and a much larger wardrobe, where Celaena stored her mountain of clothes and shoes. She displayed her weapons on the wall for various reasons, one being convenience.

To her disappointment, this meant she would be, unfortunately, closer to Gregori, but... Ben was just across the hallway. Sam had also moved under the orders of Arobynn to their floor as well.

The bag of cosmetics and tonics swung into her ribs repeatedly as Celaena sashayed to the clothes store. She winked at the woman behind the counter, before walking over to the rails of clothes. Celaena had an unfaltering love for dresses, despite how she claimed they squeezed her round the waist.

A new undergarment was recently fashioned, and was now trending heavily - a corset, it was called. They squeezed her chest horribly, though many women now wore the dreadful things to accentuate their curves. Celaena avoided them as much as possible. Many dresses Celaena bought were simple, and didn't require help to put on; she didn't like the idea of someone helping her get dressed.

She ran a finger over the fabrics. Also recently, Celaena had taken up dance lessons. Arobynn made sure everyone, willing or not, took weekly lessons to catch up with the newest popular dances. Celaena went for extra lessons. It was her idea, and though Arobynn wasn't exactly happy with it, she went a few times a week anyway. So today was finding a good dance dress as much as her ballroom ones.

After a few minutes of searching, Celaena gave the shopkeeper, an elderly woman, a rueful look. There was nothing that suited her tastes. 'Wait.' Celaena paused. The shopkeeper hurried on, 'There was a new batch of dresses shipped in yesterday.'

Celaena's face broke into a smile. 'May I see them?'

The woman ushered Celaena into the room behind the counter. 'Here.' Rails of dresses, some shimmering from the light that poured in from the small window at the back, filled the room. Celaena swallowed.

Every piece of clothing was beautiful and decorated with intricate designs. She loosened a breath and took a step towards the first row. Holding up the chiffon sleeve of a star-flecked dress, she glanced at the shopkeeper. 'This is...' She trailed off, at a loss for words. The woman smiled, and winked. It brightened her whole face, withered with age. 'I shall leave you here, then.' Celaena quickly walked back to her and pressed a gold coin into her palm. 'Thank you.' The shopkeeper's eyes were still twinkling as she hobbled out of the room.

The midnight blue dress was gorgeous, the layers rippling with the gentle breeze that drifted in, and the neckline was a gentle dip adorned with swirls of silver. Celaena decided this was worthy of purchase. Walking to the next row, she was greeted with glimmering sequins and beads. Too shiny. Though... She approached a fairly simple dress, dyed with a pale gray offset. The bodice was made up of countless pearl-white beads, not fixed on; Celaena swished the hanger, and the beads swayed in reply, threaded onto the dress by thin seams. The sleeves reached to her elbows and no further, and a high lace neck finished the top of the bodice. Stunning. She held the hanger to her shoulders, and the bottom of the dress brushed her ankles. Celaena hugged the fabric and kissed it.

Next, she looked for a dress deemed suitable for dance. Not too fancy, not too tight, and... ah. Celaena stopped at a black skirt. She plucked the hanger off the rail, and waved the skirt. A plain waist - a simple band - and the fabric flowed like the mist and shadows itself. Perfect. With a black tunic, it should be acceptable. She wouldn't have to wear one of those spare nasty, frilly things they called a tutu. She rolled up the three dresses, placing them into her bag. Celaena left a final gold coin on the counter as she whisked out of the shop.