Hardly a Lady

XIX

The song at the side is the song Giselle and Will enter the Onyxa to. It's called 'I was Glad,' composed in 1902, and is the anthem played at the coronation of British monarchs. You may also recognise it as the piece that the choir at Westminster Abbey sung as HRH The Duchess of Cambridge walked up the aisle on her wedding day to the Duke of Cambridge. It's a beautiful, truly regal piece of music, so please feel free to listen as you read the coronation scene.

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The day of the coronation arrived, and Giselle was woken by her ladies before dawn had even cracked in the sky. Kendra, Allina, Fausella and Blair all fussed about her as they practically dragged her from her bed, much too energetic for so early. And yet Giselle couldn't help but find their excitement infectious; before long, she was bouncing like a little girl as well.

Her ladies drew her a bath and helped her to wash, washing her hair and body with sweet smelling perfumes and oils to make her hair and skin shine, before they allowed her to sit peacefully in the water for a while, watching the sun creep up over the horizon and cast a warm glow across the sea and her chambers, and enjoying the calm before the hectic day that awaited. Eventually Lady Tressema entered with a soft towel and a clean shift for Giselle to lounge in whilst she ate and her ladies styled her hair, so that she wouldn't crease the spectacular gown that had been created for this day.

Squires came and went carrying notes of various matters which required the Queen's attention, and Giselle perused over the assortment of notes whilst she ate her breakfast. She promptly decided none of it was important to require her immediate attention, and set the letter aside in a small box upon her writing desk until she had time to look at them again tomorrow. The coronation had to performed at night, in the sight of the Onyx, and so most of the day was spent playing cards and desperately trying to distract themselves with. After Giselle had eaten a small amount of supper at 5 o'clock, it was only then that her ladies began to mammoth task of dressing her, which due to the complexity of her gown took longer than usual.

Giselle stood in the centre of the room as the ladies began to fasten her corset. She had easily lost the weight she had gained when she was carrying Edward, and was back to her slim, dainty form, and yet she still found the restricting item immensely irritating. As usual, her ladies paused when they had finished tying the ribbons at the back of the corset whilst the Queen steadied her breathing, before they proceeded to drop a farthingale over her head and set it on her hips, tying it neatly behind her back. Then came the petticoats, at least four of them were dropped over her head and arranged over the farthingale so that they fell without a crease. Then came the actual gown itself; a stunning masterpiece created from golden cloth and embroidered with thread of real gold, and tiny pearls and yellow diamond's dotted around the bodice and long skirts, the train of which stretched out 4ft behind her. Blair slipped the Queen's feet into matching shoes whilst Fausella tied the ribbons at the back of the gown, and Kendra carefully placed a gold and yellow diamond circlet which had been specially designed for this coronation. Allina placed a diamond ring on Giselle's middle finger, and Lady Tressema finished smoothing out the ermine and gold velvet cloak on the bed. It then took all five of the ladies to lift the great cape and settle it on the Queen's shoulders, fastening the ornate chain at her neck which held it together. To finish, they applied rouge to her lips and cheeks, dabbed powder on her chest and face, and darkened her eyelashes. It was then that the ladies finally stepped back and admired the Queen they had created.

Giselle had never looked so regal. Her dark hair fell in soft curls down the velvet cloak, which stretched out several feet behind her and would no doubt look marvellous once she entered the Onyxa at Will's side. They would ride to the Onyxa in an open carriage, and the streets were supposedly already lined with people waiting to catch a glimpse of their new monarchs after all these months of sadness. Giselle was eager to meet her subjects, and to see her father, whom she had not yet seen since his arrival in the capital.