The Lost Knight (Volume I)

Chapter 34: Goannas and Butterflies

I close the door and turn around to find Albína by my closet with a wide smile spread across her face.

"I have something for you," she says in a singsong voice that emphasizes her excitement. Her smile grows surprisingly larger when she unfolds the black dress in her arms. "I had them rush this so you'd have something appropriate to wear tonight. I hope you like it."

A smile spreads across my face. Elves don't wear black, which means this dress was custom-made. Albína abhors black, especially on women. The fact that she rushed this unfrilly dark dress just for me touches my soul in a way I can't explain. It causes my stomach to do a little flip and my chest to hurt. Someone went out of their way to do something nice for me because they thought it would make me happy. I didn't know people actually did that.

"Thank you," is all I can think to say.

I put the dress on. I'm trying to remember the last time I had a dress, but nothing comes to mind. Maybe I've never worn one. I wish Auntie would've taken pictures of me when I was younger. It's hard to believe that I never wore a dress, but it's possible.

I like the high neckline and long sleeves that are relatively simple compared to what the elves wear. The tailored bodice fits my body, and when I give Albína a spin, the skirt flares out around me. It's so fun feeling the dress float around my knees that I twirl a few more times until I get dizzy.

I step in front of the mirror to see if I'm as attractive as I feel. My heart sinks when it's still plain old Agatha. The dress is pretty, though. I just wish the elves had resisted the urge to add the gold embroidery. Starting at my shoulder is a gold dragon-snake creature that weaves its way down to my waist then circles around my back to end in the front, just above my knee.

"You never know. You may start a trend," Albína coos as she adjusts the dress. She's all smiles until she stands back to have a look at me. She frowns, and I want to rip the dress from my body. I'm just not a dress-wearing kind of girl.

"Maybe I'm getting used to your fashion sense, but the goanna seems a bit much." She touches my shoulder and says, "Tovab coim."

The embroidered goanna slithers across my body. I throw my arms out and freeze. I don't even breathe. What the heck is around me? I thought it was thread, but it can move. It tickles as it slithers across my belly, but I'm so frightened I don't make a sound. It only takes a few seconds for the goanna to wrap itself around my waist twice and tie itself in a knot over my hip.

"That's much better," she says while she adds a clip to my hair. Once she's satisfied, she asks, "Are you alright?"

I'm as still as a statue with my arms stretched out at my sides because I don't want to touch the embroidery. It might bite me or squeeze me or something. I wish she would've ordered it to the curtains. I force a smile to my face and lower my arms because I don't want her to know that I'm afraid of my pretty dress.

When the goanna doesn't move, I smile for real and I give her another spin. Only this time I do it to see if the goanna will move again. It doesn't.

I take a deep breath and then stare awkwardly at her. We're both waiting for Jonah to fetch me, but in the meantime we're alone with nothing to do. We stand in uncomfortable stillness for a few moments until I can't take it anymore.

"So," I say, but run out of words. Ask a question, my brain demands but refuses to produce the actual question. I hope she can't see my panic as I frantically search my empty mind for anything else to say. Too much time has passed from my opening, So, amplifying my self-consciousness. This situation is rapidly leaving awkward and barreling straight into painful. I need to say something.