Suddenly Royal

Chapter 6:

I WAS IN shock over how different I looked. My brown hair was hanging loose, but with the curl at the bottom, and layers added, it looked a lot fuller than it ever had. It framed my face and I could see the sparkle of the two small diamond looking earrings in my ears. My face looked like a seventeen-year-olds should! As you made your way down my body there was only the hint of a chest with the padding from the bra that took my age down to maybe thirteen. Adding in my height I figured twelve would probably be someone's average guess, but that was up from the nine or ten from earlier!

"I..." I said, "Wow..."

"Wow indeed," Tyler said. "And this is just the start my dear, come we must try on about fifty other outfits!"

"Mom can you take a picture for me first with my phone?" I asked.

She smiled, "Sure!"

I posed a couple of ways like Ellie and I did with selfies when we hung out together before being shoved to change into another outfit. Over the next two hours I changed clothes more times than I knew was possible! About twenty casual dresses were put into a 'save pile.' A dozen skirts, two dozen tops, some slacks, and a couple of pantsuits were all put into that same pile. Every outfit was marked for alterations and a now larger team of four seamstresses were at work on adjusting them.

I was growing concerned there was nothing that could be considered casual for just hanging out with my friends. Before I could even ask about that, I was being dressed so quickly then in gowns appropriate for prom or a wedding. When I had tried on the final dress, Tyler said, "That's the one for tonight..." he said to me as he handed it over. "The bra you're wearing has removable straps, we need to take them off so it won't be seen."

"She could just go without the bra altogether," Demi said standing nearby. "That dress is designed that way."

He looked scandalized and grabbed it back from me, "You're right... But I want her to have the padding in there, otherwise she'll look more like the eight-year-old again."

"You said I looked like I was ten earlier," I told him. I had been stuck with him for hours now and feeling a bit more up to banter.

"I was being nice..."

"First time for everything?" I suggested.

"I like her," Demi said.

"Everyone's a critic of greatness!" He complained. "Go ahead and remove the straps. Mama can help actually so you don't have to take it off?"

Mom nodded and walked back behind the screen with me for the hundredth time. I was kind of disappointed the dress I was wearing wasn't the one for dinner. It was a beautiful green with Swarovski crystals sewn onto the bodice and the bottom of the skirt. I liked the way it brought out the green in my hazel eyes. The skirt went down to my ankles and I thought maybe it would be a good prom dress if I was still around for that... 'Of course, that involves boys...' I thought darkly. 'They have cooties!' I reminded myself.

Mom helped me carefully remove that dress. I stood still while she pulled at the hooks on the bra to release the shoulder straps. The bra might have been designed to be worn without them, but the tops of the cups pushed out a bit from my skin. I shrugged though and pulled on the latest dress. It was a light lavender color, and one of the most simplistic I had tried on. As I pulled it on, I realized it had the thinner neck collar piece similar to my dress from the day before, leaving my arms and shoulders completely bare, and the front sides came gracefully up to that neck. My chest was completely covered by the front of the bodice, while my back to just over my elbows was only covered by two straps that began at the sides and converged at the collar of the back that clasped shut. It left the middle of my back bare, along with my armpits and sides.