Aurore le soleil: A Cinderella story.

Chapter 8

When I woke the morning of the princes ball, Alice was waiting for me outside my room.

"The Lady Ethel says you must help Camille and Ivy get ready for the ball"

"But how will I do my remaining chores?" I asked

"I asked her that too, and she said that you will not finish them." I grumbled but then I saw the gleam of mischeif in Chantelle's eyes.

"However, she never said I could not finish them for you." she whispered.

"Oh, Chantelle. I do not know how I shall ever repay you."

"You will go to that ball, and you will become the princess you are" she said, embracing me. Tears were gathering at the corners of my eyes, like little diamonds.

"Now go" she said, giving me a light push toward the stairs. I thanked her over and over again and descended the stairs.

When I entered Ivy's room, the heavy scent of perfumes made it's way up my nostrils and made my eyes water. She sat soaking in a tub of warm water which created a trail of steam that wound it's way up to the ceiling, twisting and turning. Her eyes were shut, the pink lids glistening with drops of dew, and her hair was plastered  wih soaps and the like so much that it resembled a shiny black helmet. Her  smooth hand dangled over the side of the tub, and her nails were being cleaned and cut with a nail-knife. The maid who was cleaning them was the kitchen girl, Louisa. She was 1 year my senior, as she had just turned 17. Her hair was the colour of golden sunset, and her eyes were a twinkling blue. She would have no trouble finding a husband when the time came, but I doubted that time would be soon, because she was a servant, and servants did not marry until the age of 20, because Ladies and Lords did not like to lose their servants to a man. When I entered the room, the wind whistling in from the open window shut it with a loud crash. Ivy's eyes snapped open, and she glared at me as if I was something unpleasant she had found on the sole of her shoe. 

"Shut the window." she commanded, waving her hand toward it. I obeyed and closed the patterned glass, stopping the howling wind from invading the room. I saw that the bed was messy, so I walked over and started to make it, pulling the blankets up and placing the cushions where they belonged. When I was finsihed Louisa motioned toward a bucket of water and instructed me to rinse Ivy's hair with it. I did, taking great care not to get any of the soapy liquid in her eyes, for I knew she would just punish me for it. With my fingerips, I rubbed the soap out of her hair and pulled it out of the tub to dry. When she stepped out of the tub, Louisa and I towelled her off, drying the bits of water that remained on her hands and arms. Louisa pulled out a corset from the chest of drawers that was right next to her left hand. I had never worn a corset, for they had only just become the latest fashion in the royal courts. Ethel would, of course, never let me wear one because "I was not a lady, I was a servant, and not deserving of many things". Besides, I did not see the attraction of cutting off my breathing just so I could have a better figure. I helped Louisa lace up the back of the corset, pulling the strings as tight as I could over her lace petticoat. I left enough room so she could at least breath, but perhaps not comfortably. She then sat down on a stool in front of the vast mirror in her room, and we began smothering her face with make-up. Red lip creams, Lead powder that vanished the few imperfections that were on her face. Louisa fetched all the ballgowns from her vast wardrobe and began to hold them up for Ivy to inspect. There were gowns of every colour that were extravagent, and put my emerald gown to shame. She eventually settled on a light pink one that had a high collar and long sleeves. I helped to pull on the dress, straightning it at the hem. We then began to coil her hair above her head in a style that had small curls at the back.

"Lady Ethel's Instructions" mouthed Louisa. I had to stifle a giggle when we were finished with Ivy. She looked so dreadful and over the top. She spun around and we complimented her, no matter what we thought, we had to say she looked good.