Satin Rose and the Witch Hunters

6. Dress to Impress

We went to the dressing room an octagonal area whose walls were well polished mirrors that reflected sunlight from a well-placed window above. In the middle was a platform where the queen stood. In another room she had changed out of the oceanic dress and into a simple white sundress that she twirled in with the biggest smile. The valet had a dark expression as he was forced to hold onto his mistress dress, and I assisted with the queens new clothing. Each dress displayed in the shop was not made with my hand, though I did supervise and assist on the creation. Only the truly best in the inventory had that distinction. Each one a story carrying a story.

The first was a frilled robe whose collar rose to above the ear. A heavy lace flowed and trailed behind while scales formed a pattern framing folds and frills that puffed up with an unmatched softness to its look. From one side it was the color of pine needles deep in winter and when you circled the wearer, the scales would shimmer and the entire dress would change to a dark violet as vibrant as the freshest spring flower. From the wrist to the waist was another lace that was adorned with smaller scales that seemed brighter than the sun outside that when the queen spread her arms it was as if a rainbow had entered the room and chose her as its host.

Her laugh was more musical than any instrument ever strummed and when she smiled she seemed like sunlight. "Awe inspiring yet too mystifying. When my people look upon me I want them to see the greatness within me and know I am more than my snow-white skin."

The smug smile from Mr. K was short-lived as we tried on the next ensemble.

The second was a slender long-sleeved dress where deep cuts were along the neckline and cuffs caught the eye though made demurer with a white undercoat that contrasted well with the blue cloth. It tightened around the waist to follow one's body more closely with the bottom hem just above the ankle. Mundane as it may, the critical part of the costume was the cape, though they admittedly were coming out of fashion, only worn by suspicious individuals and undercover queens. Made from the down of a sky beast, it flowed with the most subtle of breezes, fell like snow on one's shoulder, and casted a shadow so thin it seemed as if it was never there. Never had I seen it's like before and as the queen walked along the platforms edge, it billowed then floated behind.

She was doing her damnedest to look as unimpressed as possible. A slight frown, made only by those who practiced had practiced it for years, was on her lips as she waved down the cape, yet her eyes again were windows to the childlike joy inside. "I am not so demure as to fade into the light of day. I want to be seen, to contrast the world around me."

The third was a ballroom gown. Made from a rich cloth of the darkest material I had ever laid my eyes on, it glittered with obsidian and ivory beads looking as if the colors of the night sky had traded places and turned up with riches untold. Long gloves with bands of gold formed the beginnings of a lattice that grew to the gowns hem as it swept across the floor, commanding the room. On her chest was a heavy ruby the size of a fist, a bright flame was trapped within and swayed ever so slightly with the movements of the dresses, lighting the gold lattice, and giving the appearance that the gown itself seemed alive.

Ms. Z had stopped moving. She was carefully inspecting herself in one of the mirrors her hands folded politely. She swallowed, the slightest of quivers in her voice being a tell at how much force she needed to control herself as her mouth twitched trying to hide a smile. "I have seen riches. My coffers line themselves with more wealth than all the kingdoms combined. It takes more than - glitter - to woo me."

The valet's frown was as evident as ever. He was like a statue and had stopped assisting me with the queen.

I excused myself for a minute to get the last dress. An unused gown from the attic. It came with a box whose dust I blew up brewed a cloud years in the making. A wedding dress as pristine as the day I sew it. This had been late in my travels and any material of great worth I had was already used by the three dresses before. Instead, I poured my heart and soul into. Treated to be the softest and smoothest a regular bolt of cloth of could be. Each seam, each cut, each fold was thread with care and focus as if it was my last. Before Satin, I had thought that my talent was the only thing that would matter in life and this would be my magnum opus.

Strapless, the queen was draped in white. The pattern I had worked on years ago gleamed in the light with the radiance of all the silver the land could offer. It was a flock of birds, so small was it that the dress looked to been textured had you not come up close to inspect. They were of every breed and design, circling the wearer in a spiral, and flying to the zenith of glory. Across the waist a belt of loose cloth tightened to the queen's body, the bodice had formed to the woman's shape, and the hem stopped to display the slippers one would wear. Truly it seemed that the dress had been made for the woman and the woman for the dress.

"Beauty is in the eye of the behold," I whispered to the queen, stepping away to admire. "Behold a beauty."

She held a hand up to her face and carefully let it down. Her fingertips touching hovering over the fabric as if it were to break at a touch. We stood in silence as she walked, her eyes wide and never once leaving the mirrors. Finally she closed her eyes and with a grin that completed the outfit asked, "Mr. K, how do I look?"

The valet had been quiet this entire time, only breaking it to sigh exaggeratedly or tisk at the process. In a hushed voice he replied, "A piece of heaven come down."

Her grin expended to full smile. "I'll take it."

"It is not for sale my princess," I bowed deeply, clutching the dusty box with trembling arms "This gown means more to me than all the coins you would ever offer."

The shock on her face was a sight that would make angels weep. "Such a lofty price. Why?"

"Only my wife could ever wear it. I had sewn the dress for our wedding day, yet when my son was born she was taken away from me."