A Kingdom of Tales (Kingdom of Avenlea #1)

Chapter 36

The next day, I wake up to the sound of someone knocking on my door. The person comes in a minute later.

It's Kyoshi. She walks in, surveying the mess the room is in with her hands on her hips. Five people scamper quickly behind her. Jude and Alisa, two unknown women and an unknown man.

Each of the unknown women is carrying about a thousand dresses in their arms. The man has this artistic look about it. He must be Kyoshi's tailor.

"Good morning. No time to waste, Jasmine." Kyoshi says quickly. "Get up."

I look out of the window; its morning, and it looks like I overslept. Why didn't Yuri wake me as she usually does every morning? For the last few days, she's been accompanying me to the exercise room before dawn.

It's a good thing I have that journal. I read and read until I passed out from exhaustion. My sleep has been dreamless, which is something I'm incredibly thankful for. So now I get a full night's sleep instead of just the usual 3 hours.

"What is this?" I ask, bewildered.

"We're going to get you ready for the party tonight." Kyoshi replies as if to say 'Duh'.

"This early, princess?"

"We're already late." She mutters, shaking her head. "And call me Kyo; we're sisters, aren't we?" Her eyes spark with mischief.

Is she going to give me a dress with barbs?

"Now, get up. The servants will bathe you, and we will get your dresses ready." She clasps her hands in front of her.

I'm ushered into the bathroom quickly and scrubbed clean until I'm practically sparkling. By the time I'm out of the tub, there's a circular platform sitting in the middle of my room.

The tailor helps me up the platform, and Jude helps me put on the first dress. My nakedness would've been embarrassing if not for the fact that the tailor did not so much as glance at me at all. He only looked at the dress, completely uninterested in my body.

The first dress is a light blue one that looks like something Kyoshi would wear—delicate and modest.

"No. Too prudish." The tailor waves with his hand, motioning for the girls to remove the dress from my body.

The next dress handed to Alisa by one of the girls I don't know is a bold red one, one that barely covers my ass.

"No. Too slutty. Off."

A yellow sundress that sparkles under the light.

"No. Too blinding."

A plain, tight-fitting black gown that looks like something that should be worn to a funeral.

"God, no."

A midnight blue dress that falls perfectly down my shoulders. It shows just the right amount of cleavage, leaving enough to the imagination. The only problem? It bares my entire back.

"Perfection."

"I can't wear this." I say, baffled that they would think I would want to show my body in this way.

"Of course you will, honey. You have no choice." The tailor flashes a tight smile and then begins working on the dress to make it mould to my body perfectly.

He works silently, being handed pins and needles by his two helpers every few minutes. He pricks me often enough that I know it's on purpose.

Kyoshi sits on the bed, watching the man work his magic. She's sitting only a few feet away from where I hid the journal. If she so much as decides to look around, I'm screwed.

The tailor finishes and takes a step back to survey his masterpiece. What he sees makes a large smile appear on his face.

I jump off the platform and walk over to the tall mirror by the bed to take in my appearance.

The first thing I notice is that I don't look nearly as malnourished as I did when I arrived. My face and figure look more full. The dress flatters my returned curves, moulding to them in just the right spots. My eyes narrowed on a slit that had not been there when I first saw the dress. It starts mid-thigh and runs down to my ankles. That sneaky man must've ripped it while I was busy looking at Kyo.

Nevertheless, the dress is beautiful; he was right, it is perfect. The back doesn't bother me nearly as much as I thought it would, considering I have a cut showing my entire leg.

"Now, off." The tailor pushes me back onto the platform and commands the women to remove the dress. "Gently, ladies. You don't want to ruin my masterpiece."

Alisa and Jude take it off; the man's threats actually spurred them to do it carefully. After they're done, the dress is handed back to one of the other women.

The tailor and the two women take their leave. "Why did they take the dress again?" I ask confused.

"That's just how Andrei is. He doesn't trust anyone with his 'masterpieces'. Haven't you been told the story of how he acted with my mother?" Kyo chuckles, twirling her hair between her fingers.

When I shake my head, she continues. "He designed her coronation dress. He altered a golden dress to fit her perfectly but wouldn't let her see it. He took it upon himself to hide it." She barely conceals a small smile.

It's easy to notice how their mother's leaving affected both of them. The sisters share that in common, I suppose.

"I'll take my leave now." She presses a delicate kiss on my cheek. "I'll call Yuri for you."

She leaves without another word, leaving me confused. Why Yuri would think this kind-hearted princess would plant a bloody knife under my pillow is beyond me. I suppose Yuri has known her for longer, so I have to trust her judgement.

Jude and Alisa helped me dress in one of the new clothes Yuri had bought for me a few days ago. She got me all kinds of outfits, from night clothes to training ones. I'd thought she would surely forget, but to my surprise, she did not.