Fragile Desires (18+)

Forty-One | Little Black Dress

I was eight, with summer coming to an end.

The palace gardens hummed with the scent of honeysuckle as I explored, a well-worn copy of Mulan tucked under my arm.

However, my strides halted when a shriek shattered the serenity.

I raced towards it, finding an unfamiliar girl looking to be younger than me, clutching her arm, tears welling up in her eyes.

Her doll, a ragtag thing with mismatched buttons for eyes, lay discarded, its stuffing spilling out.

The culprit was a group of older boys, their faces twisted with cruel amusement.

Fury, hot and primal, surged through me.

The younger girl, with her dirt-streaked knees and perpetually tangled hair, looked entirely distraught.

And these boys, they reveled in tormenting her, their laughter echoing in the otherwise peaceful gardens.

Without hesitation, I grabbed a fallen branch, its roughness a stark contrast to my frilled dress.

Before they could react, I brought it down with a satisfying whack.

The world stilled.

The boys gaped at me, then at the red welt blooming on one of their friend's arms.

A primal fear—a fear I hadn't known I possessed, flickered in my chest.

But then, a strange calm settled over me.

They stumbled to run away, leaving the battlefield, or rather, the rose garden, to me and the tattered doll.

That night, tucked under my silk sheets, guilt gnawed at me.

Was I wrong to fight fire with fire?

But then, the image of that poor little girl's tear-streaked face, the sight of her cherished doll, solidified my resolve.

Perhaps, being a princess didn't just mean dresses and tiaras.

Maybe it meant standing up for what's right, even if it meant getting your hands dirty.

-Azzy

♛Chapter Forty-One: Little Black Dress♛

My fingers unconsciously traced down the material of the black dress clinging to my body.

The upper part of the dress was modest—covering my arms and spanning up to my neck.

It was the lower part that was... less modest.

The dress barely grazed my mid-thigh.

And yet I chose to wear it.

With black stockings of course—just for reassurance of being covered.

I added a long black trench coat, left open to break up the severity of the dress, and paired it with matching black heels that clicked confidently with each step.