Ruby Shimmer (re-write)

CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

As I continued to study my reflection, I was soon brought back to the real world when I felt something tap my leg.

Curious as to why, I glanced down, only to see that one of the bathhouse attendants had crouched down without my notice.

It was just seconds later that I realized that she was also holding a pair of snow-white slippers with delicate gold embroidery that matched the sheer material hanging from my dress exactly.

At a total loss for words at the beauty of the simple, but still elegant footwear, I silently raised my legs so that she could slip them on my feet.

Once the shoes were in place, Ava grabbed my wrist and led into a more shadowed area located a bit deeper into the changing room.

After we had done just that, I watched on in fascination as Ava quietly pushed her palm against the wall. And this ended up leaving me completely stunned when it was revealed that the part she had pushed was actually a type of button switch.

And not just that, but it caused a part of the wall to slide open, which in itself, seemed to lead directly into a dimly lit corridor.

I had a few concerns and questions about this confusing situation, however, before I could say a word, I was immediately dragged inside thanks to Ava's tight grip that was still on my wrist.

Unfortunately, it was rather hard to see anything properly due to the lack of real light. But even so, I was still able to make out that the tight corridor we were now rushing through appeared to be what I could only guess was some kind of old-fashioned servants' quarters like the ones you might find in a noble family's mansion back in medieval times.

We continued on our way for an unknown amount of time until we finally came across what seemed to be Ava's original goal in the form of a smaller than average wooden door made of light-colored wood.

And when Ava opened the door with an echoing creak, she gestured me through and as a result, I had my mind completely and utterly blown.

For as it turned out, the corridor we had just traipsed through came out into one corner of the walk-in closet in my own private quarters.

"Wha...How...?" I stuttered, feeling incredibly flabbergasted at this latest revelation to appoint where that was all I could say.

"Sorry about surprising you like this, young miss." Ava spoke up as she placed both her hands on my shoulders, all the while subtly ushering me towards the vanity.

And after reaching our close by destination, she immediately sat me down on the stool and I was only just able to see that she had already walked away and made herself busy with searching through the jewelry cabinet.

By this point, it took me a few extra minutes of being lost in my own head due to my confusion of what had just gone down. But eventually, I was able to come out of it by enough to talk like normal.

"Um...what exactly was it that we just walked through? And how did it end up leading from the changing room in the public baths all the way to the closet here in my room?"

Unfortunately, I didn't get an answer right away as she continued her search. But finally, she must have found what she wanted because under her breath she muttered a victorious "aha" before heading back over to me.

And when she reached me, I saw that she was holding a black velvet square-shaped box. This could easily be understood as, since it was being kept along other types of jewelry, it most likely held some sort of jewelry as well.

And if it was stored in its own box, I was quickly growing excited to see what it really was.

However, she didn't open the box in question right away. On the contrary, she simply motioned for me to turn around with my back facing her. She then began her usual task of brushing through my hair to try and tame the slight knots that had formed besides the oils that had been rubbed in, due to not drying it properly and just leaving it to its own devices.

The minutes slowly ticked by until I could feel the now surprisingly smooth strands flowing free down in loose waves. It was then that she told me to close my eyes for a moment.

I immediately followed her direction, only to suddenly feel her placing something light and unfamiliar on my head and around my neck.

But, just from the context of the situation, I could only assume that it was probably the mystery jewelry that had been kept inside the velvet box.

Her latest task took just a short time and I soon felt a gentle tap on my shoulder. And I answered this action by opening my eyes, finally allowing me to see exactly what it was that I was now wearing with great anticipation.

Around my neck, there was an elaborately crafted necklace made entirely of extremely fine gold strands and multiple tiny diamonds covering most of my exposed collarbone. And now adorning my head was a dazzling headdress made of the exact same materials as the necklace, as well as having a single teardrop diamond set in the very center of my forehead and held in place by a few more strategically placed golden strands.

Supposedly finished, Ava gave my hair one last check before she had me close my eyes yet again.

After once more following her instructions without a second thought, I soon felt her begin to apply the usual cosmetics onto my face, lips, and eyelids with a series of soft strokes.

Minutes later, just like always, when she was done, she placed a hand on my shoulder, effectively causing me to open my eyes at her behest. And in itself proved to be plenty enough to leave me completely mesmerized all over again when I saw that she had painted my face with just the right amount of makeup to perfectly highlight my personal features.

My eyelids were dusted with a shimmering gold powder and accented by a single line of black kohl eyeliner. Also, my cheeks were now colored a healthy pink. Lastly, my lips were coated with a cherry red lipstick, which I loved most of all as I thought it gave me an air of maturity.

As I continued to relish in her expert level handiwork, I saw out of the corner of my eye that Ava was checking a simple leather watch on her wrist I hadn't even realized she owned. Suddenly, she made me jump when, out of nowhere, she gasped loudly in shock when she saw the time.

But before I could say a single word, she had already grabbed my own wrist in a panic, and in a flash, I found myself being hurried through the mansion in an even bigger rush than ever before and I was left totally lost as to where we could possibly be headed now.

But, wherever we were going, the one thing I knew for sure was that it had something to do with the mystery ceremony I was supposed to go through.

We sped through the halls and up several flights of stairs until I came to an immediate stop upon seeing that we had come to one final staircase. This one was made of such old and fragile-looking wood that it caused me to stop dead in my tracks out of fear that we would actually have to climb them.

I did try to voice my concerns to Ava, but unfortunately for me and my heart, she ignored me altogether and merely tightened her grip before practically forcing me up the frighteningly rickety staircase against my will with no ability to even fight back.

This went on agonizingly slowly, feeling to me like hours, but in reality, was mere minutes.

But, we eventually made it to the very top that was located almost all the way up to the ceiling. Afterwards, I quickly noticed that, located within part of the ceiling that was currently several feet above where we now stood, was a hidden trapdoor cut into the ceiling itself.