The Silver Crown

37.

"Do you guys get to attend the ball?" I asked Daria as she knelt to adjust the hem on my dress.

"No, but there is a small gathering for the servants in a different reception room. We will have plenty of fun this evening too, milady," She replied.

"And if you need anything," Maurice said from her supervising position next to my bed, "A footman will retrieve us."

"I won't need anything," I said. "I can handle a few hitches by myself. You guys enjoy your evening." I reached down to give Daria a hand up.

"You look absolutely stunning, Lady Kade," Daria said, gazing at me.

"Can I finally look?" I jokingly whined. Daria and Niva had dressed me under the intense supervision of Maurice and I had still not seen what I looked like. The dress was definitely heavier than the ones I normally wore and I could see that the skirts were a light blue. I hadn't been able to see anything else before Maurice grabbed my chin and forced me to look up. She wanted it to be a surprise.

"Oh, I suppose," Maurice said, stepping forward and smoothing down a lock of hair. She patted my cheek affectionately. Niva turned the full-length mirror toward me and I almost fell over. That couldn't be me.

The dress was strapless, with sapphires encrusting the neckline. The bodice was a dark blue with a pale blue stripe down the center. More gems bedecked the waistline and then the gown belled out. Embroidered flowers in whites, blues and purples danced across the skirts and the hem just touched the floor. Detached sleeves started right below my shoulder muscles and went to my elbow. Excess fabric hung from them almost to the floor.

But that wasn't everything. My black hair that was normally braided in a straight line down my back was elegantly done. Daria had taken the hair from above my ears and braided it on both sides until the braids met at the back of my head. Sapphire pins matching the gems on my dress were distributed through the braids. The necklace Niva had clasped around my neck was made of diamonds and sapphires on a silver chain.

"Oh," Was all I could get out of my gaping mouth. For once I looked like the princess that everyone thought I was.

"You look so pretty, Lady Kade," Niva said.

"Thank you," I replied, finally looking away from the mirror. I cleared my throat. "Thank you for making this dress for me. It is amazing."

"You make it so, milady," Daria beamed at me.

"Come on," Maurice interrupted. "If you don't get moving you'll be late for your own party."

"Shoes," Niva intervened. She held up a pair of blue slippers with sapphires on the toe. I sighed but slipped my feet into them and looked myself up and down.

"I am wearing a little bit of fabric with my sapphires," I said cheekily. "Is the queen not worried that I'll walk out the front doors of the castle and feed the poor for a year?"

"I suppose she believes that you know better now," Daria said quietly. Then she leaned forward and, using her body to block Maurice's view, slipped a knife and a strip of fabric into my hand. "Tie it to your leg, my lady, and then you'll have two." She gave a pointed look at my chest and I smiled. She must have seen the tiny knife I had clipped to my breast band.

"Thank you, Daria," I said. "One can never have too many knives."

She smiled at me, her eyes sparkling, and then pushed me toward the door.

"Get going," Maurice said, flapping a hand at me. "Out the door. And don't forget to make small talk while dancing. And don't forget to curtsy at the beginning and the end of each dance. And don't forget-" I slipped into the hall and closed the door before she could make me recite every single one of my lessons.