Thief of Thoughts

Chapter Sixteen

I ended up sitting on the edge of my bed in an elegant dark green dress made primarily of silk. It accentuated my nonexistent hips and bust while making me feel like I was two seconds away from busting out of it. Jade claimed that it fit perfectly, but I was doubting that.

"Are you sure it's not too tight?" I asked, wincing as I stood up and tried making my way to the mirror again. I couldn't stop doing this - getting up, double-checking that it looked okay, then returning  right back to the bed. The whole time, Jade was shuffling through different drawers of the vanity, in search of the perfect makeup to compliment the look.

I turned a bit to the side, watching the silky material sway at the bottom. I'd managed to convince Jade not to put me in something with an excessively poofy lower half. I twisted a bit again, actually admiring myself.

Damn. This dress actually didn't make me look like an utter nerd. I felt...kind of like a princess?

No, not a princess. A queen.

I also needed to keep my arrogance in check before I turned into Jonah.

In reality, it was more of a queen-ly dress than a princess one. It was very form fitting and had long sleeves that were nearly slipping off my shoulders. The one thing it was missing was a accentuating necklace.

As Jade finally pulled out a couple different palettes, prepared to get to work on me, I leaned by her and opened the first drawer. Immediately, I was met with at least five or six extremely nice-looking bits of jewelry. If I had to guess, they were all made of diamond and other precious metals.

I wanted to shut the drawer immediately, since these were definitely way too expensive for me to wear, but Jade noticed. She stopped me from closing it and smiled. "Those are for you, too," she said. "I specifically picked out some things Jonah said you might like...anything that catches your eye?"

I raised my eyebrows at her, a bit baffled by her generosity. "Actually...I mean, I'm fine without one, but..."

She just smiled knowingly and picked up one of the diamond necklaces I'd been eyeing. It was so bejeweled I thought I'd go blind just looking at it. A round amber pendant hung from the diamond chain. It was simple but fitting.

She helped me put it on before also doing my makeup. As she did, she murmured on and on about relatives, funny anecdotes, and other bits and pieces of her life. It was so wildly different from mine - even if I did have a good amount of money. When I finally looked in the mirror, I genuinely no longer felt like myself. A part of me began to wonder how in the world I'd ended up getting a literal makeover from a princess.

Suddenly, I felt nervous. Was it because I looked so wildly different? Or did it have to do with Kyle?

And why should I even be nervous about Kyle when I had a lot more important things to worry about, like someone breaking and entering into my house?

I let out a sigh and turned to Jade. "Okay...anything else I'm missing."

She just shook her head. "Nope, nothing. Although it wouldn't hurt to be a little more cheery. You look somewhat like you're in pain."

I laughed, but it came out a little weirdly. "Yeah...this is just new for me. I don't know. I don't usually talk to that many people."

She just nodded like she already knew, which she probably did, since Jonah had probably intentionally sent her here to force me to socialize. "I think we all feel that way sometimes. We all feel like we don't belong until you find something that connects you. I've always felt apart from the world...like an artifact from the past. Jonah and some of my other friends here helped me realize that there are a lot more people in the world than you think. And it's more than likely one or two of them can really click with you."

I nodded, sadly. A part of me agreed - yeah, even as a young millionaire, we still had this group of us who hung out together and understood each other in a way no one else could. At the same time, I also knew there was one way in which nobody could understand me. My visions...my secrets...and whatever the hell was going on in my head.

I sighed, realizing I'd become lost in thought. "Well, this was really nice."

"It was. And I'm sure we'll get to know each other more soon, but I have a feeling there's a ball waiting for us." She smirked slightly. "I'll meet you downstairs?"

I nodded and headed down before I could let my nerves tell me otherwise.