Convulsion

✿ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇʟᴠᴇ ✿

"Wha?" I gasp, even though there's nobody around. Dresses, dresses, and more dresses. Why does everything have to be a dress? Long dresses, short dresses, summer dresses, ball gown dresses... this closet contains more dresses than I've ever worn in my whole entire lifetime. I rifle through them all, the hangers clanging against one another. I place my hand on the back of the closet to try and push through all the dresses, but my shock only deepens when I fall forward and through all the dresses themselves.

I land against a hard surface, and sitting up I realize I'm in a room. Not even a small room, but a room almost as big as the bathroom itself. The walls are made of wood, and there's a shiny chandelier hanging from the ceiling that bathes everything in a nice white light. Lining the walls are open shelves and drawers, containing clothing, footwear, and jewelry. I blow out a small sigh as I pick out the simplest dress I see from a glass case nearby. I only have to go through this until these people defeat the Gloaming. I turn over the dress in my hands. This one is green and it looks the right size for me, and it doesn't have as many gems and sparkles as the others. That's not saying a lot though, most of this dress is still pretty sparkly. With a sigh, I start putting it on.

"Do you guys have something against normal clothing?" I yell to Gwen, pushing myself back through a bunch of dresses until I'm back in the bathroom, changed into my new dress. It takes a while for my voice to reach her though, and I'm already applying the makeup that was labeled "TRAINING" by the time she responds.

"Do you really want the whole explanation?" She hollers back.

"No!" It feels way too early to be talking, so I don't even need to know. I just need to fall back asleep. Like I could ever sleep in this dress. But, I don't look too bad actually. I pose in front of the mirror, spinning slowly so that I can observe myself. Most of my scratches are healed up from yesterday, and you can't really see the cuts that were bleeding earlier when the birds attacked me. Even though they're healed, a tiny part of me kinda wishes I wasn't wearing this dress. It hugs the upper part of my body really tightly with its glossy yet soft, light green fabric, and it falls down to a bit past my knees in shiny waves of even more light green. It makes me feel like some sort of celebrity, and this dress was only one of the simpler ones. I feel like I'm going to prom, and I'm only an eighth grader. Well, scratch that. Apparently here in this Realm I'm sixteen years old.

I scoot closer to the mirror as I grab some more of the makeup Gwen left for me. Green eyeliner, light pink lipstick, and blush. At least, that's what I think this stuff is. That's all I have the energy to apply. I look at myself skeptically in the mirror when I'm done putting everything on. Gwen better have a good reason for making me do this. I tie my long waves of brown hair into a loose braid, draping it in front of my right shoulder. I look okay, but I don't get it. If these Guardians are fighting wars and they want to defeat the Gloaming, what's with all the fancy stuff? I walk back out into my room, my brown lace-up heeled boots clicking as I head back to Gwen.

"How does this clothing help me train?" I ask as soon as I'm back up the steps and on the landing again. "Don't the dresses and all feel out of place?" She doesn't look at me as she smooths her own dress, getting up from my makeshift bed.

"Hidden pockets, breathable and light material, fire resistant, waterproof, air dynamics." She places her hands on her hips. "Should I go on? Don't be fooled by its looks." I stare at her, trying to understand what she's saying. A dress can have all that? What even is all that? I hide my confusion, crossing my arms instead.

"Okay, fine. But that doesn't mean I want it."

"Doesn't mean you can't enjoy it." She smiles at me, staring across the landing and walking down the small stairs.