"Earth to Almira, you in there? Try again. Slowly this time." I snapped out of my thoughts, the memory of the figures and turned to face the room to were Lizzy stood, tapping the floor with her toes. I rolled my eyes and started walking towards her, the shoes tight around my feet and harder to balance the books placed on my head. I held the dress either side, my thumb presented to the guest and other fingers hidden behind the grip of skirt. Lizzy folded her arms and studied my movements with all the attention possible, her gaze moving from my feet, to my spine, to my neck, and to the books wobbling on my head. As I reached her I slowly began to slide my right foot behind the left and exhaled as I leaned forward and moved into the curtsey, the books moving frantically now as the shoes dug in more and forced me to bite my lip from saying a few unladylike words.
"Better, don't lean so far forward though, try it like this" She slowly rose from my dressing chair and pouted, snapping her posture up and gliding towards me with a grace that looked like she was floating as she made her way across the room towards me. Her eyes gave brief contact and then she lowered to the ground as she did the effortless curtsey that I'd been trying to accomplish for years. She held herself in the position as if she could have stayed there for hours and finally rose up and gracefully moved her skirts back to flow around her. I walked over to the chair were she had started and pouted, snapped my back up and lifted my neck up as I stuck my behind out and stomped my feet across the floor and pulled my fan out, sticking my lips out and saying through pouted lips "why hello, do you approve of my derriere sticking out in the formal fashion." She realized the joke of it and burst out laughing, clutching her stomach as tears fell down her face and she had to lean against the wall. I joined her and laughed until I had to gasp to breathe through the corset skirts. Lizzy slowly rose up and wiped at the tears, leaving a grin on her petite face that was nothing but delicate.
" Almira, please don't do that tonight. I might die of hysterics!" I flashed her an evil grin and replied, "Don't tempt me" as I moved across the room and past the dresses hung up. Lizzy's dress shone in the sunlight and stood out to the eye with a striking feel. The vivid green was dark enough to look gothic and suited her perfectly. I looked past the dresses and found her gazing at them too. Her blonde hair fell down to her mid back in a shade so light it could be mistaken for white at times. She'd always tried to keep it the same length as mine but seeing it now, the length of it flowed around her and added to the delicate features of her face, her eyes shone a dark blue with, reminding me of a china doll. Tonight she would be the glint in every man's eye and the confidence she had added to her beauty. I looked back and found my dress hung a little to the right of hers. The colour was the darkest red. The silk shone like wine on a summer's day with its length filling the hanger. It was the most expensive dress I owned but tonight was the most important social event of the season and would be worth every penny, so Lizzy says. But staring at the dresses and preparing for the night ahead sent a ball of nerves through me, the smile fading as the humor of tonight evaporated. But it wasn't the ball I was worried about, it was wondering if I was ready for this without Papa.