.
“Your Highness, please excuse me for disturbing your rest.”
From underwater, the voice was muffled, and I was drowsing deep enough I nearly didn’t hear it.
Khortys, the senior of the three maids assigned to me, watched as I discovered I was underwater and thrashed myself to the surface.
It wasn’t the first time I had been startled. Although it seemed I was perfectly safe dropping off to sleep underwater, the second I regained my awareness, I panicked.
I’d already admitted to the maids that I was still new to underwater breathing, so they understood what was going on. So Khortys smiled without saying anything as she and Pirkitta helped me out of the tub.
Elves are mortals. I guess you could say that the elves of European legend are more like the fairies of Huade, while the elves of Huade are the ones from Japanese pop culture. Except, they have the ears from LOTR, not those long sideways-pointing things that you see on Japanese elves. For those, you have to look to certain monster species, such as Satoris. Or you can find them on pixies. Kiki has those ears.
So, being mortals, elves can’t have any of the mysterious innate magics of monster or magic species. But, they do have an innate skill for chantless magic. The elves believe that fairies gifted that skill to them back in legendary times. They are also masters at blending and controlling the elements of mortal magic at level-one magic complexity. Which explained why, once I was seated in the dressing room, Khortys was able to just raise her hand and blend Wind with a tiny touch of Fire in order to blow dry my hair as she brushed it.
Meanwhile, Prikitta and Austrdhur went to work with the scented oil. It had only been five days since they began taking care of me, and the three were already as coordinated as a NASCAR pit crew.
Well, it seems Khortys had began her apprenticeship two centuries before I was born, so I suppose it wasn’t surprising she could run a good team.
Right now these women were behaving themselves as they went about the work of polishing me up for presentation, but at least once a day they went into temptress mode, hoping for another round of blood feeding. I had already explained to them that it was unsafe to do it this soon, but it was beginning to look like I kept the vampire charm turned on a little too long. They were still suffering aftereffects. It’s important to understand that their elven resistance to fairy bewitchment gave them absolute no defense against my vampire powers.
Aunt Elianora was very clear about the limits. If a mortal feeds you at any time less than two weeks after the last time they fed you, it becomes risky, with anything less than a week being almost automatic blood slavery. I’ve worked out that it had only been thirteen days from the previous feeding when I made my mistake with Melione, so I will absolutely never break that limit again. In fact, I will make it a month from now on, which is what my aunt makes her rule. Except with Melione and Ceria of course. For them, it doesn’t matter, since we’ve already bonded. I only need to leave enough time to let them recover from the blood loss.
I was noticing that the maids were not coming on to me, here in this heavy skinship situation, and I thought they might have gotten over the charm, but Khortys invalidated that as she began untangling my hair with her brush.
“I know it is late evening, but you must dress for a midnight gathering, Your Highness.”
“Midnight gathering?” I puzzled.
“The royal family gathers at the moon-viewing tower tonight. They usually gather in clear weather for moon-viewing on the Night of the Full Greater Moon, but the White Moon will hide behind the half Blue Moon, tonight.”
Ah. Most cultures put some significance or another to the disappearance and emergence of the lesser moon while the moons are waning, or its appearance while the moons are waxing, because the lesser moon creates some special effects as it crosses the edge of the dark side of the greater moon.
Huadeans don’t understand that their world is revolving around the sun, but they do understand that the lesser moon is revolving around the greater moon, because they can see it complete its route, every seven days or so. It obviously crosses in front of and disappears behind it.
Various places attach different meanings and explanations to the phenomenon, but I think the fact that they can see the edge of the dark halves light up when their companion is backlighting it is the reason that they realize the moons are shaped like balls. It’s just, they haven’t realized that the lit halves are because of the sun. They think those halves are glass half-spheres filled with liquid or ice, and the other half of the balls are made of coal.
Maybe if they knew that the moons were other worlds, and were much farther away than they think, they would figure it out. Unfortunately, they still think that the things are only somewhat higher in the sky than a gryphon or fairy can fly.
Did my grandfather have one of those weird religious ideas about the moons? I had a feeling that Senhion would have taught him the truth about it.
I blanched a little when I saw the dress the maids had selected. I would need my wings to go there, so I would be braless again, and their choice was very reminiscent of the exhibitionistic raiments Mother creates for nighttime use or the sleepwear she buys for me.
“There is no way,” I stated flatly. “I’ll just wear the dress I was wearing for dinner.”
“Your Highness, that would be inappropriate,” Khortys declared. “This is a royal gathering. You need to wear a proper evening gown.”
“Aren’t we getting confused between ‘evening gown’ and ‘night gown’ here?”
Her head tipped. “There’s a difference?”
I coughed in surprise. “There’s a huge difference! This thing is something a woman might wear to bed, not to a formal gathering!”
Let me be absolutely clear here. What she was calling an ‘evening gown’ would put me on page three of a British tabloid.
Khortys declared, “If we send you out there in a day dress, the other maids will scold us, Your Highness! And your sister was very clear that you should look your best tonight!”
Amana had taken on the job of acting as Mother’s proxy. She’d been dragging me around to meet people and teach me things about life in the palace, and making sure I showed up at the right places at the right times. I was quickly learning why fairies often call their older sisters ‘mother’.
“It should be fine, though. I’m probably the only one not wearing her own raiment, right? I’ll be the oddball anyway.”
She shook her head. “That is not the case, Your Highness. Several of your cousins are half-fairies. The raiments they can make are too plain, so they also wear evening gowns for such occasions. And their maids will most definitely be giving their all! We do not dare allow you to look any bit less than perfect in front of your family!”
I couldn’t appeal to modesty with these ladies. It seemed they and I have a very different idea of modesty. They were definitely in my mother’s camp, due to having grown up in the same environment that produced Mother.
“Your Highness,” Pirkitta spoke up, “Perhaps there is another evening gown you can find acceptable. A day dress is out of the question, but what would you need in order to agree to a gown?”
Khortys had a slight frown, since I think she really had her heart set on the outfit she selected, but she nodded to her junior’s point.
I pointed at the gauzy scarlet thing that Austrydhur was holding up. “You will be able to clearly see my underthings through that, right?”
Pirkitta nodded. “Yes?”
I scowled at her unspoken ‘and?’. ” Without a bra, everyone will clearly see my breasts! And these panties you put on me are so sheer, my girl parts show right through! As thin as this gown is, it doesn’t do anything to hide anything!”
Khortys sighed. “Fairies don’t need to worry about such things, Your Highness. You have no hair there, so it just isn’t that noticeable.”
“It’s noticeable enough!” I insisted through my teeth.
“Your escort will be here, soon, Your Highness. Shall we have her choose one for you?”
“Oh, heavens no!” I groaned. Lady Serera would probably zoom right in on the scarlet horror that Austrydhur was still patiently holding up! “Just… bring me the gown with the darkest, least sheer material.”
Pirkitta and Austrydhur looked at each other, nodded, bowed to me, and returned to the wardrobe from which the scarlet gown had emerged. Khortys sighed and began unbuckling the garters and removing the stockings. Naturally, a different color of underthings was going to come with the change of gown.
Now that I understood that it wasn’t just the preference of Mother, but her entire species, the whole obsession with revealing clothing was becoming even more exasperating in my mind. But I couldn’t upset the royal family, the only allies I seemed to have among the fairy species. Not with the majority of fairy aristocracy lined up against me. Mára’s case was still under investigation, and we didn’t know how the demonic possession related to all the grief the other nobles had been giving me, so I was still in a difficult position. I needed to fit in, here at the palace, for my own safety.
The two returned with new underthings and a new gown. It hung less open at the hip, and the persian blue silk chiffon promised less visibility. What sold me on it was, the matching panties were opaque silk, not lace.
Okay, I would still be against it if they hadn’t brought out that scarlet monstrosity first. Did they perhaps do that on purpose? Sneaky…
A short time later, I was looking into the mirror, regretting my pale skin that still left my tips faintly visible, but… well it was a huge improvement.
“It looks very elegant,” Austrydhur offered, when I didn’t say anything. I was still regretting the open neckline.
Khortys nodded. “Paired with her black eyes and hair, bright colors would be better. It does give a serene, regal feeling, I’ll admit, but it won’t stand out enough. A fairy princess must catch the eye instantly. A wilting flower attracts no bees.”
“I’m not trying to attract any bees, Khortys! These are my own relatives!”
“By fairy standards, first cousins are fair game, Your Highness,” Pirkitta noted.
“Not happening!”
“Oh!” Pirkitta clapped her hands. “What about the moonglow diamond parure that Princess Amana sent over yesterday!”
“Excellent Suggestion!” Khortys smiled. “I picked the ruby set to match the scarlet gown, but moonglow diamonds in mithril will be far brighter with this outfit!”
P and A stripped me of the rubies I was wearing instantly as K went to fetch the new set. They fussed for a while redoing my hair, because the set included a curving comb designed to decorate a bun. That bun was soon perched high on the back of my scalp with the mithril and diamond band wrapping across it, leaving the remaining hair falling in a ponytail. Add a ferronnière (that’s a thing like a necklace, but worn around the head, with the pendant at the forehead), and I was left feeling ridiculously gaudy. Fortunately, the earrings, necklace and bracelet weren’t as flashy.
When Serera showed up to escort me, she immediately told me that I shouldn’t overrule my maids. But then, she did admit that I looked good.
