“Yes, yes, go on.”
“Thank you.” I smile and pick up another bead, threading it onto my needle and securing it by sliding the needle into a stitch on the bodice. Meanwhile, the princess is pacing back and forth like a predator on the prowl. It’s distracting, but I force myself to add a few more beads until I’m satisfied with the appearance. At last, I secure the finalbead, sever the thread, and stick the needle into my pincushion before announcing, “Finished!”
At that moment, Ellynne strides in. “Is it dress fitting time?” she asks excitedly.
Princess Carys turns to her and responds in a way that makes Ellynne grin even wider. Something else is asked of her and Ellynne glances over her shoulder before saying, “… kitchen a moment ago … started without her though.”
It’s hard to make out all her words from the small distance, but I assume they’re talking about Lowri.
“Wonderful,” says Princess Carys, turning her back as Ellynne approaches. She pulls her dark, golden-streaked braid over her shoulder so that it settles against her hip.
“Have you ever cut your hair?” I blurt out, my nervousness dissolving my filter. I immediately regret it when two sets of eyes gawk at me. I shrink back into myself. “Sorry if that’s too personal…”
“It’s not,” says Princess Carys. “And yes. Once or twice in my life, but I can’t exactly remember when.”
“It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen dark hair with streaks like that.”
“It runs in the family. And I wouldn’t have been able to take care of this on my own. Ellynne is incredible.”
Ellynne is busy unbuttoning the back of the dress the princess is currently wearing, so I don’t make out her response, but the princess laughs. Ellynne makes quick work of removing the gown and corset. By the time Princess Carys is down to her gossamer chemise, Lowri slips into the room and practically runs to Ellynne’s side.
“I’ve sewn some extra fabric into the underlayer of the bodice, so you won’t need the chemise,” I tell Carys. “But you can keep it on for now just for?—”
And the chemise is off. Tossed into Lowri’s hands like it’s no big deal. Lowri giggles and sets it aside with the rest of the princess’s clothes.My face must be red because the very naked, very unabashed Princess Carys smiles with slow amusement, “Durvla, are you blushing?”
I nearly trip over my feet as I approach.
Carys’s cheeky grin expands. “You don’t have tits of your own?”
The other two laugh, and I force a smile onto my face.
“For the love of Rhianu, Durvla,” says Carys. “People have been dressing me since I was a child. I’m not ashamed. And Ellynne would roam the corridors naked as a wee babe if we allowed it.”
“Clothing is so restrictive.” Ellynne shrugs.
They laugh and I relax into my smile.
“Lowri was like you not too long ago,” she says. “She was briefly the wife to a stuffy old duke before joining my service.”
Lowri nods shyly. At nineteen, she’s more than old enough to have been a wife, but it still surprises me. She smiles, but it doesn’t make it to her eyes.
The princess waves and I pull my gaze back to her. “Remember me?” she asks.
My pulse quickens. “Right,” I say past the tightness in my throat. “I’ll just… hand this over and let you ladies handle the dressing. Please be careful.” Gods, what if it rips, or the beads fall off, or it unravels completely?
What if she hates it?
With trembling hands, I place the dress in Ellynne’s arms and half-watch as she and Lowri help Princess Carys into it. Part of me cringes at the speed with which Ellynne pulls it up over Princess Carys’s narrow hips, the lace stretching. I bite my lip so hard that it stings. “Careful,” I murmur.
Ellynne glances at me, nodding in understanding. I hold my breath and count until dizziness presses into my awareness. Until I’ve made it to nearly forty-five and haven’t exhaled. When I do, it all comes out in a rush.
Then Ellynne and Lowri step away and the three of us stare at Princess Carys in her finished gown. The fit is perfect, tapered at her tiny waist, extending subtly at her hips and then cascading downward. The bodice hugs her torso, the black lace extending from the waist and overlaying the top half of the deep purple skirt in valleys and peaks. The lace on the décolletage curves over her petite breasts, showing just a bit of cleavage without being overly revealing. The back of the dress dips downward in a wide V that ends at her waist, leaving her back mostly exposed.
Princess Carys’s freckles stand out against her already pale face as she blanches. “What?” she asks as we stare at her.
Ellynne steps forward and I only make out one word:stunning.
Lowri bobs her head enthusiastically in agreement.
