Lady Lily Wright hitched a sharp breath as the strings of her corset were pulled bone-crushingly tight against her ribcage. Her eyes stung as she tried to breathe through the pain.

“Deep breath Lily,” her governess Giezelle said as she stood behind the young girl and crossed the laces over each other. “That’s good, suck it in.”

“I can’t breathe like this,” Lily complained, wincing as the ties were pulled sharply again.

“If you’d stop sneaking pastries out of the kitchen this wouldn’t be an issue,” Giezelle said as she finished lacing her in.

Lily rolled her eyes. “You sound like Mamma.”

Giezelle pinched the back of Lily’s arm, causing her to yelp and swat her governess’s hand away.

“Don’t sass me, young lady,” Giezelle said, snapping her fingers and gesturing for one of the maids to bring over Lily’s day dress. It was a soft, sage green in soft cotton with cap sleeves and ruffled trim in white lace.

Giezelle slipped the dress over Lily’s head and pulled it into place, sweeping the young girl’s mess of red curls over shoulders before doing up the buttons at the back.

“Why don’t you just order me a dress that fits?” Lily mumbled, crossing her arms in front of her. The fabric around the sleeves tugged uncomfortably at the motion.

“That’s not up to me,” Giezelle said softly as she looped the last button and smoothed out the skirt of the dress.

Right. Lily’s mother was the one who ordered all of her clothes.

Lady Catarina Wright had been considered the most beautiful woman in Maris in her debutante days. To this day she had a strict beauty regime that she followed more closely than she did the scriptures, and insisted her daughter do the same. Lily, while still beautiful, wasn’t quite as waifish as her mother, something Lady Catarina constantly reminded her of.

Giezelle swept a strand of her smooth black hair from her round, olive-toned face. At thirty-two, she was fifteen years Lily’s senior but was more of a mother to the young girl than her actual mother had ever been.

“Chin up and don’t slouch. You know how your mother hates that,” Giezelle said, tipping Lily’s head up from under her chin with the points of her long fingers. “Now let me fix this hair and we can be on our way.”

Lily squared her shoulders back and stood patiently as her governess arranged her hair into an elegant updo. Watching her work in the mirror, Lily was always amazed at how quickly Giezelle could make her hair look nice.

Lily had once attempted to do a braid crown on herself and ended up pulling what felt like half of her hair out.

Once done, Lily looked herself over in the full length mirror that stood in the far corner of her bedroom. She looked more like her father than she did her mother, with her dark red hair, round face with even rounder cheeks and stubbed nose. Her skin was just as pale as her father’s as well, or it would be if it weren’t for the constant sun in Maris that left them both permanently freckled. The only thing Lily had inherited from her mother was her eyes, which were a soft, greenish hazel.

“There,” Giezelle said, startling Lily when she clapped her hands over her shoulders. “Now you look presentable enough for your Mamma.”

“What’s the point of me getting all dressed up to go to a dress fitting?” Lily asked as she slipped on a pair of gloves. She then placed a golden bangle her father had given her overtop. “I’m just going to have to change out of this anyways.”

“Well you can’t very well go out in your underlinings,” Giezelle said with an eye roll. “Now, come along.”

Lily followed her governess through her family’s townhouse. They lived on a fashionable street in Maris’s capital city, Girona, not far from the palace.

The burgundy painted walls were decorated with generations of collected art, ranging from family portraits to beautiful landscapes commissioned at astronomically high prices. The long, runner rugs that lay across the dark stained hardwood floors were fading so that woven floral design was barely visible, and flattened from decades of being walked across. Lady Catarina was desperate to be rid of them, but Lily’s grandmother, the former mistress of Wright House, had picked them out, and so Lily’s father refused to toss them away.

After being stuck in Hercynia for several weeks following the poisoning of Princess Neve, word had finally come that Princess Zara was being released and was on her way home. Her mother, Queen Merle, was extremely relieved and was planning a welcome home ball for the princess. The Wrights, being from a very old and noble Marisian family, were naturally invited and Lady Catarina had decided Lily needed a new dress for the occasion.

Lily and Gizelle found Lady Catarina in the drawing room. Much like the halls, the room was brimming with dozens of paintings, all arranged in a seemingly unorganized way to make the room seem cozy. Velvet in settees in cobalt blue were placed beside a massive bay window, and every table in the room was stacked with vases of fresh flowers.

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Lady Catarina was busy chastising one of the maids as they walked in. Lily instantly felt a pang of pity for the young girl, who seemed close to tears.

Lady Catarina had an oval face with sharp cheekbones and golden complexion. Her nose was small and upturned, and despite her creeping closer to middle age there was nary a wrinkle to be seen on her face. Her hair was a deep shade of brown with tints of red that became more visible in the sun, and today it was done up in a stylish updo similar to her daughter’s, though the style suited the mother far better. Updos, though in style in Maris, tended to frame Lily’s face in an unflattering way.

“See that you get it right tomorrow,” Lady Catarina said, waving the girl away with a dismissive hand. She turned her gaze on her daughter, her amber-honey eyes looking her up and down in assessment. “There you are. I was beginning to think I’d have to come fetch you myself.”

Lily felt her face heat, but didn’t bother to point out that it was still very early in the morning. Arguing with her mother never did her any good.

“What was that about?” Lily asked, looking towards the open doorway where the maid had just turned the corner and was out of sight.

“My eggs were slightly runny this morning,” Lady Catarina said, rising to her feet. “Now come along. We’re expected at the atelier.”

The streets were packed with people as everyone prepared for the return of Princess Zara. She was still days away, traveling by ship across the Wavering Sea, which all of the countries of the continent surrounded. Well, all except the fae kingdom of Malum, which was separated by the Kingdom of Waldreich to the north.

Lily rode through the cobblestones streets in her family’s carriage. Out the window, she watched as little restaurants and shops hung colorful ribbons from their awnings. One little cafe strung up a sign that read, “Welcome Home Princess.”

Despite being from an established family, Lily had never actually met the princess, though she had seen her numerous times as she got older at events at the palace. She supposed when she turned eighteen in a few months and was officially presented at court she would see more of her.

“Lily, sit up straight,” Lady Catarina snapped, rapping her daughter on the shoulder with the back of her knuckles. Lily fought back the groan she wanted to release and shifted in her seat, rolling her shoulders back until she no longer resembled a crescent moon.

“I keep telling you you’re going to have back problems if you keep that up,” Lady Catarina continued to chastise. “You know your Grandmamma was basically bedridden every other week from her terrible posture.”

“Yes, Mamma,” Lily said, trying to keep her tone as polite as possible.

The carriage came to a stop outside of Madame Florez’s Atelier, where all of the wealthy women of Girona bought their dresses. Normally Lily’s measurements were kept on file, but after a sudden growth spurt and too many midnight biscuits, those measurements were out of date.

The atelier had several large windows at the front of the store and a large skylight in the ceiling, so as to let in as much natural light as possible. The walls were painted a pretty powder blue and matching curtains with petal pink headings were hung over each of the changing rooms. A circular dais was placed in the center of the room where clients stood for their fittings.

Madame Florez had inherited the shop from her mother, who inherited the shop from her mother. She was a curvy woman with tanned skin and a coif of shiny black curls. This morning she was wearing a beautifully tailored dress of dark blue with lace trim at the capped sleeves and bodice.

“Lady Wright, Lady Lily,” Madame Florez greeted as Lily followed her mother into the shop, Gizelle close behind her. “Right on time as always.”

Lady Catarina and Madame Florez quickly kissed each other’s cheeks before the latter turned to Lily.

“It seems our little flower has begun to bloom,” she said, though not with the thinly veiled malice Lady Catarina usually used. Still, Lily felt her cheeks grow hot all the same and she absentmindedly played with the golden bangle at her wrist.

“Yes,” Lady Catarina said, eyeing her daughter with distaste. “Something slimming would be preferred if you please, Madame. Seeing as my daughter can’t keep herself out of the kitchen.”

Lily felt her eyes begin to burn at the jab. Madame Florez gestured to the dais.

“Why don’t you hop on and I’ll get your measurements,” she said quickly. “Lady Wright, perhaps you might want to start looking at fabrics?”

Lady Catarina hummed in response and headed towards the rolls of fabric kept at the back of the store. Gizelle gave Lily a sympathetic smile before following her mother.

“Up you get,” Madame Florez said pleasantly, extending a hand to help Lily up. She pulled a pink measuring tape from her pocket and unfurled it before stepping up onto the dais with her. While she worked, Madame Florez asked Lily various questions, like if she had started courting anyone? Was she excited for Princess Zara’s return? Did she perhaps want a new corset as well?

As she finished taking the measurements, Lady Catarina called over from the fabrics. “I think this one will do.” She pointed to a roll of seafoam blue satin with little beads embroidered into it. The color would look very pretty against Lily’s hair.

“An excellent choice,” Madame Florez said cheerfully, though Lily assumed that was because the embroidered fabrics cost more.

Once Lady Catarina had selected the pattern for the dress, they were on their way, with Madame Florez promising that the dress would be ready for a final fitting in two days. With generations of dressmaking in her blood, she was incredibly fast.

Lily followed her mother out of the store, shielding her eyes from the sun as they stepped into the street, her bangle glinting in the light. There were even more people out and about then before.

“Hurry up Lily,” Lady Catarina snapped as she made her way towards the family carriage. “I have other errands to run today.”

With a sigh, Lily hurried after her mother when she bumped into a solid mass. Stumbling back she nearly fell over when a hand reached out and grabbed hold of her wrist. Looking up she felt her breath hitch as she looked into the eyes of a handsome young man.

“Pardon me, miss,” the man said with a wink. “I nearly toppled you over.”

The man was tall with sandy blond hair and grey eyes, one of which was bruised black. There was a slight gap between his top front teeth when he grinned.

“No, I”m sorry,” Lily stammered out, feeling incredibly warm. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

From the carriage Lady Catarina yelled out, “today Lily!”

“I have to go,” Lily said quickly, pulling her hand out from the stranger’s grasp. “Terribly sorry.” With that she dashed away, scrambling into the carriage and not bothering to look back at the man.

As she fell into her seat, smoothing out the folds of her skirt, her mother was chastising her for keeping her waiting. As she reached to play with her bangle, she was surprised to find it missing. She looked down on the ground of the carriage to see if it had slipped off. When she didn’t find it she looked back up at the man, who was watching her from the street. As the carriage took off, he held up a hand which displayed her bracelet dangling from his index finger. With a twirl of his hand, he slipped his hand in his pocket and walked off down the street, Lily watching in shock as his back disappeared into the crowd.