The next morning, I was awoken before sunrise by Myrtle.

“Get up, my lady! We have a tea party to get to and you don’t have a dress,” Myrtle huffed, quickly opening up the curtains as if that would do something. The sky pitch black, the moon and stars still shining. I was supposed to have my own set of dresses at the castle, though they were still in the process of being made. The king swore that by my next visit they would be ready. To me, it wasn’t much of a necessity anyway as nowadays I mostly spend it in the silky holy robes at the cathedral.

I rose from my bed, following Myrtle into my morning bath. She tested the water, gently cupping some in her hand. She stood there for a moment, then let go of it with a flick of her wrist.

“Your bath is ready, my lady,” she confirmed, staring at me as I undressed.

I slipped out of my nightgown, letting it fall to the floor. I took a step forward, raised my leg and dipped my toes in tentatively before submerging my whole leg. In came the other, and then I sat, sinking quickly to the bottom of the tub. For a moment, I let myself linger under the water, before raising my head back up for air. Myrtle washed my hair, her fingers threading in between my pink locs, massaging freshly made soap into my scalp. I’ve grown used to bathing with a stranger now, it was my new life after all. Myrtle isn’t really a stranger anymore. Myrtle is Myrtle.

We spent twenty minutes in the tub, and once Myrtle determined I was clean enough she fetched me my towel. The towel was a soft linen, thin but got the job done. I wrapped myself around it, my wet hair dripping as I walked back into the bedroom. I only had one dress in this castle, the wine-stained banquet dress. It was bound to happen, the story dictated it to be. I can’t help but frown on the inside when I look at it. Such a pretty white dress forever stained red on the side.

The dress, now being laid out onto my bed by Myrtle, looked much more different than when I last saw it. Instead of it being all white, it was now a merlot red.

“We dyed it after the banquet. It would have been a shame to simply let it hang if it was stained,” Myrtle explained, noting that I had been staring at the newly colored dress. I’m glad she felt the same way I did.

“It’s better this way. The red is gorgeous,” I replied, running a hand down its skirt.

Myrtle fetched me my undergarments. She tightened my corset, just enough so I could breath and helped me into my frilly bloomers. The dress slipped on like a glove, its top clinging to my body yet the bottom folding out. Today I wore no petticoat, so the dress looked flatter than when I wore it last but it still fluffed a decent amount. Once the dress was on, I walked to my vanity and sat down.

Myrtle passed a brush through my hair, simply unknotting it.

“No hairstyle today?” I asked, curious as to why she stuck with leaving my hair so simple.

“There’d be no point. We have to get your dress, and fitting it would probably mess up anything I did.”

Ah, so I wasn’t going to wear this dress? At least that explains why she woke me so early. We’re going to get a dress today before the tea party. I stood up, making my way out my room, Myrtle to my side.

“When is the tea party?”

“Past 3, though it’s common courtesy to arrive earlier. We should have you there by 2.”

I nodded, making it out of the halls into the main entryway of the castle. Two looming staircases closed in on my sides as we walked towards the gate. There sat a carriage waiting for me.

By the time we arrived at the town square, the sun had finally begun to rise. The skies were painted shades of blush and orange and the peeking sun provided some sunlight. Though sunlight wasn’t all that necessary, as there were now streetlights that lit the square. Were those always there?

“What are those, Myrtle?” I asked, head tilted in the direction of the lamp post.

“Street lights, my lady. They were recently made by some alchemists. Now, we don’t have to just rely on the sun for light. Isn’t it marvelous?” She explained, smiling softly as she stared into the light.

I took a closer look at the posts. They were normal looking. Tall, with a glass head. Inside, however, were candles.

“Won’t they go out?”

Myrtle shook her head. “They come on with the sunset and off with the sunrise. The alchemist managed to make it go with the current time,” she explained, turning a street corner as we made it to a small district of shops.

The one we stopped at was particularly big. It was two stories tall, its window large with a display case. It held a mannequin, with a poofy dress you’d see on a princess. It was a peony pink, with frills on its sleeves and bows on its ends. Myrtle held the door open for me, leading me into this shop.

A girl about my age stood next to a mannequin, hands busy looping the needle and thread through the seams of one of the dresses. Her auburn curls covered her face, falling to the side. When we entered, a small bell chimed alerting our presence. The girl curtsied, looking up quickly to greet her guest. She paused, her eyes suddenly going wide at the realization that the saintess had arrived at their boutique.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

“Oh my, greetings Lady Catalina!”

I smiled softly at the girl, assenting with a small half-nod.

“Lady Catalina?” A different voice called, this one much deeper in tone. It belonged to an older woman, who revealed herself walking out of a doorway with a beaded curtain. She had auburn curls like the girl, yet she had wrinkles on her foreheads and small folds near her lips. She stood next to her apprentice, curtsying herself in greeting.

“Greetings, Lady Catalina. I’m Madame Winnie. It is a pleasure to serve our empire’s saintess,” she lifted her head, stepping forward, eyes trained on me.

“What brings you to our boutique, dear lady?” Madame asked, the wrinkles around her mouth folding as she spoke.

“A tea party. We’d like a dress suitable for the occasion,” Myrtle spoke up, glancing at me through her peripherals in confirmation.

She nodded along. “When do you need it?”

“Preferably by today. Before noon.”

Madame raised an eyebrow, cocking her head in slight confusion. “You want me to make a dress in 6 hours?”

Myrtle simply shrugged. “I don’t suppose it's impossible.”

There was a brief moment of silence as the tailor considered the offer. “Alright. I’ll do it.”

She spun on her heels, quickly walking back to the beaded room.

“Adriana, please measure the lady,” She called, and the girl quickly shuffled around. She dug inside some drawers before pulling out a tape measure. She folded her hand to us, fingers curling in and out signaling we could come forward.

Myrtle and I followed through, stopping in front of her. She wrapped the measure around my waist, then my arms, and my hips. She grabbed a quill and jotted it down in a small, leather spined notebook.

Once my measurements were taken, Madame returned with a sketch. Myrtle approved it, passing it to me. I stared at it for a moment before nodding as well. The sketch was handed back to Myrtle, who handed it back to Madame.

“Is there a particular color palette or theme to this tea party?”

“Yes. With Lady Antebellum, the dress code is always floral and spring-like.”

That wasn’t written on the invitation. Had she expected I would know?

The Madame nodded, unspinning a roll of fabric.

“This’ll do?”

Myrtle and I nodded in unison.

Once the tricky details had been sorted out, it was just waiting for the dress. Not only was the Madame making it, but so was the girl, and three other women were brought in to ensure the dress was made in time. Myrtle and I sat at the boutique, reading one of the books that were laid out on a small coffee table. By the time they were done, the sun was beaming and the streets of the plaza had grown busy.

“Thank you, Madame. It’s perfect,” I smiled, holding up the dress.

“Nothing but the best for our lady,” the Madame replied, a grin on her face matching mine. Myrle dropped a sack of coins on the table, turning to me.

“We are running out of time, my lady. We must head back quickly.”

We returned back to the castle, wasting no time in getting me ready. Myrtle had my hair in a loose mermaid braid, which trailed past my shoulders and down into my middle back. My makeup was done, painting my lips and cheeks a rosy red. She helped me into my dress, tightening its corset. I stood in front of the mirror, admiring the work she’d done.

The dress from the Madame was a light teal, which bordered on being a pale minty color. Its bust was full of bows, down to my waist in which my dress parted on with frills opening up to a skirt. Its sleeves were double-layers of frill, stacked against each other.

With the clock ticking just past once, we raced against time to arrive at Lady Antebellum’s manor. It was a longer ride, her estate bordering on the outskirts of the capital. It was far away enough for our views changing from rows of houses and busy streets to rolling open planes.

When we arrived, I was escorted out of the carriage by the butler of Antebellum manor. He was tall, with ash colored hair and a charming smile, the only sign that could tick this man off as older were the fine wrinkles which were beginning to form on his forehead.

“Lady Catalina of Opal?” He asked, taking my hand to steady me as I placed my feet on the ground.

“Yes sir. That would be me.”

He curtsied, hands behind his back.

“Then please follow me. The tea party is this way.”

I followed him down a winding stone path into the garden. It was a lush open space, the ground raked and free of the autumn leaves. We walked into a small patio in the middle of it, a large round table at its core. The seats surrounding it were filled with ladies, all absorbed in chatter. The butler turned away to leave, and just as he did so a girl noticed my presence.

“Greetings, Lady Catalina,” she smiled, head bowed for a brief moment. She had ginger ringlets framing her freckle-dotted face. Her lips were a soft, pouty pink and eyes a glistening blue. Her dress was a light pink that matched my hair.

“Welcome to my tea party, I’m Meredith Antebellum. It is a pleasure to have you here.”