I blinked as I awoke from an oddly dreamless sleep. Given everything I’d been through recently, I thought there would have been something to disturb my sleep. The ceiling above me was still unfamiliar, one of many things to get used to. I’d have time enough to study it later, I needed to give a good impression today.
Opening my eyes fully, I saw a lock of ginger hair partially obscuring my vision. Brushing it out of my face, I felt how it was now tangled up with all the rest of my hair. Ignoring it for the moment, I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. The plush bed below me shifted with my lithe weight, reminding me how much more comfort I was going to be living in now.
Looking around, I got some better bearings of my new room. It was much larger than I was used to, with the ceiling out of reach and a shuttered window. There was a dresser and a small wardrobe opposite the side of the room from the bed, and plenty of room to stand up. I could host a small party here if I wanted to.
Getting up, I decided to first open the window. Instead of the usual morning sun to greet me though, I saw a red moon hanging in the sky. Was it like that when I got here? No, wait, that was a blue moon. Did that mean anything? I had so many questions, hopefully I could get at least one answer before the day, or night, was over.
With the red light illuminating my room, I walked over to the wardrobe and found my old adventuring clothes hanging up. With nothing else to pick from, I went ahead and put them on. It was weird feeling them all over my much smaller form, not to mention how it felt like every touch against my skin was magnified thrice over.
The clothes had been hemmed in quite a bit, but were still quite loose. Though I was no seamstress, I guess there was only so much one could do with hemming alone. My attention was drawn away from that though by the hair I flipped out of my tunic, still a tangled mess.
Turning to the dresser, I checked the top drawer and found all sorts of beauty products. Ignoring most of them, I found the brush and brought it up to my hair. The pulling sensation was foreign to me, making me grimace when I reached a particularly tough knot in my hair. Why did it have to be so long?
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Once I felt it was brushed over for the most part, I looked down to see just how long it was. Brushed over a shoulder, it still reached my navel in fiery red cascades made ever deeper by the reddening light. As it draped over my new curves, I found it difficult to remember just how different I had been not one day prior.
Not sure what I should be doing at this moment, I sat back down on the bed, recounting the events of yesterday. I was meant to be the heiress now. Technically, I wasn’t the princess, as I wasn’t related to the queen by blood. But, I was going to be the next in line to a kingdom I knew shockingly little about. For what I had been assigned to do, I was given shockingly little information. Perhaps that was by design? Or perhaps my old allegiance didn’t have any more information to give? My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Are you awake, dear? I’ve come to assist you in getting ready,” the voice from the other side called. Stern and assured of themselves, but gentle and deferential.
“Yes, I did my best to get ready as well.” My voice shocked me, being the first time I had spoken with it. A dulcet alto that lilted musically of its own accord. “You may come in,” I added when I realized the person on the other side was likely waiting for me to give permission.
It seemed they had been, as the door opened gracefully the moment I gave permission. On the other side was a tall woman in what I could vaguely recall as a maid’s uniform, not that I had much familiar with the standards of dress for servants. Her raven-colored hair was tied up in a tight bun, and kept her dark eyes free of any troublesome stray hairs. As she entered the room, she gave a small curtsy to me before scanning me over.
“We’ll need to teach you how to properly take care of yourself. It is clear your routine is lacking in several areas.” I was going to protest, but had to agree with her. I was wholly unfamiliar with how to take care of such a delicate body. “For today, it will work. Anyone else will likely believe you to be a newcomer with clothes like that anyway. At least your hair looks smooth.”
I nodded silently, letting her continue to rattle off what sounded like an agenda for the day for me. It must’ve been clear my eyes were glazing over though when she cleared her throat. “I can see you aren’t accustomed to such details, so I shall refrain from going over everything once more. We’ll begin with a visit to the queen in her throne room, as she is expecting you. After that, she has asked that you join me during my morning errand run to get you measured for a proper wardrobe.”
“Got it, meet the queen, go shopping for clothes.” The maid clearly didn’t like how dismissive my summary sounded, but she didn’t press the topic further.
“In that case, I would be glad to show you the way to the throne room.”
“That would be nice, thank you,” I agreed as I stood from the bed to follow her.