The Night Rider

Chapter 80

'Wake up birthday girl'. My eyes open and look into the blue eyes of Noa.  For a moment I lose track of where and with whom I am, then I notice that Noa is already dressed. Neatly dressed in black clothes, which I don't think are his. It's a pair of neat, tight trousers, a black blouse with silver decorations and finally a jacket that is shorter at the front than at the back. On his jacket there are several decorations and pins, including one of the coat of arms of the royal family.

'What time is it?', I ask slowly as I straighten myself. Around one. I look at him in surprise and feel irritated at the fact that he didn't wake me up earlier. 'Why didn't you wake me up earlier?' I slam the covers off me, swishing my legs off the mattress. 'One because we have a long evening ahead of us and you could use some extra sleep, two because it wasn't necessary. Everyone is busy preparing for the party so it's chaotic'.

I nod understandingly and stand up. I want to walk to the closet to get dressed but Noa stops me. 'My mother insists that you come to the dressing room'. I smile small and already see Chea completely in front of me, commanding her son. 'Then there's no time to lose'. Noa nods and grabs the dressing gown from the hanger. He holds the silk coat out to me, I put my hands through the openings and let the fabric hang over my body.

Noa holds out his hand to me, I take hold of it and let myself drift away. Together we walk down the corridor to the changing room, where Noa had taken me earlier. Servants rush along the corridors, full of decorations and other things in their hands. It's a bustle not often seen here. I have no idea what they have planned for tonight, who is coming or what the room looks like.

All I know is that I'm not going to get into that bed again. Noa stops at the door and opens it with his free hand. The room full of fabrics, diamonds and silver comes into my view. Chea is standing by a rack, dressed in a beautiful dark blue dress. As soon as she hears the door open she turns around. She smiles friendly and comes walking towards us. 'Congratulations' She makes a small bow through her legs. I smile gratefully. 'Thank you'. I nod my head.

'Noa if you'll excuse me, I'd like to borrow your blood relative for a moment'. Noa and Chea don't necessarily have a very close relationship but one full of respect for each other. They can laugh together, have intense conversations and respect each other. Noa lets his hand slip from mine and puts it on my lower back 'naturally'. Chea extends her hand to me and leads me into space. I look back a few times and see Noa smile again, before disappearing into the corridor.

Chea lets go of my hand and closes the door. I follow the bloody woman's movements. 'Your eighteenth birthday is something we should celebrate, big time. I was thinking of red'. The woman's blue heels tap on the wooden floor. She walks to a rack full of red dresses, runs her fingers over the fabric.

Her eyes shoot from me, back to the dresses. I am standing in the middle of the room watching. She seems to be looking carefully at which one fits her image, touching each dress briefly. She picks a dress from the rack and holds it in front of her face, a smile appears on her lips and she nods approvingly. With the dress over her arm, she walks in my direction. This must be it. She holds it out to me and I gratefully accept it. I walk towards the dressing up area without saying a word and hang the dress on the rack, closing the curtain.

I take off my dressing gown and the shirt, which I suspect is Noa's, and get into the dress. With difficulty I step into the dress, so much low fabric it seems to have. I pull the thing over my arms and upper body. 'Can you manage' I try to close the clasp myself but I can't manage. 'Would you mind closing it,' I ask. Almost immediately the curtain opens and Chea appears in the mirror in front of me. Carefully she starts closing the buttons on my back.

After the last button, she gently slides her hands down my arms. She looks at me in the mirror, smiling. 'Come, you can see it better there'. She slides the curtain aside and steps out of the small room. I grab hold of the skirt of the dress to prevent myself from reaching my destination without a scratch, my bare feet sliding across the wooden floor to the mirror.

I stand next to Chea and take in the dress. The dress is dark red, almost burgundy. The upper body is completely covered with red stones, there is a lace pattern on it that can be compared to leaves running down the skirt. The skirt is made of a red silk, it seems to float through the air. The silk is divided into several layers so that you cannot see my legs. The dress drags a bit behind me. It's not a candyfloss, but rather a long drag that falls down gracefully.

'Do you like it?', Chea asks excitedly. I nod immediately, it really is beautiful. Chea disappears from my sight and returns a few seconds later with two red heels in her hand. The heels are set with the same red stones. She puts them in front of me and helps me into the heels. 'Do you know who this dress belonged to?' I look at Chea in surprise and shake my head 'It was the dress Chanel wore at her coronation'.