A Bushel of Lies - A Snow White Saga

05 | FIVE

"Ohh... Prilyna, you are as beautiful as summer wine on a warm sunny day. As beautiful as a blooming orchid in May. As perfect as a snowflake amongst the flurries. Mwah! Perfemout!"

Evelyn blushed graciously on cue; an art she had trained herself in over the years. Standing in front of the mirror, she felt like a goddess; stationary in a stunning gown that accentuated every dip and curve of her body and had more than two billion tiny crystals sewn into the fabric. Whenever Evelyn shifted, her whole gown sparkled as the crystals caught the candlelight and shimmered with the light of the sun.

The shimmering, pearly white fabric fell over Evelyn's form, highlighting her emerald eyes and pale skin to an unearthly amount. Her skin needed not a drop of makeup, but handmaidens had still stained Evelyn's already red lips an even darker mauve shade, and brushed her eyelashes with a dark serum. A crystal snowflake connected to her dress framed Evelyn's curvaceous body like beautiful snowy-white wings. A long train trailed from the dress, looking like it was made of snowflakes and connected with a sheer iridescent fabric.

The dress itself was all shades of blue - icy blue, light blue, navy blue, midnight blue, azure blue, cobalt blue, cyan, etc - and pearly, milky, snowy white. An ice crown rested on Evelyn's head, and strands of sparkly white thread were woven through her dark hair, which was left loose and cascading down her shoulders.

Evelyn knew, without a doubt, that she looked alluring and simply exquisite.

She also knew someone was missing from the beautiful moment.

Where is Rynia? Glancing around in a futile attempt to catch sight of her sister, Evelyn shifted and her gown sparkled. Her lips pursed, Evelyn's forehead creasing as she stared at the door; as if by wishing intently enough Rynia might appear.

"Mr. Kroln?"

The thin tailor, who was doing last-minute alterations, tried to talk around his mouthful of pins. However, when he tried to say, 'Yes Prilyna,' it come out more as a gargled; "Lels Prmial?"

Evelyn forged on, taking his jumbled words as a symbol to continue. "Where is my sister, Rynia? Isn't she going as the season of Earth?"

Mr. Kroln removed the pins in his mouth to speak, smoothing out any wrinkles on Evelyn's gown. He started resewing a loose crystal on the hem of her dress, his concentration purely focused on his masterpiece.

"Yes, yes, Prilyna Rynia is going as earth, astonishing deduction. I made her dress myself you know - the beads and gold lace, and the pale blue and green fabrics, mwah!" Mr. Kroln puckered his lips, making a Mwah! sound as he blew a kiss to the invisible air. "The hemming, and the mirror detailing, and all the colors - ohh! The colors of spring. Ahh... I put my heart and soul into all my designs, but I had some of the most fun with hers, you see. Ohh! And wait until you see the cape detailing..."

"Mr. Kroln," Evelyn interrupted. He could tend to get into a fray when talking about his true children - the clothes he designed and sewed with his own two hands. "I know my sister's dress will be simply gorgeous; stunning really, but do you know where she is?"

Mr. Kroln shrugged, placing the pins aside. "Yublun nilra," Mr. Kroln faltered, which meant 'No idea' in his native Klomiain language. Evelyn harrumphed, disappointed but keeping her mouth shut. She would find Rynia before the Festival of Seasons, even if she missed the entire festival itself.

A few minutes later and after a tornado of maids bustling through, Evelyn was all ready for the festival with mere minutes to spare. Wasting no time, Evelyn thanked Mr. Krolan ("No, no Prilyna! Don't go searching for Princess Rynia, your dress will suffer consequences. You do not want to ruin my hard work, do you?" He fretted), had to endure the bowing procession from the maid as she exited, and finally, dashed towards her sister's chamber. Her dress fanned out behind her as she ran, twinkling as brightly as the stars.