Glass Slippers [1st Draft]

25. The Feast

Chapter Twenty-Five:

The Feast

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Three Days Later

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"Hold still," Sophia demanded, her words mumbled through a mouthful of hairpins as she wrestled with Clara's hair. Clara winced as Sophia tugged hard on a particular strand and had to fight to keep from heaving out a sigh.

Ever since Sophia decided that Clara would accompany her to the feast, Clara's life had been more than hectic. Between the antics of her siblings, the pressure of finding the right dress, the awkward conversations that she tried to start with Frederick, and the constantly energetic presence that was Sophia, Clara had not been having a good three days.

Harriet had actually broken a vase when she was practicing with her sword in James' bedroom, much to the amusement of Frederick and the horror of Clara. Clara had apologized repeatedly on Harriet's behalf to Frederick, but all he did was laugh and insist he had been trying to get rid of that vase for ages. Upon looking back, Clara could grudgingly agree that the vase was rather terrible.

The very next day after that, Clara was called in front of the Queen again, this time with Sophia with her, and barely got through the meeting without having a panic attack. The Queen had actually agreed, all the while looking at Clara as if she was particularly confused or puzzled. Clara didn't know what to think of the Queen's expression, but it made her uneasy.

On the same day, Sophia had taken it upon herself to drag Clara into her bedroom and force her to try on dresses that she had brought from Carigan. Unfortunately, Sophia was taller and curvier than Clara, so every dress dragged and was too big around the hips and chest areas. However, Sophia was determined to find Clara a dress "fit for a princess".

Eventually, Sophia "borrowed" a dress from one of the ladies in waiting that her father had appointed her, and she had been reasonably happy with the results, Clara was a little unsure about it though. She was having flashbacks to the ridiculous red dress Edina once wore.

"I'm still not sure about the dress," Clara said, earning herself a tug on the hair when she moved her head.

"Stop moving," Sophia said, tugging on her hair again, The princess had insisted on doing Clara's hair even though it really should've been the other way around with Clara doing Sophia's hair. "And don't be. The dress looks gorgeous."

"It's not exactly subtle," Clara responded.

"Good. If it was subtle no one would notice it. We want you to be noticed, we want you to be the only one who is noticed." Clara frowned at Sophia, meeting her eyes in the mirror. "Stop looking at me like that. Plus, the red looks lovely with your blonde hair, and really, the color isn't even that dark."

Clara still didn't agree with Sophia, but she let the princess do what she wanted to. Sophia probably knew best, it wasn't like Clara had much practice at events like this. Not to mention, Clara had only ever gotten ready with the help of magic so she didn't even have the slightest idea of how to go about doing her hair the right way or what was considered fashionable at court.

Though to be fair, Sophia wasn't wrong about how the dress looked on her. It did compliment her wavy blonde hair, and it brought out the color in her cheeks, making her look healthier than she had been in years. It was odd really.

"Alright. You're done," Sophia said, finally taking her hands away from Clara's hair. It was simply done, for which Clara was thankful for. If her hair had been extravagant as her dress, she wouldn't have felt very comfortable.