Afterlife

06 | The Boisterous Boys Are Back Again

My eyes squinted in concentration as I looked at the biggest challenge in the castle.

The shower.

A week in this castle, and I still can't figure out how to use this damn thing. I either feel like I just dove into antarctic waters naked, or I am in the fiery pits of hell.

I guess the second one isn't that off.

Well, you know what they say. 6th time is the charm. My hand gingerly touches the handle; it is cold to the touch, which I pray is not a sign. After a deep breath, I gather the courage to pull open the tap. After that, there was a lot of explicit language, before I shut it off. It was hot.

Hot as hell.

-☠ -

Gratefully, I grab my towel from the rack. This was my private bathroom, but I always felt the need to check before using. I always keep it at the top, and my sister used to keep it at the bottom. That way we never used each other's towels. The thought of Amara made me let out a small sigh. I don't know how she is doing without me. We might not have been the closest sisters, but we were always there for each other. Now, who does she have? My parents?

I almost laugh at the idea. My parents wouldn't give a second thought to her feelings. They would be more worried about the press than the fact that their daughter is dead.

Dead.

The word feels unfamiliar. A new territory to explore.

I get back to drying myself off before wrapping the blue towel around my body. Looking in the mirror, I twirled around. I used to do this when I was little, but it still had the same effect today. In reality, the towel hung limply, but in my mind, it felt like an elegant gown. It was silly, but it brought me some well-needed memories.

"AHHH!" I shriek at the sight of Laurence sprawled across my bed, and William standing over him.

"Put some clothes on!" Laurence breaks the silence as he now sits up to face me. "No one wants to see that." William laughs, while my face scrunches up in annoyance.

"What are you two doing here?" I ask, pulling my towel up a little higher than before. They were like bugs that wouldn't leave.

"Well," William says, "The queen asked us-the wisest men of the land-to be you, advisors." I raise an eyebrow in disbelief. Last time I checked, these two idiots were the farthest thing from wise. "Ok, those may not have been her exact words, but you get the point. Anyways, our first task is to get you ready for your 18th birthday ball."

"18th birthday ball?" I counted the days I have been here and realized today is my birthday. That made me miss the human world even more. I wanted to spend time with Amara today. I wanted to eat her famous M&M pancakes. I most definitely did not want to go to some birthday bash.

"Yes, it is a right of passage where you get your job," Laurence explains while eating the fruit sitting on one of the stands in my massive room. "For most people, it is just a letter in the mail, but now that you are a royal, you get a ball."

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. At least it would take my mind off of all the other problems in my life.

Would it be in my death now?

I ignored my random thoughts and nodded. "So what do we need to do first?" I asked cheerily. If I act happy, maybe I will be happy.

"All we really need to do is pick out your outfit," Said William, as he led me to my dresser on the far right of the room. He placed my hands on the golden knobs of the dresser. "Now, close your eyes and think of a dress."

I close my eyes and imagine the first one that comes to mind. When I dresser opens in sync with my eyes and reveals-

Elsa's dress. As in from Frozen.

I slap my forehead in annoyance at how my brain works, but they stare with awe.

"Wow, from your PJ's I didn't think you would be a great dresser, but this is beautiful," William gushes. Laurence gets up to join him, and both of the caress the delicate fabric. I have to admit, Disney does have good fashion designers.

"Is this the one you want?" Laurence asks, before grabbing the dress from the dresser. Ignoring the fact that the dress had magically appeared from my thoughts, and I am copying a dress from an angsty Disney character, I nod. I'm dead. What've I got to lose.

"Ok, then we have to head down to the salon downstairs so we can fix-" William pauses for a second to scan me up and down. "-that," He gestures to my face.

I scowled and he smiled back as Laurence threw an outfit in my hands.

"Get dressed. We don't want to be late!" William snapped and I hurried off to change. In my hands were ripped blue jeans and a plain pink sweater that was a bit longer on the back.

"Can I get something else?" I asked, pointing at the magical dresser. They share a look I couldn't understand before nodding.

I grabbed the handles and closed my eyes. Soon enough, the dresser opened and I saw two gold necklaces. Both had matching hearts with two A's etched in. Carefully, I picked up the lockets and clipped them on.

They were already my favorite birthday gift.

-☠ -

"You look stunning!" Yolanda-my new personal stylist- squealed as she spun my chair around. "I turned a piece of trash into a masterpiece," She sighed, wiping a fake tear from her eye. Ignoring the last comment, I had to admit that she had done quite a number on me. I wasn't really one for makeup, but she made the whole look so natural.

Of course, I had no clue how, but that is what Yolanda is here for!

"Thanks, exprienceYolanda." I smiled gratefully, but she waved it off.

"I should be saying thank you!" She cried, throwing her hands up in the hair. "You got me out of that dinky job in that 2nd class salon." She rolled her eyes at the thought of it and helped me get out of my chair.

"I think that was Laurence and William." I turned to point at them, only to see them enjoying their oexperience. Both were in pink bathrobes and had a green concoction smeared over their faces. Laurence was eating the cucumbers and William looked peeved.

"I swear to god, will you ever stop eating!" William snapped. Laurence chomped on another loudly in front of William.

"No!" Laurence shook his head as if it was the obvious answer. "You should be thanking me."

"How so?" William snatched Laurence's cucumber out of his hands.

"I'm helping with that diet of yours. This way I am putting on the weight for both of us." Laurence grinned and William's face soon had a similar expression.

"I can't argue with that!"

I may be surrounded by doofuses, but they are lovable doofuses.

Yolanda rolled her eyes, and I laughed. It felt nice and strange at the same time. A new feeling bubbled up inside me. I felt nervous and excited. For the future, for the party, for my new friends. And for once I wasn't thinking about my past. 

_______________________________________________________________________________

I haven't updated in so long. 

But I am back! And I got a runner's up sticker for humor in the Emerald Awards! So that was pretty amazing. 

Anyways, I know my past and present tense is the worst, so I going to go back and edit for that. Wish me luck! 

I hope you like this chapter. I decided to bring William and Laurence back because I love them too much. This was sort of a filler, but next chapter is going to be the big party! 

Nos Vemos

-Sasha