Vicious Femmes (a Percy Jackson AU)

Mantles and Marks

"Ooh, look at this bolt of cloth!" Silena said, cooing at the pretty bolt of linen.
"That's too simple," Drew said with a wrinkle of her nose. "Choose something else."
Silena looked crestfallen, but she continued looking through the bolts of fabrics. I was atounded by the assortment of goods in Arachne's shop. Arachne was a tall, thin woman with sharp eyes and a perpetual sneer on her face, but the goods in her shop more than made up for her unpleasant attitude.
     "Drew, why couldn't Silena buy the linen?" I asked.
     "Well you wouldn't order a new dress to be made for you without getting your friends' approval first?" she asked with a frown. "Would you?"
     "No," I said, though I had never had to do that before.
     In the countryside, Helen and I stitched our own garments. We didn't go to fancy places and have tailors make dresses for us that we were capable of sewing ourselves. We didn't have to ask our neighbors to approve of our clothes, as long as they were modest enough. I missed the countryside and it's simplicity sometimes. Things had made sense here. At court, nothing seemed as it was.
     It took nearly three hours for us just to pick our fabrics out. It took another half hour for us to be measured. The problem was that Drew vetoed nearly everything her friends and I picked out. I realized she wanted us to dress nicely, but also less lavishly than she did. She wanted to be the belle of the ball, but we had to look nice beside her.
In the end, Nancy chose out a deep green bolt of velvet and black wool to be made into a dress and a kirtle. Silena commissioned a dress and a kirtle to be made out of pink wool and cotton. I chose out a bolt of grey satin and lavender-colored beads to be sewn into the bodice of my gown. Drew ordered a purple dress with silk and satin. It was opulent and expensive and daring of her.
*****
Drew was late to breakfast. Sometimes she cane a few minutes late to get extra attention, but the meal was half-finished when she came in. She was wearing a fine dress, blue and white with long, intricate sleeves. Unlike usual, however, she was wearing a deep blue mantle that covered all of her hair. Most of her forehead and a good deal of her cheeks and chin was obscured by the mantle. I could also tell she was wearing a lot of powder because her face looked especially chalky.
     "Drew, why are you wearing powder and a mantle today?" Nancy said.
      "Yeah, you're not allowed to wear mantles on Mondays," Silena said. "Those are the rules."
     "I made the rules," Drew said. "They're not real."
     "They were real when you didn't let me sit with you because I was wearing a ribbon in my hair," Silena said.
     "That's because it was the ugliest thing I had ever seen," Drew said.
      "You can't sit with us," Nancy said.
      "I'm wearing this mantle because my complexion is spotty," Drew said, looking about ready to cry. "My skin has been horrible lately."
      "You can't sit with us!" Nancy shrieked. "Get out!"
      Drew looked about ready to argue, but she got up and left. She bumped into someone.
     "Get out of my way, you ugly toad," the woman said rudely.
    Everyone laughed and Drew left. As I cleared out of the dining room, Silena and Nancy
followed me.
     "What are we doing Friday?" Nancy asked.
       "Well, my parents are coming to visit," I'm going to spend the time with them.
     I saw their downcast faces and I added, "But I'm sure I can get out of it."
    They both smiled at me. It felt strange. Was I the new Queen Bee?