A New Generation

The Party

I squeezed my eyes shut, refusing to watch Erika lace up the back of my dress in the large mirror that adorned my wall. I could feel the tight corset sinking further into my rib cage the more she tugged on the strings. My body screamed in protest as she tied the strings and tucked them into the back of my dress. I was forced to suck myself in when she was going to button my dress up, but I had already retracted my lungs as much as possible.
"That's enough!" I cried, letting myself breathe and feeling the strings cut into my back as I let loose. Erika, reading the signs, quickly began to untie the strings. I reluctantly opened my eyes and turned to face the mirror.
How was this body the princess of Illéa? How could I be the princess of Illéa? And who would want to compete for me?

"Happy birthday!"

I was greeted by what sounded like about a dozen voices when I walked into the dining room. I jumped, but quickly composed myself before any pictures could be taken. But there were no cameras in the dining room, and once I looked around, no unfamiliar faces, either. I saw Mother, Father, my younger twin siblings Jack and Hope, my grandmother, my great uncles Ahren, Kaden, and Osten, my aunt Jade, and a few more friends of the family. Before I was consumed by the crowd, I wondered what mother had to go through to organize such a private and small event. By the looks of it, only about three dozen people were here. I was unused to such a small amount of people, and again I admired Mother's hard work.

I gasped and beamed. "Oh, Mother! You truly have outdone yourself this time!" I said breathlessly. I hugged her and kissed her gently on both cheeks. My mother had dark brown hair that fell to her shoulders in gentle waves. Her features were those that were once sharp and elegant, but now they seemed to be slightly blurred to create a soft but beautiful and more retired look. Her hazel eyes that she inherited from her own mother, the famous Eadlyn Schreave, shone brightly against her light olive skin tone. She was a mirror image of Grandmother, so much that I sometimes confuse the pair. It only saddened me a little bit for the first few years of my life that I looked absolutely nothing like them, instead I had reddish brown hair and light brown eyes with a twinge of green in them, but you wouldn't notice unless you really looked and had the perfect lighting. I think I take after my great grandmother, America Schreave, with my hair at least.

The dining room was decorated with gold balloons and matching streamers. The ceilings were draped with endless wires of fairy lights that shone brightly against the high ceilings despite their small size. There were chocolate fountains and heaping piles of strawberries, bananas, cake pops, and more. There were table piled with delicious pastries of all sorts, cakes, pies, and endless platters of chocolate eclairs (my personal favorite). I tore my eyes away from this tempting pile of goodies, reminding myself that if I wanted to get into the gown I was fitted for in a week, I needed to lay off the pastries. I was already overweight, but that could be fixed by the lighting and the position of the cameras. If I put on any more weight by next week, though, I will be humiliated.

By the first hour of the party, I had made my rounds. I had acknowledged everyone's existence and thanked them for attending. I was ready, however, to say hello to my best friend and even engage in good conversation. I was 18 years old today, not 28. I figured that I should be allowed to speak to my best friend without worrying about being proper and composed.

I looked around the room, looking for some eccentric colored gown. I knew that Allie would be using an opportunity like this to promote upcoming fashion line to her advantage. All of her designs so far were crazy and bright colors that you don't see anywhere - and despite the description, Allie had quite the knack for clothing design. She wanted to call her new line of ball gowns "Neon Sky by Allie". It was an interesting passion.

Allie didn't immediately stand out to me, but once I saw her, I was surprised that she wasn't the center of attention. She looked stunning - her hourglass physique neatly tucked into a nearly glowing neon teal gown. It had a sweetheart neckline and off-the-shoulder sleeves. At the waist, it flowed out like a waterfall, falling in delicate folds around her legs. Her platinum blonde hair cascaded in elaborate curls down her left shoulder and her eyes were painted with a turquoise/teal shadow that matched her dress perfectly. I've always been a little bit jealous of how effortlessly beautiful Allie is, and being a two, this always helped her career of a model before she became a designer. I walked up behind her and tapped her exposed shoulder.

Allie turned around and her face immediately broke into a smile at the sight of me. She squealed and jumped up, hugging me fiercely.

"Happy birthday Bree!" Allie cried through her smile. I grinned and hugged Allie back.

"Thanks Allie," I said as she relinquished her grip on me. "You look amazing. Is this Neon Sky by Allie?"

"Definitely. It's only a prototype of my newest design, but I hope to release it by next month," Allie said, smoothing out the front of her dress with her hands. I gasped and took them in my own.

"Allie!" I exclaimed, surveying her fingers. Her nails were at least an inch and a half long and painted the same teal as her dress. "Did you get these done just for this party?"

"Maybe..." Allie said, putting a finger to her chin.

"You always go way over the top," I said, shaking my head.

"It's only my specialty!"

"I have to agree," I surrendered.

"Ha. Well, what do you say we take advantage of those goodies over there? I know you want them."

"Stop it!" I cried, playfully nudging her away from me as we made our way over to the tables that were exploding with treats.

My smile was only on the outside, though, because what Allie said had really hurt. She was right, I was tempted by the food against my will. But something needed to happen about that. I was the princess of Illea and I needed to exercise some control over myself. Or my future would be forever tarnished.

Let me know how you like it and what I should do different/add!