As promised, Camie takes care of Ochako in the little room that Miruko brought her last night. Camie surprisingly allows her to stay in Shouto's shirt for a few more hours, prioritizing any injuries that might need healing and feeding her. The girl lets out a whistle at the traces of burns on Ochako's arm, but is convinced that the healing magic that the Prince cast on her will eventually remove them for good.
"For now, I'mma use my own magic to cover that up." Camie purses her lips together and lets out a puff of air that covers Ochako's arm and makes it glow like porcelain. "See? Good as new. Now babes, I know you love that shirt, but you gotta get rid of it like, right now. We got work to do."
Ochako blushes. "I--I don't love this stupid old shirt," she mutters petulantly as she strips down.
"Mhm," Camie says, making a show of being unconvinced, before thoroughly having her own way with Ochako.
She wonders how long the servant-girl needs to make her presentable enough for the Prince of this country because she's sure that the sun is still up when they start the makeover. The serious look on Camie's face tells her that it's going to take them until sundown to finish.
She throws Ochako in a bath, scrubs her free of dirt, and covers her in fragrant oils. Then, she's tied up in a corset and made to wear about five different gowns, all of them lavish and rich and fit her like a glove. It takes a while for Camie to be satisfied, but when she finally is, she works on Ochako's hair, which takes hours and a hundred pins, and finally her face, which require an array of powders and rouges that looked like an Alchemist's workspace.
When the servant girl is done with her, the sun is already setting. She grins at the princess in satisfaction. "Well look at you, Princess. You are stunning. "
For the first time in the hours that they're together, Camie brings her excitedly to the mirror to show her the fruits of her labor.
Now, as a Princess of a kingdom (albeit a poor one), Ochako is used to being primped and dressed in luxurious garments of all sorts of styles and fashions. She is used to seeing her plain, round face transformed into a beautiful facade fit for any royal gathering. But she isn't prepared to see herself then--a dress that showed more skin than she's used to, in a shade of royal blue with stones that sparkle like the stars. Her hair is done up in an elegant bun, exposing the skin of her shoulders and back. She doesn't remember her eyes looking as dark and mysterious as they did then.
She looks beautiful , more than she can ever imagine. But...
"Yeah babe?"
All of this was designed to trick a Prince into falling for her. To trick a King into letting her live for one more day. To trick this kingdom into keeping the peace for a little while longer.
"Oh, baby..." Camie faces them away from the mirror and crouches to meet her brown eyes, all while she's trying her best not to feel pathetic and ruin Camie's hard work with her tears. "Sorry, I totes didn't notice that you were having a hard time. I shoulda been more sensitive."
She wanted to tell her that she's one of the first genuinely kind people she can trust in this castle, and that none of this was her fault, but Ochako can only say so many words. "I'm okay, Camie. I'm just... overwhelmed, but... thank you so much for treating me well."
Camie smiles at her warmly. "Princess, you're one of the bravest girls I've ever seen, so of course I'm gonna treat you well."
Was she really brave? All she's doing is letting others push her into things to keep on surviving.
Putting a sparkling diamond teardrop over her earlobe, Camie's gaze drops, white teeth chewing a full lip thoughtfully. "You know... you have no idea how hard it's been on all of us. Me and Tenya and 'Nasa... we met a lot of girls before you, and had to pretend to do terrible things to them, make them get rid of their names... it's an awful thing to lose your name, but before that, we didn't have the luxury of just pretending to do those terrible things, y'know? But we do it because we care for Shou. No-one deserves the pain he's going through, even though he seems convinced that he does...."
Manicured fingers tighten over Ochako's shoulders. Stunned, she can only watch as Camie looks back at her with watery eyes.
"Thank you... for not running away. You're giving us a lot of hope," the servant girl says with a pained smile. "Please take care of the Prince."
She isn't sure how it happens, but suddenly she's in Camie's arms and she's embracing her back. She feels the other woman's heart thudding in her chest and feels the honest trembling in her hands.
In the end, Ochako doesn't know if she's doing the right thing, but she does know that she needs to do her best.
