Ailith forgot to breathe.That same delicate embroidery was stitched along the back, on either side of the laces that criss-crossed down and tied at the waist.
This was no mere dress.This was a work of art.Had Ailith seen this dress displayed in some history museum?She easily could have – it was that divine.
“Since the dress was your mother’s, initially,” Sine said as she pointed to different parts of the gown, “we added the embroidery and the sash and removed the tight sleeves for the draping ones.”
Her mother’s gown.
Ailith’s chest ached at those words.Her own mother, when she was still Emilie, had died when she was a girl, and she had figured out that Ailith had the same fate – a mother taken too young.She could almost imagine that this gown was her own mother’s, that if she had never come from the future, she’d wear that dress to her own wedding one day.
Blinking back a sudden rush of hot tears, she stepped to the dress and touched the sleeve that Sine held out to her.
“See?Your mother will yet be present on your wedding day,” Muire said, coming up behind Ailith and hugging her shoulders.
“Shall we keep it here?Ye can dress here, we will aid ye with your hair, and the feast will be below.Ye can even have your belongings brought on the morrow and reside here tomorrow eve.”Sine’s face glowed in her planning.
Muire giggled.“‘Twould be what William prefers.”
A broad smile broke Ailith’s lips, and again she had to blink back tears.When she had traveled back in time, she hadn’t thought of having friends again, a world that might make her comfortable.She had been prepared for the worst, and now that the mad king was dead and there was hope for the unity of the clans of Alba and her mushrooms, Ailith could enjoy a measure of peace and delight.
Och, the gown and lassies boasting about it gave Ailith such surprise delight.
She nodded.Their idea was sound and a sight better than getting ready for her wedding day with Mairi and her austere stare.
Would her brother agree?Most likely, anything to unite the clans.Being a pawn in the game of politics didn’t sit well with Ailith, but with a husband like William, she could abide it.
“Seocan should be more than agreeable,” Ailith told them as she continued to marvel at the gown.Muire untied the laces at the back and removed the dress from the frame.
“Come,” she said.“Off with your kirtle.Let us see if this gown looks as fine on ye as it does on this frame.”
Sine helped Ailith remove her borrowed kirtle, and Ailith stepped into the gown.It was like transforming into a princess from a fantasy.Muire yanked tightly on the laces, securing the back.Sine gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.
“Och, Ailith,” she whispered behind her hands, “ye look like a queen.”
Once she was laced in, Muire adjusted the sleeves, and they led her to the elongated mirror.
The vision reflected back to Ailith was something from a dream.It was Ailith, her own form that she had grown used to in the last month, but this image appeared far different.More Ailith, if possible.The deep green brought out the brilliance of her mossy green eyes and made her dark red tresses stand out in stark relief, like a water sprite from the deepest Scottish loch.
Her breasts pushed upward from the scooped neckline, offering a gentle curve of her cleavage for view, and the skirts caught on her hips, falling in a perfect line to the floor.The filmy sleeves brushed against the back of her hands.And the embroidery seemed to stand out from the fabric, demanding attention to both the artistry of the gown and to the woman who wore it.
Truly, she looked like a marvel.
“Ye are as the goddess Brigid,” Sine whispered behind Ailith, her own eyes riveted onto the mirrored image.“Your hair rivals the flame as ye rival her beauty.”
“William will no’ wait for the wedding feast to end.Mark my words, ye will take ye to his chambers, your chambers, and secure this joining before ye make it to the main hall.”
Ailith’s lips twisted in Muire’s wry assessment, but the lass wasn’t wrong.
“As much as I’d like to admire ye all day, we should undress ye.William will return soon to take ye to your brother.”Muire moved quickly, leaning forward to kiss Ailith’s cheek.“But when ye return, ye shall no’ leave again and become a sister of ours in full.I cannae wait.”
The young women giggled again, then helped Ailith out of the divine gown.
Sisters.
She’d never had sisters.And now she was to have two.
Aye, such changes she had never considered.
And as she gazed upon the two smiling women hanging up her wedding gown, Ailith was grateful for it.
