AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER 11
See you tonight. Hope you like the dress.
-M
I couldn’t stop my jaw from hanging open as I looked at the “dress” lying on my bed beside the note Miles left.
“That’s it. I’m gonna kill him.”
Ancilla burst out laughing in the corner of the room at my reaction to the sinful attire I was expected to wear at dinner tonight. After I came back to my chambers from my rigorous training with Bennett, I explained to her that he ended up walking in on us while training with Stella. I reassured her that Bennett wouldn’t say a word and that I’d kill him before he even tried, but she just chuckled and ended up being the one to tell me not to worry.
I’d always admired that about Ancilla. That she could find the positives in every situation and could magically never worry. She was always so sure that everything would work out in the end. I didn’t understand how she did it, but I wish I knew.
“When he dropped that skimpy thing off, I told him he better hide,” Ancilla said. She continued to laugh as I slipped into the fabric quickly and ran over to the mirror in my vanity.
I gasped when I saw my appearance.
Ancilla put her hand over her mouth to hide her smile and said, “Oh, that boy is dead.”
The dress I wore could hardly be considered one with the amount of fabric it was made out of. The material was made of a black gossamer that was practically see through and didn’t leave much to the imagination. The neck of the dress plunged all the way to right above my navel, leaving two rather thin straps to cover my breasts and wrap around my neck. The dress was backless, forcing me to not wear any kind of corset for security reasons. While the dress was floor length, it didn’t matter much, considering there were two slits on either side of my legs that came up all the way to my hips, showing the full length of both of them.
I gaped at myself in the mirror and just how much skin I was showing. I had never worn something this skimpy, nor would I have allowed myself to, and to think I would be wearing this in front of other people. . .and on a throne?
Stars have mercy on me.
“I know you might not want to hear it, but you do look quite stunning,” Ancilla reassured me, “but if you don’t feel comfortable wearing it then I can just bring food up to your quarters for dinner tonight, or you could simply just forget the bet with Miles and wear what you want.”
“Ha! That is exactly what Miles would want. I’m sure he purposely picked this outfit knowing I would never leave my room wearing it. He wants me to fold so he can hold it over me.” I turned to face Ancilla, seeing her eyes brighten with amusement. “He will have to try a lot harder than this to get the upper hand. I’m going to dinner and I’m sitting on his throne just like the bet required.”
Ancilla began coughing. “You’re doing what now?”
Pater and Miles never sat on the throne unless for special occasions, and most of the castle knew the games of our friendship and probably wouldn’t think anything of it.
I gave myself a sinister smirk in the mirror, slowly becoming more confident in my own skin. “I’ll just have to look like a queen while doing it.”
“And that you shall!” She came up to me, giving me a consoling hug, her face beaming with excitement. She was wearing her normal attire: simple breeches with a white top. So, basically the exact opposite of what I was currently donning. “Although you may have lost the bet with Miles, I think he did you a favor here.”
She laughed and I rolled my eyes. After strapping on my heels and linking arms with her I said, “No matter what his intentions were, I plan on paying him back for this.”
“Uh oh, I know that look in your eyes. I better start praying for Miles’ survival.”
A knock sounded as Amica stood in the doorway, meeting me to walk over to dinner together. Her mouth gaped open as she took in my appearance. “Miles was not messing around when he told me of the bet he won,” she said, her eyes bright. The three of us laughed together before Ancilla bid us farewell and I followed Amica through the many halls of the Veladin castle and to the grand ballroom.
My heart was beating so hard I could feel it pounding through every inch of my body. My hands were sweaty, wrapped around Amica’s arms, and I suddenly wished I listened to Ancilla’s advice and just stayed in my room.
When we entered the ballroom, the dining tables had already been set, and hundreds of people filled the room, mingling with one another as they waited for the food to be served.
Whispers began to spread across the room and heads from every corner snapped over to where Amica and I stood in the doorway. I felt the eyes linger on all of the exposed parts of my body. I refused to let their reactions get to me. I lifted my chin slightly higher, threw my shoulders back, and strode gracefully to the dais. The length of my dress flowed behind me and showed the full length of my legs with each step. If anything, all of this attention sent a jolt of electric energy through me. I felt a sudden ease of confidence and couldn’t help the smirk that grew on my face as I walked up the steps and plopped down on Miles’ throne.
Audible gasps flooded the room with the arrival of my place upon the chair. Disapproving glares came at me from every direction, but no one protested my removal from the dais. I crossed my legs and got comfortable in the chair, waiting for Miles to arrive and see my place on his throne.
Amica stood at the foot of the dais, beaming with pride. “Who is this confident, sexy woman, and what has she done with my best friend?”
I laughed at the statement because it was true. I should’ve fought this much harder, should have refused such a task and been ashamed to show off the scars I bore on my back, but I wasn’t ashamed, and I was unsure why.
I’d been changing over the past couple of months, teaching myself that no amount of guilt could change the past and no amount of worry would change the future. I was simply trying to become who I’d always wanted to be. Someone who was unashamed of the skin she was in and confident in her true identity.
“I guess I am her.”
