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Rosa stood from where she had been squatting down, tilting her head to the side as she took in every detail of the dress.
“We could loosen it here, and here…” She muttered, pinching at the tight waist of the dress, and making Calliope jump. I shook my head, swatting her hands away and turning Calliope around to face me. She had to look down at me slightly, since she was still on the pedestal, but I smiled up at her.
“What would make you more comfortable?” I asked, holding out a hand to help her step down. She gathered the skirt of the dress in her hands, scrunching it up under her arm enough to free her legs. I could see the look of anguish on Rosa’s face as she dislodged most of the sewing pins she had just put into place, but Calliope looked so relieved to not be on that pedestal anymore that I could not care for more than a second or two.
Letting out a breath of what I could only assume was relief, Calliope gestured towards the dress.
“Anything butthis,” Her voice was thick, as though she was about to cry. “I’m sorry, Kira, I know it’s your day and I should be wearing what you want me to wear, but this is just too much for me.”
I pursed my lips, nodding my head and holding out my hands for her to hand me the skirt of the dress. She still had it bundled under her arm, and she let the fabric fall out into my waiting hands without a second thought. I let the fabric slide through my fingers as I thought, and then grinned, the thought coming to me in an instant.
Gesturing for Calliope to get back up on the pedestal, I took the bundled fabric and pulled it between the girl’s legs. She squealed, and I laughed, reminding her to keep still. I pulled the fabric into two halves, working them around Calliope’s legs and managing to turn the dress into a make-shift all-in-one suit.
Calliope was grinning as she took in my creation in the mirror, and for all she looked absolutely appalled, Rosa was nodding her head.
I took a cluster of sewing pins from the small table that stood to the side of the pedestal, trying my best to pin my creation together enough for me to step away and admire it.
“How about something like that?” I asked, “Obviously Rosa will make it much better than I could, but would this work?”
Calliope nodded her head viciously, her short hair flying around her face as she did so. The grin on her face was blinding, and my heart swelled in my chest.
“It will take me a few days,” Rosa mused, taking in the shape of the silhouette I had created.
“That’s fine, we have time.” I smiled, the same nauseous feeling settling into my stomach at the thought of being only slightly over a week from marrying Cyrus. Anxiety clawed at the back of my neck, and I turned away from the group of women in the room with me to take a deep breath.
Calliope stepped down from the pedestal, clutching the fabric of her dress to keep it in the style we had created as she waddled out of the room to get changed, Rosa following closely behind her to make sure she did not accidentally stick herself with the sewing needles.
I turned to Gracie, who was sitting on the sofa in her robe, a half-eaten pastry on the plate in her hand. She grinned at me, flaky crumbs dusting the corners of hermouth. I smiled back, the anxiety in my stomach raging like a bull as I sat down next to her, tucking my hands tightly into the sleeves of my robe and huffing out a sigh.
Gracie nudged me with her shoulder, her mouth still full of pastry, and scrunched her eyebrows at me.
“I’m fine,” I reassured her, hoping she could not see through the blatant lie, “Just… stressed.”
Gracie nodded, reaching forward and putting her plate down on the table. She wrapped her arm around my shoulder, pulling me into her side and grinning.
“You have nothing to worry about. Everything is planned and ready to go. As long as your dress fits, then there is nothing else to be stressed over. Whatever happens after next week… we’ll deal with that when we come to it.”
I smiled at Gracie’s attempt at a pep talk.
She knew what my plan was for Cyrus, of course she did. What I had not told her was that now, whenever I saw him, my heart skipped a beat in my chest, and I forgot my words. His voice had chipped away at my resilience, and I found myself searching for him in a crowded room. The warmth of his hands on my skin was as close to heaven as I assumed I would ever get.
Gracie knew none of that.
Rosa came back into the room then, her cheeks flushed as Calliope laughed loudly behind her. I sat up straight,knowing that now it was my turn. Gracie squeezed my shoulders before she let me go, clapping her hands together happily. I had not yet shown her or Calliope my dress, and as I stepped up towards the pedestal that was waiting, I could feel the nerves bubbling in the base of my stomach.
~~~
A knock at my chamber’s door made me jump.
After Rosa had left to start her work on turning Calliope’s dress into a pair of trousers, Gracie and Calliope had excused themselves also. I was glad for the silence. Taking myself off for a bath and a chance to relax and digest everything that had happened, and everything that was still to come.
I had let myself steep in the water for close to an hour before I had hauled myself out of the hot, comforting water and got dressed. I had nothing planned for the day, thankfully, so had settled on a soft, woolen jumper and black, close-fitting trousers. I had just settled myself down into a comfortable position by the window when the loud knock echoed through my chambers.
Annoyed, I closed my book with a huff. It felt like it had been an age since I had the time to read without being interrupted.
Crossing the room quickly, I yanked open the door, ready to dismiss whoever it was that had gotten in the way of my only day off.
Maeteo stood there, his shoulder resting against the door frame and his hands in his pockets. He was grinning at me with a glint in his eyes that I could only describe as mischievous. I frowned at him, furrowing my eyebrows, and narrowing my gaze. The purple bruises on his face had started to fade, and the cuts had turned to pink, puckered skin where a healer had put a healing cream along them. He looked almost normal.
