The Plight of the Bumble B(olita)

The Duchess of House Schmancy was not living her best life. At the moment she was seated on a velvet chaise lounge in a library packed wall to wall with books on polished shelves. She was wearing a maroon dress with gold detailing that had to have cost a pretty penny, and her hair was pinned with jewel crusted accessories. Beside her was a maid with a face as expressive as a piece of plastic.

Of course the duchess was absolutely thrilled to be living in the lap of luxury, but that meant little in the face of the soul crushing loneliness that currently plagued her. With a sigh heavy enough to flatten a boulder, the duchess took yet another sip of her warm floral tea.

She didn't drink tea much in the past; she was part of team coffee. The duchess would have loved to be a part of team tea, but tea simply didn't have enough caffeine to keep her running after an all-nighter dedicated to browsing JSKs online. As much as she disliked the bitter taste of black coffee, it was the only thing with enough caffeine that wasn't a foul flavored energy drink that would give her the energy she needed to survive weekdays.

However, since her arrival to the duchy, she had lost access to her precious online shops and all the time that she had spent window shopping was now going to sleeping. She simply didn't know what else to do with it. The duchess had considered reading, but there were so many books that she couldn't figure out where to start.

"My Lady, have you decided what you'll be wearing to the upcoming tea party?"

"Tea party?" asked Duchess Bolita. The maid might as well have been speaking to her in another language.

"Yes, My Lady. The tea party hosted by Her Royal Highness."

"Ahh, of course. That tea party," nodded Duchess Bolita, feigning understanding. "I haven't picked a dress yet."

"Are none of them to your taste, My Lady?"

"Oh no, they're all beautiful. It's just, I haven't had time to go through any of them yet."

That much was true. One day hadn't been enough for the duchess to look at the insane amount of clothing in the absolutely massive Schmancy manor. The Schmancy manor was so big Bolita was pretty sure that she'd need something like a golf cart to get from one end of it to another in a day. Her body's previous owner must have loved dresses just as much as her though, for the five rooms next to the duchess's were stuffed with gowns galore.

"Understood, My Lady. But if you plan on buying a new dress for the event, you should go out today. The tea party is tomorrow, after all."

"Oh, okay. I guess I'll go look at the dresses then."

Duchess Bolita stood, and as she rose her shiny silver curls bounced like the springs of a mechanical pencil. Curls were a drastic change from how she used to look, not to mention the stainless-steel silver hair and her brand new figure. But it wasn't like she was against the change. If anything, she rather liked her new body that was two whole inches taller than her old one.

"Um, where are the dresses again?" Duchess Bolita asked with a bright smile, as if that would make her question look a little less dumb.

The maid seemed used to the duchess asking what should have been obvious. In fact, Duchess Bolita had noticed that none of the household seemed to care that she had no idea what was going on pretty much all the time. Either that, or they were S-rate actors deserving of an Ozker nomination.

"This way, My Lady."

She was led from the library to an absolutely extravagant hallway decorated with gold framed paintings and porcelain vases to one of the many rooms jam-packed with luxury dresses.

Duchess Bolita never tired of seeing the glorious garments. They just about brought tears to her eyes with their sheer beauty. She ran a hand over the one closest to her, a robin's egg blue piece with a puffy tulle skirt, and marveled at the fabric. It felt expensive and like something she'd never have been able to afford. Sewing a piece with such high-end materials was like something out of a dream for her, though she didn't exactly mind wearing such a pricey product either.

When she wasn't crying over beautiful patterns, in her past life the duchess had made dresses and the like herself. She seriously doubted she could get away with doing that in her new position of power. Something told her that simply wasn't done.

The duchess was afraid to begin browsing the dresses. She was on the verge of asking the maid standing behind her for a ball of yarn that she could use to trace her path so she wouldn't get lost in the sea of clothing.

"There's so many of them. I could make so many coords. There's even enough for an OTT natural coord… and that substyle's one defining characteristic is its lack of accessories..."

"Pardon me, My Lady?"

"Err, never mind."

Steeling her nerves and hoping for the best, Duchess Bolita stepped into the maze of fabric.

About three dresses in, the duchess realized she wasn't going to be able to remember all the ones she liked, let alone which ones she felt were deserving of being worn to a royal tea party. This revelation sent her reeling, and she had to pause her adventure for a moment to think. After putting every last one of her brain cells to use, she was only able to come up with one solution.

"That dress is good," declared Duchess Bolita to her stone faced maid, pointing at the first dress she had seen upon entry.

"Very well, My Lady."

"I'll be heading back to the library now."

"Understood, My Lady."

The robotic responses were enough to drive Duchess Bolita up a wall. In fact, she might as well have been talking to a wall. The duchess cast a glance back at the maid to double check that it wasn't an inanimate object she had been speaking to the whole time. It wasn't. It was a flesh and blood (most likely), brown haired, brown eyed, totally normal maid.

As she re-entered the library, Duchess Bolita felt some sense of solace, for if she couldn't have a conversation of her own, at least she could read about others having conversations. She reached for her cup of tea, only to frown upon finding out that it had become cold during her short excursion. Duchess Bolita had yet to get used to her new role, so she stood to go and prepare herself a new cup.

"Where are you heading, My Lady?"

"I'm getting a cup of tea?"

"There's no need to trouble yourself, My Lady. I can get it for you."

"Oh there's no need to, really. I can get it myself."

"It would be my honor, My Lady."

"Umm, okay then."

Awkwardly, Duchess Bolita handed over the teacup and saucer. As the maid took her leave, Duchess Bolita sank back into her plush seat, and reflected on how exactly she had wound up where she was.