"Whoa, and I thought I would be sleeping in the grass," Ms. Huang commented, her nail-polished fingers touching the soft cushioned couch they were sitting on.
They were now in the Chamber that the King had given for them to stay at.
Her comment made Evie cough as she recalled how she saw herself for the first time in that land. And sleeping with the King, at that.
"Have you seen the others on your way here? Do you have your phone with you?" Evie replied to distract both Joyce and herself.
"No. I was thinking about that, too. But we can use the vacation, right? I think I would be able to move on quickly if I stay here for a longer time. This is like a five-star hotel. No, it must be a ten." her eyes widened as she gazed at the Chamber they were in, her hands clasped in front of her chest.
Indeed, it boasts of a 300 sq foot size room with amenities that seemed to be crafted out of molten rare expensive stones, dazzling as the light from the enormous chandelier in the midst of the painted ceiling reflects through them.
Evie was about to ask another question when the duchess appeared again.
This time, she has three servants with her. All of them were pushing enormous storage boxes to their Chambers.
"You must have been exhausted with your journey. These are some new clothes which you can use so you will be more comfortable. There are also accessories, which you may find pleasing to your taste," she said in a soft and graceful way, her white-gloved hands pointing to the boxes.
The servants bowed down to them in response and opened them.
'Finally,' Evie breathed out a sigh of relief as she stood up and bowed before the duchess before going to the servant who had the clothes.
On the other hand, Ms. Huang quickly jumped up from her seats and smiled sweetly at the duchess, "That is so nice of you, Your Grace. You don't have to do that."
Then she bounced her way to the boxes with the accessories and put a headpiece on.
She went in front of the human-size ornate oval-shaped mirror which has gold decorations around it before she turned back and called Evie's attention.
"Look at these, Ms. Yang. I feel like a princess in medieval times," she grinned.
But Evie seemed to have the opposite reaction. She was lifting the clothes one after the other. But she couldn't find what she was looking for. All of them are gowns and dresses which have sizes for a teenage girl.
There were also corsets which could have been the means, so the women who will wear them will fit in them.
"Do you have a preferred garment in mind?" the duchess asked Evie, appearing sincere.
She must be the kind of person who takes her responsibility seriously, casting her personal emotions aside.
Evie unconsciously brushed her hair up before she expressed her concern. "Do you have a shirt and pants? Or shorts, Your Grace?"
With her question, the duchess seemed stunned as her jaw slightly dropped open, at the same time as her pupils dilated.
"Uh-oh. Right, I haven't seen you wear a dress before, even at our company parties." Ms. Huang bolted to them.
The duchess seemed to control her agitation by straightening her shoulders and putting her hands together. "I'm afraid it is not possible, Lady Evie. It has been the custom of Edin women to wear dresses entirely, especially in public."
Her tone was stronger than her previous one, but her opinion was still delivered elegantly.
"Maybe she was just referring to clothes while inside the Chamber, right Ms. Yang?" Ms. Huang laughed with a note of nervousness in her voice, trying to dissipate the tension in the air.
"If that's what you have in mind, you can wear this," the duchess lifted a white long-sleeved gown which is embroidered with flowers on the edges, and gave it to Evie, observing how she would react.
Seeing that the gown was not constricting compared with the other ones, Evie's hand stretched out and bowed.
With a quick move, she went to the folding screen and took off the leaves sticking on her skin.
Fortunately, the leaves seemed to cooperate as if they had already done their purpose. They fell on the floor like she was a tree in the autumn season.
Then she quickly donned the white gown and went back outside, breathing out a sigh of relief.
The other servants went to her and brought her in front of the gigantic mirror, fixed her hair, and put on accessories here and there. She didn't refuse, hoping it would calm down the duchess' glare, which she could see through the mirror.
"Oh, you looked like a doll, Ms. Yang!" Ms. Huang reacted, her eyes glinting like stars after coming out of the folding screen wearing a pink silk gown. "Now I know why Mr. Wang is hitting on you. Why are you hiding that beauty under your shirt and baggy pants?"
Mr. Wang is the son of the CEO of Alpha Aircraft Company. And he wasn't modest at expressing his fondness for her in public. He would even send her flowers on weekdays, no matter how many times she returned them to him.
Evie just glanced sideways as she really didn't really care about him. As she did so, she looked at the duchess again. This time, her eyebrows were now united as one.
She stood up and put her arms over her chest before commenting, "I hope you are now comfortable and at ease, my ladies," she bowed down to them with a classic courtesy.
Then she added, "May I remind you again that you can only wear that inside your chamber, Lady Evie. Whenever you are outside, you must abide by the rules of Edin at ALL times. If you'll excuse me. "
Then she stomped out of the room together with the servants.
—--------------------------------------------------------
Our culture, our traditions, and our language are the foundations upon which we build our identity.
Who has problems with these as well? haha Have a lovely day! Feel free to chat me up. :*