Chapter 7: Small Rebellions

Ara

Princess Lila’s good news was anything but for Ara.

Count Thorn’s sister, Pavla, had come to the castle for the ball. And with her involvement, the party had become a full-blown summer soiree. New, last-minute invitations were being sent out as they spoke, and the ball would be a masquerade.

Pavla’s husband had died during the war, and the woman lived in another town, in a smaller castle also gifted to her by the emperor to honor her husband’s sacrifice for the Hova. She probably heard Prince Acheron was attending and just had to come and make herself the hostess. Even if Count Thorn seemed to dislike her, he always let her get her way.

Ara detested the widow, and the sentiment was reciprocal. She treated Princess Lila coldly and addressed Ara as her brother’s pet mouse. Whenever she was in the castle, Ara tried to stay out of her sight, but the woman always summoned her and pestered Count Thorn to force Ara to talk about Princess Lila.

Ara suspected Pavla wanted to use Princess Lila as a bargaining chip with the emperor to gain some sort of favor, but she wasn’t sure. It was one of the only instances where she was actually thankful that Count Thorn was so possessive about the two. He’d never willfully give away Princess Lila. She was her trophy, the prize that gave him a higher status than most of his noble Hova peers. And Ara was now his personal spy and assassin.

Ara’s bedroom quickly became a dressing room after the maids pulled out the dresses from their boxes. Princess Lila had an assortment of jewels and shoes brought in, as well as a selection of masks and hats that she had collected over the years.

“Pick one for me,” Ara said as she left the bath, and two fae maids rushed to cover her bare body.

“A mask? Shoe? Necklace?” Princess Lila said, holding up a flowered mask.

“Pick all of it. I don’t care what I wear,” Ara said, sitting on the bed and thanking the maids with a nod. She wasn’t used to all this attention. The maids normally didn’t attend to her, but since this was a special occasion and they had to attend to Princess Lila anyway, they seemed to have taken it upon themselves to be all over Ara too.

“Oh, come on. Aren’t you happy we can be together at a ball for a change?” Princess Lila said, getting up and rummaging through a box of earrings. “You got to dance and drink and get away for a little while. I haven’t been able to dress up since… I don’t even remember when. What is it you said a while back? About the little joys?”

She raised a triumphant eyebrow at Ara.

Yes, her words were coming back to bite her in more ways than one.

A few weeks ago, after a particularly nasty dinner with Count Thorn, the two had stayed up late talking. They rarely discussed the future because they knew they’d never have many choices to do what they wanted. Their lives were and always would be subject to Count Thorn’s will, and they had learned to accept that.

To comfort Princess Lila, Ara had emphasized that what they could do was find happiness in the simple things about their lives. That they had each other, that they lacked in nothing they needed to survive, and that all in all, there wasn’t much they could complain about.

Ara didn’t truly believe that, knowing that if there was any justice in the world, they wouldn’t be prisoners or property of someone. But it had provided some comfort to Princess Lila.

And now, when Princess Lila was trying to do just that, Ara was rejecting her.

“Okay, let’s see what you have,” Ara said, joining Princess Lila next to the pile of things.

They couldn’t do much with the dresses, which had been selected by Count Thorn, who’d take offense if they didn’t wear them. What he hadn’t specified was who should wear which, even though there was a clear match for each of the girls. Princess Lila always went for lighter pastel colors and Ara, usually dark blue or black.

“Is it alright if I take this one?” Princess Lila said, picking up the dark red gown from the bed where it lay spread out. “It’s a masquerade, after all. I’d like to switch things up a bit.”

When Ara saw its cleavage, she smiled.

“Please do,” she said. “You’ll look stunning.”

“And very unlike what’s expected of us,” Princess Lila replied with a sly smile on her face. She set down the red gown and lifted up the cream-colored one. “Are you ready to be a summer princess?” she said to Ara.

***

The two could barely recognize each other when the maids were done working on them.

Princess Lila was going as a red witch, with the silky, revealing crimson dress. It was sleeveless and fit skin tight on her after some adjustments. She wore a mask of the same color embroidered with jewels, and her hair pulled down. On its natural waves, the maids sewed more tiny jewels, which made her golden hair sparkle under the light. With a dab of red tint on her lips, she was ready.

Ara, on the other hand, looked like a nymph from ancient times with a white dress embroidered with subtle pink and green flowers. The bosom was tighter than she expected, but it fit her well, considering Princess Lila had a smaller frame. It had sheer sleeves with the same embroidered lace that covered the skirt and bodice. On her head, the maids had set up a crown of white roses that held up Ara’s dark hair. They did their best to cover the cut on her forehead with powders, and it was barely noticeable save for a thin dent on her left eyebrow.

To cover the black collar that stood out from her neck like a blotch, she wore a white strip of lace over it. Princess Lila also put on a similar red lace on her neck.

“He won’t like that,” Ara said when she saw Princess Lila tying up the ribbon. “People will think you have a collar.”

“It’s a necklace. And he can’t force me to take it off,” she said defiantly.

Her words almost brought tears to Ara’s eyes. She knew why Princess Lila was doing this. Not only was it a final touch to their unspoken rebellion with the dresses. She was commiserating with her friend, presenting themselves as equals, a united front. Ara had no words to express how much she loved the red-clad vixen before her, so she said nothing.

They were about to head out the door when Princess Lila went back inside.

“You forgot your mask,” Princess Lila said, placing the one she had selected on Ara’s face. It was a cream-colored, plain thin mask that stuck to the skin over the bridge of her nose. “You don’t need an ornate mask. The rest of you is the show.”

With that, the two left the room wholly prepared for a night of battling with words and grace. It wasn’t Ara’s turf, as she was used to hiding in the shadows. Tonight, however, she’d have to be in the center stage. But she was ready.

She had her friend by her side.