A Black Gown

SEVEN DAYS passed.

Larissa was currently seated in front of a huge vanity mirror that took up almost all the space in her room. Five maids were fussing about which dress suits her best among the many gowns that were gifted to her a few hours ago. Three maids were fixing her hair. Alisa, who was the best at applying makeup, was currently applying a light shade of rose on the lips of the princess.

It has been an hour since her mother barged into her room and deemed that her daughter needs to be ready for the grand ball tonight. Larissa was barely awake when she was pushed towards the seat in front of the vanity dresser and has been seated there ever since.

Fortunately, before Nympha could start a discussion that would likely continue for hours regarding how beautiful her daughter is, the royal advisor called her in regards to needing her help.

Larissa was beyond delighted to see her mother leave the room. Despite the continuous maids that entered her room soon after to "help" her get ready, it was better than having to deal with her mother altogether.

"Princess, what do you think of this gown?" The voice of one of the servants, Jessy, stopped Larissa's train of thought. "Princess Larissa?"

Oh, she forgot to respond. She turns to the gown that Jessy was holding. A metallic grey off-shoulder ballgown.

Another servant was holding the headwear that came along the gown. It was a white diamond tiara that shimmered once the sun's rays reflect the mineral.

"It comes with these as well, your Highness," Jessy temporarily lets go of the gown, placing it on the bed and showing the sixth princess a necklace and a pair of earrings that had the same stone as the tiara.

"Do I have other options?" Larissa asked. What previously was shown to the princess was more than enough, but she'd rather really not wear a gown with such a dull color, especially during a gathering where all of her other siblings are present.

She was not in the mood to deal with their backhanded compliments.

But isn't this her last day in the castle, anyway? The last time that all her siblings would see her-- and criticize her every move? The last time that she had to act in front of her everyone?

"Which gown is the most expensive?" She asked out loud, not bothering to lower her voice in case any of her siblings passed her room. "I want the most expensive and the most beautiful gown,"

All the servants present in her room looked at one another and at their mistress, almost as if they heard the sixth princess cuss out loud or grow a second head.

Larissa raised an eyebrow. "Did you not hear me?"

The evident irritation in the voice of the princess was enough for one of the servants to make her way quickly to where the new gowns were. Grabbing two gowns, she proceeds to show them to the princess who had her complete attention on the said servant.

The gowns that the servant was holding out were both blue in color. Larissa immediately realized that both the gowns were gifts from the queen, who was known to represent the color blue in the royal court. Except for the fact that the element that she had a strong affinity for is known to bear the color blue, the dukedom that she once belonged to represented itself through the color blue as well.

Both gowns were exceptionally beautiful, laced with gems that Larissa had never seen before except on the queen's own gowns.

However, Larissa shook her head at the servant. She wasn't really in the mood to get into the queen's good graces, regardless of how tempting it was. "How about the others?"

Jessy, who had just finished putting the gown that she held out earlier, showed her mistress a skin-tight lace red gown that would show off Larissa's curves if she decided to wear it. The servant also showed her mistress the ruby earrings that came with it afterward.

Larissa quickly dismissed it. She'd rather not have difficulty running later on when it was finally time to leave the castle.

More gowns were shown to the sixth princess but she refused all of them, for the gowns shown to her either unimpressed her or plainly did not suit her.

Maybe she should get new servants, the princess couldn't help but think as she rolled her eyes which garnered gasps and whimpers from the servants in the background that witnessed her recent actions.

How honestly nice and compliant was she before that they would react this dramatically to her eyes rolling?

It was exactly two hours later that one of the servants had finally held out a gown that effectively caught the princess's attention in a positive manner.

An off-shoulder black sequined gown.

"Come forward," She tells the servant that was holding the gown that caught her attention. The servant quickly scurried forward, even almost tripping on one of the gowns that Larissa threw on the floor earlier out of disgust.

"Your Highness, this gown is actually from--"

Larissa cuts the nervous servant off with a scowl. "I don't care about such details. I want this gown," Once the servant was close enough, Larissa beckons her to hand the gown over. "Besides, no one will dare complain once they see it on me,"

The princess didn't miss the way most of the servants behind her once again looked at one another and exchanged curious glances.

She couldn't care less, though.

"Help me wear it," The princess commanded the servants close to her. As quick as lighting, the princess was soon wearing the gown that fitted her like a glove and showed off her collarbones and curves without looking too sexy. "Does this come with jewelry?"

"Yes, your Highness," One of the servants quickly made their way behind Larissa and clasped a black diamond necklace securely around the princess's neck.

"I can wear the earrings on my own," The words that came out of her mouth were meant to dismiss all the servants which they easily managed to understand. Once left alone in her bedroom, Larissa glanced around the room that she stayed in for the last eighteen years and called her home. "I don't think I will miss this room, after all,"

Turning away from the place where she found solace in the last decade, the princess looked at herself in the mirror and found herself smiling.

There she was, Idradale's most beautiful princess. Dressed in a gown with a color that contrasted her pureness and naivety. Hair loose on her shoulders despite how many times her mother trained her to decorate it with the most expensive of headwears during gatherings such as this. Makeup light but evident, and lips--

"Oh, almost forgot," Larissa opened one of the drawers and took out a lipstick that she recently got one of her guards to purchase for her. It was lipstick in the shade of deep red. "For the final piece,"

The princess looked at herself once again in the mirror and for the first time in a while, she finally smiled at the reflection that she saw.