III

"So, I'm thinking rainy day vibes. Thoughts?" Penelope turned to their friend.

Camilla smiled, lighting up her whole face in the process. "I love it! You could wear some grayish..." Camilla trailed off as she retreated into her own thoughts. "Iridescent!" she exclaimed out of nowhere. Penelope frowned. "The iridescent silvery fabric that Charles wears sometimes! Oh, what is it called?"

Penelope laughed. "Iridescent silver?"

Camilla's eyes widened. "That's it!"

Penelope chuckled as the pair walked into a small shop filled with dresses of all shapes and sizes. "This is amazing!" Penelope exclaimed, clasping a hand over her mouth.

Camilla nodded. "You said it, Pip." She began walking along the rows of ball gowns, a faint smile on her lips as always. "I can't believe how many dresses there are when it's so close to the Ball!"

A young woman with white-blonde hair and pale skin walked up to Penelope, smiling warmly. "Hello! I'm Celia. Can I help you find anything?"

Penelope shook her hand, clasping her hands together. They didn't like talking to strangers. "No, thank you. Just browsing."

Celia nodded and made to turn away, but her eyes caught on the crest on Penelope's white leather jacket and she paused. "You are a part of the Queensguard?" she asked. Penelope simply nodded. "Well, then you get a twenty percent discount!" Celia smiled, but it looked almost forced.

Penelope's eyes widened. She had forgotten about that. One of the perks of protecting her kingdom with her life, they supposed. "Yes, thank you very much," she nodded her head politely and turned back to the rack of dresses in front of her. Celia left Penelope alone and she breathed a sigh of relief.

A gasp echoed through the shop and Penelope ran to the sound of the noise, finding Camilla standing in front of a large dress. It was a light yellow with white lace patterns on the bodice and edges of the gown itself. It was off-the-shoulder and the skirt had two visible layers of fabric. "This is the one!" Camilla smiled brightly. "Isn't it amazing?"

Penelope nodded. The dress was amazing; probably not something she would wear, though. Penelope was more of a green, blue, and grey kind of person, while their best friend preferred pinks, yellows, and blues, usually in pastel form.

Camilla smiled, walking over to the front desk and pulling out a handful of gold to pay for the dress. The woman at the desk, Celia, took the gold quickly, keeping her eyes down. Camilla didn't seem to notice; she was probably thinking about the Ball. But Penelope watched with a sad smile on her face. Being a part of the Queensguard certainly had its downsides; like not being treated like a regular citizen.

"Did you pick out a dress?" Camilla asked her friend as she returned to where Penelope stood.

Penelope shook her head. "No, not yet. Help me?"

Camilla smiled sunnily, nodding. "Of course!

Penelope grinned, turning to the racks of dresses. "Okay, so we're looking for grey... I want it to be really poofy so I can feel like a princess," Penelope giggled.

Camilla nodded, scanning the rows of gowns. "This one?" she asked, showing Penelope a silky grey dress with a v-neck and spaghetti straps that tied in the back.

Penelope shrugged. "I don't know; that one doesn't really suit me, I don't think," she smiled sheepishly.

Camilla nodded, putting the dress back and looking around again. Her face lit up when she stopped a dress across the shop and ran over toward it, her footsteps making almost no sound as she did. "How about this one?" she asked, grinning. "Princess enough?"

Penelope gasped. The dress was a huge, off-the-shoulder grey gown with mandala-like patterns on the skirt and bodice. "That's the one!" Penelope giggled, pulling a few gold coins from her bag and handing them to Celia, who in turn neatly boxed the dress and handed it to Penelope, along with instructions on how to take care of it.

"Thank you!" Camilla called to Celia as they left the store. "Okay, I just need to get some shoes and hairpins to match my dress. You?"

Penelope frowned in thought. "I need shoes and some more makeup; that's it, though."

Camilla nodded. "Alright then! What do you say we go down to Gianna's for the shoes, and then Candy Cosmetics?" Penelope nodded. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Camilla linked arms with her friend, chuckling, as they left the small shop and made their way to buy shoes, hairpins, and makeup for the Ball.

"I guess we need to get appropriate ball attire, don't we?" Valerie asked the boy sitting next to her as they watched their Queensguard scatter to prepare for tomorrow night.

Charles nodded. "Yes, though I wish we did not." Valerie said nothing in response. Charles's fingers wrapped around Valerie's and he looked down at her. "You're beautiful," he whispered. "Even if you don't think so."

A small smile ghosted through Valerie's blank expression, but she untangled their fingers and stepped away. "I must be going," she murmured and leaped into the sky, leaving Charles to watch her go with a sad, longing expression on his face.

Valerie flew into the marketplace, immediately spotting her favorite clothing store and landing in front of it with a smile on her face. The owner immediately greeted her with open arms. "Val! Good to see you. How can I be of service?"

Valerie nodded. "I know it's very short notice, but I need a dress for the Winter Ball. I'd love white, preferable not flat" she added.

The woman nodded. "I think I have just the thing." She walked into her store and came back holding a poofy white dress with silver designs on the skirt. "Is this of interest to you?" the woman asked.

Valerie studied the dress. "Yes," she stated simply. "I'll buy it." Pulling out a few gold coins, the woman pocketed them and took the dress back into the store to box it. After a few minutes, Valerie was holding her dress, neatly folded into a small box. "Thank you," she bowed her head before taking off again to go back to her room in the palace; where all of the Queensguard lived.

Charles was standing in a large store, filled with men's formal attire, with Leo and Terrance. Charles frowned, swiping through a rack of tuxedos, while Terrance was standing in front of one of the mirrors, holding a suit up to their figure.

"Well I don't know about you two," Leo stated, "but I'm all set." Terrance and Charles turned to see Leo holding a creme-colored suit with golden floral patterns covering it.

"That's very..." Charles trailed off.

"Bold," Terrance finished, chuckling.

Leo shrugged. "Honestly, I would look hot in anything, but this will do."

Terrance laughed, shaking his head. "How does Cami deal with you all the time?"

Leo pointed a threatening finger at his friend. "Do not insult me!"

Charles rolled his eyes at the pair's banter and instead turned back to the rack of tuxedos in front of him. He wanted to find something that would make Valerie look twice at him, but nothing seemed quite right. Charles sighed, analyzing a white suit with gold embellishing. "This will have to do," he murmured and paid the cashier for the outfit without another word.

Terrance had apparently found his outfit as well; a beige tuxedo, very different from Charles's. "Let's get out of here," Terrance grumbled and the trio of angels left the store as quickly as they could, flying up to the Queen's palace to meet up with the ladies.