Chapter 17

Catalina and Elijah were both sweaty and a bit red when they finally made it back home.

After they washed up and changed into some cooler clothes, they decided to hide what they saw and seen on the mission and put out a fake story instead.

The story was that they had done some investigation on a murder case and that their carriage broke down on the way back.

Arya didn't believe their bullshit. She thought they were both hiding something.

Mr.Pax, I think they're not telling us everything.

Baron Pax communicated back to her in her mind.

Yes, I get that feeling too. Something about the mission from the king shook them up badly.

Catalina tried to shift the topic to Arya's debut after Myna informed the both of them of Arya's decision to attend the king's birthday party.

Catalina flipped out and got really excited as it was the most important event of a noble girl's life. It marked the forest time she would ever step foot in society and participate in it formally.

Arya was a bit older than most girls who debuted as nobles had their daughters debut at around 13 or 14 years old. Arya looked around 15.

But it didn't matter. The king supported Arya's decision to debut and he agreed to be the one who broke the news about Arya's royal status to everyone at the party.

Then reality hit when they realized that Arya didn't even have a dress yet for the party.

She couldn't just wear any random dress from her colo0est as a royal event like the king's birthday party required something more formal and fancy.

Arya thought that any dress would do. She had a lot of dresses on hand-tea dresses, summer dresses, winter dresses, dresses for funerals, etc-but everyone else thought otherwise.

"My princess, a debut is highly important! It's the first time that anyone in high society ever sees you. You must dress appropriately."

"When I had my debut, I got a custom made ball gown made from silk and diamonds that was made 3 months before my debut. You need a dress that represents you, Arya. And 3 days isn't enough time to get the right dress for something as important as a debut!!"

"Oh, I remember Catty wearing that beautiful dress made from purple silk and diamonds! I had to fend off a lot of boys who wanted to talk to her."

"When my daughters had their own debuts, We spent months preparing beforehand."

The king's birthday party was in three days and Arya still didn't have the "right dress" to wear.

Hence the emergency dress shopping trip she was taking with Catalina and Myna.

Arya thought it was ridiculous and Catalina should rest up since she just got back from a mission but Catalina waved Arya off, insisting that she was fine and that this shopping trip was what was needed in order to relax and unwind.

Baron Pax and Elijah stayed behind in the mansion as they decided to leave the decision making up to the girls. 

Besides, Elijah hated dressing up and shopping and Baron Pax would much rather be reading his books or writing in his personal journal than dress shopping with the girls.

Dress after dress after dress.

Myna and Catalina argued over each dress and each of them had their own opinions. They weren't being quiet about it either.

Arya felt like one of those toy dolls that little girls played dress up with.

A off-shoulder pink taffeta floor-length ball gown with white roses and golden pearls embedded into it.(Myna's choice)

A baby blue off-the-shoulders tulle gown with a sweeping train with white flower and butterfly applique.(Myna's choice)

A lavender dress made from some sort of light and airy material with a sweetheart neckline and mesh, veil-like sleeves. (Catalina's choice)

Surrounding her, on chairs and the sofa, were all the rejected dresses, a rainbow of colors were everywhere around her. Arya didn't like any of them so far-not that she didn't think they were beautiful or pretty. It was just that….they didn't feel right on her. 

A red dress with gold trimming with matching black gloves. Rejected.

A pastel yellow dress with no-sleeves and white, pink and blue flowers decorating it. Rejected.

A white and gold silk dress outfitted with pearls and lace. Rejected.

It had been two hours since they stepped foot into this dress shop. Two hours of still not being able to find the right dress for a debut.

All around Arya, she saw other people, mothers with their daughter, sisters with sisters, entire groups of friends, go shopping for the perfect dress to wear for their own debuts or parties they will be attending.

The poor dressmaker, a nice lady with doe-like gold eyes and black hair tied back into a bun with glasses, was trying her hardest to handle a last minute request for a "little lady who plans to debut at the king's birthday party."

She was studying Arya, noting her brilliant green eyes, her natural beauty, in order to come up with a perfect dress for her in case she wanted a custom made dress.

She was a trendy and very famous dressmaker who had been able to make a name for herself in the capital with only her talents and skills for dress making. Her name was Priscilla and she was originally from a commoner background. 

Her talent of making such beautiful and elegant dresses soon spread and she was able to live comfortably off her dresses.

But this girl was different. Unlike the prim, proper, stiff and well-disciplined daughters of nobility she had serviced before, this girl was free-spirited and full of life. She was the kind of beautiful that was natural and one-of-a-kind. Arya didn't need makeup or any of the expensive and time-consuming beauty treatments, skin faces, skin care or anything like that.

This girl needed something that suited her.

Arya looked at the latest dress she was wearing in front of the mirror and frowned a little.

The dress she was wearing was a bluish-green silk with lace trimming and a long train. Long angel sleeves made from the same material covered her arms and Arya could see her legs or feet as the dress reached all the way to the floor.

Beautiful. Elegant. But Arya still felt like it wasn't for her at all.

It was too frilly and girly for her tastes. Not that she found it ugly or tacky in any way. Maybe some girly daughter of nobility would love it with all its feminine style and lace but not her.

It seemed like every dress was either a evening gown or ball gown that was either a different color, made from a different material and altered and decorated differently to look like a different dress. All floor-length dresses with big poofy skirts or long, elegant skirts with long trains that look like they would catch dirt and grime easily; All of them were brightly colored and out done with flowers, lace, jewels and all sorts of designs.

Arya asked if there were any dresses that had shorter skirts.

Priscilla raised an eyebrow.

"Short?"

Arya nodded and motioned with her hands at the skirt of the dress she was trying on. She made a cutting motion at her knees.

"About this short. I want to be able to move around in it."

Myna and Catalina finally stopped arguing about the virtues of silk over tulle and listened.

Priscilla bit her lips. It was considered scandalous for a lady to reveal skin. You don't show any skin at all besides your arms and shoulders. Only prostitutes showed off skin or wore "skimpy clothes".

What this girl was asking for was a bit scandalous and unheard of. Most girls would ask for more lace or to make a dress look more prettier or to modify the dress to suit their tastes.

But never this before.

Wait..she did have something that matched her requirements that was wasting away in the back of her storage room. It was something she tried out but it never took off. Many called it inappropriate and not suitable for noble daughters. She gave up on trying to sell those and the dresses were still there.

"Wait a minute, my lady, I think I may have something that you'll like."

A few minutes later, Arya was trying on three new dresses.

A beautiful gown with butterfly sleeves that was light green from the bodice but bled into a soft pink as it traveled downwards to the skirts. Beautiful and delicate emerald green embroidery decorated the bodice while gold butterfly embroidery decorated the waistline. The skirts were decorated with pink rose embroidery made from hundreds of fake pink diamonds. The skirt reached a little but past Arya's knees but it still showed off lots of her legs while the butterfly sleeves only reached her elbows before splitting off into flowy sleeves of light green.

Catalina gave it a 10.

Myna gave it a 9.

Priscilla was crying tears of joy from the sheer beauty of the dress and seeing it being worn by such a lovely girl. At last it was no longer rotting away in the storage room.

Next up was a rather daring and stylish strapless white tulle dress that had matching white flower embroidery covering the front and back of the bodice. The skirt of the dress was made up of layers of white and dark green tulle that was trimmed in gold ribbon. The daring part about the dress was that it was shorter in the front but the skirts got longer in the back. The result was that the skirts were asymmetrical and the hemlines were uneven. It would show off the wearer's legs-something that was deemed shocking and improper in high society as a lady was not supposed to show off skin as if she was a servant girl who wore shorter skirts for practicalness and comfort as she went about with her work. 

But Arya looked great in the shorter skirts.

That was the thing. Simple and elegant was Arya's style rather than flamboyant and over-the-top.

More tears of joy.

More clapping and nodding of approval.

It was a radical move away from the standard ball gowns and evening gowns noble women wore and Arya loved it as she would be able to move more freely in it.

Finally, a long and dark green satin evening gown that had an uneven hemline with gold flower and vine embroidery decorating the v-neck collar and around the waistwas Myna's choice. The dress was plain looking simple but Myna thought it was beautiful and would suit Arya perfectly.

It wasn't clear which one Arya wanted as she had a hard time deciding so they decided to buy all of them.

It was surprising that all these beautiful dresses were dirt cheap. The most expensive one-Catalina's pick-was only 9 gold coins. To put that into context, 9 gold coins was the average amount you paid to rent a room in a cheap and run down inn for three nights.

Nobody wanted these dresses and so Priscilla was more than willing to sell them to the trio for a cheap and knocked down price.

Arya rejected the price and offered to pay more.

"Take more pride in your abilities, Miss.Priscilla. I'm going to give you 30 gold. 10 gold for each dress."

Arya shoved the money into her hands.

Priscilla thanked her and bid her a good day as the trio left for their next destination.

….

A jewelry store that was overpacked with noble ladies and their servants was their next stop.

Apparently, the king's birthday party was the hottest event in the capital and nobody wanted to look cheap or boring. That meant looking and wearing your best-or maybe trying to be the flashiest and most dolled up person in the kingdom.

That meant every noble was out and about getting new clothes, custom made suits and dresses, placing orders for personalized jewelry and trying to outdo each other.

With only three days left until the king's birthday party, everyone was in a rush to get ready.

It wasn't just nobles in the capital that were going to attend the party but nobles from all over the kingdom as well.

Girls and women raced around, pointing out the jewelry they wanted and trying to get the ones they wanted. It was loud and busy with store employees trying to assist the numerous customers and all the buying and selling going on.

Rings made from gold and outfitted with diamonds, rubies, purple gems,dark blue gems and even pink diamonds.

Necklaces made from pearls and diamonds that glittered and shined so brightly it almost blinded anyone who looked at it.

Earrings of gold and silver shaped like hearts, flowers, birds and decorated with little gems of red, blue, green or purple.

Hair accessories studded with precious gems and were made to look like flowers, butterflies, a wreath, or in beautiful shapes and designs.

A delicate and beautiful hair piece made from silver chains and decorated pearls.

Noble ladies of all ages were flocking to jewelry stores like this one to buy new and flashy jewelry to make themselves stand out at the royal birthday party.

Catalina examined all the jewelry and thought none of the jewelry she saw so far would suit her little princess. Her little princess was someone who was pretty without even trying to be, she was someone who was strong and brave but had the kindest heart and brightest smile. She wasn't some delicate and timid girl but a strong and fiery one. She was one of a kind and she needed something that was unique and different in a good way. Something that suited her and represented her…something unique but beautiful.

A flash of green caught her eyes. There. In a deserted area of the store. Wasting away in a display case gathering dust.

Catalina saw something that would suit her princess.

Simple, unique but elegant and beautiful.

It was a couple of gold hair clips. Ech lined up neatly and on display for her.

Some of the gold hair clips were studded with little diamonds. Others were covered with dark green emeralds that were cut into rectangles or circles. Some were decorated with a mix of diamonds and emeralds. Others had emeralds decorating the ends of the gold hair clips. They were all so beautiful but simple and unique. 

Everyone wore earrings, necklaces,rings, bracelets, headpieces but no one wore hair clips. Catalina saw that not a single one of the ladies in the shop were wearing hair clips-only rings, necklaces, earrings, and hairpieces. 

This was it.

She called over a store employee.

…

Back in the mansion, Arya was doing a catwalk for Elijah and Baron Pax in the mansion living room.

Both men clapped and cheered for Arya.

"Princess, you are so beautiful!!"

"I love all the dresses!!"

Arya lifted an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side.

"You don't think this is scandalous?". She gestured at her dark green dress.

Elijah and Baron Pax shook their heads at the same time.

"Nope."

"Not at all. You look beautiful and you'll stand out in a good way among all the other girls wearing ball gowns and evening dresses! Besides, I thought ball gowns and big poofy skirts never suited you in the first place."

Myna and Catalina both had to agree with the two men.

"One last surprise, princess!! I got you these!!"

Myna pulled out some gold pins…no hair clips. They were the kind that servant girls wore to pin back their hair and keep it out of their faces while they worked. But these ones were made of gold and were decorated with pearls, diamonds and emeralds.

Arya allowed Myna to brush back her hair and to pin the hair clips into place. They pinned back her hair behind her ears and looked perfect on her.

Catalina had tears in her eyes and Myna was in awe of having such a beautiful master.

Arya examined herself in the mirror. She looked like the princess she was and she noted that her dark green eyes matched the emeralds in her hair. 

Arya turned around from the mirror. She made a quick curtsy to the people who had cared for her, taught her so much and were like family to her.

"I love it!! Thank you so much for all you have done for me!! I hope we can still be together after I become an official princess!"

This remark led to more clapping and cheering.

Elijah and Catalina both agreed to become Arya's official bodyguards when she becomes a princess of the royal household, Myna wanted to remain with Arya and decided to continue being her personal servant, Baron Pax declared that Arya was his favorite student and he still had so much to teach her, so he would still be her personal tutor.

Arya laughed and gave each one a hug.

The future didn't look so scary with her favorite people by her side now.