Ienia

It was hard for her to stand in inaction as the servants did her bidding. She felt like a lifeless and powerless doll. No matter how many times she had protested to her mother about this, however, she never changed her mind. She considered it given that she would be treated with the respect and attention she deserved. Ienia herself knew that it was but a mere exhibition of power but that didn't mean she could do anything to put a stop to it. At least, her mother had seemed a bit more flexible in the whole getting dressed department. She felt incredibly uncomfortable if asked to show her bare body to many different women who would them fumble to help her wear from the underwear to the outerwear. Her queen-mother had conceded in letting her wash and dress with a help of a singe servant, the one she trusted the most and felt the least vulnerable with. Even this had seemed inconceivable at first but now she was used to it. Aparid made a great effort to keep her presence as gentle and passing as possible and her kind eyes had never looked at the young princess in a way that would make her feel ashamed for her own skin.

Usually, they would exchange a word or two as she helped her get dressed but since Queen Ypolen had started pressing on her youngest daughter to start meeting suitors, the whole process had become a funeral procession. Aparid knew not to put even more pressure on her when she already felt like she was drowning in it so the best Ienia could do was watch her framed self in the bodylength mirror with the golden details as the servant did her job.

Before this whole charade with her mother had started, she had never thought she had a certain style but by the moment she started wearing dresses that were chosen for her by the queen, she realized her opinion on the matter was quite strong. Clothes were like second skin to every creature and apart from making up someone's appearance, it also set their identity and their emotions. All these extremely tight and extravagant dresses with the intense colours that couldn't hold your attention for more than mere seconds without causing dizziness, pushed her to feel only one thing. Drowned.

As if sensing her thoughts and wanting to make it even worse, Aparid tightened the corset even more in her already too thin waist making Ienia groan in pain and waste almost the air she had gathered in her lungs.

"Not that tight" She managed to utter. She could feel the hands of the servant shake but she didn't comply with her request even if she could witness her suffering.

"These are the Queen's orders" She murmured and the girl knew that she couldn't blame her for fearing Ypolen more than she cared for her. Her mother was cruel to her own children in an everyday basis, nobody wanted to see what she was capable of when furious with the staff.

She didn't even need to ask why the queen would give such an order. It was the same reason why she had requested the dresses be so tight on the waist and so revealing on the bust for her youngest daughter. Elves usually wore more light and loose clothes that harmonized with their free way of living. It would be difficult to wear something heavy and tight when they were running around in the forests. The princess, however, in the young age of seventeen when she could barely be considered a woman, didn't have such succulent assets to offer. The corset and the dresses were trying to amplify her bust and her curves in order to impress the suitors. As if they weren't idiotic and horrible enough by themselves.

"Just a little…please…" If she couldn't even breath, she wouldn't be able to hold a conversation with the possible future grooms. Of course, maybe that was a part of her mother's plan all along. She was already quiet enough but when she decided to speak her mind, her words were never sugarcoated. She was sharp and unfiltered. She had already offended plenty arrogant pricks and that had displeased her mother.

What she had decided to overlook though was that they had offended her in the worst ways before she had spoken her truth. She insisted on reminding her their higher status and power but wanted to keep her powerless all the same. The only person that actually held all the power in the castle was queen Ypolen. Maybe that was what had drove her father away, they never knew who he was or what happened to him and it was forbidden to mention him. The only snippet she had managed to catch from the servants' gossip was that he was an artist. That wasn't such a big deal in a realm like theirs. All elves were a little eccentric and artistic, their magic depended on it after all and all they had in their hands was time. Still, it had made her feel a connection with him. Seeing as drawing calmed her down due to her special trait. When she looked at people, she couldn't see faces.

The thought alone dragged her eyes towards Aparid's reflection in the mirror. She was standing meekly right behind her with her hands constantly reaching out for the corset but always hesitating to actually make a move. Her hand and her body were perfectly clear in Ienia's eyes. When she lifted her look to her face though all she could see was a caricature of her strongest emotions. Aparid's eyes were comically big as if holding back tears and her mouth was a strange curve that Ienia recognized as the tell for fear. It had been terrifying when she was younger but she had grown accustomed to it and she had learned how to recognize what each thing meant. Nobody else knew about it.

She turned her attention back to herself. Sometimes she wished she could see her own emotions portrayed like this so that she could finally find out how she truly felt deep down and what she wanted from life. Not that it would matter but even something just as small as this, seemed to promise a taste of freedom.

Her face was starting to blanch, which was concerning considering her skin was on the darker side. She tried to inform Aparid that she wouldn't last until the door but the air didn't reach her lungs and the only thing she managed to create was whistling sound before she started coughing. Black spots appeared in her vision. She felt trembling hands reaching hesitantly but if they weren't a tad quicker, Ienia would lose consciousness.

A strong and steady hand grapped the ropes and untied them with surprising speed pulling and setting it completely loose off the corset which fell on the floor since there was nothing else keeping it in place.

Ienia took the deepest breath she had ever taken leaning forward and caressing her irritated throat. She wanted to thank Aparid but she couldn't find the voice to do it.

"You know I love you so you will understand I mean well when I say this. This dress doesn't suit you at all" That playful voice didn't belong to Aparid. Ienia smiled and rolled her eyes before standing up straight. She should have expected it that the person to free her without hesitation from that torture was the only person to ever make her breath freely, literally and metaphorically.

"You're just jealous" She responded teasingly and turned at the only one who didn't look like the skeleton of a hasty sketch. Actually, she had no idea what her face or her appearance looked like and she could never pinpoint if the reason for the exception was her strong feelings for that person or because her character was like that in general and her mind didn't know what to sketch first. Her older sister was never one or two things since they were little. She was an explosion of colours.

"What can I do? You took all the good genes!" She pretended to whine and Ienia's smile turned crooked. It quickly faded, however, when her eyes fell on what she was wearing. Naming them rugs would be too kind of a characterisation and they were covered in filth and mud to boot.

"Mother's going to kill you!" She said immediately in concern and started moving to find her something else to wear before anyone else saw her. Her sister just laughed and shrugged.

"What's another reason on the list?" She paused and turned to Aparid. "Before I forget, you may go now. I will take full responsibility for what the princess wears or doesn't wear" The younger sister opened her mouth to protest while the servant looked at her with a terrified look. Her sister lifted her hand to show her that no argument would change her mind while she kept her eyes on the servant.

"Yes Ma'am" She admitted defeat and exited the room right after courtesying. The whole thing left a bitter taste in Ienia's mouth since she knew that the only reason Aparid had given in was because it was no secret to anyone in the castle how much the queen hated her firstborn daughter and she would find reasons to punish her even when she didn't have any. If Ienia made a mistake, her punishment would be more mild while someone from the staff would face the queen's full wrath. The same couldn't be said about her sister.

"So, let's see what you'll wear!" Her sister said joyfully and clapped her hands before looking around the place.

"Yelfen.." She started but she really didn't know what to say to change her mind. She was terribly stubborn, a trait they shared.

"Look, I get why you're reluctant. I mean, if you wear what you want and they see how gorgeous you are in reality, it will hinder our plans to sabotage the wedding. But! I won't let my sister make a styleless apperearance, looking like a hag with a hanger stuck in her shoulders." Ienia kept her eyes on her as she moved about, deciding to forgo any comments about the real reason they both knew why she hesitated to wear anything she liked. "Ah! I think I found just the one!"

The younger princess didn't have enough time to glimpse at the dress she pulled out of the closet because she moved at lightning speed and passed it over her head. Her previous uncomfortable feeling of tightness could have returned if the dress hadn't been so breezy and glossy that her body slipped right in and it sat on her natural curves as if pointing them out but not shouting their presence. She already liked it more than the previous one.

"Wait! Don't open your eyes just yet!" She flinched by how suddenly and loudly she heard her sister's voice next to her pointy ear the second she tried to open her eyes but she complied because she could hear her enthusiasm. She was curious to see her choice. She heard her fumbling with the pockets of her rug of pants and for a split second she had the thought that maybe she had brought a disgusting insect from the courtyard and she would give it to her as a prank.

"I hope-" She didn't get to finish because she felt her sister's warn and calloused hands on her ears. Yelfen's palms and muscles on her arms made her look even less like a princess of Yael. They were crude for the regular elf or fairy since their people didn't partake in wars or violent activities. Since their mother, however, would consider any and all Yelfen's action as disgrace, instead of getting consumed in her efforts to satisfy her or trying to win an approval she would never get, she freely did whatever she wanted with no care for the consequences. A part of Ienia admired that about her sister but another part dreaded the moment she would cross the line and mother would try crueler punishments and measures.

"You can open them" Her sister encouraged her gently trying to hide her eagerness for her reaction. She had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the cool sensation of whatever her sister had put on her ears. It wasn't cool in the way of a worm, it was pleasant. It most definitely wasn't an insect. She hoped.

She opened her dark brown eyes slowly and for a moment she didn't recognize the reflection that stared back.

Her lean body was hugged sweetly by a dark blue dress that accentified her stronger female assets but without overdoing it or trying to change her. She might not look like a ripe, succulent woman but she looked exactly as what she was, a young refreshing lady. The thin straps that started on her shoulders ended in a criss cross on her bust which was covered without having pudding to add on it, intoning a different strong feature she had on her own without needless additions, her protruded collarbones. The flow of the fabric started at her straight shoulders and it ended at a mild cut above her ankles like the calm waters of Nech at night. She only realized how bright her smile was when she gazed up to check what decorated her lobes. Yelfen knew her so well, even by just being out of those intense colours and in something a little darker and calmer, she felt like a heavy rock had been lifted off her chest and now she could actually breathe freely. It was like floating on the calm surface of the sea without a care in the world. That feeling intensified as she gazed at the daisy-chain hoops with the matching little diamons that hang from her eyes next to her long and straight onyx hair that poured down her shoulders and back.

"Where did you-?" Her voice came out calm and dreamy but was cut short when Yelfen caught her by the shoulders. She leaned the side of her side on Ienia's.

"Now, that's my dropdead gorgeous sister" She said matter of fact and Ienia blushed due to the lack of teasing and the seriousness in her voice. "Must be nice to be the pretty one in the family" She added dramatically to dispel her embarrassment.

"You still didn't-"

"I know" She cut her off once again and paused. "You would be even more destructive if we painted your eyes and lips but spare those fools who haven't seen such beauty all in once place! They don't deserve to see it anyway!" Ienia rolled her eyes and smiled slyly but she opened her mouth to try and ask her question once again. Yelfen was too fast once again. "Chop chop! We're gonna be late and who knows what these idiots will do if we leave them alone for too long"

She decided to give up. Her sister always let her express herself and say whatever she had on her mind. For her to keep interrupting her, it meant that she knew her question and didn't want to answer it while she tried to convey that she shouldn't worry about it. So she decided to let go of the whole earrings ordeal. After all, there were more pressing matters.

"If mother sees you coming with me to meet the suitors-!"

"As if I would leave you alone with them! Not that you can't handle yourself but I wanna be there when you do it. Also, I need to be there to take responsibility for this" She touched her strap meaning the disobedience of her whole look. Ienia tried to say something. She didn't know what exactly but she felt like she ought to say something. At least an apology or a thank you. "What? Did you think I would let you take credit for my masterpiece?" She joked and Ienia remembered what she replied every other time they did this. She was doing it because she wanted to make her happy but also because she wanted to. If she started with the apologies or the gratitude, they would both feel upset and the whole thing would lose its worth. Some things needn't be said between people who loved each other.

She caressed the earrings with a sweet smile. Now that she was thinking about it, if there was a dress like this in her closet, she would have definitely noticed. She turned and looked at her sister even if she couldn't see her face. Where did the dress and the earrings come from?