Comic Con is like Christmas for Emily and I was woken by her bursting through my door before my alarm clock went off at 6:30. "Wake up, Ruby! It's time to get ready."
"I can't get up." I grumbled, my comforter still partially blocking my view of her as it covered my head. "The bed and blankets have accepted me as one of their own. If I get up now, I could lose that trust forever."
"Come on!" Emily yanked my comforter off me and was rewarded with a groan. "We need to get ready. The others will be here soon."
"Others?" I rubbed my eyes, trying to clear the sleep out of them as I sat up. The curlers that Emily insisted I wear to bed last night clicked as I moved. It had taken her hours to fix my hair in the stupid things but she said it would curl my hair as I slept so I wouldn't have to wake up early. Look how that ended.
"Yeah. Jeremy, Ryan, and Peter are going to be here so we can get there early." Emily reminded me.
I dragged myself to the kitchen so I could make some coffee and Emily was unwinding the curlers in my hair. Smacking her hand away, I poured some liquid energy into my coffee cup and took a careful sip. Emily was already ready and tapping her toes impatiently as I took in her appearance. Her long blonde hair was perfectly straight and had a little black bow sitting on top of her head. She had framed her face in simple makeup, enhancing her features without over powering them. All that was left was to put her dress on but I assumed she wanted to wait until after she ate, to avoid stains.
"We are quickly running out of time to make you look like a person, much less a queen." Emily said with a teasing tone. A part of me thought that she only liked having me around so she could use me as her own personal Barbie doll. "May I work my magic, please?"
"Whatever you like." I held up my coffee. "I'm happy."
Getting my hair free of the curlers took much less time than it did to put them in and they left my hair hanging in perfect ringlets. Emily's hands worked quickly, pinning half of my hair up and away from my face, leaving the bottom half of the ringlets falling down to the middle of my back. She carefully placed the tiara before attacking my face with her makeup kit. By the time I was able to look in a mirror, my coffee was cold but my makeup was perfect. The doorbell rang while she was lacing me into my corset.
"They're here!" Emily squealed, pulling the door open. She greeted her friends and I called a hello into the living room. Mornings weren't my thing but I was going to be with these people all day so I may as well play nice. I could hear her saying, "I just have to help her with her costume then I can change then we're ready."
"Take your time." Peter said and the girlish giggle that escaped Emily's lips made me do a double take at the door. She flounced through it a second later and I gave her a pointed look.
"Really, Em?"
"Shut up." Emily blushed and finished tying the laces and handed me my dress. Her own was easier to get into than mine but I still dressed quicker than she. I drew the line at the heels she wanted me to wear, slipping into my Converse instead. I ignored her scowl as we joined the boys in the living room. My phone rang and Emily tried to snatch it out of my hands. "Don't you dare answer it."
"It's my boss." I said, answering it.
"Ruby, we need you to come in. Lisa got the flu bug that's going around and gave it to two other servers. Can you be here in ten minutes?"
"Sure." I gave Emily an apologetic look. "I'll be there."
I didn't have time to hang up before Emily started speaking. "You promised you'd go this time. It's supposed to be your day off."
"I could use the hours and Lisa has the flu." I told her. "I can go next year."
"But...your costume." Emily gestured to my outfit.
"I can wear it to work." I offered, not wanting to disappoint her. We were allowed to wear costumes when conventions or Halloween came around, mostly to promote them since we were only a few blocks from the convention center. "You guys should get going or you'll be in lines for hours."
"I'm angry at you." Emily said but there wasn't any venom to her words. "You're going next year."
"I promise." I smiled at her and watched as they left. I grabbed my apron and purse, making sure I had everything I needed. By the time I got to work, they were already packed with convention goers, all of them in costume.
"Thank God you're here." Mary Ann said as I passed her. "These guys are keeping us busy."
I chuckled as I tied my apron on but the smile died on my lips when I saw a woman with horns on her head, a very intimidating black outfit and a walking staff. "Tell me she's not in my section."
"I would but I'd be lying." Mary Ann nudged me. "Sorry but she gives me the heebie jeebies."
"I don't blame you." I let out a breath before approaching the woman. I smiled brightly at her. "Hi, I'm Ruby. I'll be your server today. What can I get you?"
Her gaze took in my costume, landing on the tiara in my hair. "Are you a red royal?"
Great. A role player. I thought to myself. Hopefully, I wouldn't get too pulled into this game. "I am the Red Queen but I'm humbly at your service."
Her eyes narrowed as she studied my face. "You will do."
The way she was looking at me was starting to make me nervous so I said, "Can I get you something to eat or drink?"
"I need you to come with me."
"Ruby!" Mary Ann called to me, gesturing to a new table that had been filled. I nodded to let her know I understood.
"I'll have to take your order or we'll have to give your table to someone else, ma'am." I told her.
"My-servant has a cursed placed on him and he needs your help to break it." She explained, in no hurry to leave. My eyes widened at her words. She was taking this game way too far. "You are a red royal, are you not?"
"Ma'am, I think you've gotten me confused with someone else." I pointed at my name tag on my chest. "My name is Ruby Prince and I think you should go home and sleep off your hangover."
"Ruby Prince." She repeated. "Clever little imp."
"Ruby!" Mary Ann needed backup as she tried to serve a group with several small children. Grateful for the reason to get away from this woman, I hurried to help her. When the group was situated with food, I glanced back to where she was sitting but she was gone.
Good riddance. I thought as I took another order.
-0-
By the time I got off six hours later, Emily and her friends were still gone. I thought about going to meet them when my shift was over but I had spilled a tray of food on my dress. It was ruined so as soon as I got home, I took it off and managed to unlace myself from the corset. My yoga pants and tank top soon replaced them and I sighed in comfort as I sank onto the bed. Pulling the pins from my hair, I put them in a small pile on my bedside table. The tiara soon joined them and I was finally free of Emily's primping. The girl is my best friend but she had a tendancy to go over board when it came to dressing up.
I don't remember drifting off but when I opened my eyes several hours later, the horned woman from the diner was standing in my doorway.
"What the hell?" I shouted, scrambling to get out of bed. "Get out of my apartment!"
"I told you what is needed and you are a red royal." She said matter of factly. "You will be coming with me."
"You're insane! Just who do you think you are?" I snapped, looking for anything to use as a possible weapon.
"I am Maleficent, fairy guardian of the Moors and godmother to Queen Aurora." She raised her chin proudly.
"Maleficent?" I scoffed. "Like from the Disney movie?"
She was confused by my reference. "Your words are odd."
"You have horns on your head." I pointed out. This was not how I wanted to spend my night. I trembled in fear because surely this woman was insane. She examined my messy room: the clothes scattered on the floor, the unmade bed, and the books that were stacked on the shelves. Her wings fluttered against the carpet. Wait, a minute. "You have wings?"
"Of course. All fairies have wings."
"Fairies don't exist. They aren't real." I stammered.
"I can assure you that I am quite real." She paused her walk around my room and stood in front of me. "You are ready to leave?"
"I'm not going anywhere with you! Get out before I call the-"
I didn't notice her gather a fistful of yellow dust and blow it in my face, causing me to fall asleep. My pounding head brought me out of unconciousness and my vision was blurry. I had to blink several times to clear my vision and sat up. It was a mistake because I got dizzy from sitting up too quickly. A moment later, I realized I wasn't in my apartment any more. The walls were made of stone and the canopy bed I was sitting on was way too comfortable to be mine. The thick rug that covered part of the stone floor was soft against my bare feet but the cold feeling of the stone took a second to adjust to.
"Oh, good." A blonde girl was smiling brightly at me from the fire place in the room. "You've woken up."
"Who are you?" My tongue felt thick and I desperately wanted a glass of water.
"I'm Aurora." She seemed to read my mind and handed me a cup. I drank the contents eagerly. "You've come to break Diaval's curse, haven't you?"
A/N: Thank you to everyone who has read/followed/favorited/reviewed this story. Please feel free to leave a review on your way out. I don't bruise easily. :)
Europa: I know quality costumes are hard to come by so close to Comic Con. Where I live, a woman owns a store and has a lot of costume/cosplay stuff she keeps in stock so people can make or buy costumes for conventions. There's lots of skirts, corsets, and such things there. :) thank you for your review and you're welcome for updating so quickly.
Dustfinger: Thanks for your review. Hopefully the explanation I gave Europa helps with any indiscretion with the costume. I didn't think that most malls/places didn't have a store like that. :)
