"Wake up!" Giselle sang as she tugged rather forcefully on my arm. "Wake up, up, up; today is a big day for us."

When I didn't immediately comply with Giselle and her enthusiastic pulling, Victoria decided to join in as well and grabbed my other arm. "Get up, we have to go; now, Ebony!"

With both of them tugging at me, it wasn't long until they had pulled me out of my bed and onto the floor. The fall woke me up completely and I sat rubbing the elbow I had landed on. "Aren't you going to the castle today?" I asked. The sun had not even fully risen and they were dragging me out of bed for something they thought was urgent.

As soon as I was dumped on the floor Victoria walked off back into her room saying she was going to finish getting ready. Giselle was already dressed with her hair up and face painted. She was nearly bouncing where she stood and her smile reached across her entire face. I could only think of two things that would make them this excited: either a prince had proposed or we were going shopping. It was the latter as Giselle loudly proclaimed when I asked why they had woke me up. Today they were going to browse the grand shops in the king's city. Giselle pulled me to my feet and then proceeded to push me into getting ready. I could not go fast enough for her, never mind that it was not only me who was not ready but Victoria as well. Giselle kept worrying over how slow I was going and how there would be no time to shop at this rate. Even after I was dressed and washed and ready to go, Victoria was still sitting at her vanity doing her hair. After she had made sure that I was ready and waiting, Giselle went over to help her sister.

I slumped in the three person chair to wait. It was obvious that I was going shopping too. I had only gone shopping with them once because it was so horrible that I never wanted to go through that again. It was three annuals ago; my mother had insisted that we all go together. It was after my mother had all but given up on me becoming like my stepsisters and she used the shopping trip as a last effort to make me like she wanted me to be. Since I did not enjoy doing the things Giselle and Victoria did, I had not gotten to know them exceedingly well and on the shopping trip I saw a side of them I had never seen before. When they were with suitors, they were all charm and grace. When they were with their father, they were childish and silly. When they were with my mother, they gossiped and talked of clothes. But in the shops with the shop girls, they were cruel and malicious. If a shop girl wasn't fast enough on getting what they wanted they would shout about how useless she was and complain to the shop owner. If a tailor stuck them with a pin on accident, they would lash out with feet and fists. If another girl was looking at something they liked, they would violently shove her aside. They continued this behavior in every shop we went to that day. My mother simply turned a blind eye to it all and acted as if it were all completely normal. All the tailors and shop girls avoided the pair as best as they could without getting in trouble with the owner of the shop. I did my best to hang back and stay out of Giselle and Victoria's way and they forgot I was there after a while. I remained quiet and watched in awe at how horrible they were to anyone who didn't do things exactly as they wanted.

After three annuals, I did not think their way of shopping could have improved much so I looked for any way to get out of going. "Why must I join you shopping?" I asked. "Wouldn't it be much more fun if you two went together without me?"

Victoria stood up from her vanity. They had finally gotten her hair the way she wanted it. "Nonsense, we want to spend time with our little sister."

Giselle picked up a light green shawl and draped it across her arms. Victoria already wore a matching red one. "There will be more hands to carry the packages."

The two sisters linked arms with me so there could be no way I could refuse to go without physical violence. I should have known I was going to act as their servant. Perhaps I could slip out after the first store somehow and leave them to their shopping while I wandered the town. This was my plan as we entered the carriage and rattled away. I would wait until they were inspecting some gown and sneak out the door. By the time they noticed I would be long gone in the bustle of the streets. They probably wanted to shop on Lilac Avenue; it was a street Christian had showed me that was lined with nothing but fancy shops and boutiques. I knew my way back to the Gilded Leopard from there so I could just walk back before night fall. I thought my plan was foolproof for a little while, and then I noticed that we were going much farther than Lilac Avenue. Victoria said that the princess had told them about a small district that was devoted to making the finest wares in the realm. The district was in the East End, which I had never visited before. It was on the opposite side of the castle from the Gilded Leopard and there was no chance that I could possibly walk across the entire city in one day. It took me two hours to walk to the menagerie the other day and that was on the same side of the plateau as the inn. It seemed like I was going to have to endure shopping; my only hope was that I could remain unnoticed like I did when I was sixteen.

The first shop was a massive shop that had two levels. The ground floor was where all the beautiful gowns, shoes, and jewelry were kept. On the second floor, which was basically a balcony that encircled the first, a woman could get her new dress fitted to her personally or take measurements for a new one. Apparently Giselle and Victoria were not the only ones who had the idea of shopping today. When we arrived the store was quite crowded already. There must have been at least fifty shop workers to attend to all the people. Everywhere women were talking about fashion and the upcoming events that were going to be taking place. Immediately Giselle and Victoria were in their element. Each walked purposefully to the first worker they saw and demanded their help; it did not matter if that worker was already with another customer. Since they had both walked away, this left me to begin being invisible. I was sure they would find me again when they needed boxes to be carried, but for now I could look around in peace.

The quality of every dress was exquisite. I heard almost every person exclaim at the artistry of fairy clothes. It appeared as if everything in the shop was fairy made which meant not only was it of the highest quality, but everything was laced with magic. I was sure that none of these dresses would ever get stains or tears and would stay pristine over many, many years. There was hardly any fairy crafted items in Lyscos, but here there seemed to be no shortage. Even though fairy made items were everywhere, it did not seem to lower the cost one bit. Every dress was worth at least four times what it would be if it were made by human hands. I hoped Giselle and Victoria had brought a lot of money with them if they planned to buy anything here. I knew that I would not spend my money on anything from this shop. I did not need a dress this fancy. I had brought a few gowns from home that would suffice for the time being. It was still nice to look at the glamorous gowns though.

I slowly walked through the dress displays until I neared the back of the shop. I was not the only girl in the back. There was an entire crowd gathered at the back. I could see the blonde head of Giselle and the red head of Victoria right at the very front. All the girls were looking at a gown that was raised up on a platform. It was by far the most beautiful dress in the shop, possibly in entire the city. It was a deep sapphire blue with diamonds sewn into the bodice, but that was not what made the dress incredible. The material the dress was made out of seemed to sparkle like stars and flow like water. Anyone girl who was fortunate enough to wear such a gown would be instantly transformed into a graceful, ethereal creature that would be the center of attention anywhere. I joined the crowd of awestruck girls who gazed upon it. My mouth hung open as the fabric stirred slightly around the mannequin. Even the lifeless dummy seemed to be slightly dancing on its pedestal.

"I want it!" I head Giselle shout from the front of the crowd. "How much is it? Where is that useless shopkeeper, I want this dress and I will not leave here until I have it!"

She drew the attention of a shop girl when she started to try and take the dress from the mannequin. She also drew the attention of another girl who was in the front of the crowd. I did not have a good view of them until the other girls started backing up from what seemed to be the start of a fight. I managed my way to the edge of the circle that had formed around the two and the shop girl. The shop girl was trying to explain something to the two customers but could not be heard. Victoria stood next to her sister of course, but the other looked formidable enough to give both of them a good trouncing. The other girl was harshly beautiful. Her face was angular and sharp. Her hair was pulled strictly back from her face in a complicated braid. She stood perfectly straight as if she had an iron rod in her back. Her demeanor and dress revealed that she was a very important person in Pharyss. I think it was the first time I had seen someone look down upon Giselle and Victoria as if they were just like anyone else.

"This dress is mine," The woman said stiffly, as if she could hardly stand to look at my stepsisters. "I am the Duchess Ojera of Featherstone in Adellia, daughter of the honorable Chester the Valiant and Francine the Gracious. I have come from Adellia as a sign of good faith between our two nations and you will not fight me for this dress or you shall find yourself in the stocks by nightfall."


Whoa that chapter took no time at all! Bit of drama at the end, it seems not everyone is impressed by the stepsisters. Hope you all are still enjoying the story. I love feedback either good or bad. I really like talking to you guys; you're all pretty cool. So yeah, that was the new chapter, posted at lightning speed, ka-chow!