Chapter 24

I awoke to an unfamiliar territory. As I surveyed the room, I noticed some particularly Tamaranian things about the room. The bed had an eyeball. There was a pink, feathery mini elephant looking thing chained on the side of the bed. And I was laying on a giant purple glob of gelatin it seemed like. It also felt like a water bed. I was so wrapped up in my analysis that I didn't see another life form enter the room.

"Glad to see you're up, m'lady." A feminine voice with what sounded like….an Irish accent. I hopped of the gelatin bed into a battle stance. The lady didn't look like a threat at all. She was almost an exact replica of Starfire, except for the hair and eye color. She had golden-brown hair and purple eyes. And her outfit was much more revealing.

"…"I didn't drop my battle stance, but I did take the black orbs off my hands.

"I don't mean harm. I'm Kar'denar, the Royals' maid. Just came to clean you up and help you get ready, Lady Raven." I dropped my battle stance completely and stared at her.

"How do you know my name?" The lady smiled kindly. Her face made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

"Well, you are a companion of Beloved Princess Kori'ander, correct?" I nodded. "Well, she informed me that four of her Earthen friends were attending her courtship. I assumed you were the only female on the team. She described one bionic, another green, one masked, and the last purple." I giggled at Starfire's descriptions.

"Yup that's me. The Purple." She took my arm.

"Are you the one that stole her significant other?" All little color I had drained from my face. Hopefully nobody else heard.

"Well, technically no…" She waved a dismissive hand and not another word was spoken on the topic. She walked over to something equivalent to a wardrobe and started to sift through the wardrobe. Mid-sift, she turned towards me.

"You have other things than that, right?" I looked down at my tattered clothes and saw what she meant. My dress was ripped and wrinkled, my hair was frizzy and matted, and my shoes were now flats.

"Nope. Didn't think I was going to get caught in an asteroid belt, so I only packed one dress." She quirked an eyebrow at my smartass comment.

"Well, let's see if we can't find you anything." Kar'denar grabbed my arm and dragged me into another room.

The room was equivalent to a bathroom. It had a tub looking thing for bathing, something that looked like a toilet, and a mirror. She grabbed the clips on the back of my dress and pulled them off, thoroughly stripping me of my clothes and my underwear. She then dumped me into the tub.

It was a strange feeling sensation. It felt like water, but didn't. She used her bare hands to scrub me and it felt…wrong. The water was cold and sudsy; the tub was cold and unforgiving. I think I even felt something nibble at my toe. My hair was still horrendous, do Kar'denar dunked me under the water. I was about to pass out when she pulled me up. She had this strange pink goop in her hands.

Please don't put that in my hair, I thought.

But she did. She poured it on my head from ten feet up, and it hit my head like an arrow. It felt like that Paul Mitchell peppermint tingling stuff, but a million times worse.

"W-What is this?" She smiled.

"It is the blood of the Redfltur'tyd beast." I cringed.

"Why do I feel things biting at my head?"

"Those are the floodernorlfgs, a parasite living within the blood of Redfltur'tyd beast. It helps to stimulate hair growth." My eyes shot wide as she finished. I wanted to hop out of the tub, but I'd flash her even more if I did.

"Am I done?" She didn't respond, but picked me up and threw me into a chamber. There were a million of those small pink elephant thingies in there. She yelled something inaudible in Tamaranian and they opened their mouths. I covered myself and ducked. Suddenly, Kar'denar yelled something at me.

"Stand up! These are the deranf'gors, they will help you get dried off." I reluctantly stood up. Kar'denar motioned, putting her hands over her head, indicating I should. Again, reluctantly I followed. She opened the door and silenced the animals. She then pulled me out and covered me with cloth.

"What was that?" I asked, breathless.

"It was like your hair dryer, but for the body." I nodded and let her wander for a dress. She came back with a red dress.

"Well, this looks around your size. It may be too small, but it will fit nonetheless." She let me dress and went out of the bathroom.

Tamaranian makeup is confusing. There were green tubes, giant tubs of orange powder, a dead insect that resembled a brush on a stick, and a pitchfork looking thing. It was so hard. I just decided to go without.

Shoes. Shoes are the fourth most important thing of a killer outfit. If you wear cowgirl boots with a ball gown, for example, it won't look good. There were many shoes in the closet. Heels, flats, clogs, platforms, stilettos, pumps, even sneakers! They had a pretty good selection on Tamaran. I tried on pumps that looked comfortable. Thing is; pumps are never comfortable.

Once I decided on an outfit, I headed out. Time to watch my best friend be given away in matrimony.

Taller squirrels smile more! Uh, moving right along. I've been delaying the wedding because [1] I love details and [2] I can't think of anything. It's pretty hard watching ANTM and typing at the same time! Review and Favorite! Grammar Nazis and Flamers welcome! P.S. I may not update Down Time, my other story, because I'm neck deep in Rob/Rae romance.