A/N: Sorry that updates are a bit slow, I'm actively writing this thing and I've hit a bit of a block, these next few chapters I don't like all that much and feel they're a bit slow but needed to get to the eventual plot points I want. Hopefully, y'll can stick it through for when it gets to the better bits.
Daine woke up as usual with the sun, surrounded by the cats who seemed to have claimed her and her cot as her own. She readied herself for the day, headed to breakfast, did her morning chores, had midday, and more work. When Daine was readying herself for dinner, the Lord's chamberlain appeared outside her door, giving her that same disdainful look but with a little less emphasis.
"My Lord requests you to join him for dinner. I will bring you to a guest room and a maid will be there to help you ready for the meal." He left just like the last time, Daine hurrying to follow him, leaving no room for questions. He walked into the house, up the stairs, and to a room on the third floor, there was a girl in a maid's uniform waiting for her there who curtsied to both of them.
"M'lady, I am here to help you dress for dinner with His Grace." She curtsied again keeping her head dipped, not making eye contact. The chamberlain closed the door and left the two girls. "M'lady if you would allow me to help you rinse off, and dress for dinner, we should hurry he is expecting you in a bell." She began curtseying before Daine could stop her.
Daine lightly grabbed the girl's arm making her freeze her movements and jerk her head up finally meeting Daine's eyes. "Please don't, and just call me Daine, I'm no lady, no matter how they dress me up."
The girl blushed and looked down at her feet again, thankfully she stood up straight and motioned to the steaming tub. "Then it's Jess, Lady Daine." This at least was using her name, it was better than nothing. Daine walked over to the tub and looked at and then back at Jess, "The water is going to be cold miss if you stand there any longer." Jess walked over to Daine and started to untie her skirts, Daine had never undressed in front of anyone, except maybe her ma but this was another girl barely older than her, she tried to push down the blush that was creeping from her cheeks down her neck. She untucked her top from her skits and pulled it off, then stepped out of her skirts, leaving her in just her shift, bra band, and loincloth. Daine took a deep breath and let Jess take the shift off over her head. She was almost naked in front of a person and the blush was spreading to her entire body, Daine heard a giggle from behind her, "I'll turn around if you wish miss" Jess at least was finding this amusing. Daine peeked behind her to see the girl's back, she quickly stripped off her bra band and loincloth before quickly stepping into the bath, sitting down, and curling her legs up to cover herself. Jess turned around and began scrubbing Daine's arms and what of her legs she could reach. Daine ducked her head under the water letting all the grime from the day flow out. Jess then set to the task of washing the mass of brown curls, it wasn't easy and there was a good amount of hay and straw to pick out of it, but after getting a good amount of suds all over her head, Daine dunked her head under the water. Jess then told Daine to stand up, using a bucket of clean, warm water to run over Daine getting the rest of the soap off. Daine was still very uncomfortable but the quickness that Jess completed her tasks was making this less uncomfortable. Jess wrapped a thick towel around her, and led her over to the chair in front of the vanity, using a comb to brush her wet hair and then taking another towel to dry her hair, scrunching the water out. Jess but some type of oil on Daine's hair that made it smooth to the touch, the curls look put together and soft. Jess had Daine turn around to face her as she applied a light dusting of face paint, some eye makeup, lengthening her lashes, and then some lip paint. Daine then followed Jess to the dressing room, Jess pulled out a pale pink dress, underclothes, and to Daine's dismay, a corset. The older girl hurried her into the clothing, thankfully Jess didn't pull the corset too tight, but it was still more than she was comfortable with. The dress was not a color Daine would pick but it was pretty in a feminine pink way, something very alien to her. With her clothing on, hair and makeup done, Daine walked to the full-length mirror to see a girl who looked very formal and dare she think noble? It wasn't something she could ever see herself being used to, she looked down at herself, rubbing her hands on the smooth pink fabric, the calluses on her hand catching on the fabric 'at least that's the same' she thought to herself. Jess hurried the girl out the door to the waiting Chamberlain, he looked impatient but Daine knew she still had time so this seemed to be just his normal level of annoyance that was always plastered on his face whenever she was around. Jess curtsied to the two of them and hurried down the hall in the opposite direction as to where the chamberlain was leading her.
When Daine entered the dining room it was just Lord Thomas there, she walked to the only other seat with a place setting, curtsying the best she could before sitting in the offered seat. "Thank you for joining me Daine, you look lovely." Daine blushed and bowed her head, the servants brought their food out quickly, setting it in front of them and retreating back to their stations.
"Thank you, m'lord."
"It's My Lord dear if you are going to be a noble lady you much work on your diction and grammar. I spoke with the king today and we decided on a back story. You are a cousin whose parents died, we took you in, etcetera etcetera we just need you to sign the adoption papers and you will officially be Lady Veralidaine of Beneklan. You and your now deceased parents spent most of your life in Tortall acting as delegates, your rough manners can be attributed to being raised in the more... liberal country. The snow is starting to clear so you will be leaving to go to the estate by Friday, we will need to get you a wardrobe fit for a young lady." Lord Thomas gave no room for Daine to question what he was saying these were orders, not suggestions, she would do what he said, she would become a lady, and she would not protest.
"Yes My Lord, what should we take care of first?" Daine looked at Lord Thomas and bowed her head, she would go along with this, maybe being out in the country will be good for her, she could probably find ways to slip out and visit the animals so it probably won't be all bad, and they breed most of their horses and dogs there so it should be alright, hopefully.
"My wife, Her Grace Juliana, will be in charge of your education, the younger children are there but they have tutors and nannies to care for their education. She will be giving you a crash course on being a lady and hopefully, you won't completely embarrass this family." Lord Thomas was more stern in his statement, she was going to behave no matter what.
The rest of the meal was spent in silence, they didn't speak or even look at each other until Lord Thomas dismissed her, telling her to return to the room she was readied into sleep before tomorrow when she began her fittings for a new wardrobe. Jess was there when she arrived, the older girl helped her undress and ready for bed, cleaning the facepaint off, and then twisting her hair up and covering it with a scarf. Daine then walked to the large bed, pulled back the covers, and settled down for a night of restless sleep, for the first time in forever sleeping without any nighttime visitors.
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After what felt like hours of tossing a turning Daine got up and began pacing, she walked to the window and opened it, she breathed in the cool night air as a bat flew up to her, landing on her outstretched hand, hello wing-sister, the little brown bat was squeaking away at Daine, telling her all about the bugs and the night, she and her colony lived in the tall buildings in the area and she wanted to say hello to the two-legger who is People. They talked for a few minutes, Daine giggling when the excitable little bat would dart away at a bug who flew too close to where she was perched. After their talk Daine felt much more at peace, even if she was stuck inside there was a good-sized window high enough off the ground that she could leave open for animals to come in but not humans. Daine curled up on the large bed, taking a deep breath of the fresh air coming through the window, and finally falling into a deep sleep.
xxx
Daine woke up to the cheeps of small starlings who had flown in and nuzzled up to Daine while she slept as well as a pair of pigeons who were snuggled next to Daine's head. She sighed and tried to stretch as well as she could with the limited mobility from the birds surrounding her. Even with her caution she still disrupted her visitors too much for their comfort and caused them to take off, most leaving through her window but a few of the starlings stayed and landed on furniture around the room. The commotion of the birds must have been loud enough to be heard outside the room because as Daine was getting out of bed there was a knock at the door.
"Lady Daine, may I come in to help you get ready?" Jess was at the door, it was early, the sun had just risen, 'what time did Jess wake up then?' Daine thought as she opened the door for the girl. Jess curtsied and entered the room, closing the door behind her. "Good morning Lady Daine, you have a busy day today so let's get to it, the seamstress will be up to see you to discuss what you need and to take your measurements. Do you have any preferences on the dresses?"
"As long as it isn't as girly as the one last night I'm sure I can deal with it." Daine sat down in the chair in front of her vanity, Jess did the same routine as the night prior, wetting her hair, adding some oil, then using her fingers to separate and define the curls, she tied back the top half in an intricate bun, Daine wasn't exactly all for this new life of nobility but Jess was very good at making her hair much more manageable, much better than she herself was. Jess applied light makeup to Daine's face, then leading her to the dressing room, stripping her down, and then getting her into a simple day dress, with only her undergarments, shift, and a light dress, thankfully no corset due to the fittings. Jess gave her one last look over then sent her off to breakfast, which she again would be having with Lord Thomas, she was beginning to miss the friends she made while working there and the idea that she may never be able to see them again in that way was not a happy one. When Daine got to breakfast she was relieved to see Sarra was joining them, the younger girl was sitting in the seat opposite where Daine sat down and where she did the night before. Sarra smiled up at Daine, before getting back into her porridge. Daine was used to having porridge every morning but this was rich with honey, fresh fruit, and cream, as Daine spooned the first bite into her mouth and had to hold back a sigh of contentment, this was the best thing Daine had ever had when it came to breakfast foods.
When all three were done eating Lord Thomas spoke up, "Sarralyn I expect you to assist Veralidaine during her fittings today, and you might as well get a few new dresses while they're here, you are growing still, and make sure that Daine here gets a wide range of dresses, not just simple comfortable ones. She'll need dresses fit for entertaining. Also, Sarra, I believe you should accompany Daine to the estate, help your mother train her to be a lady." Daine and Sarra exchanged looks but nodded to the Lord of the house. "Now off with you, the seamstress and her team will be here soon, do not make them wait for you." The girls hurried off to Daine's rooms, they entered the sitting room to Jess and Sarra's handmaid, Cristina, setting out refreshments and getting seats set out, and then clearing the room so that everyone had room to move about. Sarra and Daine sat on the couch and Sarra began telling Daine about styles and fabrics things that normally Daine would tune out but this time was listening to intensely. After about 10 minutes of this, there was a knock at the door, Jess went to the door and opened it, admitting an army of tailors, seamstresses, servants, and some others, all in all, there were at least 15 people who immediately started setting out swatches, sketches, and hanging up dresses they already had made in the past.
The woman who seemed to be in charge walked over to where Daine and Sarra were sitting, she pulled over a chair, and in her hands were a sketchbook and charcoal. "Hello I'm Eleanor Inman," she curtsied and took a seat, "the king sent me to get a wardrobe ready for the Lady Veralidaine. He has informed me that you require everything a young lady needs, and even though you are studying at home you need convent and court-ready outfits. If you would My Lady, please stand up over here on the platform and undress to your shift, we'll tale your measurements and look at some sketches and the dresses we have that are already done, we tried to guess what your size would be based off your description but you seem thinner than we expected so we'll have to bring most of them in a bit. Come on My Lady up you go." Sarra gave Daine a small push making her get up. One of the other women who came helped Daine take off her dress and led her to the platform. The like the wind Eleanor came up and started measuring Daine using a string with knots, yelling out numbers to one of the servants who came with them. The measuring went very quickly and when she finished, she went over to the rack of dresses, she started leafing through the gowns there. She pulled out a few and handed them over to her assistants, Daine was feeling slightly discouraged with the sheer number of them, 'this is gonna take way too long' Daine thought.
The first dress Daine was put in was a casual dress in pale blue with detailing in dark blue, the sleeves went about 3/4th of the way down her arm and its skirt was loose. The dress as they expected was too large and would need a good amount taken in all around, but still was very pretty, "I like the colors in this, it doesn't make me completely uncomfortable, so this style is good." Daine smiled at Sarra who was trying to conceal her giggles as a very strong cough. The seamstress glanced at her but didn't say anything.
Daine was then stripped and shoved into another casual dress that laced up in the back like a corset, it did slim her but didn't take all her breath away as a corset did, it was pretty but more feminine than Daine would have liked being in a pale purple, Sarra, on the other hand, thought it was "just amazing" so it was put into the keep pile after it was taken in in the arms. The next few casual dresses were in varying styles similar to the first two, ranging in high necklines to those that draped and plunged much too low making Daine blush and try to pull them higher.
They then moved to more formal wear, gowns that according to Eleanor required a corset, so they laced her into a white corset to the point that Daine thought they'd keep going and break her ribs, luckily they stopped there and let Daine try breathing before they tied her in, the corset was tight but wasn't completely impossible to breathe in so Daine didn't complain even if she did give Sarra a few looks during the ordeal. One of the assistants then brought over an underskirt in a pale pink color and another brought over a purple dress, they helped her pull it over her head, they then laced it up the back. Daine looked in the mirror, the dress was a deep purple with pink accents, it had long sleeves that flared at the wrist and when Daine shifted the fabric shone and moved, it was the most beautiful gown Daine had ever seen let alone worn and she couldn't take her eyes off herself, she didn't look like Daine she looked like a lady. The longer Daine looked at her self the more uncomfortable she felt, she was no lady, just a doll to be dressed up, she was a bastard, commoner, she didn't want this, she wanted to be riding Cloud, shooting arrows, meeting new animals, she was not this lady staring back at her in the mirror. The seamstress placed a few pins in this dress before putting a blue one on her, this one had a lower neckline and sat off her shoulders with loose sleeves that gathered at the wrists, it was just as beautiful and just as much not Daine. The next was grey with a deep neckline, it sat high on her shoulders and the arms were tight as the rest of the dress, the skirt flared out with silver accents. They moved to a red one that Daine immediately vetoed based on how it made her chest look, making all the women in the room try to stifle the laughter it caused. The rest of the formal gowns went much the same, either Daine suffered through getting pricked and prodded, or giving the women a hard no to those that Daine felt were either completely inappropriate or she thought were hideous.
Finally, when they had gone through all the dresses and even a couple of riding outfits that consisted of trousers and long tunic style dresses with slits for extra movement, those Daine were especially excited for meaning she would be riding in the future. With all the trying-on and measurements done, Daine put the dress she wore to breakfast on, this time with the corset, and sat down next to Sarra. There was a spread of small squares of fabric sitting on the table in front of the couch and the chair that the seamstress brought over. While Daine was trying things on, Sarra flipped through the swatches pulling out colors and fabrics she thought Daine would approve of, she now showed them to her. Most were simple and plain, purples, a couple darker reds, greys, greens, but overwhelmingly it was different shades and fabrics in blue, which Daine couldn't refute.
The rest of the time with the seamstress and her army was spent looking through her sketches and talking about colors, fabrics, styles, and the like. Daine did request that more of those riding outfits be made and that if possible her dresses were looser in the arms, claiming she didn't want to feel restricted but in reality so Daine could at least have a knife or something on her when she couldn't outwardly have her bow. By the time they left Daine was feeling much worn out and desperately wanted to go for a long ride through the forest. But her afternoon was to be spent being a good little lady, heading to the market to buy ladylike items with her handmaid, Jess, and Sarra with hers, along with a parade of men at arms to make sure the gentlewomen don't get into anything they can't handle. They missed midday so they had servants bring their meal to them as they lounged in Daine's rooms, laughing over the folly of women who think that dresses were the most important thing in the world. Daine was thankful that her hands still had the calluses she gained from years of archery and working with her hands, other than that she was starting to resemble the fluffy noble ladies she disliked so. They ate their midday meal quickly and readied to go then headed to the courtyard where 8 guards were waiting on the 4 girls. They walked out the gate and into the hustle and bustle of the street, they headed down to the market, stopping at small stalls along the way to buy some ribbons and a hairpiece that unbeknownst to the guards, held two small hidden knives, which Sarra and Daine found very amusing. They stopped at a small shop that sold jewelry, Sarra insisting that Daine get a necklace and matching earbobs that had bows and arrows on them. They walked around once they got to the market, getting random accessories, some that doubled or concealed weapons. The girls stopped to buy street food, watched children run underfoot, women sitting on stoops doing their wash, Sarra pointed at some boys milling around that were goggling at Daine as they walked past, the girls giggled at how obvious they were. Daine laughed about how if she was still the girl back home they never would have looked her way twice except to yell insults, but now all dressed up she was just what these boys wanted to see.
They walked around for most of the afternoon, stopping at shops, laughing together at children who ran past them. By the time they got back to the townhouse, it was time to clean up and head to dinner. Jess helped Daine wash up and change into a lilac dress, the color was nice and Daine said as much to Jess, who laughed at how Daine was quickly acclimating to wearing more feminine dresses and colors. Jess straightened Daine's hair and sent her off to dinner. When Daine arrived at the dining room, Sarra was just getting there as well, they exchanged a smile as Daine curtsied to Lord Thomas, with his nod the girls sat down and the servants brought their food out. Dinner went quickly and Lord Thomas dismissed them as soon as everything was cleared from the table, the girls hurried a curtsy and then headed up to their beds.