Chapter 47: What the Well-Dressed Lady Wears to her Marriage Proposal
Sarah ran to her room, nearly bowling over Lorikar as she burst through the door. "Hi!" she greeted. "I know I'm late. Want to help me get ready?"
Lorikar's open mouth snapped shut. "My lady! Where have you been?"
"Got kidnapped and locked in a tower by one of the Goblin King's jealous admirers. Have they questioned the monarchs about their betrothals yet?" Sarah was rapidly stripping off her dress as she spoke.
Lorikar shook her head, taking the dress and running to fill the tub. "Not yet, but soon. We'll have to hurry! What about your kidnapper?"
"Oh, I have a friend telling the king about it. If I know her, she'll be attached to him; he won't have to look far for her. I'm sure they'll have matters well in hand by the time I get there." Sarah stepped into the bath and started to wash herself with an economy of motion.
"King Jareth has been here several times looking for you," Lorikar commented from the bedroom. "He left you a gown to wear this evening."
"Oh, goody," Sarah groaned. She wouldn't have time to send it back this time! It had become a sort of unspoken joke that every evening Sarah would send at least one gown back to him. "Well, I hope it's decent for once."
"Oh, it's just lovely, my lady!" Lorikar chirped.
"Yes, but you're no judge," Sarah teased the maid. "You say that about all his concoctions!"
Lorikar giggled as she brought in a towel. "Yes, well… they'd all be plenty modest if I wore them, though." She only stood as high as Sarah's hips.
Sarah grinned, standing up and wrapping the towel around herself. "True. Those skirts are usually full enough that there'd be room under them for both you and a friend!" She headed suspiciously toward the bed, where the evening's first offering was laid out.
It was deep green, and strapless. Sarah groaned. Oh, well—it couldn't be helped. There really wasn't time to play their usual game of sending it back for a different one.
To her surprise, though, once Lorikar helped her put it on, it wasn't that bad. The neckline was a little low, but wearable, and the built-in boning would make sure the dress stayed up. It was a little tight, but for once she didn't mind. That, too, would help ensure that it didn't slide off her body during the dancing!
The skirt was narrower than her usual wont, and there was a slit up each side that went to mid-thigh. Sarah shrugged. It was the last night of the celebrations anyway, and honestly, she'd seen prom dresses and bridal gowns that were a lot worse! So she left it on, and bit her tongue when Lorikar matter-of-factly applied powder to Sarah's bosom as well as to her face!
Then the dwarf woman did Sarah's hair, performing some magic spell that dried it quickly, then applying the oil, curling it, and piling up the front and sides in a ribbon on top. The back she left down for once, and winked at Sarah in the mirror. "There, now you look like a fae woman," she said. "If you choose to accept King Jareth, they'll make less fuss about it if you've adopted fae fashions."
Sarah nodded, then turned around in front of the mirror. "How do I look, Lorikar?"
"Like a queen, my lady," the maid replied with a curtsey.
Sarah bent swiftly and pressed a kiss to the little maid's brown cheek, and then she ran out towards the ballroom.
"Cor!" said Lorikar to herself, pleased, touching her cheek. "Wonder why she did that?"
A/N: Countdown: three more chapters till the biggie!