Here Comes The Sun
Chapter 22
By: The Duchess of Arendelle
AN: I'M SORRY. I have no excuse why it took me so long to update this! And to top it off, there's no Elsa in this chapter. :( Sorry. But there's a reason. This is just a filler chapter. I wanted to post something because the chapter after this leads into the ball and then after that chapter is the actual ball. PLUS. I will update later THIS WEEK. I SWEAR. This story will be updated again this week.
Another thing. I didn't go into detail about how Anna's gown or suit looks, I just said the very basics about them, because I'm saving those tidbits for the ball. I don't want to describe them now and then we get to the ball and you've forgotten what they're supposed to look like. Anyway this chapter is literally just to give you guys a little info and because I really wanted to update the story. Short chapter. Really short but enjoy. And sorry for any and all mistakes. I wanted to post this as fast as possible so probably didn't do the best proof reading job. At all.
"Only two mor days till tha ball, majesty must be very excited!" Iris exclaimed as she helped Anna into her gown. Claudette had just added the finishing touches and requested Anna immediately model it for her. She now stood back and admired her own work. "Ecstatic." Anna dead panned as she looked herself over in the full length mirror. Iris hummed, happily oblivious to Anna's less than enthusiastic tone. "Oh the dancin', the food, the princes! Per'haps ye'll meet yur own Prince Charmin'. A double weddin' would be grand!" she sighed wistfully as she flopped down onto the light blue and black chaise. Anna snorted at the idea. Why would she settle for a "Prince Charming" when she already had a Queen? "Yeah, that's definitely a possibility." Anna replied sarcastically. Iris squealed and giggled in delight at the idea of both the queen and princess finding a nice, young, handsome, prince to marry at the ball.
Anna's sarcasm and mood was not lost on Claudette. She frowned slightly as she interrupted the young red haired maid's excited rant about how wonderful the ball would be. "Iris, would you be a dear and leave me and Princess Anna to speak alone?" Both Iris and Anna looked confused at the brunette dressmaker's request. The younger of the two just shrugged and smiled, rising from the chair and curtseying to Anna before nodding to Claudette. "Sure ting Madame." She then turned to Anna. "If there is anyting her majesty should need, please don hesitate ta summon me." And with a final smile, the young girl took her leave.
After making sure the girl was out of earshot, Claudette walked over to Anna, coming up behind the princess and adjusting her gown. "The straps are to be worn off the shoulders like so. There, now it is perfect, just like its wearer." She smiled at Anna's reflection and the redhead gave a small smile in return. As Claudette continued to adjust certain parts of the dress, she spoke hesitantly. "May I speak candidly your majesty?" she asked. Anna looked at the woman through the mirror. "Of course Claudette. You know you can, and it's Anna." The young princess responded. "Yes, Anna, well, if you don't mind me saying, you don't seem very enthusiastic about the ball. Is it the dress? Because I'm sure I could-" Anna quickly cut Claudette off, reassuring the woman. "No, of course not! The dress is beautiful. It's a masterpiece." She told the brunette standing behind her. Claudette smiled gratefully. "Merci beacoup, Anna… Then what may I ask is bothering the princess so?" she asked, grabbing a flower off the side table to place in Anna's hastily done up doo. Anna shied away from Claudette's questioning gaze. "Perhaps it has something to do with this 'costume' you had me create?" she asked, leaving Anna to retrieve said articles of clothing. "Perhaps." Anna responded quietly, running her hand over the spot where her white strip of hair use to reside. Claudette came back into the room with the suit on a petite male mannequin. "Very well then, I suppose you should try this on as well." Claudette smiled slyly, taking the flower back out of the princess's hair and carefully unzipping her gown. "But first, there are a few things we need to do…"
Claudette walked over to a large wooden wardrobe and removed a roll of bandages, a wig cap, and a short brown wig. She silently walked back over to the redhead who had finished removing her gown and began putting on the costume's trousers. She once again walked up behind the princess, steadying the girl when she was about to fall over from her efforts to put the pants on. "Careful majesty." She laughed lightly. Anna huffed, blowing away a strip of hair that had fallen in her face. She then looked down at the roll of bandages Claudette held in her hands. "Is someone hurt?" she asked in confusion. Once again the dress maker laughed at Anna's innocence. "No Anna, no one's hurt. I'm assuming you are going as a young prince as your costume?" Claudette asked. Anna blushed slightly and nodded. The brunette leaned towards Anna conspiratorially and whispered. "Well, if you don't mind me pointing out your majesty, young princes don't have those." She pointed down to Anna's corset covered bosom. The redhead looked down and her blush instantly darkened. "Oh. Yeah. Right…" she trailed off, laughing embarrassedly. "You must remove your corset so I can bind your chest." Claudette spoke matter of factly. Anna nodded in understanding, still blushing as she had Claudette help her remove the corset. "So now I wrap the bandage tightly around your breast, this will give the illusion of you being flat chested." Anna winced as the bandages got tighter and tighter. "Geez, this may be worse than the corset." Anna complained. "Suck it up Anna, beauty is pain." Claudette joked. After she finished binding the redhead's chest, she helped the princess into her undershirt, followed by a button up dress shirt, waistcoat, cravat, and finally the heavy formal coat. "The more layers you wear, the more it will hide your feminine curves." She explained. Anna nodded. "Next we put this on." Claudette pulled Anna's hair out of the bun, quickly changing it into a ponytail and shoving the wig cap on her head, stuffing her hair under it. "Oww." Anna groaned. "Shush you." Claudette chastised. "Now the wig." She said, placing the brown hair on Anna's red head and securing it. "Hmmm. Something is off… Wait, I'll style it." The brunette ran off to get hair supplies. She quickly returned with scissors and a cornucopia of other supplies. As she worked on the wig still on Anna's head the young princess asked Claudette a question she had been wondering about since they started.
"Claudette, how do you know how to do all of… this?" she gestured to her hair, the suit, and her bandaged chest. Claudette smiled lightly and continued to work on the wig. "In France, there is so much… eh, underground… culture. There are things people do, places people go, where they dress as they please. I was a young girl when I went to one of those places. Le Petit Cheval was the name. It was a place where people of all backgrounds put on grand performances. Would you believe I've seen women in trousers and buttoned shirts, smoking pipes and men in corsets and dresses?" Claudette laughed at the expression of immense confusion that came across Anna's face. "Really?" she asked in bemusement. Claudette nodded her head. "That is where I first learned my craft. I use to apprentice for a very interesting man. He was a fabulous designer that would wear the finest suits and cravats… but always wore a face full of over the top makeup with mascara and everything, and his signature was his dotted mole and ruby red lipstick." Anna laughed at the thought of such a sight. Claudette finished up on the wig and leaned down to look at Anna's reflection. "I have meet all kinds of people, seen all kinds of relationships. I have learned that love is love, no matter who it is with." Anna stared back at Claudette's expression with surprise. She noticed that the brunette looked one hundred percent sincere. Anna smiled at her friend and Claudette smiled back. "I think we're done here." She spoke softly, giving the girl a quick hug before stepping back a bit to admire Anna's princely look. The redhead fidgeted a bit and looked at Claudette unsurely. "…Well, how do I look?"
"Ooh là là, like you're ready to steal a few hearts." She joked with a wink. Anna smiled. "No, just one."
AN: I love you guys and I sowieeeee for how long it took to update! Fun fact I learned, Oh la la doesn't really have anything to do with sexiness or anything risqué. It's an expression that literally means, oh there, there. It's usually used in situations similar to this; Oh là là ! J'ai oublié mon portefeuille !(Oh no, I forgot my wallet!) To use it like we Americans use it we must spell it Ooh là là! I didn't know that! Anyways, enough staling and trying to make you guys forget I'm a terrible author would neglects her readers. *Insert puppy dog eyes*
Look for the next installment later on this week. Probably Friday or Saturday.
Le Petit Cheval- The Little Horse
Merci Beacoup- Thank you very much