Lots of thanks to those who reviewed. Didn't get to 165 like I hoped, but what can I do? Anyway, I only just realised how funny it was that I was pairing Mimi with KEN of all people. They're like, the original odd couple! But he was the only male character that worked for me and what I wanted to do with him. You'll see where I'm going with it soon enough.
Disclaimer: I do not own the movie Ever After, but I do own a lemon drop. Don't sue, or you'll get my lemon drop and that's about it.
And ONWARDS, WATSON!
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Mimi was sitting at her dressing table. The reflection that stared back from the mirror was a mess. Hair wasn't brushed and had taken the appearance of a bird's nest. Eyes, red with tears, had huge purple bags beneath them from lack of sleep. The whole face had taken on a sunken gauntness from not eating. She was dressed only in her simplest nightgown, which was rumpled and looked to have been worn day in day out for quite some time. All in all, she looked on the verge of death. Mimi wondered what would be on her tombstone. Hopefully something along the lines of: She died of a broken heart.
Sitting on the table in front of Mimi was her tiara. She tore her eyes from her reflection to glare at it. Such an intricate piece of jewellery. Interlacing strands of silver wire dotted with star shaped flowers, studded with larger crosses formed of four open flowers around a cental disk. In the centre of each flower was a diamond. So many people would kill to have it, hold it, own it. But to Mimi, it seemed like this tiara was the cause of all her problems. This one item symbolised all she could ever be in life. She picked it up and gingerly placed it on her head. She couldn't make it sit right. Perfect. She carefully removed it from her tangled mess of hair, took one more look at it, then hurled it against the wall before leaning forward into her hands, sobbing. It hit the door, splintering into several small pieces, just seconds before it was opened.
The maid who had opened the door waited cautiously at the door for a moment, then, seeing that Mimi was decent, walked in. Stopping a little way into the room, she curtsied before delivering her message.
"Princess? The Queen requests your audience in the third assembly hall. She says to be there in ten minutes, and to wear something thin. Oh, and she says she wants you to look presentable. Thank you, Princess."
She curtsied again before skittering out of the room. Mimi hadn't even looked up from her hands at her. She knew why she was expected in the third assembly hall. Wedding plans. Her mother had said something about a very highly sought after wedding planner coming to the palace in the near future. Mimi, as usual, had heard her, but her words had failed to register. It was like Mimi was living in a bubble, and nothing that went on outside the bubble made any sense. She raised her eyes to examine that lifeless corpse in the mirror again. Presentable? Her mother must be joking.
Dragging a brush through her hair, Mimi dragged her feet over to her extensive wardrobe. Usually servants dressed her, but recently they had stopped coming. Mimi supposed it was because she had refused to move from her bed for more than a week. Still, it didn't bother her that she had to clothe herself. That way she got to choose what she wore. Today she pulled out a long, black, thinly woven silk dress. It covered her from neck to toe and the colour fitted her mourning state. Of course, as a princess, she didn't own anything ugly. But at least it was suitably plain.
Pulling it over her head, she ran the brush through her hair twice more and looked in the mirror again. A slight improvement. Not vast, but it would have to do. She wasn't wasting any more of her precious energy on beautification. Drifting out of her room, she slowly made her way to the assembly rooms. Each one had a number engraved into a gold plaque that was fixed next to the door. She found 'Three' and tugged on the door handle. If gave, and she let herself in. Her mother was already in there, sitting at the long polished table with a middle-aged man. There were younger women and men dotted around the edge of the room, watching the Queen and the man talk. Mimi moved towards the pair. They had papers strewn across the table in front of them. Designs, plans, costs, pictures; Queen Liliana was studying them all. But her head snapped up as she heard her daughter approach.
"Monsieur Leonard, this is my daughter, Princess Mimi. It is her wedding that you shall be coordinating."
Monsieur Leonard took her hand and gently placed a kiss on it. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mademoiselle. You, of course, must look at these plans that I have put together, and see if anything takes your fancy. It is your wedding, after all."
Mimi could have burst into tears. She knew he meant well, and it was clear he was a kind man, but he was reminding her of the very worst aspect of her life. That she was being forced into a marriage with a man she had yet to meet over a man who she was sure she loved, and would always love. Even if he didn't love her any more. But of course she couldn't say that, so she gave a slight nod and sat down with them.
Her mother and Leonard conversed at length about every last aspect of the coming wedding. Mimi just spaced out, falling into a dream world where she didn't have to think about this. The attendance, the location, the seating, the decorations, the food, the dress. Occasionally one or the other would show Mimi a picture or a design of something, and Mimi would nod at it, unseeing. She didn't care. This was her mother's event, not her's. Occasionally she heard snippets of what her mother and Leonard were saying, "… Ivory or true white, do you think…" "… Roses are a classic, but I do wonder if they are a little cliché…" "… And the hall will seat all those people…" but she didn't think to say anything herself. She couldn't care less if she floated up the aisle in a white sack with a clichéd bunch of flowers and her guests were on each other's laps. It didn't matter at all, if the man at the altar wasn't Matt. It simply didn't matter at all.
Finally, Mimi noticed that the Queen and the wedding planner had fallen quiet. Leonard was packing away his papers into a leather folder, excepting a few that Liliana held in her hand. When Leonard had everything filed, he turned to Mimi.
"Now, I just need some measurements for the dress, and I'll be on my way." He smiled at her, and little crinkles appeared next to his twinkling grey eyes.
Liliana, who was still brandishing the papers Leonard had left, turned to face him. "You do not require my assistance with this, do you? I should be getting on now. I need to discuss these with my husband before everything falls into place."
Leonard bowed and replied, "Of course, Madam. You are a busy woman. Leave this to my employees and I. We shall get it done."
The queen smiled graciously before hurrying out of the room. Mimi stood like a puppet. No feeling, no will of it's own, just the commands given it by the puppeteer. Leonard fished in his pocket for a measuring tape as Mimi raised her arms. Two of his attendants helped him take her measurements as she stood motionless and silent. When he had finished, Leonard ordered his assistants out of the room.
"I need to speak with the princess in private." He commanded.
Obeying without question, they were soon left alone. Leonard studied her face carefully before speaking.
"If I am not very much mistaken, you are not happy with this wedding." He said, giving her a shrewd look. It was a statement, not a question.
Mimi sighed. "How did you know, Monsieur?" She asked, though she wasn't surprised that he knew. She hadn't put up much of an act otherwise.
He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling again. "Most princesses have something to say about every last thing I'm trying to organise. They brim over with excitement and want everything to be perfect. You, on the other hand, didn't say two words. And you had this look, like you were a million miles away. Or at least, you wanted to be. You seem… sad."
For some strange reason, Mimi felt she could trust him. It didn't matter that he was employed by her intrusive mother, or that he was organising the wedding that should never be allowed to happen. Something about his eyes, and his knowing looks, made her tell him the truth.
"That would be because I am sad, and I do not wish for this wedding to happen." But she couldn't shake the deadened tone from her voice. Saying it didn't mean it would change. Or could change.
"Why?"
Mimi trusted this man, but it didn't mean she could tell him everything. It hurt too much. Even thinking it made her ill. So she gave the short, simple version. "I don't love, or even know, the prince I am marrying."
But somehow, this man could guess that there was more to it than that. He studied her face some more and stroked his chin thoughtfully before proclaiming, "There is someone else. You love someone else."
Mimi almost laughed. She didn't know why it was funny, when really it should have been heart breakingly sad to hear such words, to have everything made real, but somehow his astuteness was amusing. Perhaps it was because it was all so awful that all she could do was laugh. All other emotions were dried up. "Yes. You guessed well."
"I have been in this business a very long time, Mademoiselle." He replied with a grin. "It is not so hard to pick one who is love struck. It is written all over their faces… If you don't mind me asking, why are you not with the man that you love? Why do you not marry him?"
Mimi's eyes welled with tears. She couldn't stop them. If only what he proposed was so simple. "A bird may marry a fish, Monsieur," she managed to reply. "But where would they live?"
Leonard smiled sadly as he took one of Mimi's hands in both of his. Giving it a little squeeze, he said softly, "If you have faith, one day he may grow wings."
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Yar, review me hearties and I shall update! Yar!
I just felt like talking like a pirate. Don't mind me. But please do review. If you don't then you shall NEVER hear about Matt and what's happening with him. I'll keep you hanging forever! Because I am JUST THAT EVIL. No, not really, but please review anyway. I'm loving how you're all guessing what's coming. Some of you are SO CLOSE, but of course I'm spilling no secrets! I want you to keep reading!
Emma's useless facts about nothing in particular
Our eyes are the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.
