Chapter Four: Harvest Moon: Part 2
Three Months Earlier…
The day after their arrival, Poppy and the Raqs Sharqi Queens and princesses made plans to pick out a Raqs Sharqi costume. They decided to make a Girls' Day out of it and invited Barb, Essence, Delta, and the female Reggaeton and K-Pop Trolls to tag along.
Their first stop was a reputable costume designer who was a retired Raqs Sharqi dancer herself.
"Eman? Are you here?" Nagwa called as they led the women into the shop.
Poppy entered behind the Queens as a female Raqs Sharqi Troll emerged from a back room with a tape measure around her neck. She smiled warmly.
"Good day, your majesties," she greeted, "How can I help you?"
"Our new friend, Queen Poppy of the Pop Trolls, would like a costume," explained Soheir, Samia's older daughter. She turned to gesture to said Queen, only to find that she was now on the other side of the shop.
Poppy had been drawn to an old black and white photograph of a Raqs Sharqi dancer. The dancer's costume consisted of an embellished bra and matching belt, a mesh body stocking, and a flowing double-layered skirt with slits up each side and the sides tucked into the belt.
"Can you make something like this?" Poppy asked, pointing to the photograph.
Eman approached Poppy and smiled at the photo.
"That's a vintage style that was quite popular sixty years ago, but I'm sure I can replicate it."
"Great!" Poppy exclaimed, "I love vintage!"
They sat down at Eman's desk to discuss the exact design while most of the other ladies browsed and tried on outfits (except for Delta and Barb, though Poppy was certain she spotted Barb eyeing a black-and-silver costume).
"Would you like personalized embroidery on the top and belt?" Eman asked, looking up from the sketch she was working on for the costume.
Poppy reached into her hair and pulled out the headband she wore back when she was a princess.
"If it's not too much trouble, could you do something like this in the colors I mentioned? I'd also like a new headband with any of the leftover fabric, if that's an option."
"Of course," Eman stated, studying the headband and copying the flowers in the margins of the paper. "And might I make a suggestion?"
Eman stood and crossed the shop to reach into a glass jewelry case. She returned with a gold belly chain with a single flower in the middle and a matching anklet. Poppy gasped when she noticed the flowers in the two jewelry pieces were the colors she wanted her costume to be.
"How much?"
"We'll discuss prices later," Eman replied, taking the tape measure from around her neck. "First, we need to take measurements and order the fabric."
Harvest Moon…
At the Bergentown castle, Bridget set up a pizza box and a pocket mirror to serve as a makeshift changing room for Poppy while Bridget got to know the other genre Queens and princesses.
As they were discussing the foreign exchange program, Poppy poked her head out from behind the pizza box.
"Um…we have a slight problem."
"What's wrong, Poppy?" Bridget asked, worried.
Poppy grimaced. "The costume is just a bit too loose."
Dina, Nagwa's daughter, hummed as she fished around her bag and produced a portable sewing kit. She rounded the edge of the pizza box to find that the belt, skirts, and even the stretchy body stocking were a little too big on Poppy.
"You've definitely lost weight since Eman measured you. Fortunately, you haven't lost so much that it can't be easily fixed."
Poppy lifted her arms as Dina tugged and stitched sections of the costume.
"Sheesh! You're doing more Belly Dancing than I am; I haven't lost an ounce." Barb noted.
"Barb!" Poppy exclaimed, her head whipping around in the direction of her friend's voice. "You learned Belly Dance?"
"Snake Belly Dance," Barb emphasized, "and it was totally worth it! I gave Riff a private snake dance recital on our honeymoon, and he pounced on me like a wild cat!"
Poppy and the other Queens and princesses either giggled or feigned scandalized noises. However, Poppy didn't know what was less believable: that the shy, awkward drummer had pounced on Barb, or that the Queen of Hard Rock had allowed herself to be pounced on. Oh well, she shrugged; that was none of her business.
Poppy heard Delta Dawn chuckle. "So, Barb, did your performance result in any baby buns in the oven?"
The female royals giggled again, and Poppy couldn't hold in a giddy squeal, both at Delta's choice of words and the thought of becoming an auntie.
For once, Barb didn't reply with a snarky comeback or a hard 'no.' When she spoke again, it sounded like she was frowning.
"Well, Riff and I have been talking about that. On one hand, we want to wait a year or two. But on the other, Dad wants to see his grandkids, and Riff and I want that, too. And we don't know how much time Dad's got left in him. So, I guess it'll just happen when it's supposed to happen."
She raised her voice, her smug tone returning. "What about you, Popsqueak? You looking to get knocked up tonight?"
Poppy blushed. She and Branch had only been married four months, so the subject of children never really had the chance to come up. Poppy wanted to be a mother, and Branch was so great with kids, she knew he would be a wonderful father.
"Maybe," she answered, "Like you said, it'll probably happen when it's meant to."
"That's fair," Barb replied.
"And…finished!" Dina stepped back with a satisfied smile.
Poppy beamed at herself in the mirror. Ooooh, just wait until Branch sees me in this!
"How does it look?" Essence called.
Poppy didn't answer her right away; after tucking the sides of the skirt into the belt like in the photograph, she followed Dina out from behind the pizza box, and all the women ooh-ed and ah-ed.
The circle-panel skirts were two layers of soft silk, the top layer a rich bluish-purple and the bottom teal, with slits up either side. The bra and belt were the same color as the underskirt with purple floral embroidery and delicate gold chain loops. Connecting the bra to the belt and skirts was a purple mesh body stocking. This was all topped by a floral headband, two pairs of gold finger cymbals, a teal veil made from transparent silk, and the belly chain and anklet.
Poppy grinned and gave a twirl, the skirts flowing out and twisting around her legs again as she came to a stop.
"How much fabric are in these skirts, again?" she asked.
"Ten Troll-yards each," Khyriyya said.
"So that's why they're so heavy," Poppy grumbled.
"Hey," Naima chimed in with a smile, "you did say you wanted the skirts to be as flowy as possible."
Poppy nodded. "True."
"That outfit must've been expensive." Wani remarked.
"Actually, Eman said a gift."
And thank goodness for that! Poppy learned that even pre-made Belly Dance costumes cost a small fortune. But a custom one whipped up on such short notice? If Eman hadn't insisted on making it for free, Poppy would've had no idea how to pay for it, even if Pop Village did have a currency system.
Taheya approached Poppy and handed her the much-less-elaborate practice costume she had been using for the past three months.
"You still have one more rehearsal, and I'm assuming you don't want the nice one to smell like sweat for your performance tonight."
Poppy cringed at the thought before taking the practice costume and heading back behind the pizza box. As soon as she was out of sight, she heard the conversation start up again.
"Poppy looks so beautiful in that dress," Bridget said.
Essence chuckled. "I agree; I wonder what Branch will think when he sees it."
"Pfft, I've seen the way he looks at her when she's wearing her everyday clothes." Poppy could practically hear Barb smirking as she added. "He'll take one look at her in that costume, and she'll be knocked up before she can dance for him."
"I can still hear you guys!" Poppy called.