Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.
Escaflowne: All you need is Love, Isn't it?
Chapter 16
At the Asturian Palace in Palas, in Hitomi's chambers
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Hitomi looked at herself in the mirror one more time and smiled. The dress King Van had ordered made for her more then six weeks ago, specifically for the coronation, fit perfectly. It was a pale blue dress with puffy sleeves that ended at the shoulders and a wide scooped neckline that revealed a little too much skin for the teen's taste, but the handmaidens who were assisting her assured her she looked fine in it. The upper body portion of the dress was extremely form fitting but not uncomfortable and the skirt portion was full and went all the way to the ground. She wore a navy blue velvet choker with a deep green oblong jade stone set in the center and matching jade earrings. The only things in the whole outfit that she chose not to wear were the shoes. She tried them on for a minute but after almost falling over she chose to wear her own blue pumps. They were a few shades darker than the dress but since the dress came all the way to the floor, she reasoned there was little chance anyone would ever see them. With as short as her hair was, there really wasn't much they could do with it, but they did give her a small jade comb to hold her hair back on one side. This provided the final touch.
"Is Ma'Lady happy with the results?" Asked the young handmaiden.
"Very happy." She turned to the three girls, "Thank you very much."
"Oh, Ma'Lady, there is one final accessory we must add." The youngest of the three said as she pulled out a pair of pale blue satin gloves.
"Oh my." The teen eyed them for a moment then said. "Well, wouldn't want to leave the outfit incomplete." She smiled and extended her arms forward so the girls could pull the gloves on her. They came about three inches past her elbow and fit perfectly, giving just enough for that nice snug fit without being overly tight.
"Now Ma'Lady is ready." The three smiled.
Just then loud yelling could be heard next door.
"Merle. What's wrong now?" Hitomi said to herself as she headed for the door.
"Ma'am, shouldn't you wait here for His Majesty?" The oldest of the three asked with concern on her face.
"I'm just going to check on my friend, I'll be right back." The teen explained as she walked out the door, leaving it wide open.
Not bothering to knock, she walked into Merle's chambers to see the young catgirl struggling with the servant who was trying to get the girl's dress on her.
"Stop, that hurts!" The catgirl yelled.
"How can putting on a dress hurt?" The much older woman asked without a hint of patience in her voice.
"Because you're pulling on my tail again!" Merle screamed, pushing the dress down.
"Is there a problem here?" Hitomi asked innocently.
"Hitomi!" The catgirl jumped out of the dress and sprang over to the teen, hiding behind her. "This evil witch is trying to torture me." She exclaimed.
"I am just trying to help her get ready for the coronation but the little minx won't stand still." The woman explained in an exasperated tone.
"Well, why don't you leave it to me? I'll help her get ready. Okay?" Hitomi said with a smile.
"Fine." The woman dropped the dress and walked out, turning to Hitomi as she passed by, "Good luck."
To this Merle scowled and stuck her tongue out at the woman. Once she was gone, the teen turned to her friend and gave her a crooked grin. "Oh Merle."
"It's not my fault, really. She wouldn't even let me wash up first." She leaned forward.
Hitomi took a whiff and immediately pulled away, holding her nose.
"See." The catgirl responded.
"Just wait one second. I'll be back with my handmaidens." Hitomi walked out of the room and back to her own.
"Great. More grumpy old women to boss me around." Merle huffed and stomped over to her bed.
A moment later Hitomi returned with the three young girls, the oldest barely Merle's age.
Merle's eyes went wide. "These are your handmaidens? No fair, how come you get these kids and I got that old hag?"
Hitomi just shrugged while the three maidens immediately got to work. One picked up the dress from the floor and straightened it out, placing it back on the bed. The second gathered up the other parts of the outfit along with the accessories and laid them out as well. The third got the washbasin and quickly headed off to the kitchen to get some warm water for Merle to bath with.
Thirty minutes later, the three handmaidens had Merle freshly bathed and were putting the finishing touches on her outfit. The dress was similar to Hitomi's except it was red and white and had a V-neckline that was covered in lace that buttoned up to a choker in the back. About the only problem that was painfully obvious to everyone was the way her tail pushed out he back of the dress.
Staring at the odd-looking bulge the teen asked. "So what can we do about it?"
The eldest maid suggested, "Well, we could cut a hole in the dress and allow it to stick out."
To this Merle gave an enthusiastic nod. The others thought for a moment then shook their heads and said "NO," in unison.
"Can't you wrap your tail around your waist Merle?" Hitomi suggested.
"It's a tail, not a rope. Can you wrap your leg around your neck?" The catgirl snapped back sarcastically.
"It was just a suggestion. Sheesh"
Finally the youngest of the three snapped her finger and smiled as she quickly pulled a ribbon from her hair and knelt down behind the catgirl. Lifting her dress from behind, the maiden ducked under it, working quickly.
"Hey, what do you think you're doing down there?" The young feline asked, arching he back but remaining at her current position.
Coming out from under the dress the maiden asked. "How is that? Does it hurt at all? Is it very uncomfortable?"
Merle tilted her head one way then the other. She shook her backside to get the feel of it. "Feels a little weird." She walked around the room, "It pulls when I walk."
"Take shorter steps." Hitomi suggested.
Nodding, she complied and after minute said, "You're right, that's better."
"Try sitting down." Suggested the youngest handmaiden.
Doing as she suggested, the feline instantly shot back up to a standing position. "That hurt. I'm sitting right on it."
"Hmm, let me try something." The young girl walked up to her and ducked under the dress once again.
Coming out a moment later. She suggested once again, "Try sitting now."
Merle complied without difficulty this time. "That's better. It pulls a little but it doesn't hurt." She stood back up and walked slowly back to the mirror. "How does it look now?" She asked as she tried to get a good look at her backside.
"Much better." Hitomi replied.
"Hardly noticeable at all." Replied the eldest servant.
"Quite natural." The second maid added.
"You look beautiful." The youngest commented.
"Do you really think so?" Merle smiled at her reflection.
"Absolutely." A firm yet kind male voice declared.
All eyes turned to see King Van Fanel standing at the doorway dressed in his courtly armor and cap.
"Lord Van!" Merle lit up.
"Van, you look so handsome." Hitomi blushed. 'Did I just say that out loud?'
"Your Majesty" The three handmaidens said in unison as they bowed respectfully and quietly made their way out of the room.
"Do you really think I look beautiful Lord Van?" The feline asked, craving her king's attention.
"Absolutely," Van repeated as he walked into the room. "In fact, I don't remember when you've looked more beautiful then you do right now." He smiled.
The happy feline wrapped her arms around her waist and gave him a broad smile. "Thank you Lord Van." She giggled.
His smile grew seeing it had the desired affect on his longtime friend. Then turning to look at the object of his true affections, the silly smile melted away as a tender, loving look filled his expression. "You are simply breathtaking Hitomi."
Blushing slightly, the teen bowed politely and offered him an affectionate smile. "Thank you Van."
To this Merle's smile seemed to fade away but just for a moment, then she asked. "Is it time to head over to the cathedral?"
Keeping his attention on the girl from the Mystic Moon, he replied. "Yes it is. That is why I am here, to escort my two best girls." He smiled at Hitomi, then over to Merle.
Merle giggled once again.
Extended his right hand to Hitomi, palm side down, he added. "Shall we go?"
Hitomi walked up to him and placed her hand gently on top of his.
He started turning towards the door to leave but Hitomi held him fast. Looking over at her with a questioning gaze, she gestured toward Merle with her eyes. Quickly realizing his oversight, the king extended his left hand in her direction. "Shall we Merle?"
Forced to walk slowly, Merle took her position at the kings left side and placed her hand on top of his just as Hitomi had, and smiled up at him.
With that they headed out the large double doors and down the hall.
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AN: Expecting the dinner weren't you? ^_^ I thought of writing about it but the more I thought about it the more boring it seemed. Why was Hitomi given three young girls as handmaidens and Merle a much older woman? I was going to explain it in the story but this chapter is already too long and I didn't want to make it any longer. Basically, my thinking was, Millerna's palace aid assigned three young aids to Hitomi to ensure the young teen received the respect she deserved being a member of King Van's party. An older maids may have treated her like a child. Though these three are very young, they were well versed in palace etiquette. The reason Merle was given the older servant was because the palace aid thought of the catgirl as a juvenile needed as much adult help as possible.
By the way, it was mentioned in a review that the line, "you old smoothie" sounded awfully familiar. Okay, now just because I saw The Empire Strikes Back over 20 times doesn't mean that line is burned into my memory. Really. TeHeHeHe. Okay, so maybe is it, but … Oh, I have no excuse. ^_^
Again, thanks for all the wonderful reviews. Hitomi-chan, thanks for all the comments. ^_^
A. Amishi
PS: Only 34 more days till ACEN'03!!! ^______^