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Chapter 17 – The Dress
Tea definitely didn't expect the weekend to go by as quickly as it did. She had hoped to think of something to wear to the party, but she couldn't find anything that seemed to suit the CEO's styles or estimated wealth. She had no other choice but to see what he had picked out for her, and Saturday came and went quickly, bringing Sunday and a new dress along with it.
Knocking on the front door, Tea fidgeted a little as she waited for the door to be opened by none other than Mokuba Kaiba. "Tea!" he exclaimed, quickly moving out of the way to let her in. "I'm glad you came. Seto told me all about you coming to the party with him. Thanks a lot; you saved me from having to go!"
Tea chuckled and walked into the main area, listening as Mokuba shut the door behind her. He walked around in front of her before saying, "Seto's getting ready right now, but he told me to lead you to your changing room! There's a woman up there who's going to be helping you into your dress!"
"Really?" she asked skeptically as Mokuba began running up the stairs. He smiled at her and nodded his head vigorously.
"Yeah. I've seen what he picked out, and he must reeeeally like you to choose those particular dresses!" Tea blushed at this and followed him up the staircase and down the hallway.
"You have a lot of rooms in this place," she commented as they turned a corner and began walking down another hallway.
"Yeah, but it gets kind of lonely in here, though," Mokuba stated, looking around at all the doorways. "I think Seto likes the peace and quiet, yet I can't stand it."
"Don't you have friends over?"
"All the time, but it doesn't change the fact that, once they leave, this mansion goes back to being silent."
"I…see."
"Well, here's the room!" he exclaimed, pointing at the nearest door. "I'll tell Seto you're here getting ready. Oh, he told me to warn you that if she causes any problems, just let him know, alright?"
Chuckling again, she nodded her head in understanding and waited until he ran back down the hallway and turned the corner, completely out of sight. "This will be different," Tea thought as she opened the doorway up. "I've never really been pampered before like this… I feel almost like royalty."
Walking into the room, Tea gasped in surprise at its elegance. White, thick curtains hung in front of the windows, and the floor was a cream-colored carpet. The walls were also a whitish color, though they had a hint of something she couldn't recognize in them. A shade of red, perhaps? There was a large bed against the one wall with red blankets on it. To the right was a very large vanity. A woman who looked to be about twenty-five years old was sitting on the wooden chair. She had curly, blonde hair and was wearing a simple, black dress that fit her body flawlessly. Looking up in surprise, the woman smiled and bowed slightly before standing up.
"Hello," she greeted as she walked up to Tea. "I'm here to help you into your dress, as I'm sure the younger Kaiba has already informed you of."
"Y-Yes," she answered, swallowing the lump in her throat. The woman must have noticed this, for she laughed at Tea before patting her lightly on the shoulder.
"Please, I do this for a living, darling," she stated before turning around and walking towards a rack of clothing. "Don't think that this is such a big deal, alright? I always tell my clients if they have never been fitted before to think of it as though they're getting ready for a prom date. People never feel nervous about those."
"Yeah…whatever…"
"Can you come over quickly, Miss, uh…"
"Tea."
"Tea. That's a nice name. Well, Miss Tea, could you come over here please?" Setting her purse down on the edge of the bed, Tea did as she was told. Her eyes widened at the dresses hanging on the rack. All of them looked like they were to be worn in ballrooms or places of - dare she mention it again? - royalty. "Hmm…I think that, even though your eyes are blue, a nice purple would look good."
"Purple?" Tea asked. She never wore purple.
"Let's just try something purple on, shall we?" the woman requested, smiling sweetly at her with thick, deep red lips. Taking a hanger off the rack, the woman laid the dress down on the bed and quickly took it off, revealing it as a dress with a corset. Both the corset and dress seemed to be made of a lovely shade of purple satin. "Why don't you change out of your clothing while I get this ready for you?" she asked, beginning to untie the corset.
Blushing slightly, Tea nodded her head and began to change out of her clothing. "Dammit, Seto, this party better be worth this much trouble," she thought as she was finally left in nothing but her underwear. The woman had undone the dress by now and picked it up off the bed.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry! I never told you my name!" Sighing, she rolled her eyes and said, "I just love dressing people up and what-not, and sometimes I forget common courtesy. You'll have to excuse me; the name is Lucy."
"Hello Lucy," Tea stated as she was given the purple, strapless dress.
"And hello Tea! Now, Tea, could you put this dress on for me? I want to make sure it fits well." Nodding her head, Tea quickly unzipped the back of the dress and pulled it onto her until it covered her breasts. Lucy zipped the back up and asked, "How does it feel?"
"It feels…very comfortable," Tea answered, wandering how on Earth Seto knew her dimensions. Either he had researched them from the ballet school she attended or was a damn good guesser. The problem was that with somebody like Seto Kaiba, both of those possibilities were, well, possible.
"Great! And it looks really good on you! Now for the corset!"
"The…corset?"
"Of course! Men love women who wear corsets! Sure, it may hurt a bit at first, but you get used to it real easily."
"I'm not here to show off to men," Tea remarked as the woman lifted the corset off the bed.
"You still have to look gorgeous for this party tonight," Lucy countered as she once again walked around Tea. Pressing the corset against her stomach, Lucy began tying the back of the corset up. "Besides, we have to hide the zipper on the back of this dress, and nothing does that better than a corset!"
"Can you make sure that I can still breathe and eat properly?" Tea questioned, feeling the corset begin to constrict her body into whatever shape it wanted.
"Yes, yes, of course I will. Can't have you passing out, now can we?" Tea held back her groans of pain as Lucy eventually finished tying up the back. Once it was secure enough, Lucy stood up and walked around, quickly looking Tea over. "Oh, it's so beautiful!" she exclaimed. "Come on, let me show you!" She reached down and grabbed Tea's hand, pulling over to the tall mirror stationed next to the vanity.
Tea could only stare in awe at herself. The dress fit absolutely perfectly to her shape. The purple corset was shining brightly in the sunshine that came in from the far window, and she had to admit that the shade of purple used looked stunning on her. The corset had gold, thin lines down the sides and front, and the top was cut down at a small angle between her breasts, leaving the slightest hint of cleavage showing. The dress was simple with a golden line hugging the bottom.
"Now for shoes and the accessories!" Lucy proclaimed as she went over to the vanity. Tossing a pair of black heels at Tea, she stated, "Put these on while I find you some jewelry to wear." Grabbing several things, she set them down on the bedside as well and said, "Just stay put, and I'll put these things on you. You tell me whether you want them or not, alright?"
"Okay," Tea answered nervously as she planted her feet inside the shoes. Never had she felt so beautiful in her life. The fact that Seto Kaiba had hired somebody to pamper her like this was a feat all by itself. The whole situation seemed rather surreal to her.
"Would you like black gloves or purple arm sleeves?" she asked, holding a set of each item in both hands.
"Black gloves I think would look better," Tea answered.
"Alright then. Try them on while I find some jewelry for you." Tea caught the gloves tossed at her and slipped them on, feeling the soft, satin, black fabric against her skin. Lucy soon came back with more necklaces and sets of earrings than Tea had ever seen at one time. "Would you like a simple or more exotic necklace?"
"Umm…what do you have?"
"Well, for that dress, I would go with either a simple white or a simple gold necklace. If you want something more exotic, I have just the thing for you." Picking up one of the necklaces from the pile, she held it in her hand and smiled. A golden leaf was hanging from a dark purple, velvet-covered string. Tea's eyes widened at the time obviously put into the leaf, making Lucy smile. "Here, let's try it on." Slipping it around her neck, Tea tingled at the cold metal hitting her bare skin but smiled widely at her reflection in the mirror. "Last but not least, some simple earrings will do just the trick!" Lucy grabbed a pair of plain, shiny, gold studs and swiftly put them in Tea's ears. "There. What do you think? All we need is a little mascara and some lip gloss, and you'll be looking absolutely amazing!"
"Wow…thank you so much for this," Tea said, in shock that she had literally gone through an entire transformation within the matter of perhaps fifteen to twenty minutes.
"Oh, it's no big deal. As I said before, I love dressing people up. Doing this for a living is the best thing I could ever do."
"Do you often work for Seto here?"
"Not really, no. I used to work for his step-father, you see, since his step-father's wife was always into fashion and make-up. I don't know how those two got together, although they weren't really opposites. Both of them were just about as ruthless as you could get. Once the two disappeared off the planet, Seto decided to keep me around. He always liked talking to me for some reason." Chuckling, she added, "I once joked with him that he thought I was sexy, and that it was the reason he was friends with me. He refused to speak to me until I apologized to him."
"Oh, so you're friends with Seto?"
"I wouldn't call it that. More like an acquaintance. Still, he's helped me out of some tight financial situations, so I figured I would lend a helping hand here and there. I do all his clothing for him, you see. He doesn't like to go shopping, so I do his shopping for him. And as for his trenchcoats, well…you're looking at the one who made them all."
"You design his clothing?"
"Sort of, yes. He tells me what he wants, I make it, and he pays me. It's simply business. Don't think I'll be in your way tonight, little Miss Tea!" Tea felt a large blush rush up to her face, making Lucy burst out laughing. "Here, let me put on some make-up for you, and you'll be all done!" Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Tea waited patiently as Lucy applied heavy mascara to her eyelashes and some clear lip gloss. "There, tah-dah!"
Nodding her head, Tea said, "Thank you so much. I'm really appreciative."
"Seriously, darling, it's no trouble at all. I love doing this for a living. You always have to find what interests you the most for your future career, no matter how much or how little it pays, else you will never enjoy life. If you forget me within the following week, always remembering that little saying, okay?"
"Okay…"
"Well, you'd better head down to the main area. Mr. Kaiba told me to tell you to meet him down there. Wait until he's ready. Have fun, darling, and tell him that goes for the both of you!"
"Where does he meet these people?" she thought as she nodded her head once more in appreciation before grabbing her white purse and leaving the room. Heading down the hallway, she turned the corner and reached the staircase only to hear a slight gasp coming from downstairs. Looking in the direction of it, she was surprised to find Seto Kaiba leaning against the front door, staring at her with wide eyes. She had to admit that he himself was candy for the eyes; he was wearing a white tuxedo with a simple, black tie. She slowly walked down the staircase, being careful not to trip in her new heels, before reaching the bottom stair and smiling over at the CEO. "Thank you so much for this outfit," she said, noticing Seto's gaze at her.
"It's nothing," he answered, his voice cold yet his eyes still wide in surprise. "You look…very pretty."
Blushing slightly, she muttered a small 'thank you' before allowing the CEO to open the door for her. A white limo that had arrived while she had been changing was parked out front, and the chauffer opened the door for both her and Seto to enter. Sitting down on the opposite seat, she waited until Seto sat down and the chauffer shut the door tightly. "Thank you for coming to this party once again," he stated.
"It's no problem. And thank you very much for this dress."
"It's no problem," he remarked, a playful smile tugging at his lips. "Driver, to the party. Now."