A New Dress
Vanellope watched the door close as Sour Bill shut it on his way out. She sighed and stretched, then scratched herself all over, before throwing the covers aside and hopping out of bed. As her feet hit the cold floor, a small shiver was sent up her spine, and she quickly grabbed for her robe hanging off the headboard. She shuffled to her window, which overlooked all of Sugar Rush and stared out at the sun bathed land. She observed as a few of the candy people wallowed out of their homes and greeted their neighbors. She placed a longing hand on the glass, thinking about what life must be like for them. Was it hard? Or easy? Were they happy or sad? Or maybe they were angry that she got the privilege to live in the castle while they were confined to their small, little gingerbread houses. She shook her head realizing that she was being vain, and turned away from the window.
A startlingly loud knock came to the door and the little princess jumped, then cautiously asked, "Who is it?"
"It's us~" came the three singsong voices of the royal dress makers, all in perfect unison. Vanellope's expression changed and her eyebrows furrowed as she groaned.
"Lovely..." She whispered sarcastically under her breath before perking up with fake enthusiasm and replying, "Come in! The door's open!"
Three lollipop girls walked in, one red, one yellow, and one green. Vanellope's fake smile widened.
"Cherry, Honey, Kiwi!" she called them all by name. "So good to see you again!" She reluctantly walked over to greet them.
"Good morning, Princess!" The three of them said. Vanellope felt a pang in her chest and her hands clenched momentarily before she got a hold of herself again.
"Please girls just call me, Vanello-"
"Oh, Princess!" Cherry cut her off.
"We have the greatest dress yet for you!" shouted Honey.
"You're going to adore it!" Kiwi finished. Vanellope flinched and flexed her hands, then clapped them together, saying through a gritted grin, "Awesome...!" The lollipop women exited the room, giggling like mad. Vanellope always felt bad accepting yet another of their creations because one thing she hated more than anything was wearing the awful dresses the three always made for her. Firstly, they were always so puffy and froo-froo, not her style at all, and secondly, how was she supposed to race in one of those? She waited anxiously to find out what awful thing they had in store for her.
Kiwi trotted in first, walking to Vanellope and standing behind her.
"Uh... What's going on?" The Princess asked as Kiwi placed her small hands over Vanellope's eyes.
"We want it to be as exciting for you as it is for us!" The green lollipop girl replied. Vanellope went along with it, crossing her arms and sighing. The squeaking noise of a mannequin's wheels filled the otherwise quiet room and soft giggles could be heard coming from Honey and Cherry. Kiwi excitedly nodded at Cherry, and Cherry nodded back, giving her the go to reveal the new dress.
"Okay, Princess," Kiwi chirped.
"It's Vanellope," she was getting quite annoyed with the whole situation. Kiwi ignored her once again and chimed, "Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Okay! One... Two..." and on three Kiwi uncovered Vanellope's eyes.
Hanging off the mannequin was the pinkest, puffiest, frilliest dress the little princess had ever seen. The skirt was all ruffles and pleats and littered with nonpareils and pink colored sugar. The top was long sleeved, high necked, and very high collared and also littered with sparkling treats. But the icing on the cake wasn't the sprinkles or the massive amount of pink. It was the cape on the back of the waist, which doubled as a short train.
Vanellope stared in horrible awe at the atrocious garment that had been presented to her. The lollipop women watched, eagerly awaiting her response. When there was none, Honey perked up.
"So, what do you think, Princess?" The other two nodded in agreement. Vanellope's eye twitched and an awkward half smile appeared on her face.
"It's... uhm... It's... something else," Vanellope replied, still trying to gather her true thoughts on the outfit. Though her expression and response was rather dull, the three lollipop women seemed happy as could be.
"Oh, Princess Vanellope! You are going to look absolutely marvelous!" Cherry beamed, trotting over to pat Vanellope's hand. All the little princess could do was nod in shocked agreement.