Side Story 3: The Eve of the Wedding (2) |
Anettasia sat at the dressing table, gazing at her reflection. She loved her silver hair.
"This dressing table is quite lovely," she said, turning to Princess Sophia. "After Jenkins's wedding is over, let's move it into our room!"
Princess Sophia, already in her bridesmaid's gown, covered her forehead in exasperation.
For the past year, the silver dragon and the princess had been living in the Cold Spring Palace, occasionally venturing out to travel or simply wander. Today, Jenkins was getting married, and they were to appear as bridesmaids.
While the number of groomsmen was normal, the party of bridesmaids was enormous because there were so many brides. Each lady had invited her own attendants, and Jenkins didn't dare even try to count the total.
Alexia didn't have many friends from her past, and only a few were able to come. The only one who could serve as a bridesmaid was Miss Audrey. But one attendant was certainly not enough, so the silver dragon and Princess Sophia had been invited to help. The silver dragon, of course, was delighted to join in on the excitement.
"Jenkins was a huge help with our wedding back then," was the silver dragon's reaction upon receiving the invitation from the petite lady. "Now it's my turn to repay him."
The bridesmaids' attire was simpler, and with the help of the maids, Anettasia and Princess Sophia quickly finished their own preparations. Then, under Anettasia's "persuasion," the two decided to go see the brides on the eve of their wedding.
The layout of the main palace at Cold Spring Palace was intricate and complex; even an Enchanter like Mr. White Cat could get lost. But for the dragon and the princess, who had lived here for nearly a year, the place was as familiar as their own home.
Crossing through the garden, the pair admired the rare and exotic flowers sent by the Church of All Things and Nature, all in full bloom. They watched small animals summoned by the elves wander across the lawns under the blue sky, and saw uniformed servants bustling about.
There were no squirrels or rabbits, however, as a certain young lady disliked both animals.
"Not as grand as our wedding," the silver-haired girl whispered in Princess Sophia's ear as she passed a champagne tower being assembled by people on scaffolding.
The brides were not all in the same preparation room. Each had her own, as the gowns, hair ribbons, sashes, bustles, cosmetics, and everything else simply took up too much space.
The dragon and princess first found Jessica. Because of the wedding, Miss J and Miss Windsor would manifest within Jessica's body rather than appearing separately. But the ceremony had not yet begun, so while Jessica sat at the dressing table being attended to by the maids, Miss J and Miss Windsor, each in their own separate forms, stood by offering suggestions. This was starting to annoy Jessica.
"If you two don't need to get ready, then you can keep quiet."
"It's your wedding day," Miss J said deliberately. "You can't get angry." She then caught sight of Anettasia and Princess Sophia entering and waved a greeting.
The silver dragon looked around the bride's preparation room with curiosity, and the maids assigned someone to attend to the two visitors.
"Do you need any help?" Princess Sophia asked thoughtfully. Compared to Anettasia, the princess was a truly proper lady.
"Not at the moment," Miss Windsor replied gently, looking at her own face in the mirror. "I never thought I'd see the day I would get married."
"I'm the one marrying Jenkins, not you two!" Jessica, forced to endure the tedious primping, retorted. Though the bridal attire was beautiful, she was not the type of girl who enjoyed fussy preparations.
"Isn't what's yours ours?" Miss J chirped, clearly teasing her on purpose.
Next, the dragon and princess found Sigrid. The nun from the Church of All Things and Nature sat quietly before her dressing table. Besides the maids, other nuns from her church were also present. It was a momentous day, and the Church had sent them specially to help.
Sigrid was an orphan the Church had taken in as a child; it was her home. Miss Bennett, the Saint of the Church of All Things and Nature who had looked after Sigrid since she was young, placed great importance on her wedding day.
"How are you feeling?" Anettasia asked casually. They had all been living together for nearly a year, and Sigrid considered the silver dragon and Princess Sophia to be very close friends.
"A little nervous," she answered shyly, staring at her reflection, lost in thought.
Sigrid's bridesmaid, a friend from the Church, had just been pulled away by Miss Silver Flute to rehearse the ceremony. Seeing that Sigrid was a bit tense, Princess Sophia wanted to stay and talk with her for a while.
But before she could say more than a few words, a group of female elves swarmed in, also there to help Sigrid with her makeup. Due to Sigrid's special status, the elven delegation had sent some of their ladies to assist. As a result, of all the brides, it was Sigrid who ironically had the largest "entourage."
As the room became too crowded, and the elves were noticeably reserved in Anettasia's presence, the two quickly said their goodbyes to Sigrid. In the next room, they found Dolores.
Julia wasn't there; it seemed she had gone off to help Jenkins. But Dolores was never short of maids. Besides the servants, even Jenkins's mother, Mary Williams, was in the room.
Upon seeing the silver dragon and Princess Sophia enter, Mary made an excuse about checking on Jenkins and left.
"You and Jenkins's mother seem to be getting along quite well," the silver dragon commented approvingly, then plopped down casually in a chair beside the dressing table. Dolores sat with her hands clasped, gazing into the mirror, her expression rather similar to Sigrid's moments before.
"You're nervous," Anettasia stated, amused.
"How could I not be nervous?" the princess retorted, refusing to put on the heavy gemstone necklace just yet.
"My father was here just a moment ago and said a great deal," she explained. "I wasn't nervous before, but now I am."
Laughter came from the side. It was Dolores's eldest sister, Yani Stuart, and the young princess, Angelina Stuart. Both were dressed in gowns as they were Dolores's bridesmaids.
"Dolores has been nervous since she woke up this morning," the eldest princess of the northern kingdom mercilessly exposed her sister's "secret." "It has nothing to do with Father."
"Hmph," Dolores muttered, but offered no rebuttal.
"Father didn't really say much," the little princess added. "He just talked about the future relationship between Fidektri and Hamparvo." Dolores shot her a look, and Angelina, in her puffy dress, immediately feigned a well-behaved expression. She sat on a chair, swinging her white-stockinged legs and sipping juice, until a maid hastily reminded her that she was already wearing lipstick.
Yani moved to stand behind Dolores, taking over for the maid combing her long hair. She looked at her own reflection beside that of her soon-to-be-married sister, her gaze softening. "If only Mother were still alive now, how wonderful that would be..."
Dolores stared at her reflection as well, momentarily speechless. Seeing they weren't needed, Anettasia and Princess Sophia quietly slipped out of the room.
They found Briny's room empty, not even a servant in sight. Later, in the corridor, they ran into Fini, who came running excitedly from the ribbon-decked garden carrying a flower basket. From her, they learned that Briny and Hathaway were getting ready together.
"Hey, don't run so fast!" the little angel Louise called from behind Fini, flying through the air as she carried another basket. The angel and the god's believer both had important roles today; soon they would lead the children in scattering flower petals on the red carpet.
Sure enough, they found Briny in Hathaway's room. With preparations underway for two brides, the room felt a little crowded.
Hathaway and Briny were both seated at dressing tables. Briny was earnestly cooperating with the maids, while Hathaway had turned her head to gaze at Briny, making it difficult for the maid styling her long red hair to work.
"Good morning!" Anettasia chirped as she appeared at the door, bouncing like a little girl. The dragon, too, was caught up in the cheerful atmosphere that filled the palace and the city.
"Good morning," Briny responded politely, but Hathaway kept her head turned, her eyes fixed on Briny.