Chapitre 5: The Wildling in Disguise

The tailor was a middle-aged man, tall and thin as a plank. His gestures were exaggerated, his speech ominous. His eyes scrutinized Hope as if she were an unappealing dessert that needed to be redone before it could be served to the guests.

"Oh, dear, where shall we start?" the clothier asked himself, waving his hands in the air like he could do magic. "I have a few dresses I want you to try, and we will see then what we should modify on the next ones. But before that, you should settle into your new corset."

What was this madman talking about? Corset? It sounded like a dog leash. Hope didn't even know how right she was.

Ayala accompanied her to the next room to help her put on the corset. Hope didn't understand what all the fuss was about. After she got naked and put the corset on, Ayala tightened and bound the straps. Hope had never felt so much agony and shame in her life. She expelled all the oxygen from her lungs, and she felt her tummy touching the spine. Hope couldn't help but be impressed by Ayala's strength.

Once she got back in the main room, where the tailor waited, Hope received a red strapless dress. Ayala assisted her in putting on this new garment, which was wrapped around her torso with no shoulder straps or any obvious means of support other than her breasts.

"Oh, dear," the tailor gasped. "I didn't realize you have such a large chest. It almost gets over the corset; that wasn't to be expected from a frail girl. Note to self! Design a new dress with less cleavage."

"Yeah, sure, go ahead and cover up all the good parts, but can we loosen the corset? It is driving me nuts. I can't breathe; my whole body is aching from this continuous fight." Hope was gasping for air.

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The meeting with the tailor went on for several hours, and Hope missed lunch altogether. The beautician was waiting for her already, and all the other classes were postponed for the day after tomorrow.

Hope was hungry and tired. If someone asked her what she wanted more, eating or sleeping, she couldn't choose. But no one asked. Today, she had to do all these things without any consideration for her physiological needs.

To her surprise, she liked Tamara, the beautician. Her soft hands gently handled Hope's hair and face. For the first time, Hope thought she knew how her pets felt when she was caressing them, trying to make them feel safe and at peace.

Tamara used pieces of black coal to give a dark contour to Hope's deer eyes and ocher lipstick to transform the lips into a bloody color of sexual desire. The beautician refrained from using the white lead powder because Hope's skin was already pretty fair.

When Hope looked into the mirror, she couldn't believe that was her reflection. Tamara had raised her reddish-brown hair in a messy bun that revealed her long, attractive neck, framed by a pair of long pearl earrings. Hope actually looked like a lady!

"Lady Hope!" Ayala rushed into the room, breathing heavily. "Lord Drake announced you must attend the ball in the great hall tonight."

The sun had almost set, and darkness crept around every corner. It seemed a bit late to announce a ball within the next hour or so, but you should expect anything from Drake. Hope hated predictability. Eagerly, she said, "Tamara, would you help me with my make-up after I get dressed?"

"You don't need to ask!" Tamara smiled softly. "I will come with Ayala and help you get dressed."

Both Tamara and Ayala were excited as if they were the ones to attend the ball. Their enthusiastic attitude made Hope want to do this even though her instincts warned her that she might get hurt. She was going to this ball with her soul on a platter, displaying it openly, and everyone could pinch it or jolt her hand to drop it on the floor.

All three scoured through the dresses the tailor left behind. They agreed upon a thin blue satin dress. As Hope was a free spirit, she immediately loved that dress and wanted to wear it without that awful corset. The garment had a single thin cord tied at the nape of the neck, and the back was completely bare.

Darkness had filled every corner of the realm when Hope was ready for the ball. Even though they both witnessed her entire transformation, Tamara and Ayala were stunned. Hope exuded so much elegance, beauty, and refinement, looking like a nymph in the story which had come to enchant the entire audience.

"This is the final component to complete your outfit," Tamara whispered, showing a pair of light blue high-heeled sandals. Hope thought she would stumble and fall at first, but she had a natural grace and solid balance, learning to walk on her toes since she was little.

It was fun getting ready for the ball, being a new experience for Hope to be surrounded by girls and talking beauty stuff. Even though she couldn't believe it, she was eager to get to the ball. A night of beauty and new thrills could be exciting, and she couldn't stop to wonder how Drake would look in a tuxedo.

Any other day, this hour would have meant the time for sleep, but now it was only the beginning of the night. She felt so good she thought nothing could go wrong. Or could it? After all, Hope knew she was no Cinderella, just a wildling in disguise.

Hope had always imagined the worst-case scenario. That way, nothing terrible takes you by surprise, and, thus, everything except the worst-case scenario is better than what you have imagined.