The Curse Of The Blood Moon

15: Slow but, steady

~Evelyn~

"This looks so good on you! You should try it in red" Shelly screamed when I stepped out of the dressing room. This was probably the fortieth dress I was trying on, and she had a different exaggerated reaction for each one.

"It is the king's favorite color," Anne said, and we both looked at her, wondering why she had mentioned that detail.

"Then a red dress she will wear. I think we need to try out more options" Shelly said and ran out of the fitting room to get more dresses while Anne followed suit, leaving me alone in the strange place.

"The king's taste has improved, I see" a voice said and emerged from one of the fitting stalls. She was a beautiful woman, probably a few years older than I was, and she had an air of royalty around her.

"Do I know you?" I asked, squinting so I could see her better against the blinding lights in the room. She was very beautiful; I had to give her that. Even for me as a woman, she looked flawless.

"I see no one has thought it wise to introduce you to the upper class in this kingdom" the woman said, a condescending air spreading around her. I looked around, hoping that Shelly and Anne would return soon.

"Look, I don't know why you are taking any sort of interest in me, but I can assure you that I am not here to cause any trouble..."

"You will not speak until I am done speaking" she interrupted me, and I could see that she was hell-bent on being rude no matter how respectfully I approached her.

"I'm not even one to look for trouble, so I don't understand why you are being so rude to me. Maybe it's your lack of manners or simply you being daft, but do not speak to me like that ever again. And if you were truly that important in this kingdom, your permission would have been needed to bring me in" I snapped at her while she opened her mouth in shock.

"How...how dare you?" She said and stomped her feet before running out of the dressing room in fury. She bumped into Shelly, who nearly lashed out at her, but the angry woman didn't even wait one moment.

"Ugh, what is wrong with Vanessa?" Shelly said to Anne, who simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Who is that girl, and why did she just tell me that the king has upgraded his taste in women?" I asked the two women who stopped to look at me, confused at what I had just said. "The lady came at me unprovoked. Why does he have a problem with me?" I asked them, and they made an oh sound, like they finally understood what I was saying.

"She is Vanessa. She dated the king almost ten years ago and refused to let go. Don't mind her; she is all bark and no bite. She thinks she is more important than she actually is, and the king does not even care about her anymore" Annette said, eyeing Shelly as if trying to shut her up as Shelly had moved to speak first.

"Erm, okay. Did you get the dresses you wanted?" I asked, not willing to push the conversation any further, seeing Anne's reaction to it.

"This is the dress. The king will be so happy he put you in his court; at least you will be a breath of fresh air among those old grouches," Shelly said and laughed. Anne followed too, but she had a nervous look permanently settled on her face, like there was more to the king's relationship with Vanessa.

"Thank you, Shelly. What do you think, Anne?" I deliberately asked her and matched her gaze, not breaking eye contact. She avoided my gaze and walked to me, smoothing the edges of my dress.

"You look excellent. I don't think I have ever seen anyone more beautiful." She said and walked away. Shelly gave her a quizzical look before shrugging her shoulders.

*** Four hours later, I looked almost unrecognizable. The girls had worked on my hair and even my makeup. I had never done so much in trying to look good, but after spending nearly one hour and thirty minutes preparing my hair, I knew I was in for a full makeover.

Anne had loosened up in the few hours that followed my dress selection. I watched her every move, wondering what they could have been possibly hiding, and made a mental note to find out more about it whenever I could. Just then, the doorbell rang, and Asher's guard came in.

"The king is ready and requests the presence of my lady at the table" he said, and Anne told him that I would be down soon.

I didn't feel any sort of nerves as I walked down, my chest heaving in silence. Even though Vanessa was on my mind, I looked forward to discussing my new role with the king. I have never worked in any court as big as the one that he has and I had many questions concerning what was expected of me.

When Asher came into sight, my heart missed a few beats. I had to stop for a brief moment to steady my breath as I watched the look of satisfaction spreading on his face. He stood up and held out a chair for me as I acknowledged the gesture with the quiet nod of my head.

"You look exceptionally beautiful" he said as I sat down, letting the words caress my ears.

"Thank you very much, my king" I answered and remembered that I woke up in his arms this morning. I avoided his gaze as my cheeks reddened by the thought that had found its way to my heart.

"I didn't know what you would like; I had them make something healthy for you. I hope you like it" he said gently as he sat down, his hands on the table as he stared at me intently.

"Thank you for having me for dinner" I said, and he chuckled, looking at me as I wondered what was so funny.

"I will have you for dinner soon" he said, and I finally understood his lewd thoughts.