“Thank you,” I said, nodding my head at her.
“On the side, there is shampoo to wash your hair and conditioner to make it soft, as well as a gentle body wash and a razor for you to shave with. It’s all brand new in fragrances you used to like. Just read the instructions on each bottle, and it will tell you what to do.”
“The world has changed much in one hundred years,” I commented.
“Actually . . .” Kyra looked as though she wasn’t sure if she was supposed to say anything. When I stared her down, she said, “It’s been two hundred. We’ve been trying to wake you and your father for quite some time. The king is still deep within the black sleep, so we are especially glad that you’re awake.”
“Two hundred?” I breathed, not intending it to be a question so much as disbelief. I couldn’t imagine how much had changed in such an amount of time.
“We tried to wake you as soon as your sleep was up, but nothing worked. The nobles were calling for my uncle’s head for his failure, so we started trying everything we could. Finally, we started taking blood donations from the court to prevent my uncle and myself from becoming too weak, and that seemed to bring you back to us.”
Why had they waited so long to get help? I wanted to sit down. Everything she’d said, well, it was a lot to take in. I took a deep, steadying breath and looked at her square in her nervous eyes. “You have served me well, Kyra.” She might be a good addition to my court yet.
The other woman turned to leave.
“Lady Kyra, I still require your assistance,” I said, turning around so she could start unbuttoning my dress.
“Oh, of course,” she replied, sounding surprised. I felt her fingers deftly work over the dress to get the outer layer off, and then the layers underneath one by one until I was left in just my shift and stockings.
The door closed quietly as Kyra left with the remains of the dress I had been dormant in. It would need to be cleaned before I could even consider wearing it again, but I secretly hoped that she would just burn it. Fashion was ever evolving, so I was sure that the dress was useless in the new world I was stepping into.
I pushed everything she said about my waking to the back of my mind for analysis later and stared at the glass box in front of me. My curiosity got the better of me, and I looked around the room. Everything was so different, with only the hint of what it used to be, what I was used to seeing. I twisted the handle as my cousin had instructed, and a great jet of water shot from a metal disk in the ceiling, steam rising from it almost immediately. It was truly miraculous. I stepped under the jets, and it was heaven.
By the time I got out, I was starting to feel normal again and beginning to realize how much the world had changed. Even my most basic needs and functions were fulfilled in new ways. When I exited the bathroom wearing the fluffy piece of clothing that had been hanging on the wall, Kyra was waiting for me.
“That was delightful,” I said, smiling at my cousin.
“Pretty fab, huh?”
“Astonishing,” I agreed.
“I’ve got some dresses for you to choose from, but I think maybe I should show you how much fashion has changed since you went to sleep. You might not like them at first, but I assure you that they are perfect choices for your rebirth party.”
“I think I’ll be fine just seeing the dresses. Feel free to bring them in.”
“Oh, they’re in those bags,” Kyra said as she gestured to the bags she had hung earlier. They barely looked big enough to hold one’s undergarments, but if her own clothing was anything to go by, then times had certainly changed. The woman was in trousers; such a thing would have been unacceptable in my day.
“I’m curious how dresses could fit in something so small,” I wondered aloud. “Please open them.”
“If you’re sure,” she said uneasily as she stood.
I nodded at my cousin, who unzipped the first bag and pulled out a long swath of gray silk. It already looked too stuffy for my tastes, and I hadn’t even seen the rest of it. Gray was not my favorite color. As she laid it on the bed so I could get a better look, I realized that there wasn’t anything else to it. This small slip of fabric was all there was to the dress. The contrast between what I had taken off to get into the shower and what was now on the bed in front of me was stunning.
The second bag yielded a dress in a powder blue, which was not to my taste, either. I thought I’d been more specific when I had given Kyra my instructions for my reawakening. Finally, she opened the third bag, and the color that met my eyes was a balm to my worried soul. Her hand tugged on a deep-crimson fabric, pulling it from the bag for me to see.
“You can put the first two away. Unless there is something wrong with the red one, then I shall be wearing that. It was Father’s favorite color, after all.”
“Of course, Your Highness,” Kyra said as she moved the gray and blue dresses away.
I picked up the red dress and slipped it over my head, letting the soft velvet glide over my body until it hit the floor. The wide V-neck was a surprise, as were the bits of lace that peeked out from under the edges. I spun to look at myself in the large mirror that I’d had since I was a child. When I didn’t see it, irritation flooded me.
“Your mirror was packed away, and I wasn’t able to retrieve it in time for your reawakening. I apologize.”
“It’s no bother, Lady Kyra. I appreciate your effort.”
There was still a mirror there, and it was better than my memory of my own mirror. The woman reflected in it was familiar but different, like so many things around me. The dress was beautiful but felt like the shift I was used to wearing underneath. The velvet hugged my curves, and the lace made me look rather scandalous. I took a step toward the mirror to get a better look at my face and gasped as a slit in the skirt appeared, going all the way up to my hip.
“I cannot wear this,” I said as I turned to face Kyra.
“This is why I wanted you to see some recent fashions before you put it on.” She sighed.
“Women are so exposed today?”
Kyra simply nodded and fiddled with a stray thread on her own clothing.
“Fine, show me,” I said as I perched on the edge of the bed, careful not to wrinkle the dress.
Kyra sat down beside me, the mattress barely moving under her weight as she pulled a black rectangle from her pocket and began moving her fingers over it.
“This is a mobile, or cell phone,” she said. I remembered these from the blood that had awakened me. Large, global ideas would come through, but smaller ideas or things that changed rapidly didn’t. I knew the lights in my room were not candles, which they were supposed to look like, but rather powered by electricity.
“You can use this to reach me by either tapping on this box and using the letters to spell out a message or by pressing this green icon here, which will allow you to talk to me. Now, here are the pictures I wanted you to see. Just move your finger over it like this,” she said, taking my hand and pressing my finger to the screen and moving it to the left.
The image changed as I repeated the action, and I smiled. The world was a fascinating place. By the time my brain caught up with what I was seeing, I was shocked. Women bared so much skin these days. It was refreshing, and I was glad to see that we had more freedoms, but I was surprised nonetheless. It made my dress look almost matronly if it weren’t for the slit and the lace.
If this was the fashion, then I would adapt. That was the role of the elite class, after all. We ruled, slept, and adapted. Our cycles kept order and provided a bit of pomp and circumstance in our long lives, especially since we loved timing them with other celebrations to make them even grander affairs.
I stood, setting the mobile down on the bed, and walked over to the mirror. The crimson velvet had matching lace around the neckline, all of which was accented by the black leather belt that cinched around the tiniest part of my waist and came down the skirt until it connected with the slit. Silver studs protruded from the leather, givin
g me the edge of a fighter to my look. I hadn’t even noticed when I first put on the dress, but there was black lace coming from the shoulders all the way down my side to just past my hips, showing off the pale skin underneath. The most conservative thing about the dress was the long sleeves.
“What kind of shoes should I wear?” I asked Kyra, who was looking at her cell phone.
“Oh, I got you some black ankle boots to go with it, and a necklace,” she said, standing and hustling back to the series of bags. She pulled out shoes covered in black velvet that went over the ankle and had a band of studded leather going around them. The necklace was clearly worn tightly around the neck, like a collar. It flowed nicely with the black lace of the dress and shimmered with a thousand small black beads, all of which led to the large onyx pendant in the center. The shoes and the necklace were the perfect accents to the dress.
“I approve,” I said with a smile.
She handed them to me, along with some tiny stockings that were barely big enough to go over my feet. Once they were on, I walked around the room, getting a feel for the way the clothes and shoes sat on my body, along with how to move confidently and regally.
“Women today put more sway in their walk, like this,” Kyra said as she stood and sashayed her way past me. I followed her example, but not to her extreme. I was the future queen, after all, and everyone at court needed to bow before me whether they wanted to or not.
Once I was moving with ease in my new clothing Kyra said, “Because it’s All Hallows Eve, your party tonight is a masquerade. So the last part of your outfit tonight is a mask.”
I wanted to balk at the idea, to refuse to wear one, but that would just make me look like a spoiled child, which was the opposite of what I was going for. So I kept my mouth shut and just nodded.
Kyra moved over to a table and picked up three boxes. I hadn’t even noticed them sitting there, which was a problem. I really needed to be paying more attention to my surroundings. She brought them over and set them down on the bed, opening each one individually before going back to the beginning and unwrapping the mask from the crushed velvet lining that surrounded it.
The first one was an ornate gold and red monstrosity. It wasn’t just a partial mask, like I was used to for masquerades. This one was a full face covering, leaving only my eyes exposed, with a large, peacock-like headdress section. Tassels hung from the edge of the mask by the ears.
The second one was all feathers with some lace covering the eyes completely. I knew I’d be able to see out enough to see where I was going, but the idea of having my vision obstructed wasn’t an idea I relished. Plus the amount of red and black feathers on the thing made it seem like I would have a whole bird on my head. One good gust of wind and I’d be carried away.
The third was some delicate, feminine thing. There was a butterfly on one half of the mask making it look like it was eating my face off. It was all lace and metal. The metal sections were gold, but it wasn’t a brassy gold like the first mask, instead this was a dull, worn gold, which actually looked okay when paired with the black lace.
Out of the three the only one that was even remotely acceptable was the third mask, although I didn’t want the court to think I was still a child that cared about childish things like butterflies and rainbows. When compared with the first mask, which essentially took away my ability to speak—and the second which took away the ability to make eye contact with people—it was clear which one I should choose, even though I wasn’t particularly enamored with it.
I picked up the gold and black mask and held it up to my face as I looked in the mirror. It definitely made me look younger, but I had to hope that it didn’t matter. I was going to be their queen whether they liked it or not, so the mask really didn’t make much of a difference. I just had to keep reminding myself of that.
Chapter Two
Blair
I walked down the hallway with Kyra by my side. Her assistance during my reawakening had been nothing short of a balm on my already frayed mind. The art and images that lined the walls now were all so different than before, I knew I had so much to catch up on that it was a little overwhelming. Now was not the time to focus on that, however. Now was the time to wear the crown and be the queen my people needed me to be.
Before any of that could happen, though, I needed to show them that I could not only survive being thrust into this new world, but that I could thrive. The first step toward that was to attend my rebirth party. I was still surprised by the masquerade aspect, but was oddly excited to see everyone else’s masks. Kyra had slipped on the feathery one that I had rejected before we left. I felt a little guilty that she was stuck with my rejects, but I wasn’t going to change my mind when this first impression was so important.
“Are you ready?” Kyra asked as we approached the door that led to the banquet hall, which would also double as a throne room when I was crowned.
“I believe so,” I said, as I smoothed my dress down and fluffed my hair once more. The two of us had gone over some basics of the new makeup available to women these days, as well as how they commonly styled their hair. I had to admit the hair was a lot easier, but the makeup, on the other hand, was much more complicated. No more pinching cheeks and maybe using a small piece of kohl or soot for eyeliner. It was refreshing that everything was so clean.
A strange instrument played a short announcement call, and the doors swung open. Kyra entered first, her hips swaying to the music like she was trying to hypnotize the crowd. A few rounds of applause sounded, along with some murmurings that ran through the people present like a wave over sand.
Once Kyra was around the table and standing behind her seat next to her father, the music changed to something statelier, as though I were an old woman, which I supposed in some ways was true. I ignored the dig at my age and began my own procession through the crowd.
The room was silent as everyone turned to stare at me, like a bride on her wedding day. No applause this time. Just a breath being held by everyone until I entered the room, and then murmurs and whispers spread like wildfire as women and men openly talked about me. It was like they had forgotten I had vampiric hearing just like them. Variations of “Doesn’t look much like a queen to me,” and “She may as well be a child,” and “Look at how beautiful she is,” filled my ears.
Once I was in front of my uncle, I curtsied as was custom and waited for him to release me from the pose. Since the short period of time until I was crowned was the only time he was going to get me to bow to him, I knew he would take advantage of it. That was just the kind of man he was. True to form, he let me hold the pose for much longer than necessary.
“My wonderful niece, how good to see you awake and moving around again! Stand, stand. We don’t need to be on formal behavior here.” He laughed, and the court joined in as though I had just made a complete idiot of myself.
I straightened and tried not to grimace at the mask he’d chosen. A huge smiling sun covered most of his face, with the exception of his mouth, of course. Big flames came off all around his head adding to the effect. There was something about the expression on the mask that seemed slightly menacing though. “Uncle, it’s good to see you again as well,” I said, plastering my best smile on my face. My uncle was a portly gentleman whose salt-and-pepper hair would have given him an air of elegance if it weren’t for his ruddy face. Before I’d slept, he had been a heavy drinker, a fact that his skin reflected even now, though he seemed quite sober. I always found it funny that most members of the royal family had the traditional pale skin that humans thought of as appropriate for a vampire, while other members had cavorted to the point that they looked more like the humans they so detested.
“Come and sit down. We set a special place for you tonight at my right-hand side.”
I didn’t miss the implication. The place was special because he never expected me to sit there again, and he certainly never imagined I’d be able to take his seat. I knew if I drew attention to the remark, he’d
brush it off, tell me that I was being paranoid or too sensitive. So I smiled and sat, and quietly reaffirmed the knowledge that I wouldn’t be able to trust anyone in my family. Kyra might be the exception, but that was only because we had been friends throughout most of our lives, and even then I wasn’t completely sure, not since I’d been asleep twice as long as expected.
When I took my seat my eyes devoured the crowd. The sea of colors and shapes was almost overwhelming. It wasn’t just the guest’s masks either. The whole room was decorated for the occasion. Skulls adorned the tables and great swaths of black and purple fabric hung from the walls, and silvery pumpkins sat where the cloth met the floor, making the room feel both ominous and cozy at the same time. What I could only assume were stuffed crows hung from the chandeliers. It was a feast for the eyes and for dark souls, like my own. I would always rather be in the dark than the light, closer to death than life.
After a moment of letting the crowd chatter and sit back down, my uncle reached over and began tapping his knife on his crystal goblet. Almost immediately, the crowd was quiet. It was eerie how quickly they had obeyed the simple act.
“Friends!” My uncle called out as though he still needed to silence the room even though I could have heard a pin drop. “We gather here today to celebrate the rebirth of my niece, Princess Blair. She is a welcomed pillar of our community, and I’m thrilled that my family and I are privileged to be her guides in the new world that she’s woken up to. As she dines tonight, we will have music, and after that, the tributes will come forth and pledge their house’s allegiance to Blair. Excuse me—Princess Blair,” my uncle corrected almost immediately, but I knew the slip of the tongue was nothing of the sort.
A Cursed All Hallows' Eve Page 6