dance, marionette

i.

"Hold still."

Frey fidgets. There is very little that is less comfortable than being pried and prodded at with sharp needles, but unfortunately, a fitted gown is required for the next royal meeting Arthur has volunteered her (unwitting) presence for and Frey has half a mind to forcefully get him fitted for a dress.

"Uh, okay. Sorry." Flinch. Is she doing this on purpose!?

"Dolly~" sings Pico from somewhere Frey can't see, and she glances downwards to find Dolce sighing with her eyebrows furrowed. "You're so nice to be doing this for Frey! Ah ~"

Dolce purses her lips and there's another sharp jab. Frey actually yelps this time. "Shut up, you translucent nuisance. I'm working."

They are gathered in the upper floor of the clinic and the bright eyed princess is pretty sure she can hear Nancy and Jones downstairs doing who knows what, and needless to say it doesn't help the situation whatsoever.

"Are we almost done here?" Frey inquires, trying her very hardest not to look as much like a pin cushion as she feels.

"Nearly," replies Dolce in a clipped tone. She stretches out the soft fabric of the skirt so that it reaches the floor. It's a soft blue color and suits Frey's lighthearted appearance fairly well, she thinks.

"Frey actually looks like a princess for once, haha!" Pico squeaks, hands pressed to her cheeks in mock surprise. "But I'm so jealous~ Why does Dolly never make me such pretty dresses?"

Dolce pulls out a roll of thread and begins threading a new needle all the while glancing at her ghostly companion from the corner of her eye. "You have no need for clothes, you're dead."

It's so harsh that Frey cringes, however Pico doesn't look affected at all. "Ah, you're so mean, Dolly!"

"Um, but she's kind of right." Frey says and immediately back peddles at Dolce's sharp gaze. It isn't very easy to get along with the girl, it's sort of like stepping in between shards of broken glass and expecting to never get cut. "I mean, it's a really pretty dress! So, thanks! For doing this."

Dolce pauses in her work, only for a brief moment, and regards Frey with a strange expression. "...You're welcome."

"Dolly's blushing! Look, so cute!"

ii.

She can remember it. It's hazy and almost similar to a puzzle that's missing a few pieces out of the original hundred or so, but it's there, forever ingrained in her memory. Dolce wakes up sometimes and goes out at night because she simply can't get the thought of her guardian-self's battle with the somewhat overwhelming Selphian princess out of her mind.

On these walks, she's usually too subdued to bother with telling Pico to be quiet or to pull out a ready made talisman. It's a real problem, to be sure.

When Nancy starts inquiring about her questionable sleep schedule, or lack thereof, Dolce finds herself merely shrugging away the concern, offering only, "I've had a lot to think about."

She likes to think the soft, understanding smile that appears on the nurse's face, in the instant the words are finally out, is not telling of her entire situation and the impossibility of it all.

iii.

The next time she assists Frey with fitting a dress, it's sort of a...strange occasion. Her stomach is fluttery and no amount of recovery medicine has served to help in ceasing the motion. It's a real problem because the fluttery feeling is making her hands shake and she's pricking Frey even more than intended.

"Ouch," Frey exclaims but she's still got a small smile on her face, so Dolce figures everything is alright.

"Don't bleed on this dress," Dolce advises, even though she's the one to blame for the fact that Frey's leg, mostly the knee area, has small little pinpricks littering them. It's important.

Pico floats out from behind Frey with a huge pout on her face. "You look like a cream puff! Dolly, do you have to make Frey look like a pastry?"

"I don't know," remarks Dolce quickly but with no real bite to it. "Do you have to be such an annoying presence in my life at all times?"

"Yep~"

Frey giggles behind her hand and Dolce tries to ignore the way her face heats up. How utterly irritating.

"Well, I love this dress," says Frey softly, once her giggling has stopped. Dolce hates how she already misses the sound.

Pathetic.

Pico hums and wraps her translucent arms around Frey happily. "Hey, Dolly, since Frey is technically a princess, does that mean when you get married, you'll be one too? Oooh! Oooh! Can I be a princess too!?"

It's only then that the seamstress reaches for a talisman and Pico let's out a loud squawk before disappearing entirely.

And, she supposes, out of all the outcomes that their first encounter could have wrought - and there are many, many ways that this could have gone terribly wrong wrong wrong - that witnessing Frey twirl around in a white dress with soft blue sashes draped across her waist is one of the better.

(a/n) dolce's monster form is my fave but unfortunately i could only mention it in passing for extra pretentious effectiveness