As the day of Odelle's come out ball drew near, the amount of lessons she
had to take grew. In addition to Henri's court etiquette lessons, a herald
and a page named John and Jim tutored Odelle in court gossip. They dragged
with them a flock of likenesses. During these audacious lessons Odelle was
wont to pick up a likeness of a noble and say "You mean to say he is
married to her, but really loves her that is married to him?" picking up
the correct miniatures. "Yes" would say John who would go on pick up the
second husband and place it next to the picture of a much younger maiden,
"but he impregnated her daughter, as an act of revenge from when she
scorned his drunken overtures in eighty-one." This is when Odelle would
gasp and exclaim "You're joking!" and both youths would swear on their
mothers hearts that they weren't. The queen also insisted on bringing in a
dance instructor. On this Odelle was adamant, she would not have her
abilities so belittled.
"Your grace, I respectfully remind your grace that I have had dancing classes since I was a tot of three. I kindly request of your grace not to insult my abilities as such. Your grace, do you really think that I have forgotten how to dance? Trystan and Zorian have been very kind in that respect, every time there was a new dance at court they came and taught it to me."
"That is all very well and good, my lady, but I would prefer, your kingdom would prefer that the fate of the finest young men's feet in Christendom did not rest in the third rate teachings of two harum scarum boys. Understand?"
Odelle nodded. "Good, now if you will follow me to the ballroom you will meet Master Sergei." The words seemed to echo in Odelle's mind, what was she to this woman? What had King Diederich threatened Queen Fiametta with? Why did all these lessons seem like a last ditch effort to stem off the effects of long term neglect? Odelle may not have been the brightest of girls but she knew that it seemed that way because it was. So in the next three weeks she decided to wreak a subtle vengeance on her mother in what Rebecca dubbed "The Dress War".
Every afternoon after her bouts of lessons Odelle had to meet with her mother, the butler, and the house keeper to discuss guest lists, seating arrangements, flower arrangements, the menu, and all importantly the colors. Traditionally the ball's colors, in other words the colors of the decorations, linens, and flower arrangements were designed to match the princess' come out dress. The dress was traditionally a pale virginal color like lavender, powder blue, pale pink or primrose. Odelle had several suitable dresses so everyday she brought a different one with her as a sample of their color pallet as they discussed this table cloth versus that flower. Odelle regretted being so terrible to Silber and Mrs. Rheingold, but it was really worth it to get good on her mother.
It was a week and a half before Queen Fiametta put a stop to that nonsense. An hour before they were preparing to meet Queen Fiametta came barging into Odelle's quarters, "You will choose a gown. Now. For good. Now put down that millinery and pick a dress." Laid out on Odelle's bed were four gowns, a pale green dress that Odelle thought made her look bilious, a pale blue dress with lots of ruffles that resembled and Easter egg, a white frothy dress that gave the impression of being at once virginal and whorish, and a pale pink frilly confection. Queen Fiametta surveyed these dresses and then went into Odelle's wardrobe. When she finally emerged she carried six more pale evening gowns, "You will try them on and decide, now." the queen looked at the protests written on Odelle's face, "Don't worry, child, I have spoken with Mrs. Rheingold and Silber, our meeting is cancelled. Now here," Queen Fiametta said handing Odelle a peach evening gown, "try this on."
So Odelle did, and she tried on every pastel evening gown on in her closet until they finally narrowed her choices down to the white frothy dress, a frou-frou peach thing, the pink frilly confection, a lavish primrose costume, and a sumptuous lavender number. This is when they paused to look at the time. Queen Fiametta seemed to be wrestling with herself on something, finally she deliberated, "Get dressed for dinner, make sure you wear your stays as tight as they go, and we will continue this tomorrow morning. You will not do anything to those frocks, save look at them. Good evening." With that Queen Fiametta swept from the room wondering how tonight's ploy would work out. Everyone needed a test run.
Responses to life's most pressing questions:
Miss Piratess: You can, but I'll warn you I can only blush so many times. Thank you so much for your regard it means a lot to me, especially because The Other Princess is one of my favorites on this site (though I may be lax in checking in). The intro was pure Goldman I was reading the Princess Bride for the umpteenth time when I felt the need to start writing.
Kaio: I'm sorry for not updating sooner, and then leaving you at a cliffhanger. I guess I'm taking a leaf from the illustrious Miss Piratess' book. You'll see about her mother turning blue. The big question is how Felicia and Odelle will act at this dinner...
Aerinha: I love Fiametta. She is such fun to write. Here's the thing about the dresses, you can always tell how well off someone is by the number, quality, beauty of their clothes. The dresses aren't about Odelle or Fiametta or Felicia. The dresses are about Adalhard. If one daughter is dressed befitting her station and the other is dressed like the third daughter of a second rate fiefdom it speaks badly of the wealth of the country. The best revenge Odelle could have would be to show up at her ball in a simple dress.
DolphinAnimagus: I hope you like this one, I could have used your beta skills.
To all: You'll all be hearing from me rather soon as I have begun scheming again
"Your grace, I respectfully remind your grace that I have had dancing classes since I was a tot of three. I kindly request of your grace not to insult my abilities as such. Your grace, do you really think that I have forgotten how to dance? Trystan and Zorian have been very kind in that respect, every time there was a new dance at court they came and taught it to me."
"That is all very well and good, my lady, but I would prefer, your kingdom would prefer that the fate of the finest young men's feet in Christendom did not rest in the third rate teachings of two harum scarum boys. Understand?"
Odelle nodded. "Good, now if you will follow me to the ballroom you will meet Master Sergei." The words seemed to echo in Odelle's mind, what was she to this woman? What had King Diederich threatened Queen Fiametta with? Why did all these lessons seem like a last ditch effort to stem off the effects of long term neglect? Odelle may not have been the brightest of girls but she knew that it seemed that way because it was. So in the next three weeks she decided to wreak a subtle vengeance on her mother in what Rebecca dubbed "The Dress War".
Every afternoon after her bouts of lessons Odelle had to meet with her mother, the butler, and the house keeper to discuss guest lists, seating arrangements, flower arrangements, the menu, and all importantly the colors. Traditionally the ball's colors, in other words the colors of the decorations, linens, and flower arrangements were designed to match the princess' come out dress. The dress was traditionally a pale virginal color like lavender, powder blue, pale pink or primrose. Odelle had several suitable dresses so everyday she brought a different one with her as a sample of their color pallet as they discussed this table cloth versus that flower. Odelle regretted being so terrible to Silber and Mrs. Rheingold, but it was really worth it to get good on her mother.
It was a week and a half before Queen Fiametta put a stop to that nonsense. An hour before they were preparing to meet Queen Fiametta came barging into Odelle's quarters, "You will choose a gown. Now. For good. Now put down that millinery and pick a dress." Laid out on Odelle's bed were four gowns, a pale green dress that Odelle thought made her look bilious, a pale blue dress with lots of ruffles that resembled and Easter egg, a white frothy dress that gave the impression of being at once virginal and whorish, and a pale pink frilly confection. Queen Fiametta surveyed these dresses and then went into Odelle's wardrobe. When she finally emerged she carried six more pale evening gowns, "You will try them on and decide, now." the queen looked at the protests written on Odelle's face, "Don't worry, child, I have spoken with Mrs. Rheingold and Silber, our meeting is cancelled. Now here," Queen Fiametta said handing Odelle a peach evening gown, "try this on."
So Odelle did, and she tried on every pastel evening gown on in her closet until they finally narrowed her choices down to the white frothy dress, a frou-frou peach thing, the pink frilly confection, a lavish primrose costume, and a sumptuous lavender number. This is when they paused to look at the time. Queen Fiametta seemed to be wrestling with herself on something, finally she deliberated, "Get dressed for dinner, make sure you wear your stays as tight as they go, and we will continue this tomorrow morning. You will not do anything to those frocks, save look at them. Good evening." With that Queen Fiametta swept from the room wondering how tonight's ploy would work out. Everyone needed a test run.
Responses to life's most pressing questions:
Miss Piratess: You can, but I'll warn you I can only blush so many times. Thank you so much for your regard it means a lot to me, especially because The Other Princess is one of my favorites on this site (though I may be lax in checking in). The intro was pure Goldman I was reading the Princess Bride for the umpteenth time when I felt the need to start writing.
Kaio: I'm sorry for not updating sooner, and then leaving you at a cliffhanger. I guess I'm taking a leaf from the illustrious Miss Piratess' book. You'll see about her mother turning blue. The big question is how Felicia and Odelle will act at this dinner...
Aerinha: I love Fiametta. She is such fun to write. Here's the thing about the dresses, you can always tell how well off someone is by the number, quality, beauty of their clothes. The dresses aren't about Odelle or Fiametta or Felicia. The dresses are about Adalhard. If one daughter is dressed befitting her station and the other is dressed like the third daughter of a second rate fiefdom it speaks badly of the wealth of the country. The best revenge Odelle could have would be to show up at her ball in a simple dress.
DolphinAnimagus: I hope you like this one, I could have used your beta skills.
To all: You'll all be hearing from me rather soon as I have begun scheming again