Leaning against the onyx tree bark, Eliana could only stare at Eunias blankly. Her biggest confidant, whose vicious tongue would never trip over the harsh words he hurled at her like boulders from over the head, was an obsessed inamorato of cosmetics.
To the point, he would asseverate to have his natal day in every three or four months and importune her to fly down to the mortal realm, and buy him make-up guides and fashion magazines. Not to mention the skin and hair care products she herself had to formulate for him, whenever his obsession would act up.
"Why are you caking your face though?"
Eunias' incredulous glance stayed posited on Eliana briefly, before cocking one of his fine eyebrows. "And, why will I not? It's your wedding! Such joyous occasions necessitate a bit of glam glow, aesthetic treatments, and of course, some enhancing products! Especially, if you are the star of the celebration, it's a must."
Eliana allowed a muted sigh to sneak past her lips. He saw the world in her eyes, as he lived inside her. Nonetheless, the preposterous illusion that had him bound in its bubble was he tended to believe that everyone saw him when they looked at her!
No matter how many times she shook senses into him, he would rather place himself in the cushy lap of his own knitted illusions than acknowledge her truth.
"Not like anyone is going to see you," Eliana tried to prick Eunias's thick-skinned bubbles, but a snort from the guy uprooted her needle without any exception. Apart from her upper eyelashes interlocking with the lower ones in a quick blink, her face had the calmness of an ocean. She shrugged, hurled the bottles at him, which were caught deftly. "Get inside, I'm leaving."
….
By the time Eliana reached Wingland's Royal Palace, the crack of dawn had already started eating the darkness and subtle bluish light was on its way to illuminate the surrounding.
As could be predicted, Laila was pacing back and forth inside her bedchamber.
Eliana stopped, her feet glued to the threshold of the balcony, a palm reaching the back of her neck, rubbing it sheepishly. She forced out a fake cough. "Ahem, Laila, I'm back!"
Laila spun around; her eyes had been brimming with anxiety, as regarded her. She could see the restlessness swimming in those brown orbs clearing, upon smelling no trace of oddness in her. "Your Highness, what took you so long?"
Eliana perched on the feather bed. "You have to keep the distance in mind, Laila. Twelve kingdoms, seven oceans and thirteen rivers, all in all, I had to follow a circuitous pathway." She flicked her wrist, and in a split second, a copper vessel came flying at her from a nearby table. The transparent water in it sloshed loudly, but, not a single drop slopped over the edge of the vessel.
Wrapping her long fingers around the shiny vessel's neck, Eliana chugged down the whole content.
"Her Majesty had come to check on you once, I sent her away saying that you are sleeping."
Laila came to stand beside her. Upon a closer look, Eliana noticed the nursemaid's natural thin eyebrows sparsely filled with brown hair had been filled with meticulous strokes of kohl. Additionally, the vellus hair covering the latter's forehead and cheeks had been shaved as well.
Laila's eyes swept down Eliana, just as she took the vessel from her, and almost instantly a blob of blush exploded and spread all over her face.
"Ah... Her Highness wanted me to be in my best appearance on your wedding day, as I will be sent away as well, to tend to Your Highness needs."
"It feels good seeing you dolling up yourself." Eliana's words chuckled out. "You style my hair in a new way almost every day, but never seen any of them on you ever. Why Laila?"
"I just don't feel like doing it," Before Laila could go ahead with any more words, a flurry of persistent knocks lightly striking the oak door grabbed both of their attention.
Eliana sent her gaze at the door, and it opened itself. Subsequently, a deluge of harmonious laughters heated the earlier serene atmosphere right away.
"Finally, our bride has woken up! Seems like we have to put the kibosh on our plan! Such a pity!" Isabella, the Princess Consort, said, then sat down beside Eliana.
"What plan?" Eliana didn't vocalize it, but the lift of her eyebrows at the woman spoke it all.
This mute question received a burst of giggles, while seven beautiful fairies, the daughter-in-laws of King Hermes and Queen Irene surrounded her. They all adorned themselves with expensive satins and jewels.
"Sister-in-law wanted you to wake up to your bridegroom's mighty dragon aura beside you on the bed! Who knows, perhaps, she might have actually ended up requesting Emperor Hades's presence, had you not opened the door this time…" Sophia, the Second Prince's wife, joined in with a mischievous grin.
Eliana blinked, sensing a cringe crawling up her spine. Well, she wasn't going to associate herself with this set of jokes. She rolled her eyes sideways, throwing the jesting words at the back of her head.
"We sent several maids to your door for the last hour, and everyone had to return with the same message—Princess hasn't woken up yet."
"I think our beloved princess wasn't even in this room!" Charlotte, the Third Prince's wife, thrusted her tongue in the exchange, tapping under the gold platter perched atop her palm.
The calm beast locked inside Eliana's ribcage stirred up, before it commenced jumping up and down out of anxiety. She focused her gaze and channeled all her attention to this third elder sister-in-law of hers, in order to pick out the latter's thoughts. Nevertheless, she couldn't chase a single oddity to its lair.
Eliana brought out a gentle smile to touch upon her lips, making sure her serene expression didn't crack for a second. "What are you talking about? Where else would I be?"
"In your Dreamland, of course! Galloping on the real battlefield—your nuptial bed—with the mighty God! Where else?!" Charlotte threw her head back having a good giggle over her own witticisms, while everyone else were brisk to contact the contagious laughs.
To be more exact, everyone apart from Eliana. No one noticed but a brief tremor ran down her body, as if a bolt of electricity just coursed through her. Apparently, she just experienced her best cringing moment of the millennium!
"Aww! We must have ruined the sweet moments then! It would have been wonderful if Emperor Hades were to rub the sleep away from our beloved Princess's eyes!" Winifred, the Fourth Prince's wife, chimed in.
Just then, a crisp knock made by the Queen's Headmaid, announcing the Queen's presence, put a lid on the lewd topic.
All the daughter-in-laws sidestepped, making the path for the Queen.
"Mother," Eliana called out; a mere whisper it was, smeared with heartache that had her heart clenched painfully. The two rich streams of tears that had flowed down her mother's cheeks earlier left its trace in gray marks; and coats of powder didn't come to its ripeness in screening it from her vision.
Perhaps, it was her only vision that pierced through the thick wall of covering, for others didn't show any signs of oddity.