"Umm…!"
"I'm sorry Master, I couldn't follow her for long, I would have been noticed as the place she was, was too crowded…!"
"This lowly subordinate will find her…!" He pledged with one knee down and his head lowered, expressing his mistake.
"No worries, I have an Idea…!" He stated, staring at the album in his hand as a wicked smirk returned to his face.
Two Months Later,
Two months later, after their unexpected encounter, Corvina humbley sat at the dinner table, ready to start eating with her fork already in hand.
Suddenly, a figure came barging into the room with a frightening speed, as it ran to the girl at the table, shaking the air out of her lungs, making her dizzy.
"Vina…! Vina…! Vina…!" The voice excited, as the poor girl being shaken looked frightened.
"Guess what? guess what? guess what…!" Like a bird, she chirped loudly.
"What happened…?" Corvina pleaded finally to get a hold of herself.
"Look at this" She showed her the envelope, as She continued, not losing a bit of her enthusiasm.
"It's an invitation…!" Surprised, Corvina grabbed the letter, recognizing the seal of the palace on the back of the letter that was yet to be opened.
"How did you get this…?" She asked in an uncertain voice with a hint of excitement in her eyes.
"I knew you'll like it…, I trade something for it" On hearing her words, Corvina froze in shock as disappointment flashed In her eyes.
Seeing the girl's expression, The woman showed a bitter expression.
"You know I have to do this for us to survive, right? Don't look like that, it doesn't suit you…"
Lifting her face, the woman gave her a peck on the cheek as she walked away. Looking at the Invitation on the table, Corvina took a deep breath as she unsealed the letter and read every line word by word.
She came to a stop, when she undoubtedly read of a price at the end of the royal ball given to the most beautiful maiden, with both looks and talent, as the price will be given directly by the Emperor.
However, there were strict rules and penalties for any misconduct. All this was written in the letter within the envelope and Corvina didn't miss a word, but on reaching the end of the letter, she couldn't help but be frightened.
"What…!, Four days…?"
Hearing her Shout, The woman came from what seems to be the kitchen as she smiled at Corvina, assuring her that everything will be alright.
The next day, they both went in search of a dress. As expected, the stores were jam-packed with almost all the young female aristocrats of the Empire, each picking a dress more beautiful than the other.
"Hmm…! Who's this servant girl?" She was referring to Corvina, as she commanded in a loud voice. "Come help me with my corset!" Trying as much as possible not to attract attention, Corvina volunteeringly walked towards the girl standing behind her, she tightened the croset as much as she could, as the lady demanded her slim waist.
"You have to make it tighter…! I have to attract His Majesty's attention…!" Corvina hurriedly signaled a servant girl to replace her as she escaped, not willing to be caught up in there competition, Corvina switched to different boutique's and was even mistaken as a servant most of the time, but after seeing her face, there become uncertain, and some hold envy, which was later replaced with relief, thinking she will not be attending the ball, and hence wouldn't be a threat to them, giving her a disdain look.
…
It was already past seven in the evening, when she finally found a dress. It was beautiful. A new design that no one wanted and was kept at the side to collect dust, it's long sleeve was made of lace sewn beautifully and embroidery patterns on the side with darts at both sides and it's charming color, it looked like it's was especially made for her and waited for years just to find her.
Floria inspected the dress in awe, already imagining how it would look on the little fallen princess, already, although not fully mature, her beauty was enough to cause the downfall of Empires. Feeling sure in her heart that this girl will make a name for herself someday, she proceeded to rent the dusty dress and took it home to wash it, preparing for the big day.
Three days later,
"Oh god, Corvina! Look at how gorgeous you are! You are now the most lady on the planet that I have even seen with my eyes!" The shop owner non stop praise as she circled her again and again was making Corvina feel her invisible sweat drops falling. But she understood her reaction but even she was shocked the moment she saw herself in the mirror. She never thought that a beautiful woman and even grooming could transform someone to this extent, she almost couldn't believe that the girl in the mirror was her.
"Thank you so much Ma'am, I really can't thank you enough for this" Corvina said and the woman waved her hand at her.
"Nah… it's all you and the dress, okay? I didn't even put that much makeup on you, I just fixed your hair and dressed you in that gorgeous dress and that was all it took to unearth your natural beauty. Ugh! I'm so sure you're going to attract a lot of attention" Hearing her, Corvina blushed in embarrassment.
"Haha, hey, don't talk like that, I bet she won't be able to say that when she sees him" The two women teased in a playful tone, on citing the blushing face of Corvina, they couldn't help but tease her more
'Ugh! Isn't she so cute?'
Otherwise, in Corvina's heart, no one knew the storm that was brewing, as deep hatred appeared in her eyes, which went unnoticed to anyone, with clenched fist and a determined heart, she couldn't wait for the ball.