Skylar watched her reflection. Her chest rose and fell. Her face was flushed, and when Saira let go of her hair, it fell past her shoulders in neat waves. Her skin glowed, still warm from the bath, and still carrying the scent of jasmine. Skylar hated that her reflection lied; it bore none of her apprehension.
"You must deny him, Mother."
"Your father has already accepted."
"Then I will deny him!"
"You will do no such thing!"
Saira returned the hairbrush to the dressing table. It hit the mahogany surface with a thud. A moment of silence took over the room. All eyes fell upon Skylar, but she did not react.
When Saira left her side, distracted by handmaidens who had just arrived at the door, Skylar reached up and dragged her fingers through her hair. But when she returned her gaze to the mirror, her reflection had not changed. She looked beautiful, and so well put-together. She looked like a young lady about to meet her betrothed.
The room pressed in. It transformed into a furnace. Too hot and too close. Skylar couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. She sprang up and ran to her garden doors before anyone could stop her. She pulled them open and gasped as the cool air hit her skin and doused her chambers. Skylar could hear the hum of the garden, the distant song of the birds, and the flowing of water from the fountain. It calmed her. The heat left her skin and the panic receded, but the dread still remained. It lived within her now. She could feel it in her chest, a small pit, stuck and unmoving by her heart, poisoning her body with anxiety.
"Skylar, return at once. There is no time for another bath!"
Skylar ignored her mother's order and continued to let the garden hold her.
"Your father will worry himself to death if you catch a cold—Bring it in—Do not say I did not warn you."
Though her mother was speaking to her, Skylar noticed something else had her attention. And then she heard it. The chamber doors opened, and the ruffle of fabric fluttered through the air.
"Oh, how magnificent!"
Saira was pleased, and it was rare to hear the praise in her voice. Her mother had just burst into song. Handmaidens, guards, cooks, Skylar, even the Lord Cardinal of Astros himself, were but a few of the many people who often fell short against her Ladyship's expectations.
Skylar turned to see six handmaidens, carrying, like a priceless artefact, the dress. It made Skylar feel nauseous.
It was a confection of soft, powdery blue and crisp white silks. It glimmered in the light, like sunlight upon water. The skirt reminded Skylar of a sickeningly sweet cake, each tier overly frosted with white ruffles and lace, and unfurling into several voluminous layers of blue draped over white. Tiny bows were unnecessarily sprinkled along the hem, and the short sleeves puffed at the shoulders. The bodice was very fitted, and there was an overly large blue bow that decorated its centre.
When Skylar was a child, she played with dolls that wore similar frilly frocks, with ribbon-trimmed bonnets and bows in their hair. Soon, she'd be one of them.
Skylar balled her hands into fists. The evening promised to be one of worst days of her life. Now, she'd have to endure it while battling against the most ostentatious dress her mother had ever designed for her. She'd be paraded around, and propped up, her face plastered with a stale smile. A part of her worried that she would not survive this evening. Another part hoped for such an ending, just so she would be put out of her misery.
"Well? what do you think? Isn't it just marvellous?" Saira's sang again. "Madame Seraphia has really outdone herself. The design was entirely my idea, of course, but it's come together so wonderfully."
Saira didn't wait for an answer, having already made up her mind that no one could possibly dislike the dress, not even her daughter. "You will look so beautiful. Like a true Ladyship. I am sure Lord Caspian will be very pleased."
Skylar was too stunned to speak. Every thought tangled together. Her mind had dissolved, and anything she thought to say disappeared by the time it reached her tongue. Her heart raced and the pit of dread within her chest grew.
Skylar focused on the hum of the garden. The commotion inside her chambers slowly started to fade. She narrowed her eyes and the dress rippled into a blur, as though it had all just been a dream. But Skylar knew it was too good to be true. Whether she opened her eyes or closed them, whether she was awake or asleep, she would not be able to escape her fate.
The dread within her erupted. It sprouted from the pit in her chest and forced her legs to move without warning. Her slippers were thin, she could feel the cold stone, and the wet grass as she ran. Rainwater soaked through, causing her to slip and stumble, but she caught herself on the fountain. She looked up to see the jade dragon staring down at her. There was nothing behind its eyes. But Skylar heard it telling her to run.
So she did. Past her orchard trees, her feet squelching overripe fruit that had fallen from the branches above, and rotted among the grass. She could smell the sweetness and the decay of the fruit, and it followed her through the garden.
"Skylar! Skylar, get back here at once!"
Her mother's cries thundered towards her, causing the birds to flee from their perch. Adrenaline bolted through her veins. It was exciting and frightening all at once, and though there would be consequences, Skylar did not care.
Skylar had not met Caspian Everus in years, and did not even remember what he looked like or how he behaved. The last she heard, he had led the charge against the Nomad territories that lived along the northern border. And now he was in Astros, to meet her. But Skylar had no intention of wearing that atrocious dress, or parading herself around for him. She would not be his next conquest.
The high garden wall rose before her. It was smothered by ivy, the greystone lost to layers and layers of the plant's green and purple hues. Skylar grabbed the blanket of leaves and heaved them to the side. For a moment, it felt like the ivy might swallow her, too, hiding her away forever. Slowly, the stone wall emerged. There was a small, arched opening that Skylar had used since she was a girl. She squeezed through.
Behind her, she could hear her mother frantically shouting out towards the guards. Her voiced faded as Skylar fled. The last thing she heard was: "Go! Bring her back! Make sure Lord Caspian does not find out she's missing!"