Page 49 of The Heartless One
“Getting you ready for this party is going to be an all-day ordeal, my darling. But we’re all ready for the fight that this will be.”
“Fight?” Jessamine shook her head. “We?”
At that, the door opened, and Sybil and Elissa walked in with their arms laden. Tools, implements, makeup, hair appliances, everything that she hadn’t seen in months were suddenly carted into the room. Elissa shot her a bright grin before leaving once more, and Sybil stuck her tongue out at Jessamine.
“Why didn’t I realize you were going to be so much work?” Sybil asked as she started back toward the door, too.
“Where are you going?”
“There are more boxes.”
Jessamine’s jaw fell open, and then she looked to Agnes for confirmation. “More boxes?”
“I told you. This will be an all-day event, and don’t think that you are going to get out of this. Elric is a man. All he has to do is wear a dark suit and exude confidence and control, which he already does. You, on the other hand, have to be the flower that hangs on his arm. You must be the beauty that all who see him envy. And if you are not? You will expose the both of you. Now. First things first.” Agnes grabbed Jessamine by the arm and carted her over to the window. “We’re going to fix that hair.”
“My hair?” Jessamine touched the dark locks, wondering what was so wrong with it.
It had changed after her death, of course. There weren’t a lot of brushes when one was living in an abandoned home, and even then, it wasn’t easy for her to take the time to get the tangles out. She did what she could with her hands, and she’d thought she’d done a fine job of it.
“This looks like a bird’s nest on the best of days, and on the worst…” Agnes winced. “When you walked into my home, I was certain we were handing out charity to someone who had never been inside a house before, my dear.”
Well, that certainly put it into perspective.
Jessamine remained where she was while Agnes rummaged through the boxes that Sybil and Elissa were carting in. She returned with handfuls of brushes, two of which she handed to Sybil and Elissa, and all three women hovered behind her.
“This isn’t going to be pleasant, I fear,” Agnes said, brandishing the brush like it was a sword. “But it must be done.”
Jessamine tried her best not to complain, but she had a lot of hair. They started at the ends, which were nearly to her waist now and continuedupward. Every single snarl, tangle, and knot fought them. It was like her hair had taken on a life of its own, and it wanted to be the most difficult beast any of them had ever dealt with.
She wasn’t sure how long it took, but by the time they were done, Agnes was complaining about the state of her wrists.
“Elissa, dear,” Agnes said dramatically as she sat down on the edge of the bed. “You’re perfectly capable of curling it, I imagine?”
Oh, lovely. They brought out an implement that Sybil warmed with a spell, and off they went again. The room was soon filled with the scent of burning hair, and still they would not slow down. Once all of her locks had been appropriately curled, Agnes set out to complete her makeup.
“You have a lovely bone structure,” she claimed, tilting Jessamine’s face back and forth. “But we’ll have to hide all that we can. Look at the scars on you, my girl. No one in the nobility would ever dare publicly bare their scars like you do.”
“It’s not like I have a choice.”
“Perfection is what we’re going for,” Agnes said. “And one cannot be perfect with a mark across your throat like someone murdered you.”
Jessamine ground her teeth together. “Someone did.”
Agnes ignored that as she began to apply Jessamine’s makeup. Heavy rouge made her lips look like they were dripping blood. Blush, fake freckles, and ringed kohl around her eyes made the darkness in them seem even more dark. She was shocked to look at herself in the mirror when Agnes finally finished.
“You weren’t kidding when you said things have changed.” She leaned forward and touched her fingers to her face, trying to see herself in the reflection of the mirror. “This is… This doesn’t even look like me! Just a few months ago, everyone was trying to look as natural as possible. And now this?”
“Most of us aren’t happy with it.” Agnes tilted her head to the side, surveying Jessamine in the mirror as though she noticed something was still off. “I suppose it is pretty on you. I hadn’t expected you to look quite so different, my dear.”
Neither had she. But with all her dark hair piled on top of her head in complicated coils and the makeup on her face, Jessamine wasn’t even sure she would recognize herself.
“Now, the last piece is the gown.” Agnes walked over to the wardrobe and yanked it open. “I spoke with a dear friend of mine who was certain this would look absolutely lovely on you. I told her you were rather waiflike. I think she heard wight-like, but that’s also appropriate given your… bone structure.”
The black dress was made out of the finest silk. It swayed as Agnes brought it out, the gown rustling on the ground as it moved. It was long and would cling to her like a second skin. The top was little more than a braided pattern and would show significantly more skin than she ever thought she would.
Jessamine stripped down and stepped into the skirt portion. The other women immediately twined the braids around her torso, making sure the braids were laying over the most important bits. But really, only her nipples were covered, and everything else was still rather revealing.
Her arms, shoulders, and back were nearly bare. Her stomach was only mildly covered by the complicated braids. But then Agnes brought out an additional piece of twisted silver from the wardrobe.
