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The Duchy of Notdale cordially invites you to the Selection Ball of the decade, held in request by Marquess Parr Huxley, heir to the duchy.

The grand fete will take place at The Grandeur Plaza on Eden Road, Eyress, on the 19th of Frauwa, Year 517 of the Priestess.

The honor of your presence is requested.

Best Regards,

Duke Lucan Van Huxley of Notdale.

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It was short and formal.

I turned the card around for any missed extended note, but found none. I peered at the signed name at the bottom in strange familiarity. Lucan. Was this the same Lucan who used to court Mama Ruth? No, no way. He was just a merchant, not a duke. It would be much too big of a coincidence.

"Something on your mind?" Sven tapped on my shoulder.

I shook free from my thoughts. "Oh, nothing."

"So are you going?" he asked again.

I threw the invitation on the table. "When is it?"

Sven picked up the invitation and read from it. "It says here it's on the 19th, which is a day from now. You going would be a bit dangerous, wouldn't it?"

I nodded and scratched my chin. "Mm, I promised him that I'd attend. It'd seem disrespectful to not go after he requested so nicely. I'll consult Mama when she wakes up."

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"Are you crazy!?" Mama shouted incredulously after going over the invite. "Why did you even open the door?"

"He already saw me through the window," I replied, sitting comfortably in her armchair. It was the first time I sat there, but I felt like I was in heaven, especially after breaking my back sleeping on the jail bed upstairs. Bliss. "And Sven probably got flustered and called me. What else could I have done?"

Mama grumbled. "Well, forget about attending. You're grounded, missy."

"What!" I asked, scoffing unbelievably. "You can't ground me! And what for, anyways?"

Mama pointed towards the red ACCOUNTS book that sat on the floor, beside the armchair. "For snooping around in my house. And of course I can ground you, who said I can't?"

At first I would probably not have gone, but this reverse psychology stuff was really getting to me.

"I'm going, and that's that."

She gave a low chuckle. "Wearing what? The tunic you don? It's a grand ball, missy. There'll be rich rich people in rich rich clothes. Unless you have something grand to wear, you can't step foot into a place so resplendent."

I bit my lips. She was right. I had promised, but could I fulfill such a promise? What if I miss the ball and Marquess Huxley shows up at my doorstep, inquiring about my absence? That would cause so many more problems. It'd be better to go and put an end to things right away.

"I'll see what I can do about that," I sighed. "Mama, even if you ground me, I'm afraid that Marquess will show up again. He specially made me promise to come, and even went as far as saying he'll be looking out for me."

Mama's eyebrow went up. "Well, isn't he smitten with you. But tell, is he handsome?"

I smirked. "Too shiny."

She laughed and I joined in. It was good that Mama was so sweet-tempered, because I really had been reckless. Were Reynard's habits rubbing off on me? I needed to be more careful in the future.

"Mama," I whined, "any way of getting me an adequate enough dress?" I know I had said I'd figure it out myself, but there was no way I actually could. Desperate times like these call for desperate measures.

Mama put a hand under her chin and thought. "When's the ball again?"

"The day after tomorrow."

She nodded. "Then, we can't go out to buy you something new since all the shops are closed. We'll have to make do with the garments we have at home." I frowned, not getting her point. "Come on," she said as she led me outside. "Let's go up to the attic and scavenge."

✿

"Oof, this place is nas-ty!" Mama scrunched up her nose and stared around the musty attic in clear disgust. "Did both of y'all clean at all?"

I stood near the hole that led up to the attic and looked around. But for some reason, there was no way I could see the nastiness. I saw but a magical attic, much like from that one book we read in school once (other than Moby Dick), The Little Princess. It had been a boring read, with all the hard English words, but the very idea of living in an attic intrigued me.

I was about to go in the direction of my little nook by the stained glass window, when Mama walked in the opposite direction.

"This here," she said as she pointed towards a chest in the corner, "contains some of my old clothes. Clothes from when I was young. Let's see if we can find something of use here. Help me open it."

I ran up ahead and undid the two latches on either side of the chest, then with brute strength, I lodged my fingers between the little gap and heaved up, bringing the heavy lid with me. A large cloud of dust was revealed from within, and I stopped breathing from the nose to avoid any sneezing.

"Right." Mama said as she rubbed her hands together, undisturbed by the dust, "Let's see, now."

I stood back and let Mama look through the piles and piles of what looked like moth-eaten fabric. There was no way I could go wearing any of that at the ball; I'll get weird looks! I prayed to whatever god who had stuck me in this world, to have some mercy on me.

"Ah, here we go," Mama muttered as she pulled out a long yellow poppy dress. "I remember bargaining for it at the market once. Haha." Then she thrust it at me as she turned back to the chest. "See if it fits."

I held the dress at arm's length and let it fall to the ground. It was tailored for a much shorter woman than myself, reaching roughly only to my knees' length. And I didn't want to ruin Mama's mood by saying this, but the dress was pretty ugly. The one I had worn on the day of my ceremony had been 100 times grander and fancier than this skimpy thing.

Mama saw me looking at the dress with slight contempt, so she asked, "Not the one? I know it's not fit for a ball, but I still thought you should take a look.."

I put a smile on my face as I handed it back to her. "Anything a bit more big? Because usually, girls wear large frocks on such occasions, not a straight dress. I think."

She nodded as she searched through the chest. "Well then, there's only one other thing that could meet these requirements." With a big pull, she yanked out a piece of fabric that even left me staggered. It was so big!

"We need to straighten this old thing out," Mama muttered as she looked upon it fondly. "Gosh, this gives me nostalgia."

As Mama pulled out the seams and the dress started to take shape, I couldn't help admiring its old charm. It was a lime green dress, and not an unpleasant color to the eye that was. And oh my! It had a heart shaped neckline that was made to hug the chest. I saw no straps, nothing to keep the dress firmly on my shoulders. And it was a much more daring dress than any other I had seen in this world, probably with all the collar area it showed.

Nervously, I looked over at Mama and she burst out laughing. "This was my wedding dress!"

I was even more appalled. "B-But it's green."

She shrugged. "So? There's no book of rules I've ever seen which says wedding dresses should always be white. I dressed how I wanted, and oh how the neighborhood ladies had given me the envious looks. I was quite a looker in my times."

Yes, I know. But I was still confused. No matter how pretty she had been, how can one pull that off? Even with my new body and face, I still shuddered at the thought of wearing that in public. But there was no denying it despite everything: It was beautiful.

"Yeah?" Mama asked, eyebrows raised. She, too, was admiring its beauty. "It's good enough to wear to the ball, and it's our best bet. I think I may have some tulle to cover up some cleavage with right here..." She put the dress in my grasp and started fumbling through the chest, not noticing that I was struggling under the weight of the gown.

"Ah, right here," she muttered, pulling out a light green netting with small holes. "I'll sew this on."

"But won't it ruin the actual dress?" I asked. After all, it was her wedding dress we were talking about.

She waved a dismissive hand at me. "I don't care. Let's do it. It's been a while since that dress has seen some use. I'd love to see it worn one last time before I have to throw it away."

My heart sank as I stroked the silky green fabric in my hand. Would it really mean a lot for Mama to see me wearing it? I contemplated between my decisions, not once meeting Mama's gaze.

I must have taken too long because Mama pulled the dress out of my hands and headed downstairs. "Come on, now. Help me get down. These old woman's legs aren't taking her nowhere."

Chuckling to myself, I went ahead to aid her, not having the slightest idea what God had in store for me.