Serenah stood in the shower with her eyes closed. Her mind tumbled through the thoughts of the last two weeks. School was pure hell thanks to Amanah and her cronies. At home, it wasn't any better. She was back to doing her sibling's homework. Her sister made a point to come by every day to harass her about it.
She could feel herself teetering on the edge of a mental breakdown from all the stress. She tried to fight it. She didn't want to give Amanah and her father the satisfaction of knowing that they had nearly broken her spirit. So she pushed forward even though her heart and soul hurt.
Romeo and her friends tried to bolster her waning spirit, but even that wasn't having the same effect on her as in the past. If something didn't change soon, she would break, and she wasn't sure she'd ever recover from it. Noise from the bedroom brought her out of her thoughts and back to the present.
That's right. She had to get ready for dinner with Romeo and her sister. Lael had helped her pick out the perfect dress to wear tonight. She wanted to impress Romeo. She couldn't worry about her sister right now. She had to focus on herself.
She got out, dried off, and put on her fluffy bathrobe. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun. Her hair was the first thing she tackled before showering. Thank goodness drying it only took a few minutes with wind magic.
She opened the door and froze. Standing by her table was Lady Lilian. Her heart started to race with dread. Why was the royal dressmaker here? She hadn't called for her. Her gaze slid to the right, and she saw Lael's irate expression. So her attendant hadn't known about this either.
Serenah quickly composed herself. Keeping her tone civil, she spoke. "Greetings, Lady Lilian. To what do I owe this honor?"
She flinched when the older woman sneered at her. "You always have a way with words, Your Highness."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Lael scowl at the dressmaker. Serenah chose not to be provoked. She simply replied, "Thank you." Her neutral tone prevented the dressmaker from taking offense.
Lady Lilian glared before moving on to the purpose of her visit.
"I am here on His Majesty's orders to dress you for tonight's event."
Serenah stiffened. She should have known. Amanah must have whined to their father and demanded that Serenah be dressed horribly so as not to outshine her. She didn't even have the energy to be upset anymore. This was her life. The constant putdowns, punishments, and emotional torments. When would she ever have happiness?
"I see." The two words held a wealth of meaning. She didn't care how Lady Lilian interpreted them.
Without complaint, Serenah came fully into the room and walked over to the rack of dresses by her vanity. She could see that all the colors and styles were unflattering. So this was her family's plan. They wanted her to be unattractive in Romeo's eyes.
She felt hurt and a touch of anger. Why couldn't they let her be happy? Was it such a hard thing to ask? She had played the role of obedient daughter all her life and was rewarded with pain, ridicule, and hatred. She was treated as invisible until her family saw fit to use and abuse her at their convenience. She was tired of it all.
She didn't voice her discontent. Really, what was the point? Nothing would change. She stood silently as Lady Lilian moved to the rack and pulled out a hideous, frilly, bright yellow dress.
"This one goes well with your skin, Your Highness. I'm sure the young man would be impressed with this one."
Serenah ignored the dressmaker's malicious smirk. And so it begins, she thought. Over the next fifteen minutes, Lady Lilian pulled out several dresses, each one uglier and more unflattering than the last. She didn't give Serenah a chance to speak or object before finally picking a long flowing, lime green dress with puffy sleeves and frills.
Lady Lilian forced Serenah into a corset, tightening it to the point that Serenah thought she might faint. She didn't utter a complaint. It would make her situation worse if she did. She was forced into the dress and then sat down for hair and makeup.
Lael tried to help but was berated by Lady Lilian and made to stand to the side to watch as the dressmaker finished ruining Serenah's look for the dinner. Through it all, Serenah stoically sat, fighting back tears at the unfairness of it all.
Finally, Lady Lilian pronounced her ready to go, gathered up her things, and left the room with a parting reminder that the king was waiting for her in the garage. The door closing was loud in the silence of the room.
Serenah looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears.
"My Lady," Lael began to speak and stopped.
Serenah clenched her fists. She would not cry. She couldn't fall apart. That was what her family wanted. She stood, tamping down the hurt. She pasted a smile on her face.
"Lael, I'm heading out."
Lael's sad expression almost undid Serenah's resolve not to let her feelings show. She caught herself in time and went to the garage.
Her father and Alastar were waiting. She ignored Alastar's look of outrage. She stopped a foot away from her father and curtsied.
"Good evening, Your Majesty." She kept her head lowered, staring at the concrete floor. She could hear her father's movement as he circled her once.
He stopped back in front of her. She tensed, not breaking from her curtsy. Her heart was racing in fear. She had no idea what he was thinking or what he and her sister had planned.
She flinched at the touch of his fingers on her face. She gasped when his fingers grabbed her jaw in a bruising grip, forcing her head up. She glanced at his face, sliding her gaze away quickly before he took it as a challenge.
"This will do nicely. Do not shame our family name. Follow your sister's lead. If I get a bad report, you will be punished. Do you understand me, Serenah?"
His grip tightened even more, making Serenah fear he might break her jaw.
"Yes, Your Majesty," the whimpered words left her mouth quickly.
He released her and left. She stood, her ragged breathing filling the air as she tried to calm her pounding heart.
"Serenah, shall we go?"
She twitched and looked at Alastar. He was by the car with the passenger door open, waiting for her. She took a shaky breath and got in the car.
Alastar started the car, and they headed out. Serenah didn't speak. Her troubled thoughts ate at her as she tried not to think about what awaited her at the restaurant.