Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 98

Chapter 98: A new form of magic
Anaisa sighed as the dressmaker tugged and pulled and fussed over every detail of the gown.

“You’re too thin,” She griped before remembering it was royalty in the room. “I mean, your graceful figure, Your Highness, you have lost weight!”

“We will be doing our best to make sure she gains it back for the ball,” Sapphira said in a disguised voice from the corner.

“Just make sure it fits me well,” Anaisa tried to strike a balance. She didn’t want to scream at the staff like Sapphira probably would have, but she didn’t want them to suspect she was an imposter either.

“We will, absolutely, Your Highness,” The Dressmaker curtsied. “We also have brought a magic user recommended by Sanders to aid you in preparing for the ball.”

“Oh?” Panic swirled in Anaisa’s belly. The last magic user was responsible for changing the princess’s hair and setting far too many of these events into motion.

Well, not the last one. Anaisa was only beginning to fully realize she was, in fact, married to a magic user. It was strange that her mind had jumped all the way to implications and accusations long before she fully absorbed that simple fact.

Magic users were exceedingly rare, and most of them were ridiculously wealthy. How had she wound up married to a poor farmer with such a powerful gift?

It was a bizarre twist of fate.

If his magic was revealed, and of course if the blackmail ceased, he could have quite the career in court giving entertaining dreams to the nobility and royalty.

He’d certainly given her a few dreams she would never forget. Her face heated, and she rushed ahead with her words to keep her thoughts from straying too far into that realm.

“Who is it?” She turned to scan the occupants of the room. Her gaze landed on a woman who had been lurking in the shadows, with black hair and eyes. She stepped forward now, and dropped her gaze.

“My name is Deborah, Your Highness,” She introduced herself humbly but Anaisa could see that Sapphira was intrigued.

“And what is it that you do?” Anaisa asked gently, and a little warily. The last beauty-based magic user had not only been a spy in disguise, but had completely changed the appearance of the princess’s hair.

Would this woman change Anaisa’s face? Her skin? She didn’t really like the idea of her countenance being drastically altered. Trace had complimented her beauty before, and she didn’t like the idea of being unrecognizable to him.

She didn’t stop to analyze why.

“If you’ll allow me to demonstrate, Your Highness.” Deborah gestured to the looking glass, and with trepidation, Anaisa turned to face it.

The magic user stepped forward and knelt by Anaisa’s feet, reaching out to touch the hem of the midnight-blue gown. Delicate lace and embroidery created an intricate pattern that was subtle from afar, but mesmerizing up close. The fabric was of the highest quality, like a flowing cloud swirling around Anaisa’s legs.

Suddenly, the fabric changed. Little sparkles of glimmering gemstones appeared at perfect positions along the embroidery and lace, making the dress into a flowing map of starlight. The colors were subtle, but the effect was breathtaking.

In the mirror, it looked as if Anaisa had been dressed in the night sky.

“May I take your hand, Your Highness?” Deborah asked next.

“You’re not going to make me glitter, are you?” Anaisa fretted.

“The effect is temporary, I will make it last only a few minutes in case it does not please Your Highness,” Deborah assured her.

“Well…” Anaisa hedged, but Sapphira gave her a stern look. “All right.”

The magic user rose from the floor and gently took Anaisa’s hand. The fake-princess kept her gaze on the mirror, trying to keep a stoic look on her face so that she would not overreact to any transformation that occurred.

After all, it would ultimately be up to Sapphira to decide how she wanted people to think the princess looked. For Anaisa, it would only be for an evening. That was comforting.

The changes were so subtle that Anaisa almost missed them at first. Her complexion changed slightly. The paleness in her cheeks turned to a soft luminescence that was intriguing rather than off-putting. Her eyes were the most pronounced change.

The blue in them sparkled and flashed subtly in an almost hypnotic display. She stared at herself in complete silence for the duration of the effect. When it finally faded, she turned to Deborah.

“What do you call your power?” She asked quietly.

“I didn’t have a name for it,” Deborah admitted. “The man who contacted me on behalf of the palace called me a Gem-maker.”

“Is that what you’re doing?” Anaisa looked down at her dress, “making tiny gemstones?”

“My parents thought to make a tidy profit from it, until they discovered that the stones fade. They are more of an effect than a tangible reality.” The woman bowed her head in apology.

“I’m sure that’s to your benefit,” The fake princess assured her. “If you could create lasting gemstones from nothing, there might be a war fought over you.”

Deborah smiled faintly, but seemed to recognize the wisdom in the words.

“That would be terribly unfortunate.” She agreed, “Still there are times… my baby is very ill, and the doctor is expensive. My parents have paid some, but they resent it, and my husband is poor. Thankfully, this assignment will go a long way towards paying for the medicine.”

“We’re sorry to hear about your baby,” Sapphira put in. “We hope they’ll be all right.”

Anaisa eyed the princess with a question in her eyes. The younger woman had never felt the need to comfort others before. She really seemed to be growing in compassion.

“Are you pleased with the effects, Your Highness?” Deborah raised her eyebrows a little fretfully.

“I am very well pleased, and I will see to it that you are very well paid for your services,” Anaisa smiled. “Your skills will soon be the highest in demand in the kingdom. I’m rather surprised they aren’t already?”

“I didn’t know I could make such tiny gems, Your Highness,” Deborah frowned. “It was Sanders who suggested that I should try. In fact, I only discovered I could alter skin and eyes at all with his prompting.”