Born In The Dungeons

Chapter 5: Eyes

The next morning I felt very tired. I could not fall asleep after King Cerius left my room. My mind was filled with endless questions about my identity and the frightening newfound ability to see ghosts. There was also the mystery of my mother. How well did I know her past? If King Cerius was my real uncle, did I have other family as well?

"You must pull it tighter, Emilia," Princess Athena said as I tied her corset.

"I'm sorry, Your Hi — Athena." I corrected myself. I pulled at the strings of the white corset with more strength.

"Much better." She nodded in satisfaction and I tied the strings together. The princess walked away from me to select a dress from a pile on the floor of her chambers. She walked around the mountain of colourful fabric with one finger pressed to her chin. "Ah! This will do for today." Athena picked up a blue dress and pulled it out from underneath several other gowns, causing them to topple and make an even bigger mess on the floor.

Then she proceeded to walk toward a pile of dresses on the opposite side of her bed while carrying the blue gown on one arm. "Not this one... no... perhaps?...no." She continued to dig through the pile, throwing the undesirable ones behind her, which created yet another mountain of gowns. I watched in slight amusement as Princess Athena continued to look for a dress.

"This!" She finally plucked one out and grinned. Then she glanced toward me and titled her head to the side, squinting her eyes while holding up the dress. "Yes, this will do just fine."

Athena came up to me and handed me the second dress she'd selected. "Put this on. It will match your eyes perfectly."

I frowned. My eyes were brown like my mothers. I didn't see how this dress could ever match their colour.

"Well? Go on," she urged me. "Your are my lady-in-waiting now, and I cannot have you wear that servant dress around the castle. Put it on." She smiled, then held up her blue gown. "I can dress myself."

After a moment of hesitation, I changed into the dress she gave me. I folded up Tanya's servant dress and tucked it inside my arm. I planned to have it washed and returned to her.

"Just like I said," Athena gasped and walked toward me, now dressed in the blue floor-length gown. She looked beautiful. "Perfect match."

I frowned again. "Take a look," the princess said and pointed to a tall mirror in one corner of the room.

I walked over to the mirror and looked at myself, immediately covering my mouth with one hand to muffle a startled scream that escaped me when I saw my eyes. They were no longer brown. Wide and gold like the sun, my eyes stared back at me through the mirror. Princess Athena was right -- the dress matched perfectly.

Thousands of questions circled in my mind. Is that why mother and Rose reacted the way they did yesterday? What did this mean? Why did I have to hide them from King Theon? Why --?

"Beautiful, no?" Athena said cheerily. "Come do my hair now."

I tore my gaze away from my own reflection and made my way toward the princess who was already seated in front of her vanity table. She held up a hairbrush for me to take when I reached her. I took it and started to carefully brush her silky locks, trying to avoid the small mirror in front of us. I couldn't resist taking another look at my eyes, so I glanced up at myself as I continued to handle Athena's hair. It felt surreal. How could eyes change colour in one day?

"What's wrong?" Princess Athena asked, and I realized that I've been frowning at myself. My gaze shifted toward her curious eyes staring at me in the reflection.

"Nothing," I said, looking away from the mirror. I put down the brush and started to braid her hair. I was not as good as my mother and could not fully master the intricate style she always did on my hair, but I knew a few others. They were simple enough for me to be able to perfect over the years using my mother's long hair. With trained fingers, I created a beautiful crown on Athena's head, letting the rest of her locks flow freely down her back.