The Princess & the Dragon

Chapter 9: Girls Night

"What color are you using?" Dila asks Marie.

I never thought I'd be spending my evening in Dila's room with her and Marie. Anytime I walk into a room they would always share giggles and laugh, making fun of me. In no way are we best friends, but I think we are doing what most families do and that's get to know each other.

Dila hands me one of her foam toe separators and I put it between each one of my toes.

"I'm doing pink." Marie tells her holding up a bottle of pink nail polish.

"Of course you'd choose that color."

"Look at you," Marie laughs and rolls her eyes at her older sister. "All you are doing is adding another coat to the color already on your toes."

"What's your point? You know how much I like gold." Dila brushes the polish onto her big toe.

I look around me and notice how much bigger my room is. Mine is at least over half the size of this one. Dila also doesn't have her own bathroom attached like I do. Maybe the Morals gave me the biggest room in the castle on purpose. Parker mentioned me staying here and I can't help but wonder if they are trying to persuade me on purpose for when I have to make that decision.

Dila and Marie really do love pink. The whole room is designed in pink colors. Even the lace curtains that hang from the single window are pink. The night breeze blows them inward, and I catch a glimpse of the stars in the sky that surround the crescent moon. I wonder where Parker is with his book and if he will return anytime soon.

"What color are you using Stellana?" Marie asks me.

I lift the bottles that sit in a circle on the floor in front of us and try to decide which one I want to use. There is a pretty yellow color, but I don't think it will look good on my nails. And a red color but it seems a bit strong for my taste. "Which one do you think I should go with?"

"Blue." She says and I lift the bottle with light blue polish inside.

"This one?"

"No," she says and wrinkles her nose at the color of polish I have in my hand. "I have just the one."

She stands up off the floor and walks over to the bed. The canopy that hangs down the four-post bed is pink along with the duvet and matching sparkly pink pillows that lie at the head of the bed. There's also a rug that lays around Dila's bed which surprisingly is white. How do these girls love pink so much? I know it is just a color, but it has been vomited all over the room.

Marie pulls open the top drawer of the nightstand. She reaches in and grabs a bottle of dark blue nail polish. When she comes back, she sits down, crosses her legs and hands the bottle to me. "Here, use this one. It's your color."

It's a pretty midnight blue color. She's right, this is my color- my favorite color. "Thank you."

I twist open the bottle and pull out the brush. The polish runs down and drips back into the bottle. I wipe the brush on the side then add the polish to my big toe. The color looks amazing against the complexion of my skin. Midnight blue is not only my favorite color, but now it reminds me of the nights in Lindo- Magical, mystifying and so pretty.

Dila finishes both her feet and hands before I have my one foot painted. I must be extremely slow at this. I want perfection and have been trying to avoid getting any polish on my skin. I grab one of the cotton balls, dab nail polish remover on the end and wipe the toe clean. Now I need to start over.

"Here." Dila sighs out and grabs the bottle of polish out of my hand. "Let me do it. I can't watch you struggle any longer."

"I was doing fine on my own." I tell her and we both laugh together. "Okay, so maybe I need some help."