Inside the Beast's Castle

Chapter 36--Inside and Outside

Lyza

"Miss, you need to stop messing with that!"

Lia's smooth hand reached out and grabbed my wrist, forcing my arm to the side--away from the dress she forced me into.

I fought back the urge to slap her away and let her take my hand. I grimaced. The dress she shoved me in was less-than-comfortable. The neck came about a half-inch below my collar bone, then fell another half-inch to form a "V." Gold trim followed the outline of the neck, tracing around the forest green material. My toes poked from underneath the floor-length skirt, blissfully bare.

"Here." Lia tossed an unknown item over to me.

I jumped, fumbling around with the object.

Wha--

Shoes. Of course. Why not?

I tried my best not to sigh and roll my eyes, then slipped the flats onto my feet. Without thinking, I grabbed the shoulders of the dress and yanked it back, trying to pull it up. It wasn't low for normal standards, but that was the problem.

I'm not normal. Sue me.

Lia raised her hand again, staring at me. "Miss, I will slap your hand again. Leave the dress alone, you're not showing anything!"

But it feels like it!

There was a sharp yank at the back of my head, pulling me backward.

"What on earth, Lia!"

She made a face at me and went back to pulling every single strand of hair from my head. "I'm trying to untangle this mess!" she cried.

I laughed. "Lia, my hair doesn't know the meaning of 'untangle.' It's not happening."

She ignored me and kept yanking. After what felt like forever, she stopped.

"There, Miss. That's all I can do." Liia waved her hands, becoming for me to stand. "Let's see how you look, Miss."

Slowly, I stood up. There was a sharp intake of air from behind me.

"What, that bad?" I asked as I turned around.

Emilia's eyes sparkled in awe. Her cold hand grabbed my wrist and she dragged me over to a tall, covered-by-cloth object that she brought in with her. With a flick of her wrist, the red cloth whipped off the object, revealing a clouded silver surface.

My heart sank at the realization of what she wanted me to do. "Lia, I don't like mirrors."

She shook her head, her short blonde hair flying into her eyes. "Just look, Miss. Just once."

Just once.

I stepped to the side, directly in front of the mirror. Very slowly, I lifted my eyes from the staring at the ground to my reflection, not focusing on anything until I met the gaze of the girl in front of me.

That can't be me.

There was no way the person glaring at me unhappily was me. She was wearing the green dress like a princess, not a tavern girl. She was standing straight and tall, not trying to hide behind herself. Her hair color was a deep, rich brown with lighter highlights and the curls weren't a crazy, mass, fuzzy blob, they were carefully curled ringlets that circled her head. Her face wasn't thin with hunger, it was shining with months of being well-fed.  Her eyes weren't a dull green; they were a startling electric emerald.

"That's not me."

The words forced their way from my mouth, and the strange girl in the glass copied me. Her face turned from an angry glare to awe--the exact same emotion I felt.