themselves better. It felt like something a queen would have.
Theo stood there a moment and had a long look around, turning slowly as she studied it all. She wasn’t sure where to start.
Not because of the size of the space, but because she didn’t really know what people wore to a dinner party at the home of a former king. A dress seemed like the logical option. But what length? What color? How formal?
Without answers to any of that, she stared at the array of clothing before her until the colors started to blur. There was too much choice. Being clueless about what was expected at such an event wasn’t helping either.
Although, maybe she was putting the cart before the horse a bit. She didn’t even know if any of these things would fit her. Probably the best idea was to find something she didn’t hate and try it on.
She started looking through the rack closest to her. Thankfully, the majority of what was in the closet was dresses. The closet was also fairly well organized by style. Blouses were all together, as were coats, pants, skirts, etc. But the biggest category was dresses.
Vesta did wear them often. Theo thought back to all the times she’d seen the queen during her public appearances. Always a gown of some kind. Maybe that was a protocol thing? Theo wasn’t sure, but it was working in her favor now.
She decided she’d start with the shorter ones since those were all in the front anyway. Day length, she thought those were called. But then, what did she know about such things? If there was nothing in the shorter dresses, gowns were at the end.
Most of what Theo picked through was spangled and embellished to the point she was surprised the fabric could hold up under the weight of the additions. Fairies were well known for their love of all things sparkly, although her mother had been rather conservative in that area.
Perhaps because their budget hadn’t allowed for such extravagance. Or maybe wearing a uniform to work every day had tempered her desire for anything too excessive.
Either way, Theo’s tastes were definitely on the simpler side as well. She paused at an emerald-green dress with gold braiding spiraling around the neckline and down the front. Glittering rhinestones accented the spaces between the braiding. She squinted, trying to see past the abundance of extras.
The dress had a good shape and was made of heavy silk, giving it structure. Might as well start here, she thought.
She stripped down to her underwear and got into the dress, then went to the three-paneled mirror at the back of the closet for a look.
She stepped onto the platform and smiled, despite all the nonsense sewn onto the dress. She hadn’t seen herself in anything this fancy in…pretty much ever. But whether the dress fit well enough to work was what mattered, and it did.
The green was a possibility. It kind of matched her eyes, and with her dark hair, a jewel tone seemed like a good choice. Plus, her mother’s starstone-and-emerald necklace went perfectly with it. Satisfied, she took the dress off, laid it over one of the chairs near the mirrors, and went back to digging.
Almost everything in Vesta’s closet was over-embellished, too ruffled, or spangled with abandon. Thankfully, Theo felt confident that in most cases, the excess could be removed without harming the actual garment.
After what seemed like forever, she made her way through the day-length dresses and ended up at the gowns. She didn’t think she’d need a long dress, but just in case, she picked through those as well.
About a quarter of the way into them, she came across a gown that stopped her in her tracks.
The strapless gown hung by ribbons from its hanger. The color shifted from steely blue to dusky silver in an ombré effect that repeated over and over. Same-color sequins dusted the fabric with subtle sparkle, reminding Theo of stars in the evening sky. The dress was absolutely beautiful and shockingly understated, which made it seem out of place in the sea of wild gowns.
Maybe that was why this one still had the tags attached. She reached for the little rectangle of white paper to look at the price.
She lost the ability to breathe for about two seconds. Nearly five figures? Was that right? Could a dress be that expensive? That kind of money could have given her another year of schooling.
She dropped the tag. Suddenly, not touching the dress seemed