Room 207, Saturday Afternoon

[raisedbybooklice]

For all that the carnival was handwavily fun, Elisabeth didn't really understand Homecoming or what it was about. She knew there was a dance later, but she was naively thinking would be something like a village festival dance. She'd never been to one of those, either, but she had a rough idea what they were like, at least. Surely Homecoming couldn't be that different?

Not that she was sure she was going to that anyway. She didn't know how to dance. And she still really only had her apprentice robes to wear.

And she did have a new book she'd borrowed from the Library. Hopefully it would help explain all the weird stuff going on. The other weird stuff - the stuff everyone thought was weird, as opposed to the things that were just weird to her.

[Open!]

Comments

[bookbeltof_love]

Nina... Nina had a large bag of things with her. Including her own formal wear.

And also--

"Elizaaaaaaaaaaaaabeth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good afternoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Sorry, Elizabeth, your plans of reading away the day were going to be super ruined.

[raisedbybooklice]

Elisabeth, nose in a book, startled, nearly sending the book clattering to the floor. It was only fast reflexes - honed by the knowledge that you never, ever dropped a book - that let her catch it. "Nina!" she said, more in surprise than as greeting.

[bookbeltof_love]

"Sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" she said, sounding contrite though her smile was irrepressible. "I didn't, like, mean to startle you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

At least, not with that...

[raisedbybooklice]

"Oh, that's okay!" Elisabeth said, setting the book carefully on the bed beside her. "Ummm. What's all that you got?"

[bookbeltof_love]

"Everything," she said, meandering into the room without so much as a by-your-leave and hefting her bag onto the other bed. "And, like, I do mean everything that it's going to take to get two lovely ladies to the dance tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[raisedbybooklice]

"What?" Elisabeth asked, frowning. "Wait, people are getting ready in our room?"

She was not picking up what Nina was putting down.

[bookbeltof_love]

"Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Nina said cheerfully. She'd honestly expected Elizabeth to not get it, really, so it didn't bother her.

"You," she said, with another grin and a more appraising glance. "And me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[raisedbybooklice]

"Me?!" Elisabeth squeaked. "Go to the dance?" She looked down at herself. "I'm dressed, I guess. I guess I should brush my hair...?"

[bookbeltof_love]

Oh honey, no.

"No no no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Nina protested, though kindly. "You look darling, but you look like your darling normal self!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A dance is meant to look fantastical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

So what Elizabeth was wearing? Was super not going to work.

Okay, like, Nina knew no one would care if Elizabeth went dressed the way she was, but... well, dressing up was fun and while she didn't know the other girl well, she knew enough to know that dressing up wasn't something Elizabeth had much, if any, experience with...

"The first thing you're going to do," Nina said as she unzipped the bag. "Is you're going to go and run for a quick shower, okay????????????????? Wash your hair and, like, I'll have everything set up here when you get back!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[raisedbybooklice]

She really hadn't. It had been apprentice robes her whole life, just in varying lengths.

"I, uh, okay?" Elisabeth sputtered, moving before she consciously decided to obey. Nina had a very similar energy to Katrien, where Elisabeth ended up just going along with it because it was easier.

A quick shower and she came back, rubbing her hair dry. And stopped, seeing exactly what had transpired when she had left the room.

[bookbeltof_love]

Nina had transpired to the room. Taking complete advantage of the fact that Illyana seemed to be out, Nina had neatly (very neatly) taken over both desks with an array of make up, hair products, and accessories.

Two very different pairs of shoes were lined up neatly by the closets. And hanging from the closet doors, to air out (though they'd only been folded for the tiny trip down the hall) were two equally different dresses.

It had actually been a ton of fun shopping for someone so different from her in colouring, height, and... well. Curves.

Nina grinned up and over at Elizabeth as she finished tying off the last of her braids.

"Perfect timing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Nina said happily.

[raisedbybooklice]

"Wha....?" Elisabeth sputtered again.

She seemed to do that a lot around Nina.

"Dresses?" she asked, going over to touch the fabric of the blue one. "You bought these?"

It was so pretty!

[bookbeltof_love]

Nina tended to leave people doing that.

"Prompto and I found it while we were out shopping on his birthday," Nina said, smiling. "I knew, like, as soon as I set eyes on it that it was made for you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[raisedbybooklice]

"For me?" Elisabeth squeaked. "Oh no! It's far too fancy for the likes of me! I'm just an apprentice!"

[bookbeltof_love]

"An apprentice going to a dance dressed as a princess is, like, one of the most suitable ways to go to this dance," Nina said lightly. "Like, the whole theme is about fairytales!!!!!!!!!!!!!" And cyberpunk. But Nina had looked at those clothes and gone 'nope, nope, nope' for both her an Elizabeth. School girl goth was the closest Nina was going to that.

"And," she continued, "it's almost Halloween!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Which is a holiday here where everyone dresses up as things they aren't!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

A beat.

"Also you'll look perfect in the dress and, like, it would never fit me............"

[raisedbybooklice]

"I don't know what Halloween is," Elisabeth admitted, still fingering the pretty dress. It was far too long for Nina, true. "We all dress up?"

She glanced away from the dress - reluctantly - and over to Nina. "Oh! Your hair is so cute! I only know how to put mine in regular braids."

[bookbeltof_love]

"Youtube," Nina said fervently, "is a blessing..........."

Because that was precisely where Nina had found all the tutorials she'd needed for this world's makeup and how to style her hair using their products.

"But, like, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She beamed. "I'll do your hair for you too, if you'd like?????????????? Would you rather up or down?????????? Annnnnnnd I can explain about Halloween while I do your hair!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[raisedbybooklice]

"Do you know how to do any fancy updos?" Elisabeth asked, a little wistfully. "I don't, but they all sound so pretty when you hear about them."

And not anything like herself, but she was gathering that was kind of the point of the dance?

[bookbeltof_love]

"I absolutely know a few fancy up-dos," Nina promised, hopping out of her (stolen) chair. "And I'd be delighted to put your hair up into one--any time you want, really, not just today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[raisedbybooklice]

"Oh, they're far too much work for day-to-day," Elisabeth said, matter-of-factly. "It would be like using silk cloth to dust the bookcases! Getting one now is plenty."

[bookbeltof_love]

"We could make it a holiday thing???????????????" Nina suggested easily because, sure, not everyone spent as much time as she did on her hair every day. "There's a few coming up, but the only one I really understand is where everyone rings in the new year............."

Because ringing in the new year was a fairly simple one to grasp.

"Come on, sit, sit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll get started on your hair and make-up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You'll be Princess Elizabeth in no time!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[raisedbybooklice]

"That's just silly," Elisabeth said, giggling, as she took her seat. "Whoever heard of an orphan raised in a library being a princess."

[bookbeltof_love]

"I can name at least three books with that plot off the top of my head," Nina said cheerfully, picking up the hair brush as she rattled off titles and authors for Elizabeth. She named four, just so she wasn't a liar.

What?

Unexpectedly royalty made for fantastic romance plots!

"I mean, like, I know life doesn't usually work that way, but some days..........., well, it'd be nice???????????????" Nina shrugged a little as she picked up Elizabeth's hair, starting to comb out the ends.

[raisedbybooklice]

"I don't know anything about being a princess," Elisabeth admitted. "I'm more at home with a broom than...anything really princess-y." Considering she couldn't even come up with a princess accessory, that was probably true.

"I bet you'd be a good one though."

[bookbeltof_love]

"No way," Nina sighed, smiling as she continued brushing Elizabeth's hair out. "I mean, like, sure, I've dreamed of it but, really, any sort of noble manners I've got are all just, like, a sham.............. not the real thing at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Besides, like, no one really misplaces a princess, I shouldn't think............"

Though a girl could, and did, dream.