Evie was helped into the bathtub and scrubbed red by some maids from the Supreme Pavilion. Her wig was washed as Evie held on to the front, trying to keep the maids away from her scalp, praying as if her life depended on it, so she sighed in relief when they whisked her in front of a dressing mirror. She just sat there as two maids milled around her, one applying makeup while the other massaged rose-scented essential oil into her body.
"Stop it," Evie said, putting her hand up to a new maid who joined, trying to remove the towel wrapped around her head. "I have a headache. My maid will do my hair." She said, "Lila," she called as the maid backed away. "Gently dry my hair," she said.
"Yes, Your Highness," Lila replied, taking a dry towel and gently tapping on Evie's hair to dry.
"What is this?" Evie said, pointing to her own face makeup.
"Your Highness?" the maid said, wiping her hand with her dress.
Evie looked at her face and sighed. She was unrecognisable. Her foundation was cakey, and her eyebrows were hugely overdone. "Lila, take that towel and wet it and bring it to me," Evie said. Hillary was trying to play a childish game with her, and she wasn't in the mood for it at that moment. She was already feeling impending doom, and her stomach was in knots.
"You two, go out," Evie said, pointing at two maids.
"But, Your Highness, we need to dress you," one of the maids said.
"Miss Hilla—"
"So that you make me look like a clown?" Evie said, cutting off the maid harshly. "Go out. My maids will dress me." And you, Evie said, pointing at her makeup artist, "go call Hillary for me," she said, her voice echoing throughout her huge bedchambers, and the maids rushed out of the bedroom.
"Here, Your Highness. I wet the towel with warm water," Lila said.
As Evie took the towel, she stood still, looking at the door. "Are you not going to erase that, Your Highness?" Lila said. "It looks really bad."
"I know, Lila, but it will be a waste to rub it off before showing this masterpiece to the expert maid in Supreme Hall," Evie said. "There she is," she added as Hillary entered the bed chamber. "Is this your bedchamber, Hillary?" Evie asked immediately.
"No, Your Highness," Hillary said, her voice laced with confusion.
"Then how dare you waltz in here before knocking or announcing your presence?" Evie asked, her voice loud as Hillary flinched, her puffed-up chest retreating.
"I am sorry, Your Highness. The maid told me you called for me, and I assumed you were waiting for me," Hillary said, sounding about to burst into tears.
But instead of feeling sorry for her, Evie continued, "Is that the great rules they teach the maids at Supreme Pavilion?" she asked. "And just to think I asked Helga to learn from you," she added, shaking her head.
"Apologies, Your Highness. This will never happen again."
"Okay. Also, where is my red nose?" she asked as Lila and Hillary looked at her in confusion. "I assumed if you wanted me to look like a clown, you would also bring the full outfit," she said, pointing to her face, and Lila snickered, trying to hide it with a cough, facing the wall.
"I will ask the maid to do better next time," Hillary said, biting her lip.
"No need for that. I want you to gather all your maids and leave Moonlight Pavilion in the next few minutes. Evie, I am sparing you today as the emperor is coming here, and I don't want to spoil the mood. Now leave," she added, rubbing her face with the towel.
"Lila, go call Helga," Evie said, sitting in the chair in front of the dressing mirror as she rubbed her eyebrows carefully. She repeated the rubbing over and over again, and once she was satisfied, she dabbed a small amount of foundation, dabbing it on her face as she picked the brush to apply evenly. The foundation was too thick; Evie wasn't sure what they used to make it, but with the amount she applied, it covered all her freckles and looked natural.
"Your Highness, you called for me?" Helga said.
"Yes. Escort Hillary and her maids out of Moonlight Pavilion, and then choose some maids you personally know and go to Butler Daniel and ask him to assign them here. You need help here," Evie said.
"Your Highness," Helga replied, turning to leave. Helga was a very competent maid, handling most of the major things from getting food to making sure the pavilion was clean, but Evie didn't want to overwork her, so she wanted to ask Butler Daniel to send some maids over since Arthur said she can request more, but she wanted Helga to choose her own team since she will be the one working directly with them.
Lila was very helpful but young, so Evie wanted to assign her only a few tasks, and since she always followed her around, she would be the one teaching her. "Lila, didn't you say you wanted to dress me?" Evie said.
"Yes, Your Highness," Lila replied, her eyes shining.
"Okay, go ahead," Evie said.
"Okay, Your Highness," Lila said, her voice an octave higher as she almost skipped to the wardrobe.
Meanwhile, at the gate of Moonlight Pavilion, Hillary looked back in the direction of the bedchamber, her fist tight. "You are going to regret this," she said, her voice dripping with malice. Helga, standing at the gate, closed it and turned her back, strutting.
Evie looked at herself in the mirror, amazed at how she looked. Her makeup was light with a pinkish lip tint and blush. She wore a flowy moonlight blue dress with a small corset, her hair put in a bun fastened with a hairpin with a cobalt blue crystal hairclip. "How did you learn to choose clothes?" Evie said, looking at the small girl who was beaming behind her.
"My mother used to make dresses and sell them before she passed away," Lila said, her smile falling as her lip trembled.
"Sorry to hear that," Evie said, as someone who lost her mother as well, she could feel how Lila was feeling.
Knock. Knock.
A rushed knock sounded at the gate. "Your Highness, the emperor is on his way to Moonlight Pavilion now," she heard, and the knots in her stomach returned as her legs felt cold.