Avoiding the Feast, Part 2
Aug. 12th, 2019 07:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fuzzyredRemembering how understanding and helpful her friend was made Ranya smile. Sheyla never asked her when she was going to start a family, or when she would give up the foolish notion of exploring and settle down with a mate. Ranya felt comfortable around Sheyla in a way she didn't with any other member of the clan. On top of being a great friend, she was a great stylist as well, and her trick with the make-up worked.
When Ranya finally made it home, her mother was impatient to get started picking an outfit for the night. The look on her face when she saw Ranya's make-up went a long way towards cheering Ranya up. Her mother huffed as she realized that she couldn't just pick what she wanted, she'd actually have to work to match the blue shadow and Ranya's amber eyes. "Well come on then," she had huffed. "We don't have all day to find a dress. You certainly took your time with your hair." Ranya rolled her eyes and trailed along behind as her mother flounced down the hall.
Upon reaching her room Ranya could see that her mother had already pulled out multiple dresses, sorting them into "suitable" and "unsuitable" piles. It gave Ranya a dark satisfaction to see that most of her mother's favored dresses, which Ranya would have personally loved to burn, didn't even remotely match her eyes and make-up. "Try this one," the older elf said, thrusting a short, low-cut dress at Ranya. "Mother, the pink and yellow on that dress will look awful with my eyes. Aren't there any black or blue ones?"
Annalise huffed at her daughter, before shoving all the dresses to one side of the bed. She then pulled out all the black, blue, and bronze dresses. "Here, try this one. It's plain black but still fancy." Ranya pulled it on, looked in the mirror, then spun around to face her mother with her hands on her hips. "I look like a trollop in this! It's far too short and the neckline is far too low. Pick something else." That said, Ranya started to take it off, dreading what was coming next
"Hmmph. Well, if you don't like that one, try this instead. It's certainly not short." Obligingly, Ranya tried on the new dress. This one was navy blue and floor length, but it had a plunging neckline and a slit up the side that came up almost to her hip. "Great, now I look like a high class trollop." With big sigh, the younger elf started to take off the dress, but as she did, something on the bed caught her eye. It was a midnight blue dress with a dark amber paisley pattern on it. It had short sleeves, a modest neckline that showed only the barest hint of cleavage, and had a loose flowing hem that came down to the top of her ankle. She quickly put it on and checked herself in the mirror.
"This one, mother, or I'm not going to go at all." Annalise gave her daughter a critical look before huffing and issuing an edict. "Fine, but I get to choose the shoes."
And that's how Ranya ended up at the Feast, happy with all of her outfit but the awful shoes. They were two inch platform heels, the wooden soles covered in a woolen weave, with shiny dark gold fabric that laced up her calf. She made it through the opening speech, the council elders welcoming village members and elves from other clans alike, wishing everyone a merry and successful Courting Feast.
A scant half hour after the speeches finished, she had been approached by no less than five elves, one female, all wanting to know if she was interested in courting, despite Ranya's best efforts to stay hidden. As she turned down her last suitor, as politely as she could, she slipped away from the Feast, done with it all. Once she was free of the party, Ranya spied her favourite hill and decided that would make an excellent refuge. Plan decided, she removed her shoes and began making her way to her sanctuary.
***
The style of Ranya's dress
(edited for typos)
When Ranya finally made it home, her mother was impatient to get started picking an outfit for the night. The look on her face when she saw Ranya's make-up went a long way towards cheering Ranya up. Her mother huffed as she realized that she couldn't just pick what she wanted, she'd actually have to work to match the blue shadow and Ranya's amber eyes. "Well come on then," she had huffed. "We don't have all day to find a dress. You certainly took your time with your hair." Ranya rolled her eyes and trailed along behind as her mother flounced down the hall.
Upon reaching her room Ranya could see that her mother had already pulled out multiple dresses, sorting them into "suitable" and "unsuitable" piles. It gave Ranya a dark satisfaction to see that most of her mother's favored dresses, which Ranya would have personally loved to burn, didn't even remotely match her eyes and make-up. "Try this one," the older elf said, thrusting a short, low-cut dress at Ranya. "Mother, the pink and yellow on that dress will look awful with my eyes. Aren't there any black or blue ones?"
Annalise huffed at her daughter, before shoving all the dresses to one side of the bed. She then pulled out all the black, blue, and bronze dresses. "Here, try this one. It's plain black but still fancy." Ranya pulled it on, looked in the mirror, then spun around to face her mother with her hands on her hips. "I look like a trollop in this! It's far too short and the neckline is far too low. Pick something else." That said, Ranya started to take it off, dreading what was coming next
"Hmmph. Well, if you don't like that one, try this instead. It's certainly not short." Obligingly, Ranya tried on the new dress. This one was navy blue and floor length, but it had a plunging neckline and a slit up the side that came up almost to her hip. "Great, now I look like a high class trollop." With big sigh, the younger elf started to take off the dress, but as she did, something on the bed caught her eye. It was a midnight blue dress with a dark amber paisley pattern on it. It had short sleeves, a modest neckline that showed only the barest hint of cleavage, and had a loose flowing hem that came down to the top of her ankle. She quickly put it on and checked herself in the mirror.
"This one, mother, or I'm not going to go at all." Annalise gave her daughter a critical look before huffing and issuing an edict. "Fine, but I get to choose the shoes."
And that's how Ranya ended up at the Feast, happy with all of her outfit but the awful shoes. They were two inch platform heels, the wooden soles covered in a woolen weave, with shiny dark gold fabric that laced up her calf. She made it through the opening speech, the council elders welcoming village members and elves from other clans alike, wishing everyone a merry and successful Courting Feast.
A scant half hour after the speeches finished, she had been approached by no less than five elves, one female, all wanting to know if she was interested in courting, despite Ranya's best efforts to stay hidden. As she turned down her last suitor, as politely as she could, she slipped away from the Feast, done with it all. Once she was free of the party, Ranya spied her favourite hill and decided that would make an excellent refuge. Plan decided, she removed her shoes and began making her way to her sanctuary.
***
The style of Ranya's dress
(edited for typos)
