A bright beam of morning sunlight hit Izzy’s face. They blinked their eyes rapidly then groaned and rolled over. Something shiny and pale blue taunted them out of the corner of their eye.
It took a moment, but as soon as Izzy remembered that they don’t own anything shiny and blue, they shot up in bed. Hanging on the open door of their wardrobe was a blue ball gown. With a groan, Izzy slid off their bed and headed over to inspect the dress.
It was made entirely of pale blue silk gabardine. It had a dropped waist at which point the tiered skirt was gathered to create a skirt that required a large petticoat. Each tier was trimmed with delicate Venetian lace. The skirt also sported a court-length train with no obvious way to bustle it.
The bodice was stiffly corseted and had an overlay of white silk Georgette. The off-the-shoulder neckline was trimmed with more Venetian lace. The sleeves were exaggerated bishop sleeves reaching a three quarters length before being gathered into a tight cuff that flared out femininely with more Venetian lace.
Hanging on the other wardrobe door was the accessories Chandra clearly expected Izzy to wear. Elbow length, white silk gloves. A silver, scalloped necklace sporting a large, light blue crystal. A head piece made of clear crystals with a delicate silk rose, made from the same silk as the dress, on the side. On the floor sat a pair of shoes made from light blue brocade silk and wood with a two-inch heel. Izzy groaned once again.
“Okay,” Izzy muttered to herself. “First off, how does she expect me to dance with this size of train, let alone with a hoop skirt? Secondly, how on earth did she afford this?! This dress has to have used at least a full bolt of silk, not to mention that lace! Also, those shoes! Just no.”
Having gotten most of their rant out away from their family, Izzy quickly changed and headed to the kitchen for a small breakfast. On their way, they found Beth moping in the hallway.
“Beth, what’s wrong?”
Beth looked at Izzy with a bitter expression. “What do you think?”
“Oh, was Tiffany flaunting her dress in front of you?”
“Yes! She even got a green dress! That’s my favorite color, not hers. I know she did it to rub it in my face that I can’t go. She would have picked a pink dress if she wasn’t trying to make me feel worse.”
Beth sounded a little paranoid right now, but Izzy had no doubt that Tiffany would pick a color that would bug someone. Since she knew Izzy didn’t even want to go, Beth was the only one left to bother. Beth did seem to get the short end of the stick quite often. Izzy really felt for her. They pulled her in for a hug.
“I just had a great idea,” Izzy suddenly said, pushing Beth away but keeping a hold on her shoulders. “Come with me.”
Beth looked confused, but followed Izzy back up to their room. Closing the door behind Beth, Izzy pulled her over to her wardrobe where the gown still hung.
“Are you trying to rub your dress in my face, too,” Beth spat out. “I thought better of you.”
“Of course not,” Izzy replied quickly. “Let’s get you in this and see what we can do.”
Beth looked unsure, but she was never one to pass up putting on a beautiful gown, so she started to undress as Izzy loosened the corset on the dress.
“Izzy, this isn’t going to work. I have such a small bust compared to you, plus I’m taller than you!”
“Oh, shush,” Izzy playfully said. “We won’t know what can be done until you put it on.”
Beth didn’t protest any further as they went through the troublesome process of dressing in a ball gown. After a good 20 minutes, they had Beth laced in with all the accessories properly in place.
“Oh, Izzy, it’s gorgeous, but I can’t do this dress justice. I could hide a full meal in this empty bust!”
Izzy snorted. “You don’t do a dress justice, a dress does you justice, silly.”
Beth rolled her eyes, but continued to look at herself from multiple angles in the full length mirror.
“Now,” Izzy said as she walked around Beth. “Easiest fix first. Do you have a slightly smaller petticoat?”
Beth was hesitant. “Yes, but this dress was made to look full. A smaller petticoat wouldn’t do!”
“Of course it will. I’ll show you. Where do you keep your petticoats?”
Beth gave her instructions and Izzy quickly went to grab the desired petticoat from her closet.
After managing to get Izzy’s petticoat off and Beth’s back on, Izzy lead Beth back over to the mirror.
“See? You can’t even tell that the dress was cut for a shorter person.”
Beth smiled as she kicked her feet around to see how far she could move them before she could see them.
“Okay, that’s fixed,” Izzy said. “Now let’s see what we can do about the rest.”
Izzy and Beth played around with the tightness of the corset and stuffing Beth’s bust. Nothing was working. Their sizes were just too different.
“It’s hopeless,” Beth cried as she sank down on Izzy’s bed.
“I’m not giving up, yet,” Izzy said. “You will go to the ball in my place. Everyone will be happy. Well, except for Chandra.”
Beth giggled. Izzy sank onto their bed next to Beth. The two sat in silence, Beth because she was convinced that their quest was hopeless, and Izzy because they were thinking of how they could get Beth properly into the gown.
“I’ve got it,” Izzy exclaimed.
“How could you possibly get anything? It’s hopeless.”
“No, I do! The tailor’s assistant owes me a favor. He shouldn’t be too busy today. I spoke with him yesterday and he told me they were all set on their orders for tonight already.”
“Okay, but we can’t just leave carrying this gown without mother getting suspicious.”
“Yeah, well I have a bone to pick with her, anyway, so I’m going to go pick that bone, and you’re going to overhear. I’ll storm up to my room, because you know Chandra won’t budge on me going to this stupid ball. You’re going to tell her that you are quite distressed and wish to go into town. She’ll call you up a carriage. I’ll sneak out the back with the gown and we’ll go into town.”
Beth nodded her agreement and the two began the process of getting out of the gown. Once the gown was properly hung and the accessories transferred to Beth’s room, Izzy headed down stairs to the dining room, where they knew Chandra would be, eating her brunch.
“Ah, Bella,” Chandra cheerfully greeted them. “I assume you have seen your gown. You will look just magnificent in it. Maybe a nobleman will notice you.”
“How dare you,” Izzy fumed, only partly acting for their plan. “How dare you spend that amount of money on a gown I have no intention of wearing!”
“How dare you speak to me that way!”
“I’ll speak to you however I want! This is my father’s money you’re spending. My father’s fortune that has almost run out because of your frivolous spending!”
“It’s called investing, dear.” Chandra’s face had turned from forced sweetness into bare-faced animosity. “You will never land a good husband unless you invest in yourself.”
“Who said I want a good husband?!”
“What other option does a proper lady have besides marrying well?”
“First off, I have no plans on being a proper lady. And secondly, I will restart my father’s business once you all have moved out of my house!”
“Your house,” Chandra screeched. “Your house?! This is my house! I am your father’s widow! And you will respect me as such. I am not going anywhere.”
“So you’re saying you wouldn’t move in with one of your daughters, should they manage to snag anyone higher than a baron?”
Izzy knew that would trip up Chandra, and they were right. Chandra’s face turned red and her fists clenched as she tried to think of a response. She failed.
“That is not a matter for today,” Chandra replied with a deceptively calm voice. “You will go to your room and properly prepare yourself for the ball. Do something presentable with that awful hair of yours.”
Izzy made a show of storming out of the room, past Beth, who had, as planned, come to stand in the doorway at some point during the argument and now had teary eyes and a pinched brow.
“Momma, why would you spend so much effort trying to convince Bella to go when you have another daughter who is so desperate to make an appearance tonight?”
Izzy smiled as they heard Chandra start to coo and soothe her youngest daughter. Give her half an hour and the carriage would be ready to go. They would be pushing the time, but Izzy was sure they would make it.
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