The third and fourth dresses were both purple, one dark and one light. The light one had a very slight sweetheart neckline with a corset type bodice. It had sparkling embroidery that swirled across the front, pinching at the middle, and then billowing out onto the skirt of the dress. The darker one had a wider skirt and sleeves that didn’t cover the shoulders. It was dotted with rhinestones at the top and bottom, fading in and out of density. 

Both of these seemed acceptable for the theme of the dance, and complemented Dahlia nicely. Now it was up to her. 

“What do you think?” I asked, holding each up to her. 

“Hmm. I don’t know. What do you think?” she asked back. 

“Well, this one is simple and modest, and the other one is elaborate and slightly fancier. The embroidery on the lighter one will make you look more delicate and elegant while the rhinestones on the darker one will make you look more confident and mysterious.” 

“I think I like the lighter one,” Dahlia said slowly, as if doubting her own preference. 

“Perfect! I think this one complements your skin tone better, too,” I told her, handing her chosen dress to her and putting away the discarded one. 

“But... I don’t know, it feels a bit too modern,” Dahlia said hesitantly. 

“Yeah, it does feel like it’s missing something. Wanna explore to see if we can find anything to complete it?” I asked her, gesturing to the rest of the wardrobe. 

Dahlia nodded, and we both began searching through the different racks and shelves. I couldn’t find much except for the perfect pair of low heels to match with the dress. They were about an inch and a half tall, a shimmering purple that matched the dress. There were small blue rhinestones of many shades in a few places, making it even prettier. 

Dahlia, however, found a few items on the jacket rack that might make her outfit seem more old fashioned. One was a pastel green that had a sash that would wrap around her front and tie in the back. It was long enough to drape completely over the dress while still slightly revealing some of the lovely purple. 

The second was a pale sky blue that would sit lower on her shoulders and had sleeves that only reached Dahlia’s elbows. There, it flared out in a light lime green lace and tulle. All of the edges of this cover were lined with a blue lace that was delicate but also very rich. 

I immediately preferred the blue because it would match with the dress and the shoes better, while also still bringing the green tones into the picture. But it wasn’t my choice, and I could only give suggestions. 

“I think the blue one is better, but it’s up to you,” I told her. 

Dahlia looked relieved and replied, “Oh, good. I liked this one better, too.” 

We both smiled, and Dahlia replaced the other one. We gathered the two items, which was when I brought up the shoes I had found. 

“Oh, and what do you think of these?” I asked, holding up the sparkling purple shoes. 

“I like them! They match the rest perfectly,” Dahlia exclaimed. 

“Okay, now that we have everything, you have to try it on. Go on, go on!” I said, motioning to Dahlia in a shoo-ing gesture. 

She giggled as she picked up the dress. She didn’t stop as she said, “You have to get out for me to change! Go on, go on!” 

She repeated what I had said, making the same motion I had, except she did it one handed. I giggled with her, and happily skipped out of the room, closing the door behind me. 

I took this time to think about the dress I would like to wear. I was thinking about either yellow or orange, my favorite colors. I did see some nice dresses of those colors inside, so maybe. 

By the time I had decided, Dahlia’s voice rang out from inside the closet, calling for me to step inside. 

“Hey, Iris! I need some help tying this!” she called. 

I opened the door and walked in, and the first thing I saw was Dahlia. She had her back facing me, her right arm awkwardly behind her as she held onto the strings while her left arm clutched the dress to her torso to keep it from falling. 

I quickly took the strings from her grip, and she brought her arm to join her other arm in gripping the dress for dear life. I wrapped the strings around my hands to get a better grip on them. My hands were inches from Dahlia’s back, and I gave her a countdown. 

“Three, two, one!” I warned as Dahlia took and held a deep breath. I pulled the strings to tighten the dress to her form. I heard Dahlia suck in another sharp gasp, but I didn’t let up. I quickly tied the strings together in a regular bow that was used to tie shoelaces. 

Cautiously, I let go gently to see if the knot held. It did. “Okay, done,” I told her, and she let out her held breath with relief, rolling her shoulders. 

“Here,” I said, picking up the jacket and handing it to her. 

“Thanks,” she said as she took the jacket and threw it over her shoulders. As she pushed her arms through the short sleeves, she clarified, “For everything.” 

When she turned around, I was speechless. The dress and jacket really did make her look like she was from the 1800s, and the shoes were extremely pretty. Dahlia twirled around a few times, showcasing every angle of her dress. I had to remind myself that this princess was actually my best friend. 

“Wow! You look so beautiful!” I exclaimed, and Dahlia beamed. “But, it does look a bit off...” 

Dahlia frowned, looking down at her dress. She toyed with the blue lace, thinking as I was. 

I stared at her until I figured out what was missing. Except I didn’t discover what was missing, so I ended up frowning as well. 

“Maybe if we look through your accessories, we might find something?” I suggested. 

We both scanned various shelves and drawers, and finally found what we were missing. A mask! 

“Oh! It’s a masquerade ball, of course we need a mask! Duh!” I exclaimed in realization. I quickly picked up the box that contained the different masks, and began to dig through it to find a nice one that would match Dahlia’s dress. Next to me, Dahlia pulled down a second box and began to search for one in there. 

Between us we found a purple mask that matched the dress color, two blues of different shades, and a light green that matched the green sleeves. 

“Which one?” Dahlia asked me, holding up two masks on each hand. 

“Probably not the light blue or the purple, there’s already a lot of those colors,” I told her. 

“Got it,” Dahlia replied, putting the two I mentioned away. Then she held up the green mask in her right and the dark blue in her left. “Now which one?” 

“Hmm... Maybe the-” I started, but I stopped. Something caught my eye in my peripheral vision. 

“Wait, what’s that?” I asked as I crept closer. 

On the floor of the jacket section, partially obscured by the long garments, a piece of lime green fabric was poking out from behind a dark blue jacket. I reached out and grabbed it gently with my thumb and first two fingers. It felt just like the light green sleeves from the jacket Dahlia was wearing. It looked just like it, too. 

“What is it?” I heard from behind me. 

I pulled very carefully, lifting it up to get a better look. It was from the jacket! That was what was missing! 

“It’s a sash from the jacket you’re wearing, Dahlia! This was what was missing!” I told her over my shoulder. 

I tried to pull it free, but it snagged. It was caught on something, preventing it from coming loose. That was why we couldn’t find it until now. It probably got stuck and pulled loose, detaching from the jacket. 

“It’s stuck on something,” I said. 

“Here, let me help,” Dahlia offered, lightly pushing me over so that she could come up next to me. 

Dahlia pulled back the dark blue jacket it was caught on, and gave us a better look. The green sash was tangled around the buttons and hooks of the coat, in danger of tearing. I handed the bottom part of the sash to Dahlia, who took it in her left hand, and moved my fingers cautiously closer to the snag. 

Together, we untangled the delicate lace without any damages, and pulled it free of the closet. Up close, you could see a few stretched out strings that were the outcome of the tangle, but otherwise it looked just fine. 

I straightened the long sash and wrapped it around Dahlia’s waist, who understood what I was doing and raised her arms. I knotted the sash in the front, pulling it taut. 

“Put your hand here,” I told her, motioning to the middle of the knot. Dahlia complied. 

I delicately tied the lace in a double bow knot, and this displayed how the lace faintly melted from a shade slightly darker than the lime green of the sleeves to a shade that was just barely lighter than the sleeves. 

When I was about to tighten the knot, I told Dahlia, “You can let go now.” 

Dahlia pulled her hand out from under the bow, and I pulled it tighter against her waist. Once finished, I stood up to see it all come together, only to find that we were still missing her mask! 

“Where’d you put the masks?” I asked her, looking briefly around the room to see if I could spot them. 

“Oh, I put it down over here,” Dahlia said calmly, walking over to the shelf that held the two open mask boxes. In front of them were the two masks that we were consulting. 

“Try them both on, and let’s see which one works better,” I suggested to her. 

Shrugging, she agreed. 

She tried on the green mask first. It looked beautiful, and emphasized the rosy tinge of Dahlia’s cheeks. The blue of her eyes blended and also stood out against the mask. It matched well with the lace sash and the lovely sleeves. 

However, there was a second mask. 

She tried on the blue mask after the first. It was darker and had a much more mysterious look. It was less delicate and contrasted with her skin tone, making her look like she was made of fresh milk and roses. It matched the lace that lined the edges of the jacket that Dahlia wore. 

I slowly evaluated both of the masks, comparing the details of the two. One brought out life and calm joy. The other enhanced grace and quiet beauty. 

I eventually decided on the green. Green is the color of life, health, nature, and harmony. In Dahlia, I could see more, such as the love and happiness that surrounded her life. 

Dahlia agreed with me. It was truly amazing how wondrous the mask was. It was a delicate thing made of four separate pieces. 

One, the main mask that covered Dahlia’s face. It had fancy lace and small rhinestones and sequins. It was so well decorated that it looked like a beautiful meadow, shining in a forest with sunlight bouncing off of the millions of tiny yet colorful sparkles that scattered the mask. Fresh dew drops sparkled underneath her eyes like tears of pure joy. 

Two, the string of ribbons that hung from the right corner of the mask. The longer one was a green darker than the mask itself, looking like a shadow of it. The shorter one was like a highlight, lighter than both the other ribbon and the mask. 

Three, the wooden handle. It was a thin wooden rod of roughly a foot in length. It was wrapped in a silk ribbon of a bluish-green. This was connected to the right side of the mask as well, in the same place as the ribbons. 

Four, a single string that held shimmering beads. The clear beads ranged from blue to green to clear. They also had several different sizes and shapes, and a few even contained glitter. This again was placed in the right hand corner with the ribbons and holding stick. 

Dahlia’s look was complete. Nothing was missing anymore. 

“Perfect,” we said in unison, smiling at each other. 

Now, it was my turn.