Because there were two more people riding with them today, Dray said that the women should ride inside the carriage. Iliana had never been inside, and was not disappointed. Two benches sat facing one another, with plush, red cushions on each. Dray stowed away the record player under one of the seats, then helped each of them inside. With a whistle to Kestral they were off.

As it turned out, Dray picked the most expensive boutique in the city to get her dress. When Iliana saw the types of ladies going in and out, she tried to steer them away, but Dray took her by the arm and nearly marched her inside, Rose and Celsey following closely behind. The seamstresses took one look at Iliana’s plain, rough, home-made dress and set to work.

Rose and Celsey looked at sketches of beautiful gowns while Iliana got measured all over, and women came and held pieces of colored fabric up to her face. Finally they had all the measurements and the right color and a design. When the women found out that this dress was for the ball on Saturday, they sadly informed them that there was no way that it would be ready by then. Dray went to speak with them out of earshot of Iliana, and suddenly they changed their tune, happily saying that the dress would be ready for pickup on Wednesday. Iliana wondered if Dray had offered to pay more for the dress to be made faster, and felt uneasy at the amounts of money he was spending on her.

They then went to another store, also very expensive, to get shoes. Rose mentioned, to Iliana’s embarrassment, that she needed some new boots for the winter and they couldn’t afford it just then. Dray didn’t say anything about it, but she could tell that he was already scheming. Since the dancing shoes were already made, Iliana was able to try on a few and get the opinions of everyone else about which would go best with the dress. One pair was decided on, and those she took home with her.

Once they were back at home, Rose invited Dray and Celsey to stay for dinner, which they gladly agreed to do. Everyone talked about how beautiful the dress would be, how fun the ball would be, and just had a good time throughout the meal.

After Dray and Celsey left, Iliana started worrying about the dress. She’d never ordered a dress from a seamstress shop before, she’d always made them, or her mother did.

“I hope it fits,” she said.

“It will,” Rose said reassuringly.

“What if it makes me look fat?”

“It won’t.”

“What if-”

“Stop, Iliana! You’ll look beautiful in it. Now go to bed before you worry yourself sick.”

That night Iliana’s nightmare was different than ever before.

Instead of shadows everywhere, she was running down a stone corridor. Cold, hard walls were on either side of her. Her boots clunked as she ran, and all she knew was that she had to get away from the evil creatures behind her. She didn’t look back, not once, but she somehow knew they were there. The only sound was the scuffing of her boots and her ragged breathing.

Suddenly the corridor forked off, and she skidded to a stop and looked both ways. Which way should she go? She looked to the left, then the right. Out of the darkness of the right corridor materialized a man. Her heart filled with relief and she ran to him. He held his arms out to her and she threw her arms around his shoulders. Then she had a sensation that she was flying. She looked down and saw the monsters far below, gathered in the corridor, looking up at them. They were as dark as shadow, with bottomless eyes just like the ones found in the twisted face. The monsters opened their mouths and howled their rage, but all Iliana could hear was the wind and the beating of both of their hearts.

Iliana looked up at the man’s face. It was the face that looked like Dray’s but wasn’t. But it was different this time, and she didn’t feel afraid or uneasy. He was smiling at her, and his eyes did not show pain or sadness. They showed love. Love for her. It was safe here in his arms. She laid her head against his shoulder and slowly fell asleep.

That morning Iliana woke up feeling more rested than she had in a long time. Lying in bed, she thought about the nightmare that had become a dream. A nice dream. What did it mean, that the face that had scared her before had turned into a face that she trusted, heart and soul? What did it mean that the man looked like Dray, yet she knew it wasn’t him? In the dream she felt like she had known him for a long time, and that he meant safety in the strange place she was in.

“Iliana, breakfast,” Rose called from the kitchen. Iliana got up and dressed quickly, still thinking about how her dream had made her feel. 

“You slept in this morning,” her mother commented as Iliana came into the kitchen. Iliana stepped back into to hallway to check the grandfather clock, and she had indeed slept later than she ever did.

“Yes.” What did that mean? Of course it didn’t matter much, since it was Sunday.

On Wednesday at the shop Dray brought a long, thin white package all tied up in ribbon, and he again gave her the whole bouquet instead of just the single Blue Jewel.

“It’s your dress,” he explained as he handed her the bouquet, the package, and the money for the bouquet. “Try it on tonight and tell me tomorrow if it fits or not.” Then he was lost in the crowd again before Iliana could thank him.

Celsey came home with Iliana that night to help put the dress on. Up in her room, Iliana, Rose and Celsey stood looking at the package that was lying on the bed. Iliana was a little bit scared to open it. What if it was too small? Too big? Too long?

“Well, come on,” Celsey urged her. “I want to see it!”

“Alright, alright,” Iliana said. She stepped forward and carefully untied the ribbon and lifted the lid. Then she gasped. So did Celsey and Rose.

Iliana gently took the dress by the shoulder seams and lifted it out of the box, letting the skirt fall to the floor. It was beautiful. A see-thru white silk covered the blue that was the exact same color of the flowers that Dray gave her every day. The skirt was puffy and heavy, and the sleeves were puffy, too. But the bodice looked like it would fit right to her skin.

“It’s beautiful!” Celsey exclaimed. “Put it on, put it on!” With Celsey and Rose’s help she did. Iliana stood in front of the mirror, looking at herself and the gown. She could hardly believe that she was wearing such a fine piece of clothing. “Hey, there’s a shawl in here, too,” Celsey said, pulling a length of blue cloth from the package. Iliana wrapped it around her shoulders and continued to marvel at her appearance.

“Now… what to do with your hair,” her mother said, tapping the side of her cheek in thought. They got a chair and Iliana sat in it while they pulled and yanked her hair into different styles. Finally they decided on one. Her hair was piled on top of her head, and they had stuck at least fifty pins in it to keep it that way. Iliana looked in the mirror for a long time.

“You look beautiful, sweetheart,” Rose said, squeezing her shoulders.

Iliana had to admit that she did look beautiful. She felt the silk in between her fingers, then a thought came to her mind again. How much did Dray pay for all this?

“Mother, how much do you think all this cost?”

“Dray said not to worry about the price,” Celsey pointed out, which was true. He had iterated over and over again that he was willing to pay any price.

“I know, but…”

“You know, this is exactly what your father did,” her mother said, looking at Iliana in the mirror.

“You mean he bought you a dress?”

“Yes. And flowers. He insisted on paying for all of it, and would not entertain any ideas of me paying him back.” Rose patted her daughter’s cheek. “Best to just let him, dear. For some men, spending money is how they express their feelings.” Rose looked out the window and gasped. “Oh my, look how dark it is! Celsey, your aunt must be wondering what on earth we could be doing for you to be gone so long.” Celsey frowned.

“Do I have to go?”

“I think you should.”

“Alright. Just let me help you get this dress off, Iliana.” Right after Celsey left Iliana and Rose went to bed.

Again that night her nightmare turned into a dream, the same dream she had after going dress shopping with Dray.

 And again she woke up late, and had to hurry out the door without breakfast in order to not keep Celsey waiting at the trolley stop. They were both yawning the whole way to Celsey’s stop, and Iliana hoped that she would perk up during the day. The ball was in just a few days, and she had yet to complete that large arrangement she had been assigned.

Maybe I can ask Madame Suri if I could stay late today. Having even an hour of uninterrupted time would help.

Dray was beaming at her when she stepped off the trolley at her stop.

“You’re running late today,” he commented as he helped her up on to the carriage.

“We stayed up a bit late last night trying on the dress.”

 “Ah, that makes sense. Does it fit well?”

“Yes, perfectly. It’s beautiful.” Pause. “How much was it?”

“You know I’m not going to tell you that,” he said, grinning sneakily as he climbed up himself and whistled for Kestral to begin pulling them to the meadow. “Because I know that if I did, you would insist on paying me back, and I will not accept any money from you.”

“I still want to know…”

“I paid what it costs,” he said simply, but seemed to notice her continued dismay. “Why can’t you just accept it as a gift?”

“Because, if someone gives you a gift, you have to get them one, too.” Dray smiled.

“Your gift is going with me to the ball.” That made Iliana feel a little better.

“Alright, that’s my gift.”

At the flower shop Iliana was finally able to get some extra time in the back room, and just before the end of the day she completed the special order for the ball. She had arranged the yellow, orange, red, and a few blue flowers to look like a burning ball of flame, and Madame Suri was quite pleased with her work.

“This will certainly stand out from the others,” Iliana’s employer said, and Iliana ducked her head at the praise. Then Madame Suri took her hand, and placed a small stack of silver coins in her palm. Iliana looked up and caught a small smile on the older woman’s face. “Here is your pay for the arrangement. Make sure you spend it on something nice, yes?” Iliana nodded, and pocketed the money, feeling confident that she would be able to buy herself that new pair of boots all on her own.