The heavy velvet curtains of the royal dressing suite were drawn back, allowing the pale winter sunlight to stream across the polished marble floor. I stood elevated on a low wooden pedestal, wearing a breathtaking sample gown crafted for the upcoming Annual Winter Ball.
The shimmering silver-blue fabric draped heavily around my frame, embroidered with intricate frost patterns made of spun silver thread and microscopic mana crystals. An elder seamstress busied herself around my hemline, pulling pins from her velvet cushion and carefully adjusting the pleats. Standing just a few steps away, Maribel paced back and forth with her arms crossed, firing off a continuous stream of instructions directly to the head tailor. "The neckline needs to be structured higher to accommodate the royal sapphires, and the train must be at least two yards longer to ensure proper prestige when she descends the grand staircase! We cannot have the Crown Princess looking anything less than divine."
