Burning Hope

Chapter 28: Time For The Ball

Hazu insisted on waking me up early for the dance, which scared me so much that I nearly killed her with Blazewing, which I had hidden under my pillow the previous night. Seeing that I had scared the poor Japanese girl, I profusely apologized for nearly turning her into a Hazu-kebab. After my daily training session with Talia, the three of us went out to breakfast. We picked up Kallan along the way and decided to head out to the dorms and watched a bit of anime until the time rolled around 1:00, which was when we decided that we would actually start getting ready for the ball.

True to his word, Madoc had sent students on campus to our dorms around that time to do our hair and makeup. The four of us sat down as our hair started to get stylized. Kallan and Talia ended up getting really elegant updos, while Hazu left her's down in a cute style of curls, using a lot of product to make it look flawless. I watched as my own hair slowly became exactly like what Hazu had drawn for me. It was beautiful.

Once the girls were done with their hair—which took about two hours—the stylists began to put accessories into our hair. Hazu had white roses weaved into her carnation pink hair, and Talia had a silver and copper tiara placed atop her head. Kallan wasn't as flashy. She just had a ribbon tied in the back of her hair.

I was interrupted by the girl who was doing my hair tapping me on the shoulder. I turned around to look at her. "Do you want any sort of accessory in your hair?" She asked me.

I shrugged. "Well, I don't know." I answered honestly. "I mean, you probably know a lot more about fashion than I do, so the choice is all yours whether or not I would look better or worse in it."

The girl thought for a minute and suddenly snapped her fingers. She reached into a bag that was behind her and produced a string of beads from it's contents. She placed them over my head and shook hers in distaste, throwing them back into her bag. She then pulled out a few plastic flowers. She shook her head again. Once she reached into her backpack a third time, she pulled out a beautiful golden tiara. It was small, but intricately woven into a beautiful headpiece. She placed it on my head. It was perfect. It looked like it belonged there. It felt so...natural.

"I love it." I immediately said.

The girl smiled. "Hold on just a minute. There's another piece that goes with this crown." She pulled out two white hair clips that were shaped like angel's wings and placed them on either side of my head. It was beautiful. I looked like a seraph that fell straight from heaven. I loved it.

"There. All done!" She announced. "Now all we have to do is your makeup, and then we'll be set to go."

I had never put makeup on before, so I didn't exactly know what to expect. It was quite fun to watch as my face was transformed. First came the foundation, then the cherry red lipstick, then the bronzer, and then golden eyeshadow that was complemented by black cat-eye style eyeliner. By the end, I was concerned that I had been placed into the body of some kind of supermodel by aliens.

I looked to the other girls. Hazu had been given minimal makeup; just some green eyeshadow and a bit of concealer. It really helped with her 'natural' personality. Kallan wore some blush and blue eyeshadow, but like Hazu, her makeup was otherwise minimal. Talia, like me, had the works done on her. She wore a darker red lipstick than I with blush, silver eyeshadow, brown eyeliner, mascara, and foundation. She looked like a Russian Barbie doll. Once our makeup was finished, the ladies left and Hazu and I left to our dorms to change into our dresses.

I watched as Hazu walked out of the bathroom in her dress. She was wearing a sage-green, silk dress with golden trim around a sweetheart neckline and sleeves that hung off her shoulder. She wore a simple green, beaded necklace, a pair of white, opera-length gloves, and a pair of white slippers. She looked like a fairytale princess.