Izrina pulled the white socks up to her thighs, then the fresh dress that barely covered the secret parts of her body. It was the long, undisturbed sleep and meal after treatment that now fueled Izrina's movement.
Few hours later after she had rested, some ladies came and showed her a room where she would be staying with others along with Spinola. It was a big room with small beds on the floor and a chamber pot beside each of them. The room was enough to contain about thirty women.
Instead of a grand bath, the princess was accustomed to. A rich bath filled with scented stones and candles and the priciest oil with a servant to massage her head. Izrina found herself struggling to wipe her face with one towel and a small oil. She watched Spinola and followed the woman's actions.
Her clumsy actions weren't noticed because of the crowded room and laughter from across the room.
"I heard the king will be picking another woman tonight." A young woman with wavy black hair began.
The room became silent at the mention of the king's name. Everyone turned to look at her. Seeing the attention she craved was now on her, the woman tipped her chin.
"I served the king throughout the night," she blushed. "Liz, was there with me...but she barely got any attention from the king." the woman boasted.
Izrina's attention wasn't on the gossip, it was the satin dress that revealed her breast depite her attempt to shield herself. Spinola, on the other hand was interested.
"What kind of man is the king?" Spinola asked, not from curiosity but worry.
The woman clapped her hands. "A beast! A monster! If I weren't so experienced, I wouldn't have made it out alive."
Spinola gasped. She turned to look at Izrina, and her mind went ballistic. "Oh, no..." the woman's resolve never to let Izrina near the king solidified.
"He isn't like any man I have ever served....the skills he has in bed are just..." the young woman bit her lips when she remembered something, "And on his-"
"Attention doves! Lady Feyrne is here for inspections."
Izrina tripped over her shoes but was helped to stand up by Spinola, who was still trying to catch a glimpse of the woman who had entered. Her presence had done something inside the room. The balance and radiant energy shifted to something intense.
"That woman is a fox among the doves. Be wary of her." Someone whispered.
Lady Feyrne entered the room. The woman's dress was a sleeveless yellow gown that bared her painted shoulder. Her hair parted sleekly to the side, with hair covering half of her straight face.
"Stand straight!" Her cold voice trembled.
Izrina's heart skipped a beat; she was still struggling with the dress that covered nothing!
"Hands down!" the woman commanded. Then she walked further inside the room, her eyes scanning the girls that served her. "Hair down." she pointed at a girl.
"As a dove...always find what separates you from others. If you look prettier with your hair up, do it. With a red gloss? Apply more! Your skin is where your wealth rests. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Lady Feyrne!" the women chorused.
Spinola moved her lips along with others in other not to be called out. When she noticed Izrina struggling with her dress, she used her body to hide her.
"What are the commandments of the doves?" The woman halted in the middle of the room, kicking a chamber pot that wasn't properly covered.
The women raised their heads, tipped their chins. Together, they chanted.
"We are not just whores...we are doves. Gentle and graceful. We must not let our bodies rot away when our wealth resides within us. Our core is a spring that gives life. Cleanliness is our mantra. Behold..." they let down their dresses.
"Behold the beauty, the masterpiece of nature, and not a blasphemer."
The woman nodded in approval. Her eyes grazed the women shaped in different size and she nodded in approval. Everyone in the room was now in their natural skin-
"You!" Feyrne noticed a young woman struggling with her dress. Not to get rid of it but to cover herself. "Come here."
Spinola pointed at herself, but she knew damn well it wasn't her but the skittish cat behind her.
"The one behind you." Lady Feyrne clarified with a stern voice. She didn't wait for the girl to come to her. She walked over to where Izrina was struggling. As the woman moved, spaces formed to create a path for her.
Izrina noticed the woman, but it was too late. She bowed her face quickly. To avoid eye contact.
"Why are you still dressed?"
Spinola jumped forward, "My lady, she-"
"Shut up." The lady ordered. "A dove only speaks when spoken to." Her eyes glared intently at Spinola.
"The new girls?" The woman sneered. "I see...still wild and foolish." Without warning the woman ripped Izrina's dress.
Izrina tried not to scream as she tried to save her dignity by hiding her body with her hands. But even that failed because the woman held her hands down.
"N...no" Izrina whimpered, tears welled in her eyes.
"Look at me!" The woman grabbed her chin when she felt the softness of the girl's skin. Her eyes softened, but she didn't stop.
"Look at me!"
With a panicked gasp, Izrina did as ordered, though her shoulders quavered and her eyes were shaking.
"Doves are not meek! No! We are confident and unashamed of our skin. It is our pride. AND!" The woman raised her voice. "We don't show weakness like crying."
Fear and tremors made Izrina unable to read the woman's lips, but she heard faintly what she was saying.
"What is your name child?"
Izrina opened her lips, a tear slipped. "R-rina..." her voice cracked. she forced herself to swallow her tears.
Spinola gritted her teeth, looking down at her feet. She wanted to help, but stepping up again will only raise suspicions.
"Rina....it means of royalty. Act like a queen then and not a wet mouse." Lady Feyrne let go of her chin.
"Even if we serve men with our body, it doesn't mean they are above us. We also have seen them in their final form...we are angels by the wing." the woman turned her back on Izrina now speaking to everyone in the room.
"Old doves, you should help the new ones settle in." Lady Feyrne snapped her fingers and a tiny yellow bell was brought in with a intricately designed pillow. "Hang these around your wrist and never get rid of them."
When the bell got to Izrina, Spinola quickly helped her tie it around her wrist before doing same for herself.
"We never know when we are desired, so promoting our services helps." The woman raised her dress to show her own bell. "And remember there is opportunity to be a step above others if any official or the king finds favor in you."
The woman looked around the room once more then nodded, "Get ready tonight, there will be a party to celebrate The Emperor's victory. " She announced, seeing the smile on their faces, the woman twitched her lips.
"That is all for now," Lady Feyrne gestured for them to wear their dresses, "The two doves that served the king last night, follow me." she said lastly before leaving.
The young woman who had been boasting about her skills earlier squealed, dressing up quickly so she would be the first before the other.
"I told you all, the king enjoyed me so much last night...I guess I won't be serving those ugly ministers with you all." she chimed, "I hope my luck would rubs off on you all, soon." She ran out of the room, her bells jingling in a distance even after she had left.
"Are they really going to be our betters now?" someone asked in the room.
"I have heard about the rumor that a dove touched by the Emperor vanish without a trace....some say they are taken to their private quarters....but no such quarters exist here in the palace...." A woman whispered, moving her wrist so her bell jingled.
"What if every dove that has seen the Emperor was killed by Lady Feyrne?"
"Shush!" Another woman hushed the small gossip and it died as quickly as it began.