Chapter 18

The palace was being transformed. Evergreen plants brought in from the outside for decoration filled the halls with a fresh scent. All forms of glitter and sparkle decorated them, the once gleaming palace was now blinding, in a bedazzled recreation of the snowy world outside.

Jace was highly amused by how amazed Momoka was by the whole affair. Her pack apparently never took decorating that seriously. Yet it was Lynn who, every year, truly embraced the holiday spirit. Glittering gowns under her coat and snowflakes had replaced the usual ribbons in her hair.

Though the palace was slowly transforming as the days led up to the longest night of the year, it was that night itself that was the main event. Lots of festivities, including a ball, were to take place.

Jace was leaving a meeting on his way to visit Momoka as he had an hour to spare but Lynn quickly commandeered him by grabbing him by the arm and dragging him.

“Lynn please use your words,” he said, trying to get out of her grip but it was a vice.

“You’re not escaping, we have important work to do,” She said as she hurried in the direction of the private royal section.

“That’s not an explanation Lynn, I’ve been hard at work all day can’t I enjoy my hour of rest?”

“Nope.”

And that was it.

Jace conceded and allowed his sister to continue to drag him.

As they passed the guards and entered the royal section Jace thought she would take him to her quarters for whatever scheme it was she had cooked up yet instead she took him into his own quarters.

There his two stylists waited, looking a little unimpressed by the state of his room. Svetlana and Ivan stood side by side with their arms crossed, both in their black coats but underneath they had the most perfect winter wonderland themed outfits underneath. Even Jace could appreciate that. Svetlana had fluffy white sheepskin that stuck out over the collar of her coat, a soft blue and skin tight bodice in a soft blue snowflake brocade silk. Ivan had flared blue jeans with snowflakes bleach marked into them.

“Jace, your room is just like your personal style.” Svetlana didn’t look directly at him but he could sense the sass rolling off her in waves as she toyed with the end of her severely cut black bob.

“Academic?” Jace asked just to mess with them.

Together they yelled, “No Sloppy!”

Jace just laughed and Lynn was smiling but they didn’t seem to find the humour.

“So what is this all about, I thought we had planned out my winter wardrobe,” Jace said.

“It’s different now,” Ivan said.

Svetlana continued, “you have your wolf girlfriend and a ball coming up. We most certainly can’t rely on you to pick your own outfit.”

“You’ll embarrass not only yourself,” said Ivan.

“But her as well,” Svetlana finished the thought.

Jace smiled to himself and shook his head. “Have you no faith in me?”

“No,” Svetlana said very quickly and matched over to his wardrobe with Ivan, both of them clopping along in their heeled shoes.

“This seems a little dramatic,” Jace whispered to Lynn.

She took his arm again, leading him to the wardrobe. “Oh come on Jace this is the first time you’ve had a girlfriend for a major event like this, you should go all out.”

Lynn was correct, none of his previous relationships had lasted long enough to reach any kind of event. All of them ending quite dramatically because of the curse.

Stepping into the wardrobe Ivan and Svetlana were already taking stock of the clothes that were already in there. Most of which they had designed and had personally made for him. They all fit his body to perfection and were adorned with the most beautiful and expensive laces.

Ivan looked back at him, flicking his blond fringe. “What is your theme for this look?”

“Um … winter?”

Both Ivan and Svetlana rolled their eyes in perfect unison.

Lynn stopped forward and joined them. “Dashing love interest of a romance novel, come in from a winter’s night full of stars to rescue the heroine.”

“We can work with this,” Svetlana said and started to pick a few pieces from his wardrobe.

Big ruffle shirts with balloon sleeves he had always found a little excessive as he was already wearing his coat were pulled out. He looked closely at the lace, how fine the detailing was it depicted the sun and oftentimes the fiery Fae bird from which they had gotten their name.

For pants there selected maybe that would emphasise his small waist line but bickered back and forth on what cuts and fabrics.

He wondered why exactly he was needed for all of this. Lynn was in the zone though.

Her role was to rule over the business and financial aspects of the Phoenix world yet Lynn’s passions were far from that. He knew his sister longed to be a designer. She had this quite impossible dream to think up her own fashion label. He knew that was what she spent her short night time hours of rest doing.

Jace had wished that he had such a dream. No he was too mentally exhausted to have a dream he felt, even from a young age it had been so drilled into him by the ruler before him, his own mother, that he was to be King one day and there didn’t seem to be room for much else. He had always been a romantic so he was chasing that down but maybe if he had been given the room to chase his own dreams he would have become a romance novelist.

The outfit was decided upon and got approval from all three judges.

Now came the part they actually needed him for trying it on.

The shirt was high collared and ruffled from his collar bone to his mid chest. The fabric was white with an ever so slight iridescent shift within it. It had ruffles at the cuffs which poked out nicely from his coat. His pants were high waisted; they came up to his ribcage and were tight with boning to reinforce their structure. Long earrings dangled from his ears and layered necklaces of pearl and platinum sat like hidden treasures within the ruffles.

“It’s perfect,” Lynn squealed with excitement and his two stylists both nodded with almost a smile on both of their lips.