�Kaylee! Stand still!� The dressmaker told her, her voice a bit muffled by the many pins she held in her teeth. The woman�s nimble brown hands held the material in folds and attempted to pin it in place. Swinging her thick gray streaked braid back over her shoulder, she jerked the material, and pulled and pinned endlessly. Kaylee muttered under her breath but did as she was told, trying to be polite to the wizened old woman. She wasn�t going to miss this opportunity for anything. Her mother, a flute player in the king�s instrumental group, had told Kaylee she would be able to attend the dance that the king and queen were giving for their son. Kaylee�s wide dark eyes shut as she imagined it. There would be over a hundred people, the soft sand walls lit with mysterious lantern light that would dance as shadows moved on it, and the food, oh, there would be so many different kinds, all delicacies in her native home. She didn�t even bother to imagine the prince. She had never even seen a glimpse of him before. She doubted she would get to see him there. The prospect of getting to go was enough for her. �There! All done, look!� The lady�s weathered hands grasped Kaylee�s slim shoulders, and turned her around to face a large mirror, and Kaylee immediately turned to seize the old lady in a hug. The dress was perfectly beautiful! Kaylee slowly took the dress off over her head, with help from the old lady, who muttered at her not to pull out the pins out of the delicate material. Kaylee disappeared behind a dressing stand to redress herself. Her clothes were of loose, homespun light blue cotton material that folded over itself to cover her almost robe-like, yet suitable for the public. She put soft leather slippers on her feet and she thanked the woman again, promising to be back the next day to pick her dress up. She slipped out the front of the building into the dying sunlight, rushing through the golden dipped market to her own home on the other side of the city. Once she reached the pale front of her own house she let herself past the rickety gate, and into her house, making sure to shut the door and slid the bar in place after she had shaken out the sand from her shoes outside. �Kaylee? Is that you?� Her mother Alyah�s musical voice called from the interior of the house. �Yes Momma.� Kaylee replied, making her way through the cheerfully lit lounge area into the kitchen. �Momma, oh it�s so beautiful!� Kaylee sighed wistfully, falling onto a bench at the table. Just like her mother, Kaylee had warm, toffee colored smooth skin, and long deep brown, almost black hair. Slightly high cheek bones and barely tilted, large compassionate coffee colored eyes framed by lengthy thin lashes. A small mouth that loved to smile and a straight nose, she was beautiful as her mother had been when she was young. Now her mother had an ageless, handsome look. Kaylee�s willowy frame carried plates to the table, and she set it as her mother asked her to. Smiling to reveal even white teeth, she danced about the aromatic kitchen talking to her mother about the dance before her eleven year old brother stepped in from playing with his friends and took the spot light as he began to recount his day. After the light dinner of fruit and vegetable salad, Kaylee went up a small set of stairs to her room. She had always loved it, simply because one corner, instead of making a ninety degree angle, it was rounded, and a window set in it, at the perfect height to view from her bed. After putting on a sleeping gown, she curled up under the thick blankets to watch the stars come out in the velvety sky. A chill breeze came in from the nearby desert, just a mile out of town, making her pull the woolen blanket close. The soft sound of a flute came gently, floatingly up the stairs, caressing the night air with its sweet melody. Soon it entranced Kaylee into a deep sleep within the folds of her bed, her mind full of dreams about the next day. Sunlight greeted her as she woke, yawning and stretching before getting up. The breeze that now came through her window was hot and dry, bringing with it distant cries from the merchants selling their wares in the market. She stood a moment, the flagstones on her floor warm against the soles of her feet, before she couldn�t help but grin and rush down the stairs to eat breakfast. Thirty minutes later, she was on her way through the bright and pungent market place, her eyes watchful for strange people. She might be known, but she was only sixteen, many men would take advantage of that. After a few bumps and shoves, her mother grabbed her arm, and held it tight. Not many people bumped into her mother, the proud look in her eyes, and her formidable posture made sure of that. The bathing house was near full, but Kaylee�s mother managed to find an empty room. After paying, the tub was filled with steaming water, and a bar of soap was produced from an inside pocket of the parcel her mother had carried down there. Kaylee was ordered to strip and get in, and get clean. She was about to protest, but her mother�s words cautioned her. �Get in, before it gets cold.� She nodded, and took a breath, letting it out as the almost burning water shrouded her. She was given a rough block of pumice, and the soap. She scrubbed her skin turning a soft pink beneath its tan complexion. Her mother pulled out a bottle and opened it, and it filled the air with the smell of the exotic and beyond. This was applied to her hair, rubbed in, and then washed out. �Ok, my turn, here�s your towel, I�ll be right back.� Alyah left the room, as Kaylee wrapped herself in a large cream colored towel. The door was pushed open, unmindful of whom might be in there, the woman, a large, purposeful lady, didn�t even bother to glance at Kaylee. She had a bucket of hot water in each hand, and after pulling a spare tub out of the corner, filled it with the two buckets, and left, only to bring back two more. This time she as left, she shut the wooden door. Kaylee turned as her mother got in, and began to put on clean robes she found in the parcel. �Get out the brush, and brush your hair now while it�s wet. It�ll be a horrible tangle if you let it dry.� Her mother�s voice came from across the room. �A hundred strokes, each side.� Kaylee sat down on an overturned tub, and dutifully began to brush out the tangles in her dark hair, and only when they were out, did she begin to count strokes. She heard her mother get out, but didn�t bother to look up from her brushing. About fifteen minutes later, after losing count many times, and forgetting to keep counting, she stopped, handing the brush to her mother to use. The hair-soap she used had made it shine, and softer and silkier than ever before. Finally, her mother was done, and she gathered up their things in the parcel, and left the room with Kaylee following. They went through a few less-used streets, and arrived at the dress maker�s shop, a few randomly colored pieces of material blowing softly through the doorway. They entered the dimly lit interior, and Kaylee sat on a bench to wait while her mother paid for the dress, and it was wrapped in soft tissue paper and hid within the pack. �Ok, now back home, to get everything we need, then we�re leaving to go to the palace.� Alyah told her, as they walked through the crowded streets. Their house was reached in about fifteen minutes, and her mother went to her room to pack the cosmetics, clothes, jewelry and hair pins in a basket. They would change at the palace, of course, and her mother would need time to warm up the soft wooden flute she played. Nearly bursting, Kaylee went to the door, and as soon as her mother joined her, she was pulling her along the streets, after a quick stop at one of her brother�s friend�s house to make sure her brother could stay there for the night. They would be out too late for him to be home alone. Almost an hour later, they arrived at the palace. Kaylee couldn�t help but stop as they crossed in front of it. The perfectly constructed fawn-colored sandstone walls that had been erected by many laborers, stood between golden spires and towers who reached and dared to challenge the sun for beauty. The refreshing tinkle of water echoed over gated courtyards where splashes of green foliage would catch any passerby�s eye. Ornately constructed gold inlayed doorways stood at the top of the grand stairs, challenging even the most courageous man. The soft moan of the breeze from the desert danced among the architecture, touching Kaylee's face with its dry air. She was led past all this grand beauty, to a passageway between two of the soaring walls, and inside a door to a cool dark hallway. Squinting as she tried to see after the bright daylight, she found herself led into a dressing room. All along one wall, were mirrors, with a waist high counter, and chairs set up in front of it. Alyah instructed her to sit in one of these while she quickly changed, and did her own makeup. Many other women were in the room, dressed in the fine silver silken robes that the musicians wore. After doing her hair into an intricate weave, and pinning so it wouldn�t fall out, she put on a few pieces of jewelry, and turned to Kaylee. �Your turn.� She turned the chair around, and pulled out her cosmetics bag.
