Talin soon arrived in the room, waving at some of the helpers and taking up a spot leaned against one of the walls while he waited. He knew the girls would be a while, seeing that they had to go through makeup and clothing first, but he didn't mind waiting and just watching around. They would get to the room eventually, and then he would have to try to memorize more names and faces, and for most of them, get to know them as well.
After only seconds of being seated, Nikoleta was shoved into a fairly large dressing room, wall lined with magnificent gowns. There wasn't any time to gawk at how over the top they all seemed as her arms were forced out from her sides to be measured.
"Beautifully long fingers she has," a woman to her left said. "Oh, but her hands have calluses on her fingertips and palms," another fretted. The girl was about to explain before being interrupted by talk of manicures to be done. Niko had never really used nail polish, but figured it smelled strong like the perfume in the air. She wanted to groan, but decided against it. This was for her own benefit. Supposedly…
Nikoleta's thoughts were interrupted as she was handed a bundle of cloth. It was yellow like her current dress, though a paler color with lace and fancy stitching.
"Um-" she started before being gestured to undress. Sighing, Niko quickly changed clothes. The fabric now rubbing against her skin felt like the finest silks that were sewn from clouds themselves. In other words, like nothing she could describe. It was amazing. But there was also her dress from home. Standing here in clothes that weren't her own felt a bit intimidating.
"Good, good. Now onto makeup!"
"Wait, what?"
Nikoleta bit the inside of her cheek only for someone to scold her from doing so. She didn't like how heavy the makeup made her face feel. It matched her skin tone to a T, but that didn't stop it from feeling weird. Her complexion was clear, so what was the need to slather cream over her cheeks? At least her hair had been tied nicely in a bun. It was something familiar in the chaotic mess. At least she did look pretty.
Zia was brought into a room, where they fretted over her clothing and her hair and her makeup. They wrestled her thick, dark hair into a rather elaborate braid, painting her face with makeup and worrying about the fact that her face was a little wind burned. She remained still, even though she had a rather large urge to fidget and squirm and push them away. She had never had anyone do this to her before.
Zaera finished being prepped. She looked at herself in the mirror in slight disgust. Before she was shooed out to meet the prince, Zaera shoed the ladies who had done her makeup and hair out ahead of her. The hair didn't look half bad being, but her make up was far too thick for her liking. She wasted no time wiping it off and starting to reapply different shades that required less and were much more flattering to her facial features. The dress she was wearing wasn't off too far off her typical model dresses, form-fitting with a flare. Btu the makeup, she couldn't get her head off of it.
The girls couldn't be much longer, at least Talin hoped they weren't. He saw one of the teams appear from the room and scurry off and he hoped it was a sign that at least some of the girls were close to done and he could meet them. No one had taken his offer on helping and standing around was getting boring, but there was nothing else to do besides straighten his suit and hope that his hair didn't look like he had just woken up. That would not give a good first impression.
It took several dresses and what seemed like an eternity of sitting still and getting her makeup (and hair, somehow) done before Luxa was allowed to leave. Running out of the room was a bit of a struggle, what with the dress and awkward shoes she was wearing, but she walked as quickly as possible, fidgeting with her bracelet. Luxa was feeling increasingly uncomfortable with this entire situation; her hat had been removed, leaving her head feeling bare and unprotected, she was wearing a ridiculous amount of makeup that she was fairly certain she was allergic to (her face was burning), and her hair was styled into overly elegant curls. Everything felt so… unnatural. Whatever. If this somehow made her more attractive, then it must be worth feeling uncomfortable for a while.
Zaera stepped out moments after she had shooed the maids away. She was confident and it showed through her posture and appearance. She was slightly shocked to find out only one other girl was out already. Of course, the prince was there. Wasting close to no time she stepped towards the prince and curtsied, "Greetings your highness."
Only having seconds to take in her new appearance, Nikoleta was forced into heels and sent into the next room with a curt shove. The extension of the heel made the girl's sense of gravity waver, the push almost sending her tumbling to kiss the shimmering tile. Wow… it really was sparkling.
Luckily enough, Niko kept her footing, finding balance again. Taking a few steps, she finally found a rhythm and could walk with poise. It was like standing on your toes for ballet. Except more painful. Blinking at her surroundings, Nikoleta realized the prince himself was standing off to the side. He looked as beautiful as the photos made him to be. Taking a deep breath, she carefully walked closer to where Talin and two other candidates stood. But not too close. She would wait her turn.
Cress managed to have survived this new form torture, and was ushered out of the room. She gave the faintest sigh of relief, not bothering to look at her reflection, and hurried out to see three other girls waiting next to the Prince. She gave a small, respectful nod, and smiled at him.
He snapped out of his daydream when he heard someone talk to him, smiling immediately and giving a slightly bow, "Greetings to you too, Miss Zaera, you look lovely." She was one of the only girls he recognised, mostly from her caste and work as a model. Talin hoped he wasn't too casual with his greeting, something that didn't happen often. Most of the time he was confident in his greetings from years of practice, but now he felt strangely nervous around the girls.
Zaera had a smile on as she was fine with the less than formal greeting. He was the prince after all, and in her eyes the two were acquaintances already. She took a step back, "Why thank you. I see other ladies are here to speak with you and I'll leave you to it. Perhaps we shall talk later?"
(I'm not picky on who comes and talks with him now)
"I'll take you up on that suggestion, miss Zarea." He answered, nodding and keeping his smile ever present as he turned to meet another girl standing nearby. Talin didn't know when his mother and father were going to make an appearance, or even if his father would stop in, but until his mother at least showed up to talk to the girls he would talk to them and introduce himself.
Zaera nodded and smiled stepping away from the prince to mingle with some of the other girls. She would watch and wait for a while before going to speak to one of them. just slightly curious to see if one would approach her instead.
Cress glanced at the two of them. Should she make the opening? Eh. She didn't feel very much like talking to him yet, but she probably should. She sighed. "So, you two know each other?" She asked the one girl who had spoken to the Prince, and the Prince. She placed her hands on her neck, letting them settle there.
Zaera hummed and turned to the girl who was talking to her. She smiled and nodded, "Oh yes. My father's a politician so I've been acquainted to the prince for some time now. Nothing close, however, so don't fret."
Cress shook her head. "I don't really care if you do know each other or not. I was just wondering." She grinned at the other girl. "It doesn't matter to me if you've already known him." She held out her hand. "Cress."
"Zaera," she took the others girls hand and shook it smiling. She gave the girl a nod, "And I'm glad it doesn't matter to you. Though I'm sure it matters to some people."
"Oh, probably." Cressida rolled her eyes. "Some girls are such jealous bitches."
"Honestly," Zaera nodded in agreement, "I've never really seen the appeal."
"Same here." Cressida grinned. She frowned down at the dresses. "I don't see why we have to wear these dumb things. They don't have pockets, do now I don't know what to do with my hands."
Zaera laughed slightly. She kept her hands held in front of her dress, "I'm quite accustomed to wearing dresses. Though I have found the few occasional ones with pockets."
Talin made his way away from the wall he had been leaning against, walking into the room and looking for any more of the girls to talk to in the time he had to meet with them. All of their dresses were unique and very pretty, but he couldn't find the courage to walk up to any of them and strike up a conversation. It wasn't his strong suit, he was much more accustomed to people coming and starting a conversation with him.
"Lucky! I want one," Cress said, shaking her head. "Seriously, how do you stand these things?"
"I'm a model," Zaera responded easily, "I basically live in dresses."
She shook her head in amazement. "Seriously, I'm super impressed. I only wear these when I absolutely can't help it." She grinned. "At least I don't have to wear heels, though."