I tuck right on in, but abruptly stop when the tiny old woman says, “Yes, yes, eat up. You have a big, busy day ahead of you. So many appointments before the big day.”
Confused face emoji, “What big day?” I ask with my mouth full.
Chapter Fifteen
I never get a completely clear answer on what this big day is all about, but Agda isn’t lying about all the appointments I’m in for.
Just as Agda’s clearing my breakfast dishes, a young she-wolf rushes into the huge breakfast nook. She’s short and willowy and rocking the princess Leia side buns and unibrow look that’s trending hard right now.
“I’m so sorry I’m late for my first day,” she tells me with thickly-accented but technically perfect English. “It will never happen again!”
I notice she has the same set of GoGen titanium comm rings that I used to have when she ells her fingers to make a tablet size screen in front of her.
“I’ve never been to the kingdom castle before,” she explains as she scrolls and swipes one index finger over her tablet screen. “I thought I would be able to ride my bike across the bridge connecting the two islands. Agda did not tell me there is a wall surrounding the back of the estate and that the only way to get here is to take a boat from the village, then hike up. But do not worry, I will make sure everyone else scheduled to come here today knows.”
“Thanks,” I answer, feeling bad for Agda. Technically, it’s not her fault that she didn’t give her daughter all the deets. I’m pretty sure she’s been hypnotized out of being able to say anything about her dragon boss. But another question occurs to me before I can come to her defense. “Who are you?”
“Sorry, sorry, I was so flustered by my late arrival, I forgot to introduce myself. I am Thalia, your new assistant. Agda is my grandmother.” She cuts her eyes to the little old lady who’s just put the last of my breakfast dishes onto a wooden tray. “The grandmother who should have told you I was coming today and who should have told me how to get here, since this castle doesn’t show up on the island’s biomap.”
“You young people get so angry about every little thing that is not on those head computers of yours,” Agda answers. “It is alright. You are here now.”
“Totally all right,” I assure Thalia before she can argue anymore with her grandmother. “And what exactly are these appointments for again?”
The answer to that question is clothes. Lots and lots of clothes. I spend most of the morning talking to human representatives for different designer brands.
Outfit after outfit is projected onto an exact proportion hologram of me dressed in nanite shapewear. I’m shown ensembles for about every scenario that has ever been scenarioed: business meetings, workouts, clubbing, dinner dates, tennis lessons, castle loungewear—which by the way looks like everybody else’s Ladies Who Lunch.
I’m confused but game, and before I know it, I’ve picked out a closet full of clothes for anything a queen could possibly do. And it’s a relief of sorts.
True, I’d bought a super trendy nanite wardrobe before I was crowned Queen of North Dakota, but I’d been wearing mostly sweats around the house since my return to the kingdom house. Those clothes just didn’t feel like me anymore three months later when I finally got a chance to wear them. Even with nanite reshaping, all the outfits I’d chosen before my time with Damianos seemed too silly and impractical for a new queen and mom.
I didn’t realize how awesome it would feel to pick out a new wardrobe that fits both my new title and post-pregnancy body.
And that’s not all. After we’re finished with the basic wardrobe, a new rep shows up, even sleeker than all the others. She smoothly introduces herself as Zoe before announcing that she’s here on behalf of a couture conglomerate. If you’re wondering what that is, don’t worry, I asked.
It’s basically a bunch of super exclusive brands for the ultra-rich, only a few of which I’d actually heard of. And those I only knew because my cousin Sarah was really into Academy Award holo experiences growing up.
“All of our designers are very excited for the chance to outfit you for your special day,” she tells me before launching into the design backstory of the first dress, a floor-length blue gown with a sweetheart neckline and a silk organza skirt. I’d never wear it myself. Pretty dove details like organza definitely aren’t my thing. But damn would it look amazing on somebody else. Like a million bucks, which I suspect might be near how much it cost.
“And this day is special because why exactly?” I lean over to ask Thalia as I eye the expensive gown.