Skin care…
When I got into the room, I took the dress and carefully placed it close to my bed. I got ready for bed, but as I went about my nighttime routine, I couldn’t help but wonder where Lucas planned on taking me and what the outing was actually going to be about. The dress he gifted me was red, but I wasn’t quite able to see the style and what it really looked like. Getting into bed, I quickly turned off the lights so that I could go to sleep as soon as possible. We were not going out so early that I would have to wake up around 5:00 a. m. or something, but the excitement was enough to make me eager to go to bed early.
The next morning, I woke up from a terrible nightmare that instantly got me out of bed. The room was cool, but I was sweating all over. The fear was apparent, and although I didn’t really believe much in superstitions, checking to see that it was already 6:00 a. m. bothered me a lot because there is a saying that morning dreams always come to pass.
I quickly got on my knees and started praying to the moon goddess to help reverse the terrible dream from coming to pass. At this point, I didn’t really care about my belief in sayings like this being true; all I knew was that I was completely terrified of what I saw and would never want it to come to pass. I had already been through so much already, and this was not something I wanted for my life, not now or ever.
After praying for a couple of minutes, I got up and then rubbed my hands on my face to help clean up the sweat that had built up there. My nightgown was already soaking with sweat, so I decided to go have my bath whether it was still early or not. I was about to enter the bathroom when I remembered something I had planned on doing this morning during my bath time. The other day, I was just going on my own when I happened to overhear Veronica calling out a list of ingredients for her skincare to Amara.
“And yes, I’ll also be needing some honey, turmeric, fresh rose water, and some coconut oil as well.”
“Hmm, those sound really nice, my princess. How do you even use them? I must say, your skin is absolutely gorgeous, and I cannot help but ask how you do it.” Veronica smiled cheekily and then responded.
“Well, after washing my face with the special face soap that was crafted for me in Persia, I apply a turmeric and honey face mask. I’ll leave it on for about 10 minutes before washing it off. After that, I’ll apply the rose water and then this moisturizer. That’s all.” I looked carefully at the product she was holding up and mentally took note of all the steps she mentioned.
“Oh, what about the coconut oil, my lady?”
“Oh, that? I do not apply coconut oil to my face. It is for my body, of course. I definitely do not want to have those disgusting pimples, and putting coconut oil on your face would make you get them, so that is one item I would never put on my face.”
“Oh.”
“Yes, after having my bath, I apply the coconut oil to my skin, and that is what leaves me so moisturized and glowy all through the day.”
“Wow.”
“Yes, anyway, I hope you have written that down.”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Good.” As soon as I was done quietly listening in on their conversation, I slowly started making my way forward. Since I had gotten all the information I needed to hear, I proceeded to where I was originally going. From the looks of things, Amara seemed to be quite close to Veronica, so much that they seemed to be having such a smooth conversation even though the princess-to-maid boundary was obviously still there.
Coming back to reality, I decided to quickly get the items so I could use them on myself as well. Obviously, I wanted to look very nice and glowy for the first time I would be going out, and with such a pretty dress at that. I left the room and made my way downstairs towards the kitchen. No one was there just yet, and it made me happy to know that I could easily take out all the ingredients I needed in peace without any interruption or questions being asked.
“Alright, so it is honey, turmeric, and what else again?” I said to myself, trying to remember everything she had said the other day. One by one, I took out all the ingredients as they came to mind, and in no time, I was done gathering everything except the rose water, which I obviously couldn’t find in the kitchen. I quickly made my way towards the stairs, hiding all the ingredients under my nightgown. As I alighted the stairs, madam Mortica walked past me, and as soon as she noticed the way I was moving, she gave me a look of suspicion as I rushed to my room. I knew she was definitely going to come right behind me, so I instantly shut the door and locked it from the inside as soon as I got in.
More than anything, I wouldn’t want her to barge in in the middle of my little skincare activity, so I chose to lock the door for the sake of my peace.
“Might not be the complete package, but at least it is something,” I said to myself as I grabbed the ingredients and went straight into the bathroom to get started. I proceeded to wash my face with the usual bar soap that I always used, and now it was time for the face mask. Although Veronica had mentioned that it was turmeric and honey she used, she didn’t specify the quantities, which made me confused.
I took a bowl and poured whatever came to mind, trying to see if the proportion ratio was good. After pouring an amount I felt would be good enough, I mixed them together. I applied the paste to my face and then waited for a while, brushing my teeth in the meantime.
I didn’t have a phone to check the time, but I occasionally went into my room to check the wall clock until ten minutes were up. I proceeded to wash the mask off, but soon realized that the turmeric had started staining everywhere. I looked in the mirror after rinsing it off, only to find a yellowish stain on my face.
“Oh no, what the heck is this?” I exclaimed, frantically rubbing my face with more water. It seemed like the more I rubbed, the more the stain spread, making me extremely worried. After trying for a couple of minutes to no avail, I decided to wash it off with my bar soap, which largely worked, making me feel extremely relieved. For a second, I had actually thought the stain was going to be there forever, and as I turned to face the turmeric powder, I couldn’t help but frown as I developed an instant dislike for the spice.
As soon as I was done, I proceeded to have my bath since that was the only thing left to do. Even though I didn’t plan on spending much time in the bath, I ended up taking quite some time before finally leaving, completely satisfied with how clean my body was.
I got out of the shower, took a clean towel, and wrapped it around my body before applying my usual body moisturizer, which was raw shea butter. It was cold-pressed and always hard in texture, so it didn’t give me the shine that I wanted like Veronica’s. It was deeply moisturizing, but I also desired to have that shiny glow on my skin. Taking the coconut oil from where I had placed it, I poured a moderate amount into my left palm before rubbing both palms together and smothering the oil on my skin. To my surprise, the oil actually did very well in giving me an instant glow, and I couldn’t help but celebrate the amazing feat. I rubbed it all over my body, and after I was satisfied with the results, I quickly grabbed an empty bottle and poured some of it for myself. The oil was definitely going to be my new go-to, and there was no going back at this point.
After finishing up, I went into the room and grabbed one of my usual gowns to wear in the meantime. Looking at the wall clock, the time was currently 8:16 a. m., and Lucas had mentioned that we would be leaving by 10:00 a. m., so there was still enough time. If I were to put on the dress, it would not only draw attention to me, but I could also risk spilling something or getting it ruined before the outing.
I wrapped my hair in a messy bun to get it out of the way before making my way downstairs to the kitchen. I had snuck in the ingredients I had taken before inside my dress, but this time, I tried not to look suspicious since people were already in the kitchen. Going down the stairs wasn’t much of an issue since no one was around, but the moment I stepped foot downstairs, I was instantly greeted by the nosy madam Mortica.
“Going somewhere?” she asked, coming from only the goddess knows where and startling me.
“Oh my goodness, you startled me!” I responded, trying to mask the clinking sound of the jars that had hit one another. Luckily, she didn’t hear the sound, so I played along very calmly.
“What were you doing the other time that you had to move so quietly?” she questioned, and I rolled my eyes at her. While the others were busy leaving the palace to find their soulmates, she was too busy poking her nose in everyone’s business.
“What are you talking about, madam? I came down to get a drink of water, but I had to rush to the toilet. My stomach was already gurgling badly, so I had to rush to my room.”
“Hmmm.”
“Yes! In fact, I’m going back to the kitchen now to get something to help with my tummy,” I said, not waiting for her to respond before leaving as soon as possible. As soon as I got to the kitchen, I found it extremely relieving that there were barely five people inside. This way, it would be much easier for me to return the ingredients I had taken without getting caught. As soon as I was finally able to finish, I smiled happily, knowing fully well that I wouldn’t have to do this again, at least until the coconut oil I poured for myself was exhausted. I made my way out of the kitchen, and as I made my way back towards the stairs, I caught sight of Lucas and Simon engaged in a conversation. Flashes from my dream came back to me, making my mood instantly drop on the spot.
“What if it does happen?” I said to myself, as the frown on my face deepened the more I thought about it.
Ignoring them where they stood, I quickly made my way upstairs towards my room. As soon as I got in, I immediately shut the door to avoid them calling me back for any reason. I sat on the bed, and my mood was still very sour at this point. Looking over to the bag containing the dress Lucas had gifted me the previous night, I quickly rushed over to check the exact contents of the bag since I hadn’t had the chance to do so before.
Taking the dress out first, I marveled at the beautiful patterns on it, as the precious stones shined brightly from top to bottom. It was a flared dress that was neither too long nor too short for me. As I stood up to examine it further on my body, Madam Mortica’s voice came from outside, and of course, I had to hide the bag away and suspend what I was doing until later.