"Elis," Somebody shook me. "Elis wake up." It was a gentle voice, soft, sweet, kind. Who possessed such a delicate and soothing voice?

Slowly stirring from my muted slumber, the first visible thing, a shadowy figure hunched over me. The light shone through the windows, each ray visible. The figure brushed away my hair with its hand, a gentle touch. I wiped my eyes and focused on the person.

"Mom?"

Suddenly, as if the light had finally stopped avoiding her, she smiled, face clear as day.

"Morning Elis," The light reflected beautifully off her golden brown hair. "You should hurry. Your brothers are waiting for you. They're really eager to open their gifts." Sitting on the edge of my bed, she waited patiently.

"What time is it?" I asked, my mind still half asleep.

"It's seven," she said. "Would you like me to help you get dressed?"

I pout and shook my head, "I'm old enough to do it by myself." Dangling my short, stubby, feet over the bed, I hopped out off and waddled to the dresser.

I picked out a shirt and some shorts.

"A dress sweetie," she said. "It's a holiday and your father would rather we be dressed well."

I frowned and returned the boyish clothing back to their original resting spots. Rummaging through the multiple dresses, I finally stopped on a shiny pink fabric with white frills. Mom got it for me last year, I haven't worn it much since then but it's my favorite color. Lifting it up and shaking it out in front of me, I stared down the beast. What a challenge this would be.

"Are you sure you can do it by yourself?" She asked, still sitting on my bed.

"Umu." With steadfast confidence, I began putting it on. Through the large bottom, I looked for the opening for my head. I did my best to hold onto the entire dress with both hands, but my fingers couldn't get a good grasp and it kept unraveling. Mom giggled. Blood rushed to my face and I hurried to put on the dress.

With weakened pride, I shoved my left arm through and attempted to push my head through as well. Using my right arm, I was somehow able to get most of my body inside, but there was no light, it was dark. With my left arm still raised, I flailed about. I fell backwards onto my back. Kicking and rolling around, I found it to be no use, I was stuck inside the death trap of clothes.

For a few seconds, I waited in silence, preparing to answer the upcoming question I knew my mother would ask. I'd answer her honestly with a yes and a please, like I do when I ask dad for help. But, the question I had anticipated, never came.

Soft, light, bouncing footsteps neared me. She placed a hand on my back, and a cool warmth spread. Raised to my feet, she let her hands fall on my head, and pulled the dress down. A second later, I could see light again. She brushed her thumb against my cheek and smiled her beautiful, loving, slight smile. The rays of the sun lingered on her face as she helped get my other arm through the dress.

Patting off what dirt there was on my dress, she stood up and held out her hand.

"Let's go Elis." she said sweetly.

Just like she did for me, with my tiny hands, I brushed off the imaginary dirt that was also on her dress that she had obtained from kneeling down to help me. She pat me on the head before crouching down this time, "Would you like me to carry you or can you walk by yourself?"

"Myself." I said determined.

Nodding once, she left through the door. I followed closely behind her. Still new to dresses, I could hardly keep up but something would not allow me to fall behind. I moved while my arms wriggled about, somehow keeping up with her.

When we reached the stairs and my heart dropped. So intimidating were the steps, I feared that even the thought of misstep would have me falling to doom. In my usual clothing, which were boyish, I had little fear of such small challenges. But today, with the dress, a lump held in my throat.

Cautioned by the horrible feeling, I pressed myself against the wall and held tightly onto the railing. Each step down that I took only got harder as my arms started getting tired. Eventually, my worst fear at the moment came true and I accidentally stepped on the dress, causing me to slip.

"Careful," caught by my mother, she set me back upright.

Once again, I waited for her question, "Would you like me to carry you?" to which I would begrudgingly and shamefully say yes. And, like before, it never came. Instead, she held out her hand. Palm facing the ceiling and flattened fingers, she allowed me to make the choice.

Flashing back and forth between my mother and the railing, I was lost on which path to take. If I took her hand, my brothers might laugh at me, but if I used the rail I might fall. For us nobles, the parents hardly have much participation in our upbringing, usually leaving it up to teachers and tutors. My friend, Iris, has an older sister who supports her; how lucky.

"It's okay to not be able to do everything alone Elis," My mother said, still holding out her hand. "I'll help you."

I blinked twice, "Okay." grasping onto her hand, together, we descended the stairwell side by side.

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A year later

"Elis. Wake up!" A shout came from my door. With two knocks and a twist, my father entered the room. "Elis, the Borlans are here. Hurry up and get dressed, they're waiting for you downstairs."

Groggily, I rubbed my eyes and asked, "What time is it?"

"Eight." He said with a harsh voice. "You should've been up ages ago. Find a dress and come downstairs, brush your hair while you're at it. It's a mess."

I frowned, "I don't like having long hair. I only have it this long because you told me to grow it out." I hopped out of bed and started combing my hair. A maid, who was standing behind my father, unfurled a blue dress.

He nodded as if this were the most obvious thing in the world. "Yes. That's because it'd make you seem like you'd be fit to be a caring wife in the future." he crossed his arms, tired of the pace. "Hilda, hurry up." he said.

The maid nodded and forced the dress over my head. She took my hair out from within the dress and brushed roughly.

"That's good enough." My father said after a while longer. "Let us go then. Hilda, go fetch some tea."

"Understood." she stood and left the room.

I followed behind my father as he quickly left the room. No matter how hard and fast I tried to go, he only continued to get further and further away. Soon enough, I could hear his loud, clunky, feet descend the stairs. I too, had to climb down those very steps.

Staring down at what could be my possible demise, I was hesitant on whether or not to go. My father looked disapprovingly at me and said, "Elis, come down now. They've been waiting for a while. We can't have another possible marriage ruined because you were late." he shook his head. "If only your mother were here."

There were faint voices downstairs.

Hearing his disappointed and frustrated voice, I slowly made my way down the stairs step by step. And, like a year prior, I fell, but no one was there to catch me this time. I tumbled down the steps, pain shot through my body so fast that I couldn't tell what was hurting. At the bottom, I was unsure if anything had broken.

I looked up at my father whose face held concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

I nodded.

The concern that was there, only for a moment, disappeared instantly.

"Good." he said. "Brush yourself off before joining me in the room with the guests." He glanced between me and the door to the guest room. Turning on his heel, he walked away, leaving me behind with no help.

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Hey guys! Sorry for the delayed chapter. Honestly, I would've liked to have gotten this out on Christmas day, or at least yesterday but I couldn't. For Christmas, I did things with family, and yesterday, I was just didn't feel like it. Well, I hope that you guys enjoyed the shorter chapter. Not as long as the first one but I believe this conveys the message I wanted it to about Elis.

Anyways, I'd like to take this time to ask another thing. What do you guys like about this series? Normally I'd post a poll or ask for criticism but, I don't really like polls as they're very uninformative for me and people sometimes just don't like or aren't good at giving criticism.

So, what I'd like to know is what do you guys like or dislike about this series. If possible, I'd like all kinds of feedback, and if it's negative, don't hurt me too much, though of course, I think that I can take it so don't hold back.

Something that I'd like to know particularly is how you guys feel when reading this. What's the atmosphere like? Is it too slow or too fast (Probably too slow)? Note, this chapter should feel a little slow as I wanted to focus more on how Elis felt without telling.

If I have time, I'd like to get the third chapter out tonight. You guys could also count this as a Christmas special or a New year's special.