FALLEN ANGEL: MARRIED TO THE DEMON KING
Chapter 39: THE DESIGNERS (3)

Chapter 39: THE DESIGNERS (3)

Arella finally glanced up, her eyes locking onto Melasva’s bowed form. Her scalp was red and looked painfully raw. "Your designs are very creative. I especially like these ones at the back." She flipped to another dress, which had long sleeves but bare shoulders. A necklace rested on the neck of the image. "They are quite bold too," she noted that the dress had a bare back. Since she had wings, it would be fine, but if a demon with no wings wore such a dress, they would be exposing a lot of skin.

"I would like to test your potential," Arella flipped back to the dress that blended blue and green.

"Test my potential, Your Highness?"

"Yes. Of course, I also need to be sure that I can trust you to make some of my clothing, what with all the opinions you have." She pointed to the dress, "This one. You have three days to present it to me. Fail to do so and I will assume that your sketches are nothing more than fantasies on paper." Arella closed the portfolio and handed it to Melasva’s assistant.

The room stilled as Melasva bowed, "I won’t disappoint you, your highness."

Arella’s smile was very slight. "Wonderful. Now, you are dismissed."

Melasva bowed once more before scurrying out of the room, her assistant following behind her.

The door to the room closed softly behind them with a soft thud. The silence that followed was much lighter, as Arella picked up the other leather-bound portfolio and placed it on her lap. Echo shifted slightly, his eyes peering at Arella before he settled back into his comfortable position. Arella ran her fingers along the spine of the portfolio, appreciating the craftsmanship of the leather binding before delving into the contents.

Lorthiel took one step forward.

The first design greeted Arella with a gown that seemed to float off of the page. The gown was pure white, with layers that looked like soft cotton clouds. The neckline was high, settling over the neck, adorned with intricate lace detailing. The sleeves extended to the wrists, settling tightly around them.

Where Melasva’s dresses were dark and daring, Lorthiel’s dresses were soft and ethereal. "This is... different." Arella murmured.

Arella flipped through the pages, in awe at the designs. If her home had not banned new and exciting designs, she imagined that the designs of angels would be similar to what Lorthiel had designed. Lorithel was silent as Arella continued to flip through the pages. The gowns were all soft, with light colors of blue, pink, yellow, gold, and white.

One of the designs caught her attention. The dress was pure white, with gold embellishments that climbed up the skirt of the dress. Two bows settled at each waist, matching the gold of the embellishments. The neckline settled just below her collarbone, and the sleeves were long, stopping at her wrist. Arella was in love. "This one is captivating." She murmured, her voice holding a note of genuine admiration.

Lorthiel inclined her head, "Thank you for the kind words, your highness."

Arella looked up at Lorthiel and finally realized that the demon was wearing one of her own designs. The dress was a little different from the designs in the book, but she could clearly see the inspiration. With just a few tweaks, the designs in the book would match Lorthiel’s demeanor perfectly.

She then moved to the last portfolio. The dresses designed by Azrathion had much fuller dresses with decent necklines. The first dress Arella looked at had a corset to accentuate the waist and bust, the corset being the centerpiece of the dress. The corset was laced with thin, golden threads that laced up at the front into a bow. The skirt flared dramatically from the hips, in layers of tulle and silk, cascading in an ombre of midnight blue and gold. The shoulders were bare and the back plunging down to just above the ass.

The next sketch was more provocative: a black gown with a leather corset with silver rivets along the seams. The skirt was still full but settled a few inches below the knees. The dress had a square neckline, and holding the dress up were thick straps.

"I have not seen such corseted dresses before."

"I took inspiration from your wedding dress, your highness. I plan to work on some built-in corsets in some later designs. This is what I managed to create since then."

"Quite unexpected that I would be enthralled by corsets." Arella finally turned to the last page of his thick portfolio. "I wore quite a number of them when I was younger and got sick of them."

Azrathion’s eyes drooped. His assistant had told him to act safe and not give the queen new designs, and now he believed that he should have listened.

"I would love to wear these designs if you brought them to life," Arella finally closed the portfolio and leaned back. Her expression was unreadable, but her words caused his head to pop up. His ears twitched up and down so slightly. "I give you both three days to bring me the white dress on page thirty-four of your portfolio," she pointed at Lorthiel, "and page two of your portfolio." She pointed at Azrathion, "From there, I will choose more designs. Do you have any male designs with you here today?"

The assistants scrambled to get the other portfolios that they had come with.

Having a better understanding of their work by this point, Arella chose a few for the king, some everyday wear for herself, and nightwear for the both of them. Her careful scrutiny of the designs made it clear that she sought the finest for herself and was not just picking out clothing just for the sake of it.

When she was done with her selections, she placed the portfolios down just as the assistants were finishing jotting down her orders. She looked up at the designers, "You have your orders. I need to confirm what you all can do and decide how to distribute the work amongst you." She handed the assistants the portfolios and sketchbooks and said, "Royal designers should be able to produce only the best; if you cannot, I do not see why you should work for the king."

Lorthiel and Azrathion glanced at each other before they both bowed, "We will not fail you." They said simultaneously.

Arella’s lips pulled up. "I love to hear that." Her lips dropped almost immediately. "You are dismissed."

The designers picked up their work, and filed out of the room as orderly as they could. The soft click of the closing door marked their departure, leaving Arella, Velmoria, and Echo in the room.

"Well, how’d I do?"

.

S/T:

Arella: Have you ever heard of the carrot and stick metaphor?

Velmoria: The what?

Arella: Go research it. You’ll understand

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