The Dragon Queen and her mates.
Chapter 217: For the sake of looking beautiful

Chapter 217: For the sake of looking beautiful

Dedicating todays Chapter to 394everr.

Bree didn’t know what to say anymore, she turned her gaze away breaking the intensity of the glare that was locked on her. She didn’t want to look away but there was just something in those eyes that she couldn’t withstand the pressure in them, she didn’t understand what it was, maybe there was a good chance that she will never understand what was in those eyes ever, she has hardly come into contact with men who looked her in the eyes like that, even her father stared at her like she was a big wad of dollar bills, what was love? What was adoration? Bree has never known about it. What Yakov wanted from her, she will never understand.

Picking up the glass of freshly squeezed juice she threw everything in the back of her head, she sighed dreamily as she took a bite of the chocolate-covered doughnuts. " My hero."

Yakov smiled at her politely but he seemed pretty happy with the praise she has given him. " I like the idea of being your hero, your majesty."

And there it was the same intensity that she has been trying to ignore so hard.

Now she knew what was so different about him, it was the way he was looking at her.

She twisted her neck and looked at Yakov, he didn’t have to raise his head to catch her looking at him because he was already looking at her. And there it happened the silent conversation through their eyes, something that she didn’t understand, men has looked at her with passion, lust and even the thought of breaking her, they wanted to see what lay behind the persona of her strong woman and that was all there was when a man has looked at her but something about the conversation shared with Yakov had another note in it, something she couldn’t quite get or maybe she was too scared to catch onto that note that underlined the gaze with which he was looking at her.

Her spine trickled with sweat as she breathed harshly, she could almost hear the sound of her own heart beating. No man has looked at her like that, she was at most a special toy in their eyes, one who refused to break down and bend double in front of them. But Yakov was different, he looked at her without the same notion in his eyes that others had, it was as if he could see past what she showed in front of her, her insecurities and maybe from the appreciating note in his eyes, she couldn’t help but feel that he liked it all as well. That gaze made it look like he wanted a part of her and she breathed so hard that her lungs rattled.

And that was when she knew it, she has committed a major mistake, from the determined set of his jaw and the dominance that he was exuding, it seemed that Yakov no longer had any plans of straying clear of her path.

"Your majesty, you have to get ready for the ball," Bloom locked on the door and Bree released a shuddering breath as she broke the gaze once again, she was losing sight of what was important. She couldn’t fall for these men, they knew better than how to play this game than her but here she was allowing herself to be sucked into the vortex that they have created.

" I...I understand.." Bree said in a high-pitched voice. " Give me a moment," she then turned to look at Yakov as she asked, " Is there something that I should take care of at the ball?"

The Duke originally wanted to hold a ball at the end of the weekend but after what happened last night he must have moved the plan, Bree was no fool she could understand that there was a trap waiting for her in the ballroom, the Duke must have planned something and for once she was grateful to him at least this way she was free of looking at those passionate eyes that were gazing at her like they wanted to swallow her whole.

Her flustered expression seemed to have amused him as he looked at her and blinked his eyes before smiling softly. " There is no need for her majesty to worry about it, I have made sure that his plans get ruined thoroughly."

" Oh that’s great," she said sounding a lot more exasperated and she was indeed exasperated, why was she feeling so awkward? She placed the glass of juice on the table and then turned to walk away to her wardrobe trying to give herself and Yakov as much of a wide berth as possible. " I am thinking of wearing something more appropriate since we are going to execute our plans today, will that be all right?"

" Appropriate?" He asked eyeing her wardrobe that was filled with flimsy dresses that could hardly count as appropriate. " Like what your majesty?"

" Well, I am thinking of going with something dark, such that it won’t get dirty, blacks, steel or maybe greys. I won’t go with red since I have already worn it once," she was babbling and she knew it, she was trying hard to ignore the chances of something that might be there, why? The reason was simple, she did not believe that she was a woman who could be loved by a man and that was why she turned a blind eye to everything that was happening around her, this interest in Yakov scared her. She wasn’t worthy of love and if she was being honest, she wouldn’t even believe that she was worthy of something more than some occasional glances.

She heard him walk closer, when he came to stand next to her, his expression was a mixture of disapproval and thoughtfulness as he carefully looked through the entire clutter of dresses that the Duke and Blaise has sent her, he finally flicked a few dresses away and chose a simple golden dress that was silky smooth with pearls and diamonds attached before handing it to her. " I am not so incompetent that I would not be able to save your dress from getting dirty, your majesty."

" Oh," she let out a breath as she wasn’t aware that she has been holding it the second he came to stop next to her. " Thanks, I was in a hurry to choose something for me, so this was helpful."

He simply smiled and then bowed in front of her. " I will see you in the evening then your majesty."

Then he was gone and Bree let out a shuddering breath feeling as if she was alive once again.

After that she had no idea what happened, all she knew was that Bloom asked her to get ready to take a bath, the maids fluttered inside one after another and then they were pouring a bunch of scented oils and flower petals all over her body it was as if she was preparing for something grand but then one of the maids told her that compared to something like marriage or any other ceremony this much was far tamer. At least she didn’t have to wake up at the break of dawn and that was when Bree hoped that she didn’t find any more mates.

Once she finished bathing, a corset was tied around her waist tight enough to knock the air out of her lungs as she sucked in her stomach but the more she sucked it in the more her maids asked her to breathe in and by the time the corset was tucked and tied, Bree’s waist looked so tiny and thin that she would have left many idols behind.

The maids said that it was pretty but Bree called it madness, she didn’t like how making her look as thin as a thread made her look pretty, she was a woman with a uterus in her womb, and it was all right for her waist to look a bit chubby or flabby at the bottom but no, they made her skinnier than ever and she didn’t know how to tell them that it was toxic. These beauty standards that they were setting for women were simply toxic.

But she wasn’t in a position she could change the social norms at once, so she has done what she had to, she simply swallowed her words of complaints and let the maids do what they wanted.

After her waist it was the turn for her hair and Bree swore that she winced and cried as the maids tugged and twisted her hair, since they didn’t have any electronic curler, they used heated rods to curl her hair as she smelled the burning smell each time her hair was wrapped around the rod, Bree let out a curse as she closed her eyes and let out a shuddering sigh.

No heat-resistant spray, nothing at all.

Her hair was getting destroyed for the sake of looking beautiful.

However, her complaints vanished the second she looked in the mirror and gasped out loud before turning to look at the maids behind her. " Is that me?"