Chapter 6: The Dragonkin Servants
THE next morning, I was on my way to Patricia’s bedroom when I spotted a Dragonkin standing guard outside the door. It wasn’t Ray; evidently he had yet to turn up.
Personally, after last night, I was grateful not to have to see him first thing in the morning. Sorry, Ray, but you don’t get to dictate how long I stay here! I’m a grown woman, and I can make my own decisions!
I walked into Patricia’s bedroom to find three Dragonkin servants in the process of washing her face.
“Good morning, Your Highness. Did you sleep well?”
“Oh, good morning, Mayna! Goodness, are you ever a sight for sore eyes. Why, last night I didn’t get any sleep at all!”
“Today you’ll be meeting with the King and Queen, correct? Perhaps we’d better go with a more subdued style.”
“Yes, please! People are already saying I’m some spoiled gold-digger, and I don’t want to make it worse!”
As I approached her, one of the Dragonkin servants stepped forward. She seemed to be the leader—tall and aloof, with hard, angular features and long, straight, dark brown hair tied up in a simple ponytail. Not a single strand was out of place.
“You’re Mayna, right? Princess Patricia’s hairstylist?”
“Yes, that’s me,” I said with a smile, hoping to soften her unfriendly gaze. Unfortunately, she didn’t bat a lash.
“I’m Rebecca. Her Majesty the Queen personally assigned me to look after the Princess, and together with my associates Sari and Mona here, we will be doing just that.”
“Sounds great. But her hair—”
“We’ll be handling that, too. While none of us are hairstylists by trade, we’re all competent enough to get by. Besides, you know nothing of our culture. If the Princess hopes to fit in among the nobility, then she needs guidance from someone who’s familiar with Vaxwald dress code.”
“Vaxwald dress code?” Patricia repeated, looking less than enthusiastic at the prospect.
Rebecca indicated the dress currently hanging on a dress form. “As you can see, our dresses are much the same as Myulan’s, except that we don’t use petticoats to add unnecessary bulk to the skirt.”
Indeed, this Vaxwald dress was much more formfitting by comparison, but it still carried the same air of elegance, laden with frills and lace. Likewise, the servants’ uniforms were quite similar to those seen back home.
“Unnecessary? That ‘bulk’ makes my waist look nice and trim!”
“Be that as it may, at this time of year, all those layers will make you absolutely miserable.”
“I suppose you’re right... I’m told Vaxwald summers are much hotter than ours. Frankly, I’m surprised how different the weather is between our two countries. We’re not even that far apart!”
Evidently Patricia had come around on the petticoat issue—rather quickly, too—so I decided to cut in before the conversation could continue.
“Your hairstyles are rather different as well. In Myulan it’s expected for a lady to keep her hair tied up tight in a bun or chignon, but here in Vaxwald I notice it’s common to let the hair hang down, either in a simple high ponytail or a half-up style.”
In Myulan, a ponytail would be considered the first step to a bun, but in Vaxwald, a ponytail was the entire hairstyle. Not only that, but just yesterday I spotted a woman (presumably of nobility) wearing her hair down fully, with only a wide-brimmed hat to cover it. I could scarcely believe it!
“I’m guessing most people in Vaxwald are born with perfectly straight hair, so they don’t need to tie it back for it to look neat and tidy. In Myulan, however, a lot of people have thick, unruly curls that look rather undignified when let down. This is why we developed a tradition of wearing it all up. Take your hair, for example; I imagine it would have trouble holding any volume or curl.”
My gaze turned to the two other servants standing behind her. According to Rebecca, the girl on her left with the sharp, upturned eyes was named Sari, and the gentle, unassuming girl on the right was Mona.
“Sari and Mona, correct? Sari, I must say, you have the most exquisite platinum blonde hair. I see you’re also rocking a ponytail, but with an outward curl at the end there. As for you, Mona, you’ve chosen an unpretentious half-up style for those chestnut locks. Length is about the same as mine... Oh, but you’ve got a slight inward curl at the tips. Would any of you mind if I played with it? It just looks so very silky and—”
“Mayna, that’s quite enough! Quit fawning over their Dragonkin hair!” Patricia scolded me.
“I’m not fawning... You make me sound like some sort of eccentric...”
“When it comes to hair, you are an eccentric,” she replied flatly, and I got the sense that the three Dragonkin servants were slightly uncomfortable.
“My point is, the three of us will be handling Princess Patricia’s hair, and that’s final,” Rebecca continued, once she’d recovered from the awkward moment. “We have no need of your complicated Myulan hairstyles here in Vaxwald, and as such, your services will not be required. As I understand it, Her Highness only brought you here because she would have felt insecure otherwise, so by all means, have a seat and entertain her. That is your job now.”
I frowned and looked at Patricia. Her expression was weary, possibly because Rebecca was so intimidating, or perhaps she simply didn’t appreciate a servant calling all the shots right from day one. Regardless, she seemed willing to let the Dragonkin have her way...so I decided I would stand behind them and observe their handiwork.
But as Rebecca started to brush out Patricia’s hair—
“Ow! Be more gentle!”
“I was trying to be gentle... I sincerely apologize, Your Highness.” Knitting her shapely brows, Rebecca resumed brushing slower. Evidently Dragonkin women placed just as much importance in their hair as any human would, because she seemed rather nervous to be handling it. Clearly she was well-meaning at heart.
Unfortunately, those good intentions didn’t translate to good results.
“That hurts! Mayna, take over! She’s going to tear my hair out at this rate!”
“I sincerely apologize,” Rebecca repeated as she took a step back, brush in hand. Even she knew better than to argue the point any further. She fixed me with a bitter glare...but personally, I was more interested in the brush she was holding.
“That’s a boar bristle brush, isn’t it? Mind if I touch it?”
“It’s just a normal brush. There’s nothing wrong with it,” she growled, but she relinquished it to me nonetheless. I touched the bristles, and sure enough, I was right. They were unmistakably boar bristles, hard and firm.
“A boar bristle brush is generally the right choice for someone with fine, straight hair, like you. But because Princess Patricia’s hair is so thick and curly, a brush with minimal spacing between the bristles, like this one, is liable to get caught in her hair. And because her hair is so delicate, this can cause breakage.”
As I spoke, I opened my satchel containing all my hair care tools. Then I reached in and pulled out a few different combs.
“For everyday detangling, you’ll want to use a wide-tooth comb, preferably something large and square, like this. I use the wide-tooth comb to get all the big tangles out first, then I follow up with a fine-tooth comb to smooth it out. Now, you’ll want to start from the bottom and work your way up, because if you start from the top, the teeth will snag. Here, I’ll show you.”
“O-Oh... Okay...”
“As a side note, there are many different types of combs—ivory, tortoiseshell, bone, metal, and so on. As a hobby, I like to collect one of each type, but for Her Highness specifically, I prefer to use this wooden one. It’s really high-quality, see? Isn’t that nice? I bought it from a traveling merchant. He told me it’s made from boxwood. Now, boxwood is very delicate and fine-grained, which makes it quite sturdy, or so I’m told. Most wooden combs are quick to splinter, but not this one. It’s very easy to use.”
“I see...”
“Unfortunately, I only have the one, but I’m happy to loan it to you anytime. You’ll want to coat it in flower oil or hair cream just prior to using it. Oil will add shine to the hair, but be careful not to use too much or it’ll look greasy. That said, the Princess generally has very dry hair, so you can safely get away with a bit more than usual. Depending on the weather, hairstyle, and how cooperative her hair has decided to be on a given day, you may want to use mousse instead. Mousse is more lightweight than oil, you see. Oh, and another thing. There are a few different kinds of flower oil—”
But right when I was getting into the swing of my explanation, the Princess cut me short once more.
“You’re freaking her out, Mayna. Stop talking and finish my hair, would you?”
“Sorry...”
As I meekly resumed brushing Patricia’s hair, Rebecca glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. “She’s an odd one, isn’t she?”