Sienna ended her livestream abruptly. This seemed like one of those things that could be considered a big deal. "Kroton," she turned to him with eyes wide, "Is it true? The beast queen invited me for tea?"
Kroton nodded, wiping some sweat from his forehead. "I am as amazed as you are. You have been married to Lord Elias and only been to the beast palace once in your life. Even then, you never met the Queen Serenya. I wonder what prompted this?"
Sienna fanned herself with her hand. "Maybe she is a fan of SiennaFit."
Kroton blinked. He thought of the beast queen's perfect shape which was ideal for many beast women. He thought of her strength that was rumored to be unmatched among lion beast women and somewhere high among beast women of other species. All these facts made him doubt Sienna's assumption. But he did not want to dampen her spirit so he nodded. "It could be."
Sienna cleared her throat. "The queen is a lion beast woman, right?"
Kroton nodded.
"Is she nice?" Sienna asked.
Kroton shrugged. "Everyone says she is nice, but I once saw a video of her taking down a giant mammoth on her own in the rain forest. Let's just say I would not like to be caught between her teeth."
Sienna shuddered. She imagined her weak human neck between the rows of sharp, big lion teeth. It made her terrified. "I might have to bring my pan." she muttered.
Kroton pulled her hand, "It's in an hour, you need to get ready."
The entire house was already on tenterhooks. The servants were tripping and trembling as if they were the ones that had been invited.
Her mother-in-law, Lady Cadelaria, was pacing the foyer like a general preparing for war. "Sienna, you are not ready!" She shouted. "What are you doing? It's not as if you have beast ears, a tail or claws to brush."
"I do have three rolls of stomach fat to wash." Sienna replied with a chuckle.
Lady Cadelaria gave her a sharp warning to tone down the smart remarks. Liman walked over and swooped Sienna into her arms, carrying her off to the bedroom. Three servants pawed at her, pushing her into the bathroom and gave her a bath. All the while, turning deaf ears on her protests for privacy.
She could hear Lady Cadelaria's voice through the wall. "She cannot wear that. The queen will think we cannot afford to dress her."
Cyra sniffed and said, "Mother, the queen already knows what Sienna looks like. What she needs is a light dress that flatters her body, not the same dresses that slender noble beast women wear. We should be more worried about her fainting in the presence of Queen Serenya. One look at those teeth and--poof!--down Sienna goes."
Sienna was helped out of the bathroom. Her bedroom was littered with dresses all over the floor. They seemed to fit like a mismatched carpet. "I'm not worried about fainting, I am more worried about looking like a stuffed dumpling in front of the woman. Everyone knows that when it comes to important events or people, you only get one chance to make an impression."
"Which is why we have called in the best man for the job." Lady Cadelaria clapped her hands. "She is decent, so bring him in."
Sienna blinked. "Bring who in?"
"The most famous hairdresser in the city. He is the go to for all high ranked bear and tiger beast women. He will do a great job with you." Cyra declared.
Sienna was not sure whether to be flattered or insulted, but before she could decide, the door slid open and in swept Maestro Fidel, hairdresser extraordinaire. His cape billowed dramatically, though there was no wind. He carried scissors that gleamed like starlight.
He was an elephant beast man!!
Sienna would not have known if not for his ears and size of his belly. For a second, she wondered if he had been chosen to style her just because they had similar physiques.
"My canvas!" he cried dramatically, pointing at Sienna, "Sit. Sit, non beast woman. Today, your hair will shine brighter than the beast king's mane."
Sienna sat. She had no choice. Not with Lady Cadelaria eyeing the scissors as if she would grab a hold of them at any moment.
Forty minutes passed. The single hour she had to get ready had already passed. By now, her hair was twisted, curled, pinned and lacquered until it resembled two fox ears!
Cyra gasped. "She almost looks like one of us."
Sienna squinted at the mirror. "He turned my hair into something between a chandelier and two fox ears!"
"Exactly," Maestro Fidel said proudly. "What could be more glorious?"
Sienna looked back and smiled, "How about a simple ponytail? Like the tail of a horse."
She got no replies or smiles.
Instead, she was ushered to the dressing room. Tailors scurried in with bolts of fabric shimmering like silver champagne. The fussed, they measured, the argued. Finally, they created a gown in five minutes that hugged Sienna's curves without suffocating them, flowing in a way that suggested elegance rather than panic.
But the beauty could not take away from her irritation from wearing a corset for the first time in her life.
"I can't breathe." She whispered.
"You will breathe after meeting the queen." Her mother-in-law replied. "The corset won't kill you."
"Elias will." Cyra pitched in.
Lady Cadelaria smirked her daughter.
"Aww!" Cyra cried out. "I am just saying that he will kill her because she is late." She gave Sienna a thumbs up. "But at least you don't look like a dumpling. You look more like a curvy pancake."
"That doesn't make me feel better." Sienna replied as she was shoved into a chair again and light make-up was applied to her face.
During that process, Lady Cadelaria did not forget to give Sienna the lecture. She paced back and forth before Sienna like a drill sergeant.
"Do not slurp the tea like you slurp your oat meal. Do not request for milk. Do not mention your diets and do not compare the Queen's mane to a rug, in case it makes an appearance. Do not ask if she eats zebras. Do not---"
Sienna raised her hand. "I am hearing a lot of do not's. Can I get a 'do'"?