Washed, dried, and wrapped tightly in a robe, I opened the doors of the bathing room and found Amelie patiently waiting for me in the hallway. She guided me down another short hallway to an ordinary looking brown door with an ornate frame that looked like mahogany and gold waves. 

On the other side of the door was the largest walk-in closet I’d ever seen. Rows of pants, shirts, and jackets were lined up against one wall, and an equal number of rows on the opposite wall were dedicated to dresses and other women's finery. 

And along the far wall were a series of curtains that looked like they led to private dressing rooms. At the center of the room, there was a circular platform, brightly lit and surrounded by mirrors. 

Amelie gestured to a set of open curtains on the back wall. “Your clothes are in there, my Lord. I will await you here to assist if you have trouble with anything.”

I nodded and obediently entered the dressing room. Hung upon the wall, I found the suit she'd chosen for me earlier; a deep emerald colored jacket and pants, accompanied by a high collared violet shirt. The suit had a light velvety feel to it and the shirt was a soft cotton with no buttons. 

I pulled the shirt over my head and discovered that it clung to my form nicely without feeling too tight, and the high neck was soft, not stifling. I put on the pants and jacket and was pleased to discover that all of it fit perfectly. The jacket had an usual looking asymmetrical design, with one side of the fabric draped across my chest and a single button held it in place near my waist.

When I looked in the mirror, which was something I usually avoided, I was shocked by the reflection that looked back at me. Despite my overgrown hair, I truly looked the part of a beautiful young noble. 

The green of the dark emerald suit, accented by subtle violet embroidery, highlighted the green of my eyes perfectly. The violet shirt was a gentle contrast to the paleness of my skin. The First Prince’s maid Amelie was indeed quite adept at choosing clothes.

For the first time in my life, I felt like I truly looked like the son of a Duke. My face, for once free of bruises, reminded me of the mother from my memories. My heart ached when I thought about her. I missed her so much.

Knowing that I looked more like her than my father gave me a small measure of comfort. I wished I had her eyes as well, instead of his. Those green eyes were a constant reminder of who I was, and a large part of the reason I avoided mirrors. 

Fighting off the wave of melancholy that crashed over me, I re-opened the curtains and walked back out. Amelie made quite a fuss about how much better I looked before adding a matching violet and green embroidered handkerchief to the pocket of the jacket, balancing the unbalanced suit quite nicely. 

She also provided me with a set of new shoes. They were simple in style compared to the suit and were surprisingly comfortable, despite having small platforms attached to the heels. With that, it seemed that I now had Amelie’s seal of approval, and we continued through the Palace to meet the First Prince. 

Wherever we were going, it was a completely different route from the one I had taken with the Second Prince the day prior. I saw new color schemes, different staircases and alcoves, and a large open common area that I was certain I hadn't passed through before. 

As we navigated through some more populated areas, I felt a stark difference from the day before. The vast majority of the servants didn’t bother to notice our passing and I no longer felt like everyone’s eyes were on me. I suppose it helped that I was no longer dirty, bedraggled, or in chains. I also wasn’t being accompanied by a member of the Royal Family this time. We bypassed the central area of the Palace where the banquet preparations were underway, and I followed Amelie across an overpass to an isolated wing.

We'd been walking for over half of a moment by then. I wondered, Just how large is this place?

“It takes approximately one and a half movements to walk from one corner of the Golden Palace to the other due to the complicated layout of the hallways,” Amelie answered my unspoken thoughts. “But where we are going is not much further from here.”

True to her words, after leading me down a few more corridors, we stopped in front of a set of white doors in a location as remote as the Sun Room. There were no adornments or framework to mark them; they were just a set of plain white doors with shiny gold handles. 

Amelie reached up and knocked twice, then three times, then once, and then we waited for a response from the other side.