Ivy and the Dresses

A simple story about a girl and some dresses

Once apon a time, there was a peasant girl name Ivy. She had no parents, but she worked for the tailor. He was a very mean and strict man, and he made her work very long hours sewing clothing for the town. The Tailor has a beautiful daughter names Jetta, who always ruined Ivy's work to make her seem like an idiot and failiure. The Tailor would punish Ivy by making her work more and eat no food, pleasing Jetta.

One day, news spread throughout the town that Prince Raziel was looking for a bride between the ages of 14 to 19 and was going to every town and village in his land to find the right girl. Now, law has stated that only people in the same class may marry each other, the one exception being if someone from the royal family either approves or they themselves wish to marry. The Tailor's shop was quickly overrun with fathers buying new dresses for their daughters, forcing Ivy to work ever harder without help. Jetta saw her dresses and knew that they were beautiful, so she took them all and loosened the stitching on them all, making them huge on the girls that wore them. The fathers were displeased with the Tailor, who was royally angry with Ivy for failing. After lecturing her, beating her, and locking her in her room with the dresses to be fixed and more to be made.

After three days of constant sewing, she finished them all with even more skill than the first time. The Tailor was impressed by this, but Jetta was not. After much begging, the Tailor had locked up Ivy once more in order for her to make Jetta her dress. This dress was elaborate, that fit only for a princess, and the Tailor had only given Ivy one day to sew it.

Somehow, she had done it. By dawn the next day, the dress was complete, the most beautiful item of clothing ever to be seen in the Tailor's shop. But, this was bittersweet, for Ivy had spent so long on making Jetta her dress (along with repairing the others), that she had left no time to make her own. Jetta smiled at this, for this was her plan all along. You see, Jetta realized that Ivy was more beautiful than her, but knew that Ivy never made any dresses for herself.

Ivy frantically looked through her small chest of dresses, and pulled out a very basic green dress, one that she had made but was deemed un sellable due to the dark green stains on the front (due to Jetta pouring ink on it). Trumpet fare sounded, summoning all the girls to the town square.

Ivy walked behind Jetta, holding the small train up as to prevent dirt hiting it. The other girls and fathers who saw the dress became worried, for they believed Prince Raziel would pick Jetta due to her dress.

Ivy looked down at the path as she walked, knowing she would be stuck in with the Tailor for the rest of her life. She was a servant girl, and no one in her small town was considered to be that low of class. She was destined to be forever alone.

Soon, all the girls of right age (and some who weren't) were lined up, ready for judgement. Dirt was clean from their faces, their hair brushed, and looking only as clean as they ever would on their wedding day. Trumpet Fare sounded once more, and Prince Raziel stepped forward on his black horse. He slowly walked past each girl, asked them their name, age, what the family occupation was, and their favorite color. He walked past each girl, asking the same question, but never seemed pleased with any answer he recieved. He finally reached Jetta. He looked her over and asked her the questions. She replyed with her name, that she was 18, her father's job, and that her favorite color was pink. He nodded his head, and would of kept on going, had he not seen Ivy, who was out of line in order to hold Jetta's dress.

He climbed of of his horse, walked past Jetta, and looked at Ivy. He told her to look at him, for she was still looking down at the ground. She looked at him, shocked to see it was him. He asked her the questions. Stuttering, she informed him of her name, that she was 17, she had no parents but she served the Tailor, and that her favorite color was ice blue, which happened to be the eye color of Raziel. He smiled softly at this, taking it as a compliment but knowing it was coincedence. He held her hand out to her, asking if she wished to go on a horseback ride. She looked at Jetta, who shook her head no.

Ivy nodded her head yes, and her and Raziel rode off to his castle, where they eventually fell in love and lived happily ever after.