Chapter 26: Hands of the lowly maid
When Charlotte left, Anastasia closed the door and placed the little pot in her room against the door so that she would know if someone would enter. Alone now, she removed her dress, the same green dress that had turned maroon.
Placing the dress on the bed, Anastasia ran her hand over it.
A gasp escaped her lips when she noticed the dress turn into a plain white night dress, leaving her in shock.
"I should speak to Mary about this," Anastasia said to herself. This dress seemed to be able to transform, and it was changing according to what she wanted, which on some level, scared yet excited her.
Anastasia quickly grabbed the dress and put it on once again. She said, "Turn into a soft nightgown made of satin..."
She noticed the fabric beginning to change, and from cotton fabric, it turned to satin under her touch.
Removing the dress again, she looked at the fabric closely when her eyes caught sight of something written beneath the hem of the dress— Wash it after the fifth change of dress. Clean, fountain water only.
Anastasia wondered how this dress had come to be in this palace and how had it been left untouched and abandoned. Unless no one knew about it. She doubted that what Marianne had known about the dress was true. Hiding the magical dress between her other clothes, she said,
"Looks like I don't have to worry about what to wear tomorrow."
Anastasia then placed the burning lamp on the floor, along with a clean new parchment and charcoal pieces. Sitting on the floor of her room, she tried to recall Lady Sophia Blackthorn before she began to sketch with all her concentration. Hours passed, and the stress she had been carrying until that moment started to dissolve.
Even though tired, Anastasia stayed awake as she enjoyed what she was doing. She continued to sketch until the wake of dawn. When she finished sketching, she finally pulled herself back to sit straight, feeling her back ache.