Alethea stopped. The hall was amazing! And very long. Corridors opened up in various directions. Pillars lined both sides, almost as far as the eye could see. At least it seemed a very long distance to the magnificent, gold-embossed doors at the end. She looked up until her neck ached. The ceiling was high and painted with beautiful murals. Gold trimmed everything.

“Are we really here,” Alethea asked. Her voice barely ruffled the quiet air.

Mary dumbly nodded. Her eyes gazing over the statues and pictures that lined the hall. 

Alethea took a step forward, and then another. They had to make it down the hall but what grandeur was overwhelming. She stopped to survey herself in one of the long mirrors. Turning this way and that, she almost but not quite twirled her dress. Suddenly, she stopped.

“Mary,” she called. 

Mary almost jumped. She wheeled around from a painting. 

Alethea frantically motioned for her to come over.

“What is it,” Mary asked with concern.

“I think I have a stain on my skirt,” Alethea said in an undertone. “I could never enter the ballroom with a stain!”

Mary looked down where Alethea was pointing. Sure enough, there on her skirt was a stain.

“We can try washing it out in the bathroom,” Mary suggested.

Alethea nodded. This was terrible. 

They quickly made their way to the bathroom. Alethea scrubbed at the dress. “It’s not working,” she cried, scrubbing as hard as she could.

“Let me try,” Mary said. She took a handful of soap and rubbed it into the dress and rinsed it up. She held it up for inspection. “Well,” Mary said thoughtfully, “it’s not perfect but it is an improvement. You can hardly tell the stain was there, it has blended into the rest of the dress.”

“I guess that will have to do,” Alethea said, straightening her shoulders. A settled look crossed her face.

They walked back out into the hall and started down it again. Mary looked around at the different pictures. Alethea was trying to see if her hand could cover the colored spot. It could almost if she only kept her …

Alethea’s eyes had glanced into a mirror to see if it really covered it and she stopped still and almost gasped.

“What is it,” Mary asked concerned.

Alethea pointed slowly toward the mirror. Mary walked over to see what she was pointing at. Worry crossed her face too. There on the side of the dress was a hole.

“That must have happened when we were washing it,” she said. 

Alethea’s brow furled. “What am I going to do?”

Mary pulled the fabric up. She could fix it, but it would be obvious and besides, she didn’t have thread with her. “I guess we’d better cover it,” she said slowly, pulling the scarf from around her neck. This she tied around Alethea’s waist and down to cover the hole.

A tear slid down Alethea’s cheek. Her pretty dress was ruined. All the hours she had spent ironing and getting pretty today were wasted. “This looks awful,” she exclaimed at last. “I’ll be the ugliest person here.”

“Is something the matter,” a deep gentle voice asked.

Both girls looked up surprised. They had not heard anyone else in the hall. Prince Elijah stood there. He took in the situation at a glance. 

“Ah,” he said, “A dress malfunction. Those are most inconvenient. Why just last week, I was getting out of the carriage and my coat caught on the door. It ripped a giant hole in it, just before I went into a meeting at school. Of course, there was no were to change and everyone thought it was most amusing. Oh well, at least someone got a laugh out of it.” He shrugged his shoulders.

Alethea was not sure she wanted to give someone a laugh but knew she would dressed as she was. She felt closer to crying than shrugging it off. And indeed, one or two tears had escaped down her cheek.

“Don’t tell anyone,” the prince said leaning closer, “But my father stocks a closet of dresses for this purpose. Come with me, and we will get you fixed up.”

Alethea and Mary exchanged glances. They followed him as he turned down one of the side corridors. The guards stepped aside and he opened a door leading into the private part of the palace. Sunlight played on the walls and the open windows let in the breeze, smells of the garden, and songs of the birds.

“Abigail,” Prince Elijah said, sticking his head into a white and pink room. “Can you spare a moment? A friend of mine had a slight accident with her dress and is in need of assistance.”

Princess Abigail arose instantly. “Of course,” she replied. A smile spread across her face. “I do hate it when my dress has issues. Let me see,” she inspected the dress, nodding now and looking Alethea over.

“The easiest and best plan is going to be a new dress,” she announced. “There simply isn’t time to mend this one before the ball starts. Now, if you will allow me, I would suggest this blue dress with the purple accents. It will fit you perfectly and is just the color for you.”

Alethea nodded. She would have put on a pink dress with orange stripes if Princess Abigail had suggested it. How could she possibly disagree? Besides, she was in too much shock to reply. 

Princess Abigail and Mary helped her change. The princess herself carefully arranged the flounces. Alethea still had not recovered by the time they found themselves walking back down the hall. She gasped in delight, as she looked in the mirror. She had never imagined anything so beautiful as this dress. 

“Oh,” she said, “This is too beautiful. I can’t possibly wear it! Someone will think I stole it or something. It is much too good for me! I will be afraid of spoiling it all evening.”

Princess Abigail laughed. “It is the perfect fit for you. No one will think anything of it. After all, it is a gift from the King and he will not mind if it gets spoiled, but I don’t think you will spoil it.”

And she didn’t. The evening was beautiful and whenever she saw that dress, it brought the loveliest smile to her face.