You helped the queen into her new gown. It had stripes of shiny green satin alternating with stripes of plush black velvet, and intricate black Myrish lace above the bodice. Myrish lace was costly, but it was necessary for a queen to look her best at all times.

“The wretched washerwomen have shrunk my gowns again!”

She scoffed and groaned, her jaw clenching and her grip on her full cup of wine growing so tight you worried the cup may shatter in her hand.

It had been several years since the last time she had donned it, and the queen found it uncomfortably tight about the middle.