⚔️Serberia

Throughout Alessia’s life, there had been quite a few events: sad, exciting, threatening, but never before had she been so nervous as before the beauty contest. “I should have thought twice before getting involved in this. Now, some… Paula von Tüche des Mondes will follow me, all made up, covered in gold and silk, with skin like ivory, and next to her, I’ll be in what is practically work clothes, thank the Artery, at least I managed to style my hair decently – hello, here comes a country bumpkin.” A minute later, she was thinking the opposite: that all the locals were dressed up and made up, but under the makeup, some had noses like potatoes, and others had crooked bites. In Illia, inbreeding must be common, and therefore, all sorts of deformities are also common. Now, they will come out, with no skin, so to speak, and no face – oh, Balr’s jargon! Alessia tried to get rid of it, but it was all in vain – but they will all be covered in makeup and jewelry from head to toe, and the jury will see through it all. Alessia looked in the mirror – her face was horizontally symmetrical, with a correct oval, her cheekbones were not too prominent, but noticeable, as befits an aristocrat… What could be against her if some cross-eyed, hunchbacked girl with a protruding lip, but noble in the hundredth generation, appears – nothing, even if they cast her entirely in gold. She seemed to have already imagined all possible scenarios, but Alessia was completely unprepared for what she had to see right before going on stage. The first one, not only wore a collar, forgetting her blouse at home, but also dressed in tight clothes with some idiotic straps, although layers of fat hang from her where the clothes don’t tighten her flabby body. Then – familiar faces. Kalentia is apparently hoping for her figure – although she looks more like a thoroughbred mare than a lady – all muscular in the right places, well-fed, she will probably not be shy about work and will produce many healthy offspring. However, many men, beasts by nature, are attracted to this, and her hopes are quite justified, but what on earth is that cow, Gulveig, hoping for? Probably, she is counting on the help of the Artery. Then, the third contestant “just came out of the forest, wearing only an underskirt, with the mimicry of a psychiatric hospital patient; the seventh contestant, a picture of “a board in black wrapping paper”; the tenth – an attempt to show a bust better than Kalentia’s, only the contestant is fatter than Gulveig… And what about the audience, the jury? Is that Anders who will be laughing later? Alessia barely managed to maintain a calm and serious expression on her face. Is she really in Illia? All sorts of riffraff are allowed to attend the event, half of the contestants are dressed-up milkmaids. All the nervousness disappeared as if by magic. If she loses, it will only be funny, but definitely not sad or humiliating.