I snapped my fingers, and everything stopped. The chatter disappeared. The candles on the mantle stopped flickering. In the place of my clock was an hourglass, which immediately started draining sand from the top.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't know why I didn't do this more often, but then again, running on borrowed time was dangerous. I knew I would have to pay back my debt eventually, but not today. At least I hoped not.

I pushed the thought out of my head and looked back to my closet. This time, something caught my eye.

It was a pretty dress, and it perfectly matched tonight's theme. It was fabricated from a beautiful red velvet, deep and rich in color. It resembled a rose, full in bloom. I ran my fingers over the fabric. It even felt like a rose's petals, the material soft and silky. I slipped it on, and it fit tightly over my chest and waist, all the way down to my knees. From there it fanned out in a beautiful red train that swished around on the cold wooden floor when I walked. The sleeves were long and tightly fitted, coming down to the bottom of my palm where they fanned out a bit. The necklines was a bit low, but still fairly modest compared to what I knew some of the other ladies would be wearing. The top of the dress was open , leaving my shoulders bare. As beautiful as it was, it was a bit plain. It needed something... Extra. All the ladies downstairs would be dressed in the most extraordinary dresses, of course. I looked through my closet again, and found exactly what I needed.