There are multiple duplicities going on here. Look especially at what Asmodeus chose for her to wear.
In the morning, Natalya drew Aksinya a bath, and helped Aksinya into it. When Natalya returned to the main bedroom, she found Aksinya’s trunk with a note on it. Crisp Russian handwriting described one of the wonderful gowns she had fitted to Aksinya. Natalya searched through the trunk and pulled out the gown. It was a light parchment color with lace all around. The dress was both formal and yet wonderfully intimate. It was made of light silk and fine silk lace covered it.
Natalya retrieved Aksinya from the bath and dried her off. When Natalya dressed Aksinya in the gown, it fit her shape wonderfully. It was loose, but fit Aksinya tightly. It did not draw attention to Aksinya’s lack of bosom, but rather accentuated her slight and girlish figure. It made her slim hips look feminine and stylish. Natalya would have liked to see Aksinya wear it to a grand social affair. She knew it would show off her mistress’ best features, although it did make her appear younger than she was. As she settled the dress on Aksinya’s slim figure, Natalya fingered the crosses she had sewed in the fabric and wondered why Aksinya had made her put them there. At the last, Natalya placed a small square silk and lace cap on Aksinya’s head. She pinned the cap and then Aksinya’s hair and pulled her bangs into a part across her forehead.
Aksinya took a glance at herself in the mirror, something she rarely did and smiled. Natalya smiled behind her. Aksinya’s appearance was almost radiant.
He did it again. The demon chose a thin dress in the middle of winter. Look at the material and the color. It is out of place--out of season. Remember Aunt Brunhilda. Natalya fits Aksinya better into her clothing than Aunt Brunhilda's seamstress, but still... The dress is very elegant, but it makes her look like a girl and not a woman. This will play in the coming scene. Natalya applauds the choice because? I wrote it before, but I need to foreshadow this a little. Natalya obviously views Aksinya as someone to take care of. She sees her like a sister. She wants to dress her up, like a doll. Look at the attention to detail Natalya places on her mistress. Notice the care with the hair and the cap. It was such a wonderful change, Aksinya smiled. This is obviously the single most important thing to Natalya--to please Aksinya. The dress was chosen by the demon to make Aksinya appear younger and less mature--the reason, we will soon discover.
I also took the time to remind you of the crosses on the dresses. We still don't know if they will work. Obviously, Aksinya wishes to prevent the demon from removing her clothing as a torture to compel her to act. We also can guess that she hopes the crosses protect her and Natalya from the influence of the demon. We and she don't know if this will work at all.
Finally, the last picture before the transition is Natalya behind Aksinya at the mirror. I love this picture. We see Aksinya backed in every way by her lady-in-waiting both in image and reality.
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