Chapter 14
We rode toward the city center, Celeste keeping pace with Astorath, passing shop after shop until we arrived at a merchant who specialized in ladies’ textiles.
A faded “Rosalyn’s Emporium,” painted in gold lettering, topped the mercantile.
The seraph-filled street became more vacant upon our arrival.
Rather, Darragh’s arrival, but he seemed used to them skittering away at his presence.
We hitched the horses to a post, and Darragh opened the door to the dress shop.
A tinkling of bells announced our arrival, and a pretty seraph with copper red waves and bright green eyes rounded a giant spool of plum-colored silk to greet us.
She was petite, the first seraph I had seen that was of a stature more my own.
Most of the seraph women stood a good few inches above me, and the men towered.
“Welcome to my…” She lifted her eyes to Darragh, standing behind me. “Oh, the riffraff is here,” she blurted out.
I was about to come to his defense and ask that we patron a less snobby merchant, but a playful smile slowly worked across her face, and I looked at Darragh to see him grin.
“Ros,” he inclined his head to her. “Looking well.”
“Of course I do. You never come to see me anymore, so you wouldn’t know!” She put her hands on her waist and stepped up to him, her head tilted all the way back to scowl while he playfully rolled his eyes at her.
“I have been busy.” He formed a full smile, something I hadn’t seen before but was quite pleasant. She was not scared of him like most were, and I wondered if they were lovers.
Rosalyn rolled her eyes back at him and gave him a little hit to his stomach. “No excuse.” She turned to me. “And who is this lovely thing?”
Before I could open my mouth, Darragh gestured to me. “Ros, this is Lady Aurora.”
“Rory,” I interrupted.
“She needs some dresses, both formal and informal,” he said. “Maybe some she can wear while riding. And some boots with proper riding trousers and tunics.”
“The human!” Ros’ eyes went round, and she took my hand to lead me further into the shop. “Yes, I would be honored to dress you, my lady. Do you have a preference for fabrics, colors, or necklines?”
I sighed. “Please, call me Rory. I don’t think I can take much more of the formalities. Especially outside of the castle.”
Ros turned to Darragh, who awkwardly lingered by the door, eyeing the abundance of rhinestones and lace around him, and looking rather out of place.
Colorful silk bows and shimmering formal gloves painted a comical contrast against his all-black attire, adorned with various weapons.
A solid mass of muscle and steel amongst dainty refinement.
Rosalyn smiled widely. “Oh, I like her, Darragh. She’s not uppity like the rest of the nobles.”
He arched his eyebrow with a one-shoulder shrug. I still had a hard time reading him.
“And stop skulking in the doorway! You’ll drive away my customers,” she scolded.
Darragh glared at her but sat down in a lavender velvet chair in the far corner of the store. She took my arm in hers and walked me to an elevated platform in the center of the shop, like she hadn’t just chastised the most dangerous seraph in the kingdom. I was both bewildered and impressed.
Ros pulled a measuring tape from her neck and encircled it around various parts of my body. “Now, back to my previous question. Fabrics, colors, and necklines.”
“The only color I don’t like is pink. Everything else is fine, but I gravitate toward woodland or jeweled tones.”
“Of course, Rory. I have a few lovely dresses in those shades that would look stunning on you. You have a figure to die for, and I am excited to dress it.” Ros grabbed my waist from behind and peered over my shoulder into a mirror.
I had never thought my body was anything but fine.
Wider hips and fuller bust could make for awkward fits in dresses meant for ladies who were expected to remain as waif-like as possible.
Small and dainty was the expectation. After having Cora, my stomach lost some tone, creating a softer silhouette that was lined with stretch marks.
Not ideal in socialite circles. I wanted to say I had never been self-conscious about my body, but when I could never meet societal expectations, the voices telling me that I wasn’t good enough or attractive enough started to wear on me.
The seraph women, however, did not fit human expectations. I had seen all sizes and shapes, from athletic to thin to curvy and everything in between. That was one of the best things I had come to see in this place. Variety.
I blushed at her mention of my body. “Well, thank you. I grew it myself.”
You’re so awkward! Stop.
Ros laughed as she took my measurements and nonchalantly handed me dresses.
Blues, greens, browns, and even a deep purple dress were placed in my arms. “You’re funny too.
Ugh, you’re too good for those nobles to keep cooped up in that castle!
You should come and have a pint with me sometime.
I can show you the real joys of this city. ” She smiled with a wink.
Darragh’s baritone voice cut in, “Absolutely not. Ros, you forget yourself.”
She threw him a scathing look. “Oh, quiet over there. I am talking with my new friend.”
Darragh grumbled under his breath, “Can’t imagine why I don’t visit more often.”
Sarcasm now?
I tried so hard to conceal my smile, but the way she acted reminded me so much of Greta. No nonsense, witty, kind, and thoroughly entertaining. “If I can, I would love that,” I whispered to her.
By the end of an hour, I had ten new dresses, three tunics and riding pants, a pair of riding boots, evening gloves, and four pairs of slippers.
I never enjoyed buying these types of clothes before, but Rosalyn was kind, patient, attentive, and gave me exactly what I wanted instead of being told what I had to have.
Ros would make the necessary adjustments to the clothes based on my measurements and then send them all to the castle in a day or two.
“Thank you again. You do beautiful work, and I can’t wait to wear them.” I gushed.
She waved off the compliment. “Oh, please. The pleasure is mine, Rory.”
“I would like to bring Cora here if you dress younglings as well.”
“I don’t have any samples for younglings to try on, as noble younglings are far and few between,” she said easily. “But I can certainly whip up a few dresses for your little one. Bring her by.”
Right. The lack of aristocratic younglings. The realization made me cringe.
“I hope to soon.”
Darragh moved like lightning to the door while trying to dodge anything frilly or laced. Before we could step out, Rosalyn cornered Darragh and silently handed him a slip of paper. They made eye contact, let it linger for a moment, and then stepped away from each other.
Rosalyn put her hands on her waist. “Always a pleasure seeing you, you grumpy goat. Next time you come back, bring Rory. She makes your visits more tolerable.”
Darragh let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. “See you, Ros.”
Stepping onto the cobblestone street once again, the smell of bread and sweets permeated the air.
“Can we stop by a bakery? I want to grab a sweet or two for Cora.”
He inclined his head and led me down the street to an outdoor merchant selling all manner of delicious-smelling baked goods.
Pastries, breads, hand pies, and sugary candies lined the shelves.
A man and woman worked in tandem, yelling about their delicious delicacies, and a breeze fanned the smells toward the seraphs walking by.
I spotted a few daemonite younglings in dirty and tattered clothes on the opposite side of the cobblestone street, eyeing the baked goods.
The merchant waved her hand, and the breeze stopped upon our approach, making me wonder if she was using an enchant to entice patrons to come to their stand.
“What’ll it be?” The male merchant asked, and his gaze wandered behind me to where Darragh stood. His eyes briefly widened before he returned his attention to me.
“Hi. My daughter loves cinnamon pastries. Do you have anything like that?” I kept my voice light and airy.
“Uh…yes…of course, my lady.” He kept looking up at the wall of intimidation lingering behind me and then back to my smiling face. He finally turned and showed me a tray of cinnamon scones and a rack of apple and cinnamon hand pies.
“Can I have two of the scones, two of the pies, a honey cake, and five of the cream pastries? Box up the honey cake and the pastries separately if you can. Can you put it on the tab of the crown?”
“Not a problem. Right away, my lady.” He continued to eye Darragh behind me.
The merchant made quick work of my order, and I had the three boxes in hand within a minute.
“Thank you!” I turned toward Darragh and walked straight past him, crossing the street to the younglings on the other side.
Darragh blinked, his eyebrows pulled together. “My lady? What are you…”
I approached the oldest child, who couldn’t be more than seven or eight, and handed her the box of cream pastries. “These are for you to share. Enjoy!” The younglings stared at me for a moment and then practically ripped open the box, each grabbing a pastry and shoveling it into their mouths.
I giggled as I pivoted, and Darragh had ceased all movement.
“What?” I shrugged.
He walked to me, the younglings running off as he approached. “I…You likely made those younglings’ whole month.”
“Oh, don’t worry. You get something, too.” I held out a box tied with white and green baker’s twine from my stack. He slowly took it from my hands and blinked twice. His hesitation lingered, like what I was offering was a trick.
“I hope you like honey cake. You seem like a honey cake kind of guy,” I plastered on a playful grin. Darragh looked down at the box and then back at me. His left eyebrow hiked up. I shrugged. “Everyone likes sweets. Thought you might too. If you don’t want it, it’s alright.”
I reached for the box, and he quickly pulled it close to him. “Uh…thank you. My lady.”
A simple gesture could go a long way. I didn’t expect friendship with him, but everyone was deserving of consideration. Including him.
“Rory,” I said once again. Maybe I will get him to stop being so formal at some point. Today was not that day.