Placeholder Dress to Impress

[Alija]

25th of Winter, 514
Alija approached the dress shop feeling strangely under dressed. The practical clothes she wore were covered in ash and soot, while the women who bustled in and out were adorned in only the richest materials of bright pinks or deep blues. She snuck in when no one was inside, glancing around.

Racks of soft coral pinks and sea greens lined the inside, the dresses long and beautiful. Alija walked up to one, touching it carefully to try not to break or damage it in any way. She felt that every second she touched it, the worse it would become, and dropped it without another second thought.

Normally, the blacksmith wouldn't have cared for such glorious luxuries, but it was time for her to pick out something nicer to wear, to look approachable and richer. She had decided that for the new year, she would be someone new, a rich young sociable woman. What better way to start it than with a new dress? And of course, starting early wouldn't hurt either.

She glanced around for a shop assistant, uncertain what to buy, what would suit her. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a wave of long black hair. "Excuse me," she called out softly, "Do you work here? I need help picking a dress."

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

Kamilla had been sitting quietly at her work station at the corner of the store, working away at yet another unremarkable task and hadn't noticed the young woman walk in, nor had she realised that she was the only employee in the store at the moment. All this and more could be attributed to her 'stay sane at work' plan which could be summarised into one important point... completely concentrate on the work at hand whenever possible in order to avoid any unnecessary interactions with coworkers.

Today's menial task involved neatly sewing the seams of several coats together, a simple enough task, even for someone of Kamilla's skill, except, that these particular coats were fur-lined in order to withstand the unusually low temperatures of the winter season. The fur added weight and density to the simple job and made it more of a hassle than anything else and on top of that, she couldn't seem to nail the straight stitch, continuously having to pull out the imperfect stitch and start again, which was extremely frustrating.

"Excuse me. Do you work here? I need help picking a dress."

Kamilla had been about to let out a loud howl of frustration when the soft voice caught her attention making her pop her head up curiously as she finally realised she was alone in the store with a customer. "Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you come in." she said with an apologetic smile as she got to her feet, not wanting to get in trouble because some snobby customer didn't like the lack of (false) adoration expressed by one of Yvette's employees.

Luckily for her, this woman wasn't one of the usual, self assumed, superior customers, or at least she didn't look like one. Kamilla was certain that the usuals would sooner die than be seen in anything but the most glamorous and trendy ensembles... concepts which were spoon fed to them by Yvette herself. It still amazed her how thoughtlessly the socialites of Zeltiva followed her boss' directions when it came to what to wear. Personally, Kamilla found Yvette's creations much too loud and flamboyant, just like Yvette herself, but they weren't all bad and she could certainly still appreciate the woman's skill.

The young woman that asked for her assistance was very different from theo woman usually seen in the store, her voice was soft and shy, her clothes covered in ash and soot and her face had the look of unrealised potential. All in all, she was a very unusual sight amongst the array of lavish clothing that lined the store's interior walls, seeming completely out of place. Actually, Kamilla was certain that had Yvette or Natalie been in the store they would have flat out asked the timid young woman if she was lost, but she was not them, she held no imagined sense of superiority, at least not until she found reason to.

Kamilla herself was dressed in black stockings and boots and her usual black dress, it's lace tail dancing behind her as she approached the customer, bright brown eyes curiously taking in her form as she tried her hand at dressing someone else. "Did you have anything particular in mind?" she asked politely before speaking again, her red painted lips assuming a friendly smile, "No offense, but you don't look like someone who wants the usual 'what everyone else is wearing' dresses. Perhaps you'd be more comfortable in one of Yvette's simpler, more elegant creations."

Kamilla hoped she wasn't crossing a line by being too direct about her opinions, though she had already pictured the ash covered woman in something simpler and was satisfied with the image, already moving over to the plainer, more graceful dresses, though in the end it was of course the customer's choice. "Any particular colour that you'd like?" she asked as she came to a stop in front of a variety of one toned dresses in different colours. "Of course, additional adjustments of your choosing are available if you feel there's something missing."

[Alija]

The woman smiled in apology, "Oh, sorry, I didn't hear you come in." She rose from her seat from where she had been working at some fur coats. It looked like she was having trouble, but Alija wouldn't be able to do anything to help, would she? After all, a worker here would be a better sewer than herself, who only knew a little.

The woman approached Alija, her dress' lace tail trailing behind her. She smiled what reminded Alija of the own smiles that she used to greet customers to the Armed Scholar, but with more makeup and greater poise. "Did you have anything particular in mind? No offense, but you don't look like someone who wants the usual 'what everyone else is wearing' dresses. Perhaps you'd be more comfortable in one of Yvette's simpler, more elegant creations."

She moved over to the dresses, already ready to pick out a simple yet elegant dress. Alija nodded in agreement, gasping at their beauty. She felt five years old again, everything being something beautiful and splendid. The worker asked her which colour she would prefer, adding that additional adjustments were possible.

"No. I mean, the dresses are all already beautiful. I don’t understand how anyone would like to change them," she blurted out in reply, wondering what colour would suit her straw-like hair and slightly tanned complexion. She had so little experience in those things. Before, she only chose what fitted her, not caring about the colour nor style, but it would look ridiculous to wear a dress that didn't suit her if it were to be a rich, expensive one like this. "What colour would you recommend?"

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

Kamilla couldn't help but smile at the girls reaction to the plainer, more elegant dresses, it made her glad to see a woman that didn't feel the need to bedazzle an already beautiful piece of work until it's former beauty was barely distinguishable beneath the 'enhancements'. The thoughts reached her face in the form of a bright smile which Kamilla offered the tan girl as a reward for her opinion. "It's nice to see that there are still some women that appreciate simple beauty. I'm Kamilla by the way." she said with another friendly smile as she tried to place the young woman's skin tone.

Her deep brown eyes moved between the woman's golden tone to the different coloured dresses beside her as Kamilla conjured up mental images of each dress against the woman's skin until she came to a conclusion. "Well, I'd say that you're an autumn... So I'd suggest a deep emerald green... as she spoke she made her way over to the respective dress, "... It will look great with your warm skin and hair, though... if you'd prefer a different colour just let me know" The customer was always right after all.

"You're welcome to try it on if you'd like... Forgive my curiosity, but may I ask what your occupation is?" she gestured to the changing 'room'(it was just a divider) as she spoke, taking the dress down from where it hung and turning to the woman before asking her the question Kamilla couldn't help it, she was intrigued by the woman's roughness, she wondered if she was even aware of her beauty, but aware or not, Kamilla quite liked her.

[Alija]

The worker smiled at Alija's reactions to the dresses, before she said, with another friendly smile, "It's nice to see that there are still some women that appreciate simple beauty. I'm Kamilla by the way."

"My name is Alija," the blacksmith replied, nodding her head in slight greeting. Kamilla took a few moments to look from Alija to the dresses, trying to select a suitable colour. "Well, I'd say that you're an autumn... So I'd suggest a deep emerald green... It will look great with your warm skin and hair, though... if you'd prefer a different colour just let me know," She took the dress which she had been talking about, gesturing towards the divider behind which the woman could try it on.

The dress was beautiful, and Alija couldn't help admire it as she had done with all the other dresses. She went with Kamilla's decision, hiding behind the divisor as she put it on. "Forgive my curiosity, but may I ask what your occupation is?" Kamilla asked, and Alija replied as she walked out wearing the dress a little uncomfortably.

"I work at the Armed Scholar. It's not too far from here, I think. I'm a blacksmith," Alija smiled shyly, glancing down at the new garment which she was wearing, "Oh! It's beautiful! You don't think it looks weird with the boots, do you?" She couldn't tell, and hoped it didn't. If there was anything Alija hated, it was new shoes.

[Kamilla]

Kamilla Circe Gordon

Kamilla waited patiently for the woman who'd introduced herself as Alija to try on the dress in order to see if her suggestion had been a good one, her imagination said that she would look beautiful in it but there was no way to be sure until she saw the final product. As she waited, Kamilla found herself absent-mindedly running her hand along one of the other dresses, feeling the soft material beneath her fingertips, the quality of Yvette's Dresses was undeniable.

When Alija told her that she was a blacksmith, she realised that it made sense, that was the reason that her clothes were covered in soot and ash, she was a hard working woman. Kamilla figured it must have been near impossible to stay completely clean and presentable all the time in that sort of profession, but she was glad that Alija wasn't willing to just accept that the dirty hard working blacksmith girl was all there was to her, she was still working to be an attractive woman when not at work.

Several moments later, the young woman, Alija, emerged wearing the emerald green dress and Kamilla's face immediately lit up with a bright smile, she looked every bit as beautiful as Kamilla had imagined she would. The blacksmith was almost unrecognisable, a completely different person standing before her. "Beautiful! That colour really makes your warm skin glow." she said as she took a few steps, circling Alija for the full effect.

Kamilla was glad that Alija seemed to like the dress too, it was nice to be able to do something other than running errands for the store and it was even better that she'd done a good job at it. When Alija asked about her boots, Kamilla's gaze dropped to examine the knee high leather footwear and she let out a short but sweet laugh, as she pointed the blacksmith woman at her own, very similar boots, "Not at all. I swear buy them." Kamilla had been wearing the knee high boots for a few years now and had grown quite fond of them, of course for her, they hid the giant burn scar that ran from the ankle to the knee of her left leg.

Suddenly, the silence of the store was shattered as Kamilla's coworker, Natalie strolled through the doors, her sugar coated voice filling the air, "I'm back. Ooh who's that? You look wonderful in that dress." Kamilla was forced to restrain a sigh at her colleagues return and simply offered Alija a small smile, "If that's all then Natalie the clerk will do the rest.". If it was indeed all, then Kamilla would offer a friendly "It was nice to meet you" and return to her workstation and frustrating sewing, if not, she would of course see how else she could help.

[Alija]

Kamilla smiled as soon as Alija had stepped out from behind the divider wearing the new dress. "Beautiful! That colour really makes your warm skin glow," she said while circling Alija, and Alija gave a little twirl, watching the material fly up slightly. It was so light and soft, albeit a little unnatural on the blacksmith. She smoothed it back done, glad that it fitted so well.

Her next question was replied with a friendly laugh as Kamilla dropped her gaze first to Alija's shoes then to her own boots, both knee high and extremely similar. "Not at all. I swear by them." Alija smiled gladly back, glad that her footwear wasn't inappropriate with the dress.

At that moment another worker came into the shop, complementing Alija's dress. Kamilla seemed to restrain a sigh, but Alija ignored it, smiling in gratitude. "If that's all then Natalie the clerk will do the rest," Kamilla offered with a small smile, before adding, "It was nice to meet you."

Alija smiled back, "It was wonderful to meet you too. Thank you so much for helping me pick this dress -it's simply devine. Thank you again!" She nodded in gratitude before walking over to to Natalie, old clothes in a bundle under her arm. "I would like to buy this dress."

"That would be 16 Gold Mizas please," the clerk smiled, "And may I repeat how wonderful you look in that dress?" Alija stopped mouth open at that comment, just about to try to haggle for a lower one. It wasn't the comment that changed her mind, but she had changed it. Shopping in a place like this was reserved to people who didn't hang onto every penny, who paid the price asked. Although a little reluctantly, she handed over the correct amount, thanked her again and strolled out the shop. Oh, it was a nice dress.

ledger :

1 velvet dress = 16GM
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/337558934544385940/

[Perplexity]

You have played well, but the game is at an end.

You have been bested. Beaten. Checkmate!

However, here is a consolation prize: a wealth of Experience and Lores! If you have any questions or concerns regarding this grade, please do not hesitate to send me a PM. I'll be more than happy to assist you!

 

Alija

XP

• Socialization | +2 EXP

LORES

• Kamilla: Yvette’s Dresses Attendant

MISCELLANEOUS

• -16 GM for Velvet Dress

 

Kamilla

XP

• Persuasion | +2 EXP
  Negotiation | +1 EXP
  Observation | +1 EXP

LORES

• Persuasion: Guiding A Customer To Complimentary Tastes
  Alija: Blacksmith

Until Our Next Match,
-Perplexity, DS of Zeltiva
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