You Are Beautiful

[Renate Winterflame]

Winter 30, 513 The Bizarre The fabric was soft beneath her hands, like cool water in a summer pond. It shined a little, not enough to be gaudy but just enough to give it an air of elegance. Renate had seen it before, when it hung from wealthy, selfish ladies who always insisted that their corsets were not tight enough; she always wondered why they focused so much on the hard bone and reeds instead of the beautiful silks that framed it. She hesitated when she first touched it, having spoiled its perfect sheen when her fingers pressed little dimples into it. But then she saw how they caught the light and gave the folded garment a unique glow. Realizing that it was not entirely ruined, she ran her palm over its surface to smooth it again. There was a candid smile on her face, perhaps too wide. She only felt it when her hand retreated from the fabric. It faltered, but not soon enough that the merchant who owned it did not see. "Pretty, innit?" He said. Renate could only nod, momentarily stunned. She gathered her senses soon enough, and then her thoughts. "But I could not buy it." "No?" The man had a kind face. It went round when he smiled, despite the strange emptiness in his dark eyes. He picked it up by the shoulders and it unravelled between them, glinting in the light. Her Vantha eyes betrayed her delight, despite her efforts at stoicism. Ren was no stranger to a hard sell. She bit her lip as the merchant went on, "You could at least try it on." She made a show of hesitance, but he did not have to ask twice. Her worn black boots looked almost absurd beneath the cool indigo silk, which poured loosely from her shoulders into a formless yet flattering fit. She twirled in it, her unwashed hair like a heap of dirty moss on a slick river rock. Her eyes shone bright with purple happiness. "Beautiful," the merchant said, and she stopped mid-twirl. In her heart she knew he meant little by the word, but it still struck a tender chord in the back of her mind. She had been beautiful all her life, a pretty decoration for a wealthy house. She didn't like to be beautiful. "I really can't afford it," she said quickly, grabbing the pile of her own clothes and making for a curtain. "Oh, I'm sure we can arrange something. Are you sure you don't—here." A whiff of desperation clouded his tone. He waved to another girl near the stall, who seemed to be about Ren's age and demeanor. "Tell the girl she looks beautiful," he requested of the woman Renate did not know. She stopped, if only because it seemed a little strange that he would call out one potential customer for the sake of another. She met the other woman's eye, curious as to her response. "Tell her it's perfect. We all know it is."

[Resuna]

Resuna had only been to Alvadas' Bizaar once before. She had not ventured too far through the many stalls, for the sheer size and strangeness of it had overwhelmed her. A few trinkets here and there had been examined and carefully put back, and a book had been flipped through, but that was about as much as the young Kelvic could take before she felt like she had to leave.

The place had intrigued her though, so she had decided to return a few days later. However the nature of the city of Alvadas still confused her greatly, and with its ever changing roads she had not been able to find the place again till today.

She breathed a small sigh of relief as she stepped into the building. It seemed bigger than she remembered, and the same feeling of strangeness threatened to consume her again. She sternly reminded herself that she had been fine last time; nothing had happened to her.

Resuna let herself wander wherever her feet took her. She passed a stall selling what appeared to be food, though none of it was recognisable to her. Another stall was selling all sorts of trinkets, and she paused to inspect a particularly shiny one before moving on. Eventually she found herself at a stall selling beautiful clothing.

The various colours and fabrics were numerous, most of them more fancy and beautiful than anything she had ever seen, let alone worn before. A forest green item caught her eye, and she reached out to gently stroke the fabric. It felt shiny and soft, sort of what she had heard silk was supposed to be like. The way the colour changed in the light was mesmerising.

She was interrupted from her trance by the stall owner. Resuna glanced over at the woman he was gesturing to. She was very pretty, and the dress she was wearing shimmered slightly in a beautiful colour that she did not know the name of. Resuna tilted her head to the side a little.
"It is a very pretty dress.." She nodded at the other woman. "It does look pretty. On you I mean." It was the truth, for Resuna didn't really know how to tell a lie.

[Renate Winterflame]

Renate paused for a moment, stunned, and then remembered to thank the stranger with a gracious smile. But the merchant seemed to count her as a loss already, for even before she ducked behind the curtain he was nodding vigorously at the other woman and her choice. "And that is very pretty too, doncha think?" He babbled on. "Green is a very nice color, especially for your complexion..." In the muted privacy of the changing space, Renate mourned the loss of the fabric which she truly could not afford to own. She savored its softness as it slipped softly over her head and fell into an iridescent puddle at her feet. Then she pulled her own clothes on, rough and faded as they were. Quickly now, she picked up the dress that was not hers and struggled to fold it in the same way it had been before, without any wrinkle or blemish. Eyes wavering with a disappointed turquoise color, she emerged with it draped over one arm. The merchant man had his back to her. She entertained the idea of running with it, but she was not the kind of person to know the logistics of such a left. She placed it unceremoniously on the side of his table and tried to escape his notice. In her place, the merchant's focus was on the other girl. Renate could not, in good conscience, leave the person who had distracted him to suffer the same fate, so she skirted to Resuna's side and took her suddenly by the hand. "We were only looking," she explained, squeezing the other girl's fingers in a suggestion that she play along. "I am so sorry to mislead you, but we really need to be going. Thank you for your time." Without another word she attempted to pull the woman she did not know down the street. She would not insist if she were resisted, instead looking back with a wide grin and happy purple eyes with the hope that she would follow. When they were only a few stalls away, she stopped to lean in close and whisper, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take you if you didn't want to. I don't know if you were going to buy, but he seemed so overbearing and you didn't really seem--well." Realizing that she was talking too much, she stepped back and offered her hand. "Sorry," she said again. She was one of those people. "I'm Renate. I'm sure a proper introduction is in order, after all that."