19 I Don't Need the Prince! 16

The next morning, Avina was sitting in her room waiting for the servant to come and tell her the carriage was prepared. She went through the myriad of events these last couple of days and called in a servant.

Walking in, the servant bowed before greeting Ariel, "Miss, you have summoned me?"

The servant was one of Ariel's most trusted attendants, Mary. Although Avina never called upon her, she knew only Mary could do this task properly. Waving for Mary to come closer, she pulled her in and whispered into her ear. "I need you to do something for me. Don't let anyone find out."

Watching Mary solemnly nod and then leaving, Avina relaxed. She could be at ease playing all day now. Shortly after, another maid came in and told her the carriage was ready.

Walking to the door, she saw Hector waiting for her. At the sight of her walking forward, Hector walked towards her smiling brightly. Laughing with a large grin on his face, he handed her a letter. Puzzled, she took it.

"Heard you were going out today; stay safe," Hector patted her head walking back in. "And be careful." His last words were a simple whisper passing her ears, but Avina's already high walls become even higher. Hector would never say something like this without reason.

Riding in the carriage, Avina relaxed once more and chatted with 5025. For the whole time, she never got the chance to go out. The pampering treatment in the Devera House was second to none, but it was not as fun as playing outside with friends.

The closer the carriage got to the Town Square, the louder the bustling noises and laughter of children rang. Curious, Avina lifted the edge of the curtain and peeked outside.

Outside she saw stands with odd trinkets shining in the light. Nearby children would stare in awe and wonder before reaching out to touch them. Stopping them, the sellers would lightly pat their hands shooing them away before they could touch more. Laughing, the children would run away to another stand and the seller could only smile helplessly.

Everywhere she looked, she saw happy faces and laughter. People stood against walls and ate fruits and snacks, and children wandered around holding hands. Various scents meshed together wafting into her nose; fruits, roasted meat, sweets, all you can ever eat. Different from her world yet similar, she felt at home in the bustle.

The closer they got, the more she realized that the laughter and smiles lessened. Slowly, magnificent stores filled her visions instead of stalls and stands. Twice the height of the stands she saw, she peered through the transparent glass to look at the dresses displayed. Nobles were spotted walking casually to each store with attendants in tow carrying mountains of bags and boxes.

Stopping, the carriage justled before the door was opened. The coachman reached out his hand, and Avina stepped down. Looking at her surroundings, it felt as if it was a different place compared to all the hawkers she saw earlier. Here, it was dignified and formal with small smiles instead of big toothy ones. Laughter covered with fans instead of childish screams. Attendants in tow instead of friends holding hands.

"Lady Ariel, you're here!" Jane was waiting near the fountain searching left and right for the Devera carriage. As soon as she spotted it, she ran over shouting out grabbing her attention. She did not notice the looks of scorn that was cast her way.

Upon hearing Jane's voice, Avina looked over spotting a lady in a simple dress running over. Compared to the heavy puffy dresses other ladies were wearing, hers was lighter flowing in the wind. Avina herself was also wearing a light flowing dress but it had more form than Jane's. Her gaze still on the surroundings, Avina noticed the looks of the people around them. Their blatant disgust molded their face and then they talked to their acquaintances. Compared to Jane's lively smile, she felt uncomfortable for Jane.

Small droplets of sweat dripped from her forehead, but Jane continued to smile with her eyes bent into creases. "Good morning, Lady Ariel."

Pulling out a handkerchief, Ariel patted at the sweat. "Good morning, Lady Jane." Her soft voice along with her patting made Jane blush in shame. Once again, she showed an unsightly appearance.

"Then where would you like to go first? There's a boutique right there with the latest trending clothes," pointing to the shop behind her, she held Ariel's hand guiding her in. As the boutique of one of the most famous designers, there were a lot of nobles who shopped there. It had set off many of the current trends so far such as feathered hats and fans. Ariel let Jane hold her hands and the two went inside.

Inside, there were a couple of nobles browsing through the mannequins. Each outfit was carefully tailored fitting the mannequins properly and had matching accessories at the base of it. In the middle was a magnificent display of the yearly wedding dress. Popular for their unique clothing, the store had another trait that lured in customers - their wedding dresses.

Each dress was crafted with the finest material possible and there was only one of each in the whole world. No wedding dress would appear similar at a glance nor would there be a reuse of previous designs or materials.

This year's wedding dress was made of Sky Silk. Sky Silk was an expensive commodity only made in the north. There were meticulous methods for sewing Sky Silk since it was fragile like ice. But the folds and waves you could achieve from Sky Silk were incomparable.

The wedding dress stood high white in comparison to the colors around it. It was tight in the bodice but flowed outwards like a ball gown. Looking closely, the top part of the dress was folded to look like flowers before flowing down to the cinched waist folding into waves of scallops. The skirt of the dress was left unfolded but staring intently, there was a faint appearance of roses underneath the layers.

A nearby attendant noticed her particular interest in the dress came forward and introduced the dress. "This is one of our most expensive dresses. It is made from the rare Sky Silk..."

Blah blah blah blah blah. Waiting for the attendant to finish talking, she stared around her. She noticed Jane walking around admiring the magnificent dresses. Eyes of scorn followed her everywhere but it seemed she did not know. Every time she stepped forward to admire a dress, harsh whispers would intensify before lowering. If Jane was even 1 meter within the space of another, they would avoid her like the plague. Still, she did not seem to notice.

"...And there are rare snow frost roses embedded in the inside of the skirt."

Once he was done talking, Avina immediately ran away from him. Walking over to Jane, she pulled her outside and ran.

The attendant looked stunned, but his boss asked him to attend to another lady, and he quickly forgot.

'He talks a lot for just a dress!' Feeling the exhilaration in her blood, Avina wanted to laugh at loud but held it in as a lady.

Before she knew it, Avina had pulled Jane and ran all the way to the "commoner's market".