Chapter 104

"I am so sore..." Isabelle complained as she rubbed her shoulders. Though, that didn't hide the elation on her face. She finished the skirt! And it came up as she had imagined it. She only had to cut the top and sew to the skirt, and cut and embroider the veil. And! Find a nice accessory to stitch the veil into.

She was thinking of a tiara or something like that. 

Either way, for that she thought walking around the market and shops was a good option to find that accessory. Maybe she could even buy things for herself!

"You should've used your time after eating to rest." Ethan admonished her. She tended to forget about taking care of herself when she had an urgent order. He still patted her hands away and started massaging her shoulders.

"I want to quickly finish those dresses to rest a day or two, and then start the other orders." Isabelle disclosed her plan. If she tackled the urgent orders as soon as possible, she would have more time to spend with her Husbands. 

Ethan pursed his lips but said nothing about it. "Then, what are you looking for?" If he could lighten up her workload, he would gladly do it. 

"Hm… Hair accessories, perhaps..." She was not sure if she would find something that could hold the veil in the form of a hair accessory.

With his hands still massaging her shoulders, Ethan directed her to the area of the market that sold personal care stuff, like combs, mirrors, footwear, perfume, medicine and accessories. The stall that sold soap was also added to that area.

Thinking about it, Ethan thought it was as good as a chance he'd have to buy another soap. He had gotten 2 coins in tips that morning. He could buy a soap or two.

Isabelle looked around at the novelty of that area of the market. There were all sort of pleasant smells, attractive colors and beautiful things. She had stared and was almost convinced by the lady manning the stall of buying a pair of hair-clips.

They had the shape of a flower!

But, she had to find the veil accessory first. After all, she was going to buy it with her money. She just hoped that the investment Mrs. Attile and her were doing in the dresses would see some positive results. Even if that sister-in-law didn't buy it, they were expecting someone else to be interested.

After going through all the stalls that sold hair accessories and not finding one that caught Isabelle's attention that matched with the dress – despite liking a lot of accessories for herself – they decided to visit the shops.

Ethan did buy the soap under the critical gaze of Isabelle. He only kissed her cheek to appease her and put the rose-scented soap in her hands. 

The shop turned out to be a boutique. It had all sorts of things for women: shoes, clothes, make-up, accessories, perfurmes, nail polish, etc. She stood amazed at the entrance for a moment. Moment that took the attendant to notice the new clients.

The shop was full of women. 

"May I help you, Madam?" The attendant, a sweet-voiced teen, asked. She completely ignored Ethan's presence. We serve women, delicate and beautiful creatures, not wild and uncultured ones like men. Those, you can ignore. That was what her Boss ingrained in her mind.

Isabelle quickly composed herself. "Yes. I am looking for hair accessories." 

"Right this way, Madam." The teen invited her in and led them to a beautifully carved dressing table.

On it, there were all sort of accessories, like rings, bracelets, armlets, bangles, pendants, earrings, hair-clips, diadems, tiaras, decorative combs, ribbons… All elegant and expensive-looking and just what Isabelle needed!

"You can take your time looking at them. If you want to buy something, let me know." The teen amiably said and returned to the customer she had been attending before.

The accessories seemed to be made of metal, polished and added different jewels for some accessories. Isabelle paid closed attention to the hair accessories.

Her idea of using a tiara was dashed when she saw the elaborate tiaras that could not be simply used to hold a veil. She did consider one particular tiara as it was rather simple in design and would look well with the veil.

Diadems looked better. Most were not as thick and elaborate as tiaras and had more exotic designs, like vines with flowers all around, or side bouquets, or blooming flowers with pearls, etc. She thought any of them could be used.

"They all look good. Which one should I choose?" She asked Ethan for his opinion. 

Ethan was bedazzled by all the accessories and their prices. They spanned from 10 coins up to 30 coins. And he was happy, feeling very wealthy buying a 2-coin soap! One of those things cost his whole salary!

He felt himself twitch at her question. She had the money to buy one of those? She was that wealthy? He wildly looked around, looking for the cheapest object out of habit. Even if she had the money, she couldn't spend it all in one sole accessory!

"These ones." He finally pointed at a pair of hair-clips that cost 12 coins. 

Isabelle turned her gaze towards Ethan's choice and her mind screeched to a halt. It emptied before being assaulted by the images of what she had been looking for. 

"They are perfect!" She gushed. 

The hair-clips were the size of her palm; made of metal as a base, they had a clothe flower with a pearl in the middle. But their most striking feature were the white feathers around them. The feathers were neither big nor small, and were of different styles to carefully create a fan.

She put them against her hair and looked at herself at the mirror the dressing table had and she overcome with excitement at her reflection.

"My! You look very beautiful, Madam!" The teen, having silently returned, praised Isabelle. 

Isabelle softly smiled. The praising was not completely sincere, just a way to push the customer of buying the chosen object. Well, she didn't mind as the hair-clips were not for her. 

"Thank you. I will take them." Isabelle said, putting the hair-clips in the teen's hands to pack.

"Right away! If you would accompany me to the counter." The teen gestured. Isabelle took out her money pouch and put the respective amount on the counter. The teen grabbed it and put it away before packaging the hair-clips in a pretty box. "Thanks for your purchase. We hope to see you soon!"

"Thank you." Isabelle nodded, accepting the box. With the other veil she had to make for the Commissioner daughter's wedding dress, she was sure to return to that shop. 

Happy to have found what she came out for, Isabelle grabbed Ethan's hand and led him back. His lunch time was almost over either way. They cut their way back short by going through the market. Isabelle took advantage of it and bought some hair-clips for herself.

Four hair-clips for 2 coins. 

Even happier for it, she had an imperceptible skip to her steps. 

"Isabelle!" Someone called her out. Turning, she saw Corey waving at her. She had been passing nearby her stall.

"Corey! Good to see you!" Isabelle greeted.

"Good to see you, too! I had been wondering if I should look for you at that fabric store." Corey commented. She knew where Isabelle was working thanks to the talkative Mrs. Attile. 

"Do you need something?" Isabelle curiously asked, having taken notice of Corey's relieved expression.

The merchant shook her head. "More like, relaying some news David heard. Some people from the Town Hall went around the market yesterday notifying that Lane Town was looking for workers to plant rice. They had opened up big fields to plant rice, that's why. So, we were wondering if some of the guys would like to go." She eyed at Ethan, obviously meaning one of the brothers.

"Thanks for the information. We're going to discuss about it." Ethan nodded, answering for Isabelle who didn't immediately react. 

Isabelle blinked and also nodded. "Yes. Thank you! And, tomorrow, one of the guys will come buy the things for the week. Have them ready, please!"

"Got it!" Corey said. "And discuss the opportunity well, I don't think it'll come again." She reminded them. After bidding farewell, the couple continued their way back.

Isabelle, though, lost her enthusiasm.