Emiel Regis x Reader

Nineteen

The tailor's shop was a small shop, with high ceilings, stuffed to the top with fabrics and lace and other beautiful things to overflow. The walls were clad with wood and the floor was of such craftsmanship that it would have been worthy of a palace.

Curiously, you approached a roll full of fabric, stretched out your hand and let your fingers slide over the delicate fabric.

"Finest silk, woven by the hands of female elves.", suddenly a voice sounded next to you.

Surprised, you withdrew your hand, turned around and looked into the eyes of a man who didn't look happy at all.

The black hair, that was growing on his head, was messy. His beard seemed wild and not well kept. Maybe he had been in a rush and had not expected visitors at such a late hour.

"Is that so?", you asked quickly, before he could get angry, that you had just touched something like that. "I prefer cotton. Feels better to wear."

His eyebrows rose skeptically. For a moment he looked at you from top to bottom, you were still wearing the clothes that would have insulted even a farmer.

"Cotton is not a fabric for festive occasions. I recommend silk. Or tulle. Lace, if you want to be real fancy. But you don't look like someone who has... exquisite taste."

"My apologies? How do you want to know why I'm here for? Maybe I'm just looking for some fabric to make pants from."

A smile appeared on his bearded face, forced and a little mocking.

"You truly don't know what my shop is famous for, don't you?", he asked, while still eyeing you, as if there was a bug standing right in front of him.

Confused, you frowned. Helpless, your eyes searched for Regis, hoping he would help you out. But he was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the shop was empty, almost deserted.

"Regis?", you called for him but nobody answered.

The man in front of you waited a moment, before a heavy sight escaped from his lips and he rolled with his eyes. With a movement of his hand, he asked you to enter another room, where a sofa was waiting, together with a pot of tea.

"Please, take a seat. I don't have all evening.", the tailor said, while looking for his measurement tape. "I'd be happy if you would just stand still. Stretch your arms, shoulders straight. Let's see... uh, quite nice shoulders, for somebody like you. Your waist... hips seem to be all right too. At least for Toussaint standards. Now, how tall are you? Hm, not too tall. I should be able to finish quickly. You seem to be a standard size. I'll just use the regular sizing and cutting pieces."

Obedient, you stood still, did not move, and tried to breathe as little as possible.

He measured every single thing on your body, the length of your arms, your legs, the difference between your torso and pelvis. Really, everything.

Finally, when the tailor had finished measuring you, you took a deep breath and let yourself fall on the sofa.

"Are you a friend of Regis'?", you called in question to the other room, for the man had disappeared again and came back with a handful of cloth.

"Yes, yes. That's what you can call it. Anyway, I owe him something, and when I heard from Orianna that she had invited you both to dinner, I knew he would show up soon.", he muttered as his fingers scribbled something on a piece of paper.

"You know Orianna?"

"Of course. Everyone here knows Orianna. Especially every vampire.", he looked over his shoulder. "And everyone knows you now, too. You're not really liked amongst our kind."

Angrily, you close your eyes. It was getting annoying to hear how unwanted you were with everyone. It couldn't have been that bad.

"I'll try my best not to stand out."

He laughed.

"Oh really? Well allow me to express my humble opinion."

"If you must.", you sighed.

"You already failed. Every single vampire is talking about the crossbreed. Even the lesser ones. You were lucky that Regis took you in. A lot of people respect him. Or owe him their respect. He is probably the only one that was able to save you, because the eldest has great trust in him. However, just like humans, vampires like to talk. You know, a little gossip here and there is nice to sweeten our endless lives.", a strange grin appeared on his face, kind of dirty, kind of amused. "It is word in the streets, that you and him know each other well. Otherwise, there would have been no reason why he would have risked his life to safe yours. Is that true? Are you two lovers?"

Surprised, you open your eyes.

Just the thought that Regis might get too close to you made you nervous. But now pictures began to appear in your head that you wouldn't have dared to dream of.

Your mouth opened and closed helplessly, but not a single word was heard.

What should one have said to such a thing?

Regis was a great man, almost too good to be true. But you couldn't say he loved you. But you also couldn't say you didn't love him either.

Love may have been too big of a word, but you liked him. Very much so.

Before the tailor could get too curious, steps approached.

Suddenly Regis was in the room, a soft smile was on your lips. He bowed his head to greet the tailor before he sat down opposite of you in a chair.

"We're not lovers.", he finally broke the silence. "In fact, it had been my instinct that had prevented a misfortune. It would have been a shame to loose such a great individual as (Y/N)."

"(Y/N)? You made friends with the crossbreed?", the tailor asked without looking behind his back. "That's interesting. At least you being friends won't mean any trouble. At least I hope so. Tell me, Regis, as vampire as powerful and wise as you, do you think it is possible to get too close to a thing that is half your kind and half human? Is something like this desirable?"