Femme Empire

Handcuffed

The lights blinded me the moment my foot landed onto the red carpet. Emir stepped out first and gave me a hand which I took gratefully. There was hell to pay for the long train we had decided on keeping. Hand in hand we took a few steps as four attendants rushed in to fix the train.

The crowd of media went wild when I started walking.

"You are looking gorgeous!"
"This way, Sana! "
"A smile please!"

The shouts blended with each other. It was overwhelming as I walked to the centre and posted for a picture with my boss.

"You are holding yourself well.", Emir said casually.

"I have an excellent poker face. It serves well for the boardroom and the gambling tables."

Emir snickered.

We turned this way and that way for a solid five minutes. It was a wild uproar. People were going crazy over the necklace and the dress.

Having fun, I gave them a sultry, bad girl pout and then sashayed off to the side.

"Now, that was unexpected.", Emir whispered in my ear.

" What can I say! We all have our moments.", I whispered back. "By the way, would it be weird if I said you look handsome?"

"Not if, I can say that you look divine.", he commented back.

"I am about to faint from your praise.", I teased.

"I promise to hold you.", he teased back.

When had thorny enmity turned into friendly camaraderie. Only Fate knew.

"Just a little more, Ms. Bianchi. We are almost out of the doghouse.", he said, his hand resting on the small of my back.

"We are just entering the gates of hell.
'Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here'. I can feel it.", I responded comically.

"There's our group of unruly babies.", he said referring to the group of press reporters.

"Must we babysit them?" I pouted.

"Unless, you want to be called a bad parent."

"Good God! I have more than enough children!", I exclaimed. " I don't need one more."

He looked at me curiously but didn't say a word. At that very moment, we reached the group of collected journalists.

"Hello! Sana! I am Lisa from Harper's Bazaar. May I say you look absolutely radiant tonight!", she gushed.

" Thank you!", I answered politely.

"Would you tell us about your dress and the necklace? ", she asked. " I believe we have never seen that necklace before."

"It was a generous gift from the House of Aslan. Mr. Aslan himself lent it to me for the occasion. It has a deep and integrated history of two cultures. It is a symbol of friendship between Aslan and Lemaire, during a war that had drawn a divide between two races. It's an example of peace, of co-existance. It is a symbol of what we need today.", I replied.

"Thank you Sana! And what about the dress Mr. Aslan? Is it one of your creations?", she asked.

"Yes...it is.", he said.
Her enthusiasm didn't diminish at his clipped answer.

" I must say, we didn't think you would create again. The fashion community was devastated after the accident.", she blabbered on.

Emir stiffened beside me. I skilfully directed the press's questions away from the uncomfortable topics to my resignation and my return to the fashion circuit as PR representative and spokesperson of the house. Emir was getting increasingly fidgety beside me.