And every night, I'll be with you

Retail Therapy

Elise wished Silver would let her help Saga too. It was like all the time they spent together meant nothing when someone Silver truly cared about was here. Injured, sure, so it might have been justified, but Elise wondered if Silver even remembered her at this point. If it wasn't for breakfast, Elise feared that she wouldn't be seeing Silver at all.

Moreover, where Silver didn't have obligations around Soleanna, Elise had to without question. No moment was spared when an event was coming up. A charity event that was scheduled required Elise to get fitted into a new dress. Thankfully, she had her choice of dressmaker. The boutique she preferred was small, but featured a lot of local artisan work. Colorful art decorated the walls while the seamstress in charge almost always made sure a scent of lavender and vanilla wafted through the air. Elise's ladies-in-waiting allowed her to enter alone, so they could go collect other items for the charity event in faster time.

One thing that Elise found she hated, and was becoming more aware of since Silver's introduction, was that she didn't like being alone.

Not that it lasted long. Once the bell above the door sounded, the seamstress stepped out of the backroom and immediately beamed in seeing Elise there.

"Ah, Princess!" the seamstress greeted as she flew to give Elise a hug. "I see the ladies-in-waiting let you venture inside alone for once."

"Unfortunately, they had other matters to attend to." Elise informed her. Her tone was professional- no one would guess her secret hatred of herself. "Would you rather wait until they-"

"Heck no! This is the perfect opportunity to dress you in something a little less traditional! I practically beg for times like this, your highness."

"Well, if that's the case..." Elise grinned. "Dress me in your finest."

"Finally!" the seamstress laughed, even jokingly throwing her hands in the air. "Wait here, I've been holding this gown from the main floor just for you."

"I can't wait to see it."

The seamstress gave another wide grin as she went to the back of the store. Elise gave her one last smile in return before taking a short look around the store. In finding that it was clear of anyone who could stop, Elise leaned against the main counter and relaxed. The seamstress wasn't the only one who was glad the fitting could be done without Elise's ladies-in-waiting. Dressings were one of the few times when Elise could relax. In all honesty, she had to simply due to someone being in close proximity to her body. There weren't many people Elise could relax around. Being the sole ruler of a close-knit country meant that, even if you wanted to, you couldn't let the 'ugly' parts of you show- even if it proved your very humanity. If her seamstress hadn't known her for most of her life, and possessing a general happy-go-lucky demeanor, dress fittings would be another duty that Elise would dread each time it came around.

Elise gave a small shudder in time with the bell above the shop's door ringing. She turned her attention to who had entered. Her sight was immediately brought down in realizing that it had been a Mobian. A pink hedgehog to be exact- one that wore a bright red dress with matching boots, and seemed to be in pretty decent spirits.

"Don't think I've been in this boutique yet..." the hedgehog mused to herself, immediately gravitating to a shop display. "Hmm...."

A small grin etched itself onto Elise's face. This Mobian was a tourist- Elise only knew this because they tended to have lighter moods than the refugees. Not to anyone's surprise, of course. Making a choice, Elise moved off the counter and went over to the Mobian.

"Hello there," she said to the hedgehog, "Can I help you?"

The pink hedgehog immediately brought her attention to Elise. At first, she seemed happy to have someone help her, but on closer inspection, the hedgehog looked Elise over a bit closer and squinted.