L'oeillet Blanc

Une belle brise...3

     Dixie woke up in a cold sweat and breathing heavily, panicked from the memory of the past. She forced herself to calm down and looked around the room. She was in her office, a smaller room yet more on the messier side of things. Books scattered throughout the room, on the shelfs, tables, and the floor. Stacks on stacks of books of all types and sizes. She shifted her gaze to her desk and looked at the book she was currently reading. A book about philosophy, the art of questioning. She sighed and walked out of the study to check on her children.

"Hello Alice, what are you up to, my dear" mother said, panic still trailing her voice.

"Nothing much, just working on my painting it will get me famous i'm sure of it" Alice said not taking her eyes off the painting.Her brush strokes are calm and colorful ,bringing life to the blank canvas.

"Well what are you painting" she said looking at a vaguely human shaped image.

"I don't know i'm just going where the paint takes me"

"Well you have fun my dear I'm going to see what your sister is up to"mother said leaving,no longer panicked as she was before. She strode down the hall, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor. She opened the door and looked across the room.Plush chairs with freshly sown clothes draped over them. She moved some of the clothes over and sat down by her daughter.

"Hello dear, what are you making now?" mother said looking at the fabric under the sewing machine.

"It's Alice's birthday gift. It's a complex design so I'm starting early,"Nikolai said, keeping her eyes on the machine trying not to run her fingers over.

Mother looked down at the pale blue fabric Nikolai's hand pressed against.

"Oh honey." Mother looked down at her daughter.

"Please Sorry Nikolai dear I'm a bit on edge. I had a nightmare about what happened in the past with your old dance teacher" mother said hesitating on the last part, nervous to say it.

"It's ok mother, I'm just glad Alice doesn't remember it. I'm confused on how though with what we both experienced but it's not your fault mother no one could have known" Nikolai said stopping her machine and looking at her mother. The woman that took her in when she was on the street and alone after she escaped Russia and the human trafficking ring she was born into.

"Thank you my dear well I should go. I would like to finish my book before tonight"she said walking toward the door.

"See you for dinner dear" she said, closing the door and walking away down the hall. Nikolai looked back at the fabric under the presser foot of the machine and finished the row of stitches she was doing then lifted up the dress to examine it.It was an ankle length ball gown with a corset top and a large bow on the back. The skirt had a lot of layers so it was taking her a long time but she was on the last layer of the skirt.It had a lot of detail,a blue silk with a lace hem and small chiffon bows along the bottom. It had a lot of shiny crystals sewed on around on the dress. Nikolai had to had sown them on the night before, she was just adding the lace on the bottom.Nikolai turned towards her manikin and started to put the layers of the skirt on to it.

Once she was done fully dressing the manikin in the dress she stepped back to examine her work.

"It needs something but I can't pin-point what", Nikolai said thinking aloud. She sighed and sat down to fold some clothes. She put the last dress in its box and they were ready to be handed over to customers. She then started down for dinner, down the many flights of stairs. She loved the solitude being in the attic brought but she hated the stairs. When she finally got down stairs she walked over to the dinner table and sat down, greeted by the faces of her mother and sister.