As Heisen opens the door of the eatery finally leaving, he saw the grand duke holding Emerie off the ground by her wrist, while her maid, Marlene, hung from the duke's back, as her legs were flailing behind him. Desperate to save her lady, Marlene had jumped on Louis like a mother trying to free her cub.
The pain from Louis's tight grasp made Emerie's eyes swell with tears, her gaze shutting as she tried to look away from the duke.
Upon seeing this scene, Heisen was lost for words. The three continued to struggle as Marlene, raising her voice louder, cried out:
" Let m'lady go!"
" She's not a thief.
" She was closing what was left open by another thief!!"
Blinded by his emotions, Louis's anger had taken over. He was on the verge of breaking, his frustration building to a dangerous precipice. Confronted by the reality of how the public views him as a banished duke, the sorrow from a place he hadn't called home in years and the bitter truth that his own father only contacted him out of obligation, not out of love or longing to reunite with his son; it weighed heavily on him.
Slowly gaining his composure, he lowered Emerie back on the ground. However, Marlene, as passionate as she is to save Emerie, she is also as oblivious to the duke letting Emerie down. Tears mixed with Marlene's snot that has escaped from her nose, rolled down her cheek landing on the duke's skin as she's still remained attached to the duke's back.
Heisen stepped in;
" Louis, We're drawing too much attention and people are gathering around us."
" There's not enough knights patrolling this area. Lets' let them go for now."
" You're right Heisen."
As the struggle had escalated, onlookers were cackling, mistaking the whole scene as a comedic street performance when it was just a misunderstanding between them. Louis finally released Emerie's wrist, setting her free. Heisen helped by pulling Marlene off of Louis, gently setting her back on the ground.
Emerie clutched her wrist close to her chest as it writhed with pain. Appalled at his behavior, she snapped,
"You know you're incredibly rude! I said this was a misunder—.."
Louis's patience shortened as the minutes passed by,
" Heisen, I'm heading back to the palace. Be sure to get the thief's information so she doesn't offend again."
" You two, let this be a warning to not steal again." Warned the duke .
Before Emerie could respond, she was cut off again by the duke. Louis couldn't be bothered anymore by Emerie and Marlene's antics. Instead, he mounted his horse and vacated the area, leaving Heisen behind to take care of the rest. Amid the chaos, she caught only glimpses of the duke—nothing more than the sharp line of his jaw. Now, all that remained was the figure of a man with black hair as dark as midnight and broad shoulders , riding off into the distance.
*Emerie scoffs*
" Well, I've never been so irritated and flabbergasted in my life by a man"
" M'lady the audacity he had! We should be the ones reporting him!" Marlene continued,
" He's the one that mistook us for thieves. We only tried to put back what someone else had stolen!"
" Marlene, you're absolutely right!"
" M'lady when am I ever wrong?"
Emerie rubbed her sore wrist, the skin once white as snow now stained with a bruise, a soft red and blue. Seeing her lady hurt, Marlene goes to blow on Emerie's wrist. Heisen was sweating, now realizing that Duke Louis had jumped to conclusions rather too quickly. A heat of the moment decision fueled by the fire which was lit by the gossipers earlier from the eatery.
Heisen slightly tilts forward bowing his head to Emerie,
" Please accept my sincerest apologies. He has been away from civilization for quite some time."
" Although this doesn't excuse his behavior, please accept my humble apologies for this misunderstanding on his behalf ."
.
.
Emerie hesitated. She felt that Louis himself should apologize to them, not his friend; however, she felt his earnest and sincere feelings behind his apology. She considered her options, to accept or reject his apology. She looked at Marlene, who was still blowing on her wrist to comfort her; after a brief moment of silence, she sighed,
*sighs*
"It's not okay what happened.."
"but I do appreciate and accept your apology"
.
"Thank you for being understanding" Heisen relieved,
" I will take my leave as well."
Heisen, still sweating from the confrontation, couldn't wait to leave the area. Usually noblewomen are usually cordial or quick to let things slide, but Emerie didn't budge for a while. As he mounted his horse, he glanced at the two walking away, wondering
"What if Duke Louis is arranged..in an engagement with a woman like her?" He shuddered at the thought before riding off.
Emerie and Marlane made their way out of the crowd, slipping away from the onlooker's eyes. Finally found another resting spot, they stopped to gather their composure. Emerie's wrist, was still bruised, but was starting to feel better thanks to Marlene's care. When Emerie turned to thank Marlene, she saw that Marlene was in no better shape.
Marlene's once loosely curled, black hair became a tangled mess and her cheeks streaked with tear-stained makeup. To top it off, the snot had left it's mark under her nostrils. Emerie couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Marlene. She was truly a sight to see.
" Marlene, hahaha. You amuse me so much"
" What do you mean?"
" What is it m' lady?"
Emerie pulled out her pocket mirror and handed it to Marlene. As Marlene took the mirror, Emerie used her handkerchief to wipe away the tear stains and booger residue from her nose. Marlene's eyes widened in shock as she saw her reflection, quickly trying to fix her hair. Emerie put the handkerchief away and helped Marlene smooth out hair, smiling warmly. Marlene was always like this. She puts Emerie first regardless of the situation. Not because she was her maid or lady-in-waiting, but because, long before that, Marlene had been her childhood friend.
" There, you look a lot better Marlene."
" That man made me so frazzled, I lost myself"
" They don't look like regular townspeople and he did say they've been away for some time."
"That's good m' lady. This means we won't see him again."
"You're right Marlene. Good ridden!"
"M'lady when am I ever wrong"
"Haha, never Marlene. For now let's go home. We won't find a dress today."
The two decided to end their shopping early. After facing rejection from several high-end noble shops and dealing with an unruly person, they couldn't handle anymore challenges. Hand in hand, they both walked along the cobblestone road towards the shared wagon stop to catch a ride home.
As they neared the stop, a small, radiant little girl with warm, caramel colored skin overheard Emerie and Marlene talking about their troubles. She had been sitting there all day, coloring and making a sign for her mom's new dress shop. She knew this was her chance for new customers. Quickly, she jumped down from her chair and shuffled as fast as she could after Emerie and Marlene.
Out of the corner of Emerie's eye, she noticed the little girl, no more than three feet tall(91cm), chasing after them. Dressed in a bright pink dress and crowned with two of the fluffiest pigtails, the little girl exuded cuteness.
"I heard you talk about dresses."
"My mom owns a dress shop over there"
"We need new customers too!"
"Come with me."
Bribed by the little girl's charm, Emerie and Marlene couldn't say no. The girl grabbed both of their hands and led them across the street to her mom's shop. Inside the store, Emerie and Marlene were greeted by beautiful Victorian dresses adorned with gems that glowed.
" Momma! I brought our first customers."
" I walked them here."
The mother, Nora Withervaughn, stepped forward to greet them. "Welcome ladies, My name is Nora, Nora Withervaughn and this is.."
" Yeah, I'm Rellie."
"Yes, my daughter, Rellie."
.
" A pleasure to meet you, Ms.Withervaughn ."
" Well, it's Mrs.Withervaughn. My husband and I run this dress shop."
" I design the dresses and he sews my creations."
"Well, I must say, your dresses are lovely."
Emerie and Marlene began to browse through catalog. The dresses were beautiful, but perhaps a bit too eccentric for the queen's selection. Though the style of the dresses were Victorian, the designs were a bit too unique, leaving Marlene bewildered and Emerie too hesitant to make a decision. Noticing the change in their expression, Nora asked,
"Are you preparing for a special occasion?
"Perhaps, the queen's bridal selection"
.
"Yes, I plan to meet the queen and would like a dress.."
" but I'm afraid the designs may be a bit...characteristic."
" Hmm, wait one moment." Nora said.
"I have just the thing."
Nora disappeared behind the cabinet. Determined, she pulls out a box from her storage and pulls out a few more sketches of dresses that were more fitting for the occasion.
After going through all the dress designs with Emerie and Marlene, they finally found the perfect dress: elegant, but not too pretentious. It was perfectly suited to capture Emerie's beauty. Nora took Emerie's measurements to have her husband tailor the dress.
"We're all done. We will have you dress delivered before the selection."
" Mrs. Withervaughn, you saved us from more rejections."
"It was a pleasure to help you."
"For the dress, that will be 100 silver pieces."
Emerie reached for her coin purse but realizes she was a few coins short. She had given a few of her silver pieces to the little boy earlier. In a moment of disbelief, she apologized,
"I am so sorry Mrs. Withervaughn."
"Could you hold onto our dress designs? We are a bit short on silver pieces.."
.
" Well as our first customer, we'd be happy to offer you a discount.."
" if you come shop with us again!"
" Of course! I promise to pay the full amount and shop with you again."
"Your dress means a lot to us."
"Perfect! We'll deliver the dress to you once we have the final touches complete."
.
" Momma, see? I told you I can sell dresses too"
Rellie was ecstatic that she had helped her mom make her first sale. The mother and daughter duo bid farewell to Emerie and Marlene as they left the store. With all their troubles finally behind them, Emerie and Marlene made their way to the wagon station and return home with peace of mind.
********************************
The following next week, the candidates started to gather at the palace for the bridal selection hosted by Queen Amrietta. Emerie's father, Edgar, had arranged a carriage for her, but what arrived was not a fancy white carriage with a gold trim...but a package mule pulling a broken-down wagon..