Calm Wanderer
patreon
(AKJ)Chapter 39 - A dress from Fairy Dust for Sera
🕑 Added 2024-01-18 16:42:05 +0000 UTCDamovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.
Demian's P.O.V.
The two then spoke sweet nothings to each other for a moment before Demian stated in a teasing tone. “I'd kiss you, but we'd probably hit someone with the car, so...” Giggling gently, Sera replied. “We'll have time to do that later. Focus on the road for now.” “Yes, Ma'am.” He retorted in a mock firm voice.
It only took them a few more minutes to arrive close to the city center where they found a private parking lot to park their car. Once there the two exited the vehicle at the same time, while the young man complained in a joking tone. “You're supposed to let me open the door for you, Love. Otherwise, I can't show how much of a gentleman I am.” Shaking her head at his words, she replied. “Forget it. I don't feel like waiting.” With an amused smile, he responded while dashing toward her to grab her right hand. “Fair enough. Let's go then.” After quickly locking the doors, he pulled her toward the city's Main Street which traversed a great part of Damovotsk from North to South.
Once there, he led her toward the South of their location with both cars and motorcycles driving past them at low speed. The two chatted happily as they walked, enjoying both the warm summer weather and each other's presence, which ended up drawing many curious gazes from passersby. None of the two paid them any mind, though, as they were both too engrossed in their own conversation to care about others.
A few minutes of leisurely walking later, they arrived at a colossal round plaza that served as a sort of roundabout leading to the North, South, East, and West directions. It was historically the main trading center for Damovotsk when the City was founded, but with the number of inhabitants increasing, many 'Shopping Areas' outside the Bypass were created to cater to them. Thus, only high-end or old shops still operated there.
Shaking his head slightly to remove random thoughts, he turned his head toward Sera and declared. “We're at the Grand Sea Plaza, Love.” Nodding her head with a smile on her face, she asked. “Is the shop there?” “Yep. Let's cross the road first and once we reach the place I'll tell you its name.” His words made her shake her head gently before commenting amusedly. “You and your secrets.” With a teasing grin, he replied. “Isn't that what makes it fun?” “If you say so, Babe.” The two then fell silent as they crossed through the road surrounding the plaza. Once on the other side, they walked alongside the wall encircling the plaza until they reached the North entrance.
Once there, Demian stated. “We're at the North Entrance.” “It's been so many years since I've been here.” She added before she asked, her voice filled with hesitation. “Could you describe the place to me? My... My memories are a bit... Fuzzy...” A gentle smile surfaced on his face at her demand. “It'll be my pleasure, Love.” The two then walked inside the enclosed location, while Demain started to create an image as vivid as he could with his words. “You remember the high walls surrounding the place, right?” At her nod, he continued his description, noting inwardly how little changes the place had experienced since they last came. The shops, built in an old European style, were all located along the wall and facing the center, while the latter was full of trees and well-trimmed bushes, creating a sort of 'out of time' feeling.
Nodding her head to the image he painted, the petite redhead commented. “It sounds similar to the last time.” Chuckling at her remark, he replied. “Well, I told you it didn't change much from a few years ago.” With a mischievous grin on her face, she retorted. “It's fine. I like listening to your voice anyway.” Her words made him unexpectedly flustered, prompting him to gently squeeze her delicate hand to transmit his feelings.
Letting out a small cough, he claimed. “We're almost there.” The young woman giggled at his words but did not comment, thus the two quickly arrived at their destination. The store followed the architectural style prevalent in the plaza, but with a hint of mystery that would not clash with other buildings from the famous magical Alley in the book series portraying the life of a young boy with a lightning scar on his forehead. His eyes quickly went to the elegantly crafted sign that wrote. “Fairy Dust. It's the store's name.” Sera had a puzzled look on her face as she remarked. “I've never heard about it. Is it new?” Nodding his head, he replied. “Yeah. Apparently, they opened three years ago after the incident. Many old high-end shops were destroyed and this one bought what was left of the previous store before building their own boutique over it. Or so I've read.” Pausing for a second, he added. “I wish you could see the place. It would definitely stimulate your inner fantasy nerd.” His words drew an amused smile on her face as she replied. “Really? Is it that good?” Nodding his head automatically, he responded. “It is. It looks a little like a magic shop. But for dresses. Anyway, let's go in.”
With a look of anticipation, Sera let herself be guided by his hand inside the intriguing-looking store. Inside the building, the young man was welcomed by an enchanting sight. The whole shop was imagined with nature in mind. Every object seemed sculpted with some sort of high-end wood, while many plants were placed strategically everywhere, whether it be on the ceiling, walls, or the ground.
The whole ensemble gave the impression of an Elven Forest if said forest housed a dress shop. That impression was further amplified by the few saleswomen there, as Demian felt a sort of ethereal quality emanating from their bodies, something unlike anything he felt before. Throwing a gaze at their ears, he noticed they were as round as any normal human. A sigh of relief left him at the realization. 'I've read too many books and now I've become stupid. That's great.' He thought wryly while rubbing his eyes to remove the 'hallucination' he seemed to be under. However, a second glance gave him the same feedback, prompting him to seriously question his sanity. 'Whatever. I'll just ignore it.' He thought while describing the place to Sera, who, as usual, was listening to him with a happy smile on her face.
Once he was done, she replied with some slight regret. “I wish I could see the place. It sounds magical.” “Thank you for your praise, dear customer.” A sudden voice intruded in their conversation. “May I help you in any way?” Demian turned his attention to the smiling saleswoman who seemed to have appeared out of thin air in front of them. “Yes. I called a few days ago about a summer dress. My name is Demian Mikhailov.” The woman's gaze flickered for a brief moment to his face before replying with a professional smile on her face. “Certainly. Why don't the two of you follow me?” The young man responded with a 'Sure!' while Sera stayed silent.
The blond woman then brought them to the back of the shop while explaining. “The dress is almost ready. Only a few finishing touches are needed, but for that, we need the person wearing the dress to come here so we can make the last adjustments. After all, here at Fairy Dust, we pride ourselves on our product's quality, whether it be the fabric or our dress' cut.” Demian swiftly replied while gesturing to the petite redhead. “Actually, the dress is for my girlfriend here, so we can do it right now. If it's possible, of course.” His words brought a blush to Sera’s cheeks along with a sweet smile to her face. The saleswoman clapped her hands once while saying. “Wonderful! I will deal with it myself then.” Feeling puzzled, the young man asked. “Are you a dressmaker?” His question prompted a soft giggle from the woman who responded with a charming smile. “Every woman working here is a dressmaker. It's the job's prerequisite.” That greatly impressed the young man. 'High-end stores are really something else.' He thought while following the woman.
At the back of the shop, they went through a door to a room where a few full-length mirrors were set up strategically to give the person standing in the middle a full view of themselves. As he expected, the blond woman told Sera to stand in that exact location while she went to retrieve the dress. She also asked Sera to disrobe herself, while only keeping her underwear on. As the petite redhead complied, the other woman went to fetch the dress in a sort of walk-in dresser on the side. It only took her a few seconds to find it and come back while grabbing her specialized toolkit on the way. Once the two women were ready, the blond saleswoman helped Seraphine wear the white summer dress peppered with blue flowers.
The dress was on the thin side, although not thin enough to be considered see-through. The bottom reached slightly over the redhead's knees, while the top was only made of straps and no sleeve. All in all, it gave the petite woman a light and free feel, while highlighting the beauty of her red hair and the fullness of her decently-sized curves. It would have perfectly suited her blue eyes. Unfortunately, she lost them three years ago...
Nonetheless, he was still very satisfied with the result and he hoped she would be happy with it too. Of course, he knew that she would not be able to 'see' the result, but he knew she was extremely sensitive to any other stimuli and both the fabric and the cut of the dress were great. 'Hopefully, it'll be enough!' He thought, feeling weirdly anxious. Unlike him, the other two women were chatting together harmoniously. The topics involved were of course light and revolved mainly around how the dress felt to the petite woman while the blond woman rearranged a few small details.
Around ten minutes later, the dressmaker declared. “It's finished! Do you wish to keep it on or change back into your previous clothes?” Sera then turned her head toward Demian's location, with a questioning look on her face. Understanding what she meant, he answered for her. “Keep it on. I ordered it for our date after all.” A blissful smile appeared on her face at his words, as she replied. “Sure.” Before moving toward Demian confidently, as if she could see his exact location. From his eyes corner, the young man spotted a brief surprised expression on the saleswoman's face before it disappeared as if he had simply imagined it.
Inwardly, a sense of caution rose, but he acted as if he did not notice anything. Instead, he embraced his lover gently before asking. “Do you like your gift?” With her arms tightening her hold on his upper body, she set her cheek on his torso and softly stated. “I love it.” The lovable look she sported made the process of finding that beautiful dress extremely worth it. “Shall we continue with our date, Love?” He asked gently after a few seconds. “Mmhh!” She grunted positively. Turning his gaze toward the blond woman, he declared. “Thank you for your help, today.” Nodding her head with her ever-present professional smile, she responded. “You're very welcome. We'll always welcome the two of you in our humble boutique.”
After the two bid farewell to the woman, they left the store swiftly with Demian carrying a bag with Sera's old clothes in his right hand while having the petite redhead's right hand in his other one. Once outside, she exclaimed with a bit of panic. “Wait, Babe! We forgot to pay!” His following chuckles made the woman visibly annoyed. “Stop laughing! It's a serious matter!” Shaking his head, he replied. “My silly cat, do you really think she'd have let us go if I hadn't already paid? It's not a random shop we went in, you know?” With a look of embarrassment, she retorted, unsure. “So, you've paid already?”
“Didn't I just tell you? Alright, Alright! Please stop making that face. I'll explain myself.” He replied slightly panicky at the end when he saw the annoyance in her face increasing at lightning speed. “When I ordered the dress, I did a bank transfer. It was actually mandatory for the order.” The redhead's face instantly turned calm at his words, as if the previous anger was a lie. Which, if he believed the small mischievous smile on her face, was certainly the case. “Why are you making me anxious, Love?” His words drew a cute snort from her before she answered. “That'll teach you to tease me all the time.” With a wry smile on his face, the young man responded. “Fair enough.” The two stayed silent for a few seconds before they both burst into laughter, drawing a few surprised gazes from the people around, while a few smiles surfaced here and there. Joy tended to be contagious, after all.
Fortunately, the two had moved closer to the plaza's center by that time, which made their outburst a bit less conspicuous. After all, they were not the only happy couple around. Once the two finally calmed down, Sera let go of his hand and asked. “I didn't ask you earlier, but...” She twirled on herself once before continuing. “How do I look?” Demian was speechless for a few seconds before only saying one word. “Amazing.” His feelings should have been pretty obvious in his tone as happiness seemed to radiate from the young woman. Of course, not one to miss an opportunity to tease her, he added. “I think amazing wouldn't even be enough to describe you. I'd say incredible, charming, alluring, sexy...”
As the words he was using started to go into 'forbidden’ territory, the young woman quickly reached him and covered his mouth with her hands, while a deep red color appeared on her cheeks. “I get it! Stop now! It's embarrassing!” She half-whispered, and half-shouted, making the scene both funny and cute in the young man's eyes.
Heeding her words, he closed his mouth and did not say anything else. After all, teasing was good as long as one did not push it too far. Letting out a sigh of relief, the young woman directed the stern expression toward him. However, the latter was undermined by the gleeful smile that she had some trouble containing, betraying her true feelings.
As a few seconds elapsed, she let down her hands and stated in a 'firm' tone. “Let's go finish our date.” With a grin that would have surely annoyed her if she could see it on his face, he replied. “Sure.”
