Shadows of Avarice - Book #1 (BxB)

Chapter 4

Alishba held up a light pink dress with golden embroidery. The girl was ecstatic to be shopping for dresses; something that she never had the chance to do before. She found herself gazing at the beautiful fabrics whenever she passed the tailor, but she never went inside. She could never afford such pretty dresses before. Even though they were in the shop now, it didn't feel real.

She looked up at her brother who stood in the corner with his arms crossed. It was clear that he didn't want to be here. Alishba rolled her eyes, wondering why her brother even decided to go through with this if he had no intentions of helping her pick something out. After all, he would be the one wearing the dress, not her. He didn't have to go through with this if he was this reluctant. No one was forcing this on him.

"Does anything stand out to you? If you're serious about going through with this, then you need to help me pick out some dresses." She pouted at him. Though she was enjoying this experience, it was a tad annoying tagging along with someone who was moping in a corner.

Xia shrugged. "Just pick out whatever you think looks nice."

Alishba sighed. "You're no help at all. At least pick out one dress. Since this is for you, you should pick out something that you will be comfortable in."

"Regardless of what I pick out, I won't be comfortable." He didn't want to, but Xia began to rifle through the dresses. His sister had a point. This was supposed to be for him, but as he searched through the fabrics, he was feeling more reluctant to go through with this. He had to keep reminding himself that he was doing this for his grandmother.

There were a few other women at the tailor as well. With the news of the sultan holding another selection, many women flocked to the tailor in hopes of finding a garment that would catch his eye. Xia was surprised to see so many girls there. He couldn't fathom that this many people wanted to join the sultan's harem. If it weren't out of desperation, then Xia never would have considered this option.

One of the women looked at Xia, smiling at him when she noticed him glance in her direction. Xia wasn't trying to catch her attention, but he tended to attract others to him. It didn't help that he was the only male in the store right now. They probably believed that he was helping his sister shop, but oh, if they only knew. These girls wouldn't be eyeing him for the same reason if they knew that he was planning to join them at the selection ceremony.

Eventually, the girl approached him, holding a dress up to show him. "What do you think? Do you think that the sultan will choose me if he sees me wearing this?"

Xia gave her an awkward smile. She wouldn't be the one being chosen, but he didn't want to disappoint her. Instead, he said with a smirk, "Possibly. It is beautiful, just like the girl holding it."

His words made the girl blush, and she fluttered her eyes at him. "Perhaps if I am not chosen by the sultan, then I could wear this for you . . ."

"Don't get your hopes up, lady." Alishba, annoyed with Xia, latched onto his arm and dragged him away from the girl. He gave the woman a friendly smile as he was pulled away, which made his sister pull on him harder. "Seriously, Xia? We're supposed to be working right now, not flirting with all of the cute girls here."

She led her brother to the fitting room, and then pushed him inside. She glanced around to make sure that no one was looking before joining him inside and shutting the door. Alishba already had a few dresses picked out and sitting on the table, waiting for Xia to try them on. There were three of them in total, each one a different color that Alishba thought would look good on her brother.

"Well, get to it. After you pick out a dress, then we'll go to the next store to get your makeup," Alishba said with a smirk. Though she was annoyed with him for not helping her, she did enjoy her brother's dismay at having to wear a dress.

"You want me to try these on right in front of you?" There was no way that he could change in front of his sister. While they may not have been blood-related, she was still family to him.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to watch you, idiot. I'll turn around, but after each one, I want to see the results. We need to pick out the right one that'll hide your masculinity. Though, that shouldn't be an issue. You are kind of feminine."

"Just shut up and turn around." Xia gritted his teeth, annoyed that his sister was right. He wasn't very tall, he was slender, and he had long hair. From afar, people could mistake him for a woman. He knew that he also had a pretty face. His face wasn't as feminine, but once his sister applied the makeup, then he wouldn't be recognizable.

Once his sister turned around, Xia took off his garments and picked up the first dress. With a sigh, he tried on the light pink dress that his sister first picked out. Alishba was an expert when it came to picking out the right clothes, so she found dresses that would fit Xia perfectly. The dress had long sleeves of a light fabric, which would be perfect for the desert heat. It came with a matching sheer, pink face veil that Xia didn't try on right away.

When he thought that he was ready, he said, "You can turn around now."

Alishba did so, and her eyes lit up when she saw her brother in the dress. She beamed, "Xia, you look so pretty! The dress is cute with your hair color, but I don't think it brings out your beauty enough. Try the blue dress next."

She quickly turned around, anticipating the next reveal. Xia rolled his eyes. His sister was having too much fun with this. While she probably wanted to try on some dresses as well, she seemed to enjoy watching Xia dress up more. He tried on the blue one, which didn't seem to impress Alishba as much as the previous one. It wasn't until Xia tried on the last one, a red, white, and gold dress, that left his sister stunned.

"That's the one. It's flowy and sexy on you." Alishba playfully grabbed at the slit in the skirt of the dress to reveal Xia's left leg. Her brother quickly grabbed the fabric and put it back in place, making Alishba chuckle.

"Don't you think this is a little too revealing?" Xia crossed his arms over his chest. The dress hung low, exposing his shoulders and upper torso. It would have looked better on someone with breasts, in Xia's opinion.

Which Alishba seemed to agree with. "I could make some adjustments to cover you up. Let's just hope that the sultan likes flat-chested women." She shrugged, then added, "Let's buy this one! We'll buy some fabric so that I can fix the dress, then the makeup. We should have some jewelry at home from our adventures that you can wear. Once the sultan sees you at the ceremony, there's no way that he won't pick you. Come on!"

Alishba didn't wait for Xia to get changed. He barely had enough time to grab his own clothes before she clutched onto him and pulled him out of the dressing room. Upon entering the front of the store again, Xia could barely make eye contact with the people that he passed. He could feel the eyes on him as Alishba paid for the dress. The girl who he flirted with was still in the store, stunned to see him in this attire. He caught her smiling and blushing, which made him quickly glance away. He felt embarrassed being in public like this. His sister did this on purpose.

"You're a snake," Xia muttered only loud enough for Alishba to hear.

She giggled, "This is what you deserve, dear brother."

Alishba was having too much fun doing this. While she had the chance to, she would enjoy tormenting her brother before he left them.