Broken Soldier ~ Assassin's Creed 4

Chapter Twenty One

Freda met me outside of the art building at around eight in the evening, once we had finished our dinner. She had her purse full of coin and mine was as well. She bounded up to me happily, grinning like an idiot.

"Are you ready? I asked head bitch if I could take you out as a late birthday treat and so she agreed."

"We don't have to sneak out?" She shook her head. "Good. I'm ready if you are."

We started off towards the town. In the dark, we could barely see anything. However, a few little lamps were lit with flames, but the breeze quickly blew a few of them out. We both walked along the cobblestoned path which was outlined with a couple of green bushes dotted with tiny, pink flowers. The town was barely visible, though small flames were flickering in some of the shop windows. Freda pointed to the first shop coming up on our left, labelling that as the best shoe shop she had ever been into. I followed her into it and we were greeted by a bell ringing above the door. The man at the desk smiled and waved at us.

"Feel free to ask for help if you need anything." He stated in a chirpy voice.

"What colour shoes should I get?" I tapped my chin.

"How about a shade of blue? I was thinking of having the theme of the wedding blue anyway." She jogged over to one side of the shop. A pair of blue shoes with a heel were set on a stack of boxes. They had a white bow made from ribbon on the front which was used to lace the shoes up and flowers etched into the front of each shoe in gold coloured thread. The heel itself was white like the sole and the inside of the shoes. I smiled as Freda placed them in my hands. "Please put these on. They will suit you so well." I sat down on one of the small benches and took off my grey school shoes. They were then replaced by the blue shoes which Freda pushed onto my feet as soon as the other shoes were off. I giggled at her before swatting her away to lace them up myself. Once they were tied tightly, I walked from one side of the shop to the other. Freda squealed. "They are perfect! Do you want to try any more or do you want to go with the prettiest pair in the shop?" I looked down at them. The fabric was glittering slightly.

"I will buy these ones. Grab a box." I changed my shoes over as Freda took my money to pay for the ones I had placed in the box.

"What are these shoes for, if I may ask? A special occasion, perhaps?" The man at the desk asked while wrapping up the box.

"My wedding. Elisa, over there, is going to be my special guest. We go to school at the boarding school just up that hill." Freda pointed out of the window.

"Ah, yes. I believe my wife's mother finished her education there."

"Well, I can't get married until I leave school, so I will be getting married as soon as I leave. I believe my fiance is coming to visit me next week."

"What is he like?"

"I don't know yet. My father organised it all, so I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him. My father speaks highly of him." Freda handed me the box. "We should be going, Elisa still has a dress to buy. Thank you. Goodbye." We left and the same bell rang again.

It took ten minutes to reach the dress shop. No one was downstairs to greet us, so we simply browsed in the meantime. A blue dress caught my eye. It had ruffles around the collar and the sleeves made from white lace. Some of the fabric was bunched up into a belt and also to add a little bit of extra decoration. The only other beautiful dress was green, but I didn't want to wear the wrong coloured dress. I felt as if Freda would hate me for it. I would have to go back to buy the green dress just to wear around at home.

"Is this going to be alright, do you think?" Freda turned to look at it. She narrowed her eyes at me, grinning. "You want me to try it on, don't you?"

"Yes I do!" Floor boards creaked upstairs and a red faced and scruffy woman trotted down the stairs. She was buttoning up the top two buttons on her dress. Freda snickered, causing the woman to look up and blush even more. She was a stunning woman, though. Her blonde hair was pinned back into a bun with a few strands of hair falling into her face. She was pretty too, with beautiful green eyes and long lashes. A smile grew on her lips when she saw me holding the dress.

"Let me pull out the screen for you to change behind. It won't take a moment." She dashed over to one corner and pulled a paper screen across. "Here you are. If you need any help getting it on or tying up the back, I will be sat over there." I nodded my thanks and paced towards the hidden corner.

Once I had changed into the dress and buttoned up the front, I appeared from behind the screen. Freda's eyes lit up when she saw me, as did the shop owner's.

"We will take this one. Here is the money, don't let her leave without it. Does it fit alright or will it need any alterations?" Freda asked.

"No, it fits just perfectly. Let me quickly change out of this and we can pay and leave." I disappeared again.

"Yes, head bitch probably wants us back soon."

~~

I settled into my room and slipped my dress and shoes underneath my bed. We hadn't needed to have it delivered since we were allowed out to the town in the first place. Instead of staying up any later, even though it was only nine at night, I tucked myself into my bed in hopes of catching up on some sleep. I hadn't been sleeping well and so I was looking forward to trying to sleep for a few extra hours. Also, I had a full day of classes the next day with no breaks at all in between lesson. Almost as soon as my head hit the pillow, sleep washed over me quickly.