Someone to Dream With-[previously Falling]

Chapter One

Two more hours until sunset. Two more hours to work on the dress. Two more hours until she would be punished if the dress was not finished. Arlet still had to embroider the whole hem and finish the bodice. Why did Starfall have to be tonight? And why did the Lady need something so intricate with only the notice of that morning? Arlet still had five other orders that she had shoved aside for the Lady of Night and lost a whole work day. Her hopes were to attend at least part of the celebrations that night, but it looked like all hope was lost.
The little bell on her shop door rang, signaling someone had entered. She groaned from her place under the dress. Normally, she would be thrilled to have another client, but today she couldn't afford the distraction.
"Hello? Is this where I can find Miss. Vensa?" The deep male voice reverberated through the small shop, seeming so loud in the quiet and shocking Arlet. She quickly scurried out from under the dress, not very gracefully, but she was a seamstress, not a dancer.
"Um, hello, I'm Miss. Vensa. What can I do for you, sir?"
The male looked surprised and that was when she really had the opportunity to look at his features. He was beautiful, with a face she swore was perfectly symmetrical and dark hair that seemed tousled from the wind even though the weather outside didn't seem terribly harsh. He could be part Illyrian; within the last few centuries there had been more interbreeding.
"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting someone so...young."
"Oh, well, I'm here. What do you need?" She so desperately needed to get back to working on the dress.
"I'm here to pick up my mother's dress for tonight? She said you were the seamstress working on it."
"Sure, name?" Arlet asked, beginning to walk to the rack of completed orders.
"Um," he cleared his throat and his cheeks were flushed, "for the Lady of Night."
Arlet froze, her stomach dropping. No, no, no, no. Of course, everything about him made sense now, he was the High Lord's son. The dress wasn't finished, and the Lady needed it now.
"P-please, I-I, it's not finished yet," her voice shook and broke. The High Lord's family was to be feared, they could kill you with a single thought. "I was only told the Lady needed this dress in the morning and thought I had until sundown. I-I am truly sorry." Arlet winced and braced herself for the blow or death that was sure to come, but all she felt were rough hands taking hers and stilling them. She hadn't even realized she had been shaking so violently.
"Hey, it's okay...I'm sorry, your name?"
"Arlet."
"Arlet, it's okay." He made a slight face at saying her name, not bad, but...interesting.
"No, no it's not. The Lady needs her dress and it's not finished. J-just please don't hurt me." She shied away, hoping he wouldn't injure her hands. A few centuries ago as punishment to the lower class, guards would take what was needed for professions.
"Arlet, I'm not going to hurt you, please don't think so little of me."
"You're- what? You're not upset?"
"No, of course not. Now, what can I help you with?"
"You-you want to help me? But you're the High Lord's son." He appeared to wince at the title. "S-sorry."
"No, i-it's fine, I just don't like people calling me that. It sets me above them and that never sits well with me. Just tell me what I need to do, and I'll get it done." He gave her small smile, hoping to cause her uneasiness.
"Well, uh, I have been cooped up in here all day and haven't gotten out to eat anything yet."
He gasped melodramatically, causing Arlet to laugh, "Well that simply will not do; I will be back soon with treats Dear Arlet."
The stranger, quickly turned friend, promised to return and was gone. Arlet only worked for a short while before the male returned, carrying bags of food that smelled more delectable than she could even dream.
"Dear Mother, that all looks amazing, my hunger could also be playing into it," she commented with a soft laugh as he spread it all out.
"Well, females first," he stepped to the side and allowed her to choose an ample amount before also digging in.
"I, um, never actually got your name," Arlet commented while looking up at him. Mother, he was tall and well built, probably from all the training he must do daily.
"Kane." He replied, quickly swallowing his bite of food before he did so.
"Kane, well it is nice to make your acquaintance, and actually speak instead of just seeing you from all the way down the street."
"And it is very nice to finally know the famed seamstress I've heard people talking about all over Velaris," he spoke with a cheeky grin, one that he probably knew would make her flustered.
"I don't think people are talking about me all over Velaris. This shop is barely visible from the street and I usually only get regular customers," there was slight tone of sorrow in her voice. Arlet had moved to the famed city to build a business and a life, and maybe gain a bit of fame. It had been two years since then and all she had managed was this tiny shop and a mediocre apartment. Kane wildly shook his head at her.
"Arlet, are you kidding me? My mother came to you for Starfall. You wouldn't know, but every day I have to listen to her complaining to anyone she can get her hands on about her clothing. There must be a good reason as to why she wants her Starfall dress to be made by you"
Arlet could feel the heat rising in her cheeks; she was only used to a simple thank you or it's nice, not this showering of compliments that Kane was giving her.
"I-uh, no, no-"
"Arlet, I'm stopping you there. It's okay to accept praise, be humble of course, but please don't put yourself down."
"Okay, well, then thank you, Kane," she said with a slight bow of her head.
"You are very welcome Dear Arlet, and as much as I would love to continue standing here and talking, I believe we have a dress to finish for my mother."
At his words she quickly nodded and brought the dress out from her back room, telling herself she didn't hear Kane's soft gasp, and got to work. They fell into easy conversation with Kane aiding her with pinning and holding fabric in place. The conversation bounced from childhood memories to dreams to accomplishments to favorites and they were both so engrossed they didn't even notice the sun had set. Arlet was the first of the two to notice as Kane was too busy studying her; her thin gentle hands working the fabric, her crimson hair she constantly pushed out of her face, her cosmic green eyes examining every stitch. He only looked away from her and out the window when she jumped up and started rushing around the shop while mumbling curses under her breath.
"J-just let me finish this last stitch and you can take it to your mother." She internally scolded herself for letting herself get distracted by a pretty male.
Kane jumped up, following her and trying to calm her. "Arlet, just take your time to finish it. It's one stitch and there's plenty of time before the celebrations begin. No need to rush."
Arlet nodded, taking a deep breath and sat back down on her stool. Kane removed his hands from her shoulders and sat on the floor next to her. "Thank you," she said softy, "you really saved my arse today."
"It's nothing really, you're the one who did all the work."
"Oh no, don't you dare say that Kane. 'It's okay to accept praise, be humble of course, but please don't put yourself down,' someone once told me that and it'd be a shame if they don't remember the same for themselves."
"Okay, you have me there Dear Arlet," he said with a small laugh, "you really do have a cunning little mind in there; I never would have guessed." Kane smiled at her as his little tease earned a laugh.
"Most people don't, well, I usually don't even talk with most people; I'm locked up in here most days."
"Then I accept the challenge of getting you out of here, maybe even starting tonight?" his tone and expression changed from joking to serious. "Would you accompany me to tonight's celebrations?" Kane prayed to the mother that this beautiful, intriguing, wonderful female in front of him would say yes. Besides the fact that his mother had been nagging him to find a female, he wanted Arlet to accompany him.
"K-Kane, I really shouldn't. I have so many more orders to complete-"
"Arlet, please, just an hour if that's all you can spare, come and celebrate with me. Everyone deserves to celebrate Starfall, most especially you." His deep blue eyes were pleading as he bent over, taking her hand, and placing a gentle kiss on the back of it. Cauldron damn her, he made it so hard to say no, with those irresistible eyes and kind gestures, not to mention the tug she felt toward him.
"I-I'll have to see, maybe, if I can get enough work done before everything starts," she didn't want to get his hopes up, but also didn't want to disappoint him. A little over two hours was all the time they had spent together, yet she felt like she knew him entirely.
"Maybe is better than no," he spoke with a smile, as if he thought maybe translated to yes.
"Well, um, you really should be on your way with this dress, I doubt the Lady likes to be kept waiting." Arlet quickly pulled away from Kane and began folding then packaging the dress, tying it off with an intricate bow. She held it out to him with a small smile, hoping not to make things awkward between then now that they were parting ways.
"I will be waiting for you, Dear Arlet. Whatever time you come, I'll still be waiting." The look in his eyes was sincere as he stole one last glance at her before leaving the small shop.
As soon as Kane was gone, Arlet felt a quiet in the shop that made her shudder. His presence was so warm, and without him with her like the past two hours, everything just felt so very...empty. Two sides fought in Arlet's head; one said she couldn't possibly attend any celebration that night, let alone one with Kane, the other, however, said that she worked herself to the bone everyday and deserved a break, especially one with Kane.
Kane.
Kane.
Kane.
The thoughts were dizzying and she couldn't stop the rush of emotions that came with the thought of him or the pounding of her heart against her ribcage. What would she even wear? There has been no need for her to dress up the slightest bit in over a century. This male, this damned male had an affect on her that no other ever had. She had taken such little interest in them over the decades, no more than a night spent together and even those were few and far between. Why Kane? Why the High Lord's son? Why did the cauldron enjoy torturing her over and over?

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Thank your for reading! If you enjoyed, please leave a comment and vote! Chapter Two will be up soon, so see you then! :)