He Strikes at the Hotel

Chapter Twenty One

The day arrived for Nerissa and I to go shopping for dresses. Zachery told us to get whatever dresses we wanted for the ball and to put it on his personal account. Nerissa was beyond ecstatic over this, but I couldn't help but feel guilty, wanting to find the cheapest dress possible to compensate. If I had any kind of dress that would suit this type of event, I would have settled for it, even if it didn't fit me any more. But my wardrobe only caters for modest events at best, nothing quite like the Grand Royal Ball Event, where sequins were embroidered in to every detail of every garment, every furnishing and every napkin, with edible gold being a favourite on most of the delicacies provided. At least Nerissa and I get some quality time together today whilst shopping. It seems like it has been a lifetime since we had real time to ourselves. Ever since Zachery's arrival there has been something going on constantly which has distracted either one of us or both. So I am going to make the most of today, even if I feel like it has been ever so slightly forced.

"Look at this place!" Nerissa wailed as we walked through the doors of Le Vetement, the fanciest dress shop in London, suggested to us by Zachery who obviously knew of it well. I had only ever heard about the place, as it's in a part of the city I can't afford to even walk in, let alone shop in. It became very obvious to the shop assistants that we weren't accustomed to the shop with our shocked expressions as soon as we arrived, not to mention Nerissa's wails.

The building itself was magnificent, it had three floors all full of extravagant gowns, with chandeliers draping across every inch of the ceiling, long golden silks flowing over the walls, accentuating the artwork between them, and classical piano music playing from only Lord knows where. The dresses on display were something out of this world. Each one flowing down from the bodice down to the floor, with some of them having trains which stretched out as long as my whole body. I've never worn such a glamorous dress in my life, with Nerissa being in the same boat as me. Hopefully we don't sink whilst we're here.

"Shall we go look over there? Those gowns are to die for!" Nerissa pulled me over to the far side of the room where there were so many different colours of dresses on display that I could have mistaken that area for a sweet shop, just as a little side business to add even more extravagance to this building.

"Of course. Is there any particular colour that is taking your fancy?" I asked Nerissa, as I could see her eyeing up each and every dress with expert precision. As I looked in the direction that she was gazing, I could see the most beautiful scarlet dress with a ribboned bodice and miniature roses sewn into the skirt, each with a single glistening rhinestone in the middle, causing the whole dress to light up each time you altered your head to look at it. With Nerissa's dark hair, red was always a favourite of hers. It always made her look elegant, and she always seemed a little more confident when she was wearing red. There was no doubt in my mind that this was the exact dress she was going to pick, but I wasn't going to spoil her browsing around first.

"This one is beautiful, don't you think, Audrey Rose? But that one is so much more flattering... Oh! But look over there!" Nerissa couldn't stay in one place long enough to finish a sentence. She was overwhelmed by the gorgeous gowns on offer, and I must say, I was getting more excited the longer we were there. I could see the magnitude of choices I had at my fingertips, and any dress I wanted I would actually be able to purchase, not just look at and hope to one day be able to purchase such an expensive item of clothing.

I've never really had a favourite colour to wear like Nerissa does. My hair is a dark blonde and I have a very pale complexion, so in my opinion most colours make me look exactly the same, not like Nerissa when she wears red. I started to look around where Nerissa was stood, studying a few gowns at a time. I saw a beautiful yellow gown, which looked as if it was made out of sunshine itself. It was long, but stopped just before hitting the ground, which I could imagine would whirl round gloriously when wearing it. I felt the fabric and it was close to being pure silk, and I felt as if by touching it I would make it dirty, or it would crumble, so I backed away from it and began searching another area.

I heard Nerissa call out to me from wherever she had ended up now, which surprisingly didn't seem to be too far away from me. "Audrey Rose! What do you think of this? It's the one! I am in love! What do you think Pierre will say?" She was smiling wide whilst pointing to the scarlet dress I saw earlier, which was no surprise to me.

"It's beautiful, Nerissa. The colour really compliments every one of your features, and look at the embroidered roses! Pierre will be seeing stars when you walk in the room." I knew that was going to be the dress she chose, but I didn't think she would decide indefinitely so quickly. It was now down to me to find the perfect dress, and I had no clue what I was even looking for, especially when there was just so many choices. "How do people shop in here on a regular basis? I think I'd have a meltdown. This is more stressful than shopping for groceries on the high street stalls in the height of summer."

"Audrey Rose, come here. I've found your dress. I've envisioned you in it, fallen in love with it, and have made sure they have your size. You must try it on." Nerissa told me quite matter of factly. Whenever I cannot make up my mind on anything, she is always the one who can make up my mind for me, and she usually does a better job of it too. I went over to her, where she was standing by 'my' ball gown. It was stunning, a beautiful pastel blue with a diamond crystal bodice, which scattered down into the skirt like shooting stars. It had ribbon on the back to tighten the corset, and had gorgeous off the shoulder arms which would drape over your shoulders comfortably and elegantly. The gown itself went down to the floor, with a slight train running behind it, but nothing too difficult to manage. I was shocked at how Nerissa was able to find me a dress so quickly after finding hers, and doing a brilliant job of it too.

"Oh, Nerissa... It's beautiful..." I gasped when I felt the material, which was close to velvet, but very thin and airy. If I wore this to the ball, I would feel like a princess. Or a Duchess...