Moving Objects

Chapter 9

"No. Absolutely not!"

"Oh, yellow is not that bad of a colour."

"It is when you have tan skin as I do!"

Lissa groaned and put the fluffy, tole daffodil yellow dress back on the rack. Finding Lissa a dress was easy. She's tall and slim with the perfect milk-white completion. She zeroed in on a drop sleeve periwinkle dress at the first store we went into. The jeweling at the top of the dress was stunning but the price tag wasn't stunning. My jaw practically hit the floor when I saw how much it cost.

I wandered through the racks and flipped through dresses, not overly excited by any of them. But I didn't want to go to the stupid dance anyway. Dad stopped me on my way out and wished me luck with the Princess and asked if he wanted Mom and him to go along. I shook my head, stating that I didn't want to make a huge deal out of the trip and went with just Lissa, Dimitri and Guardian Hassel.

I came to a stop and sighed at one of the dresses. Not my style or colour by any means, but it called out to me. I pulled it off the rack and held it out in front of me. It was a simple v-neck dress with spaghetti straps that tied at the lower back in a criss-cross style. The champagne colour with the lace and beaded overlay was stunning.

"You're trying it on!" Lissa squawked from her stop across the aisle. I chuckled and carried it with me while she added a few more dresses to her pile for me to try on. There were puffy dresses in bright colours and black dresses too. I was holding firm on not buying a black dress and wandered through the store, looking to see if there are any other dresses that piqued my interest.

I didn't find anything else, so I headed to the change room and pointed to Lissa when speaking to the attendant. The older woman nodded her head excitedly and scurried off to grab a pair of heels for me to wear while trying the dresses on. I slipped into the change room when she came back and started trying dresses on, vetoing some of them instantly when I saw how hideous they looked. They were styles that would suit Lissa's model-like figure, not my curved one.

I stepped out in a navy blue long sleeved dress and stood for Lissa to view, but I wasn't sold on the dress. Nor the price tag. I didn't want Lissa paying for my dress either. I tried on a few more that she gushed over, but I didn't love them.

I finally pulled on the dress I picked out and poked my head out to get her to tie the back, only to find Dimitri right outside the door.

"Sorry, Lissa had to go to the washroom, Hassel took her. Need help?"

I nodded and turned around, holding the front of the dress against my chest while Dimitri tied the silk laces. The heat from his fingers made the bare skin of my back prickle. I smoothed the dress out over my legs when he finished. Champagne wasn't my colour, it never was, but it did wonders against my tanned skin.

"Oh wow. That's your dress," I heard Lissa say as she came around the corner, her hands coming up to her face. I smirked and turned to look at a different angle and agreed with her. It was my dress and I loved how it made my slightly muscular back still look feminine. I lifted my hair up to see how it looked and decided that if I got this dress it would look better with my hair up.

I smiled and looked down to look at the tag, only to frown. I had a budget and this dress was five times the price. I chewed on the inside of my mouth and shook my head before turning into the change room and rifling through the remainder of dresses that were in my budget. I came across one that was slate gray with gold lines on it, almost geometric and slipped it on. It didn't feel as great as the last dress, but it was ok looking. I stepped out and waited for Lissa's assessment. Lissa liked it but not as much as the last one.