Heartglass

Heartglass 1: The Seamstress

AZALEA

I hopped down the carriage. It couldn't pass through and head to our destination because of a traffic accident–well, not exactly a traffic accident–but someone suddenly collapsed in the middle of the streets and it was found that she had a broken heartglass.

I didn't have the time to gossip because heartglass shattering was quite a natural thing in this kingdom. I rushed downtown where my dress shop was located–a two-story building mostly made of glass to showcase the beautiful dresses and gorgeous suits inside.

My mind whirled around the bulk orders of my customers that we urgently needed to finish. We were catering for the dresses of the royal and noble families. And because of the upcoming palace banquet, it was hectic in our shop these days.

Everyone wanted to flaunt their beautiful, elegant dresses to show off their family's wealth and superiority. I must do well because new designs and fashion trends would be the talk of the town after such gatherings.

I must finish first the orders I received from the palace to gauge if there were changes on their body measurements and adjust their dresses and suits.

The upcoming banquet will be held to announce the official Crown Prince and also to introduce the selected Crown Princess candidates. These candidates would live in the palace for a few months to be trained and to undergo trials.

The Crown Princess candidate list was already final and I also supervised the production of their dresses. I was scheduled to visit them for the next days.

My heartglass palpitated in my chest as I rushed to my shop–thankful that my anxiety wasn't enough to break my fragile heart to pieces. Since it was made of glass, I was very careful, especially guarding my heart from love that could cause absolute death.

It was just seven in the morning. My employees were already waiting in front of the store so I quickly opened the glass doors using my dangling keys.

As we entered the shop, the dresses lined up on the racks and the mannequins wearing elegant dresses and manly suits and tunics greeted our eyes. It was the face of my clothing shop. The shop was mostly painted by peach and gold with a cream-white high ceiling showcasing the gold and grandiose chandelier. There was a spiral stair, up to the second floor, leading to our workplaces, fabric storage and sewing machines.

The salesladies already took their positions and dusted the dresses and changed the displays on the racks and mannequins. The seamstresses already went upstairs to sew dresses. I inspected the newly-made corsets and ballgowns and discussed the prices with my bookkeeper, clerks and cashiers.

Aside from being the owner and inspecting clothing, I could also design gowns and could be a seamstress when we needed more manpower for bulk orders.

The banquet would be held next month, October. I didn't want to commit any mistakes. I didn't want to ruin the reputation of this shop.

Everything must be perfect.

Designing and being a seamstress were a hobby I was fond of when I was still a girl. And because I needed to distract myself to avoid being emotionally inclined, I focused on these things. My parents also taught us not to love at a very young age. Even our parents and siblings were no exception to the rule.

Most of the people in this kingdom only lived to earn money. Some would only marry to have descendants and to continue their noble lineage and bloodline. Some people marry not for love but for power and pure political reasons.

I guessed we only wanted a name for ourselves and live the life we wanted without involving love.

This kingdom was not driven by love. This kingdom was driven by money, power and connection.

But despite the cold kingdom we were living in and despite knowing our fates when we love, some people still made mistakes. Some people still died due to love. And after their heartglass shattered to pieces, that was the end of their lives.

After inspecting the elegant and voluptuous ballgowns and manly suits and tunics, I asked my assistant, Marie, to pack them. The orders were already complete just before the due date.

I already scheduled a visit to the palace tomorrow. And then I would meet the Crown Princess candidates on their respective houses the next day.

It was a hectic day for me. I have to double check the orders from the nobles too. The telephone rang nonstop and some employees were on the phone, almost the whole day, to take calls. Some pretty and wealthy nobles visited the shop with impossible requests and deadlines but we respectfully declined it. Some people were hard to talk to and they were getting in my nerves sometimes. I refrained from accepting orders and requests until the palace banquet was finally over.

I started my own business, despite my noble blood and despite my parents opposing it. They wanted me to marry someone influential to ensure that I would have a bright future. But I was so guarded that I wanted my independence instead. I didn't want to marry anyone. I didn't want to risk my life with the uncertainty of marriage because it was always connected to love.

I didn't want to voluntarily kill myself.

I already witnessed how my older sister married a man for connection but it ended as a disaster. She developed an unwanted feeling for the man and fell in love. And because the man couldn't reciprocate her love, he cheated on her like it was no one's business. When she discovered her husband's infidelity, her heart immediately crumbled into pieces and died.

That was a tragedy well-known to the social circles. A tragedy that tainted our house and family name. But it was something we totally ignored. We must not crumble just because of mere gossips.

When I returned home, I went straight to my dressing room to change. I could only stare at my own reflection in the human-sized mirror with exhaustion. Red Hair which I really hated. Red plump lips. Amber eyes. Freckled skin and face.

My eyes wandered right at my chest and I could only smile bitterly. There was a glass window on my chests which revealed my heartglass. I feared to see the small cracks on my heart every time I faced the mirror. It was a threatening sight for someone who wanted to protect her life at all costs. I received these small cracks when my sister died.

Guess, I didn't harden my heart enough like the way I thought I did.

The absurd thing about our hearts were its transparency. We were literally wearing our hearts on our chest, open for anyone to see. We could only cover it with elegant dresses and gowns and tunics while pretending we were all normal–pretending we were not slowly dying–a generational curse to the people of this kingdom.

A hundred years already passed when a witch cursed everyone to have hearts made of glass because she broke her heart and lost herself to the ancestor of the current King–betrayed. For this reason, this kingdom was shut from the outside world to avoid other normal humans to infiltrate and kill us all.

It was a legend passed to every citizen but no one could really confirm its truth.

But I was only certain of one thing. I didn't want the same fate as my sister. I didn't want to end up like her so I hardened my resolve of not falling in love.

I will never give in to love.

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