Beautiful, Beautiful

The Village

"We have an hour before the circus starts," he continued. "I thought we might grab some food on the way. I know the perfect place."

Five minutes later, they stood in front of small market. Cale had instructed her to stay back, while he went to purchase their meals. She obeyed and stood feet away, watching him order their food with his back against her. It wasn't long before two maidens approached him, giggling as they spoke. Sun turned away from the scene, taking the opportunity to gaze around.

She was overwhelmed by the village, her joy like that of a small child's, but there was something nudging at her heart, reminding her that she did not belong. But oh, how she wished she were an average woman who could enjoy the luxuries of shopping and mingling. Oh, how she wished she could parade around town in a fancy red dress, proud and void of a red hood. She wished she could smile at men the way she saw the girls looking at Cale, and she wished they'd return her smile, just as intrigued. But no one knew she existed, and no one could even fathom the beauty that lay beneath her cloak. She was no one, a fly on the wall, the ghost of her mother's pride and joy.

"Excuse me, miss," the sound of a woman's voice muted her thoughts and she turned to meet the short, stubby woman smiling up at her, thankful that her cloak shadowed her face. "You look like you could use a nice, new dress. My shop is just there. Come look to see what new materials we have. They just came in from a gifted seamstress near the castle."

The woman grabbed a hold of Sun before she could even respond, pulling her in the direction of the shop. Sun glanced behind her, watching Cale's figure disappear as she stepped into the dress shop.

Her eyes were instantly alight, like that of a child as she took in the small boutique. She instantly forgot about her brother and took to the sight of silk and satin, golds and silvers hanging on display racks. Her hand reached out to every piece of material, admiring the difference in each dress. Some were hard with sequins, other were as smooth as silk.

"Beautiful," she whispered, eager to try them on.

"Aren't they?"

Sun jumped at the sound of the woman's voice. She had almost forgotten that the lady had been standing nearby. "For you, I'll mark down the price. That dress will cost you two silvers."

Sun turned toward the woman. "But I have no money."

Then woman huffed. "Well then, why did you come into my shop?" The woman didn't give Sun a chance to answer. "Get going, then. I have customers to entice. By the gods, I've been given the gift to sale anything to anyone. Such an offense it is when one doesn't have any money. What good is my gift, then?" The woman was out of the store in a flash, leaving Sun alone in the room full of fabrics.

Momentarily forgetting the angered sales woman, Sun continued sorting through the different patterns and dress styles, imaging how each one would look on her. She spotted a gold, shimmering gown on a mannequin and froze before it's brilliance. It was the kind of dress she imaged a princess would wear. The kind she spent hours daydreaming about as a child, back when her hopes and dreams hadn't been shattered by fear. Back to the days when she imagined she was a princess locked away in a tower that was guarded by a fire-breathing dragon.

The dress was everything childhood dreams were made of, and she had to try it on. And to her luck, there was a tempting dressing room near the back of the shop.

"I deserve this dress," she said to herself, pulling the dress off of the mannequin and walking toward the door to check on her brother. She saw the woman feet away, trying to entice possible customers to go into her store. To Sun's left, she said Cale still chatting with the same women as he waited for their food. He hadn't even noticed she was gone.