Foxtails and Fairytales: Facades and Fables of the Phantom Prince

[Arc 8] Ch. 10 Exposing Chemistry

Earlier that day.

Sebas

I watched the sun went down as I straightened my sleeve and fixed my form-fitting black gloves. While waiting I looked around the room. We were meeting in a modest beach-side home provided by Sable. The large glass windows overlooking the sea attested to the subtle modern-day conveniences attained through magic shortcuts. As I looked out at the sea, I could see the inside of the house through the reflection in the glass as I straightened my clothes. Behind me was a large living room with grey couches around a small wooden coffee table. The kitchen further on was separated by an island counter made of marbled stone. It was odd in the sense that it was far more modern than the common sense of nobles who just have their food brought to them.

Gah, this hair. What do I do with it?

Hyde's look was centered around a lackadaisical approach to hair style, but I was told to fix it. I mean, I thought it went with my outfit just fine. I was wearing a suit with a long blazer that gave off the aura of a mage with its length. It was a fairly standard formal outfit, but I had made my own set of modifications to it. Namely, pockets in the liner for wands. Yes, wizard wands I made and enchanted myself.

They looked pretty standard, actually they were pretty shoddy for a high-class party. That's because most would be made out of super rare and enchanted materials. These weren't more than pointed wooden sticks, disposable wooden sticks. Errr... wands.

They were no where near as great as something Tiera could make but they weren't supposed to be. I strapped a pouch to my right leg. It sat near the center of my thigh right where I could get at it easily without bending or ruining the lines of my suit. It contained a few common utility spell scrolls that could be purchased at the market with a couple powered up scrolls, a vial of concentrated healing potion, a vial of smokescreen, a couple spell scrolls, and box of chalk, charcoal, and ink. Built in was a slot for a folding pen knife and slot for a dagger. The hilt of the dagger had the crow and raven of the Warlocks and was more for style than self-defense.

I straightened my long red tie on my black shirt and fixed the pin that announced my Warlock status. Then I screwed my face as I tried to do... something with my hair.

"You certainly clean up nice." Julie said when she descended the stairs just outside of my view. "How do we look?"

I turned and completely lost my shit. I knew she was pretty but when Julie actually tried something inside me spiraled out of control.

I couldn't help but gape since the idol-like girl I knew had become a goddess.

She had on a long black evening gown with a long slit up her right leg. It hugged every curve of her body and as if to emphasize that, there wasn't a single visible seam as it covered up to her neck and over her shoulders with clean lines only magic and tailoring could manage. She had long dark sheer gloves that went up to her elbow and seemed to be tied with a red ribbon. Her gloves didn't hide their seam but announced it with its subtle red needlework.

Her dress glittered with an asymmetric pattern of tiny crimson gemstones that looked like someone had intentionally sprinkled crushed rubies on it that emphasized the curves of her body and lack of creases the dress boasted. They drew the eye from her hip, over her waist and created and intentional shading effect around her bust. As she stepped, the lustrous red velvety lining of the inside of the dress was revealed complementing the soft shadowing creases caused by the hanging nature of skirts cut.

And to pull it out together, she didn't wear high heels or strappy sandals. She had on black boots that matched the clean creaseless nature of the rest of the dress with red laces up the front to the tight crimson folded over cuff. Completed with red stocking that rode up her perfectly curved legs that ended with a black and red lace garter that hugged the supple thigh creating a delectable bend in the line of her leg.

The only reason I was able to take my eyes of it was because when she got to the bottom of the stairs, she spun around with showing off a diamond cutout in the back of her dressed filled with red lace and rose patterns. They drew my eyes up to her pinkish hair that was braided up and pinned with a red rose with a gradating pink color that created a glowing effect.

"Black and Red aren't normally my colors. When I asked Tiera for something simple, I expected her to suggest a style not make a whole outfit." When Julie finished spinning, the rose in her hair was replaced by the shimmering rose petal lips. Her golden honey eyes were surrounded by the longest eyelashes I'd ever seen. She even had glitter on her rosy cheeks.

I was so completely enraptured by the goddess before me I had no attention to spare for the flowery pink backdrop, or Sable who probably looked ravishing in her own way in her frilly black and gold idol dress.

Julie... was it even possible for anyone to be so elegant and beautiful?

Someone at the fringes of my attention sighed.

CLAP CLAP CLAP!

"Okay you two, quit ogling and just make out already!" Sable shouted dragging me out of my stupor.

"I wasn't staring." Julie fidgeted and cutely stared at the ground.

I ripped my stare away from her and pretended to fix my tie in the window's reflection. I could have cried when I realized I couldn't see her in the reflection of the mirror. I clicked my tongue... mostly because I was trying to reboot my brain so I could function.

Terror filled me for a second. How in Gaia's name was I going to survive tonight?

... oh ya...

"Flint's a lucky man." I said, emotionally throwing a brick at my heart. "Tell me again why he isn't here doing this?"

"In two words, Drama and Chemistry." Sable answered. She sighed. "I thought I told you to do something with your hair. Julie will you see what you can do, I'm going to go grab some product."

"Hold on, what chemistry?" I turned with a curious glance toward the door Sable left through.

I turned to see Julie who strode right up to me. She was even more captivating up close.

"Honestly, you are just like Nerinin. You can dress yourself, but you have no sense when it comes to your ha...ir~" Julie reached her hands up into my hair as if to fix it. But instead of doing anything with its style, she stopped for a second and her ears twitched. Then she seemed to dig both her hands into it and play with it.

"So... fluffy..." Julie cooed. I couldn't stop her, I didn't have the heart to. And it just felt so good.

"That chemistry." Sable said bringing us both back to reality. "Seriously, people are already talking. Get over here and bend down." She walked over and I obeyed reluctantly as Julie released me.

She unscrewed the top of a small bowl and scooped out some white paste. The then began to smear it in my hair. "I leave you two alone for thirty seconds and you both look like you are holding yourselves back from pouncing on each other." Once she had mixed it in my hair, she pulled out the comb she had brought with her and started 'fixing' my hair. "This is why we had you go on a date with Minerva today too. To make people talk."