Shop: I’ll write a drabble of my character taking yours shopping. [xcrossedroads; Altenna → Arion]
“Altenna, that’s… far too gaudy.”
A pout and the new Queen of Manster returned the dress to its place as Arion wondered briefly how on earth that could ever be considered a wedding dress. The place they had gone to was expensive without a doubt, but something like that looked far too out of place. Not only that… but he would be far too embarrassed to be seen with Altenna wearing something like that. Pray tell, that… was not… her fashion sense, was it?
Watching her shift through dresses, it was a little odd. He had known this girl for most of his life and most of hers, and if they hadn’t been raised as siblings, they would have been nothing different from childhood friends. That may have been impossible though if his father had not killed her parents, and if that had not happened, they may have hated each other. Perhaps it would have been possible… but it surely would have been difficult.
Not that he condoned that decision, and it was still hard watching Altenna struggle knowing about all of this now. She would go on pretending she was fine as always, but he knew she thought about that fact many times. How would things have turned out in any other circumstance? They were King and Queen of two different nations that they were trying to have become one, and they were here in search of a wedding dress for Altenna. They were getting married… and he definitely felt differently seeing her now. It wasn’t the same as how he felt when he made himself look at her as a sibling.
Right now, he was here with a woman grown; not a little sister. No… She had never been his little sister, and that had been many years worth of lies. So was that a good thing then? They had finally broken free of that situation, and both of them had embraced feelings that did not amount to that. She was equal to him, and her thoughts and ideas were a part of his. They were in fact partners now, and Arion had no difficulty accepting that. Only… how things ended up this way, with the loss of the true life she should have known. The life that may have never allowed them to be together this way.
Moving to the section of dresses with her, he flipped through the sizes she had been looking at, deciding that must have been the size that fit her best. Despite having lived with her all those years, he had found it best to simply never ask or look into those details. She was a woman, after all, and that was surely a violation of privacy.
“Some of these are nice, but they’re really not… me. Is there anything over on that side that looks good?”
Pulling out a few as he searched as suggestions, he also kept an eye out for anything he felt would suit her. “There are these few that you would be interested in… We shouldn’t get anything too Thracian themed or Manster themed though. That almost defeats the purpose of what we’re trying to do.”
As he watched her nod and continue looking through the clothing, moving over to his side and checking the dresses available, it was only now that Arion realized how interested she seemed. She did seem to have a particularly girly side to her while here that he had never had the chance to notice before now… She really was different than she had been all those years. Her time in that army… must have really helped her grow and learn more about herself. She had been able to extend her vision beyond the lands of Thracia, and that surely had nothing but good for her.
After another few long minutes of searching, Altenna finally pulled something out that she seemed particularly fond of. The two agreed to have her change into it in one of the back changing rooms to confirm her choice, and she eventually poked back out in it. Any previous thoughts Arion could have had of this girl being his little sister that needed protecting were gone; almost like she was a new person entirely. What he saw of her now was simply a soon to be bride, and his no less. She had long grown out of any childish behavior or views, and unfortunately it had taken them becoming enemies for him to truly understand this. He had learned to stop pampering the girl and realized she could indeed stand on her own feet. She was not a little girl anymore, and time has passed before he had even realized it. They could start everything anew now…
“It definitely passes for not being too much of either side. Rather… it looks to be a portion of both, as if it was made for the unification… You should wear it.”
Things were very different; especially if these two nations were to become one someday. It had been so long since that was the case, and neither of them had been alive for those days. A dress that already seemed to symbolize the unification, even if unintentionally… Maybe there really was hope for all of this.