There were also varying types and colours of threads in the box, along with buttons and spare fabrics. Next to the box was a plain white textile scratched tightly in a wooden hoop, seemingly begging to be embroidered and made into something beautiful, vivid and new.
“[Name]! The carriage has arrived, hurry up!” Kai called for you from downstairs, his voice reverberating in your mind with alertness, reminding you again and again, to quickly get your things. You buttoned your black satchel before running downstairs, the floorboards of the old wooden house creaking underneath your swift movements. As you entered the cramped downstairs area where the massive front door was, you saw Kai standing by the door, holding the case in both of his arms. He looked up at you nervously, his this lips pursed into a straight line.
“My dear little sister.. please, take upmost care of not only this outfit but yourself as well during the three-day journey. You need to be at the palace by eleven in the morning tomorrow, alright? Don’t forget to hire another carriage to drive you home as well! Make sure you save enough money to pay for a carriage. Gosh, this is much too nerve-wracking for my own good. It is just that... this outfit permits us to change our lives completely. It is a chance for a life of leisure and ease; we will not have to suffer any longer. We can do the things we like, whenever we please and nothing could stop us.” Kai declared, before clearing his throat.
He sent you a stern and straight glare that boarded into your figure. “I know how how much I tell you this outfit is a great opportunity and all, but if something were to happen in the Yunoaiu district of the kingdom, I want you to prioritise yourself over this outfit. You are the number one priority. This outfit comes second. Remember, if something goes wrong, contact me by telephone or write me a letter as soon as humanly possible.” He ordered and cautioned you, making sure you would be careful and take care of yourself as well. You nodded timidly in response, finding his grave language uncommon and something you definitely could not disobey.
“I understand, big brother. I will do my best not to get into any trouble and get things finished swiftly. While I am gone, make sure to take care of yourself too. Do not worry over me; try your best not to at least. I am nineteen, a young adult now.” You comforted him, hoping to ease Kai’s nerves even the slightest bit.
“[Name].. I will pray to the gods for you to be safe and sound on this journey. I will pray to the gods to watch over you and bring you back home to me without a single scratch.” Kai uttered worriedly before gazing down at the light blue case in his arms, with his name and address inked onto the top left corner in case it were to get lost.
“And I will pray to the gods to look after you while I am away.” You responded, a small smile creeping onto your lips before Kai dropped the light blue case in your arms. It was relatively heavy and weighed you down slightly more than you had expected.
“The Yunoaiu district is the closest to the kingdom. That means its residents are all of high status and incredibly rich. If you are to even bump into one of them, they will make sure you are charged with theft or some sort of crime. If you do not look and act like them, they will despise you. Trust me, I know. So, be careful. Be swift. Be cautious.” Kai perfected his warning before taking out a small pouch made of translucent red fabric with ten shiny golden coins instead, bumping into each other with a slight ‘clink’.
“Take these ten golden coins with you on the journey. Find an Inn to stay at, nothing too expensive though. Good luck, [Name].” Kai began to say his goodbyes as he put the sack of gold coins into your satchel. He then took out a small, neatly folded piece of paper and slipped it into your pitch-black satchel as well. “This piece of paper has everything you need to do on it, and my address, my number, emergency service numbers and such. Farewell now, my darling little sister.” Kai said, bending over the large, light blue case to embrace you in a tight, warm hug.
“Goodbye, Kai. I will miss you terribly.” You returned, smiling solemnly at Kai as he pulled away, gently pushing several strands of your [H/C] hair behind your ear.
“Good luck and goodbye.” He said, caressing your cheek gently before parting his soft touch from your skin. He opened the front door for you, revealing the fairly dull, beige looking carriage that waited outside with a pair of black horses standing side by side.
You hurried out the door and jumped onto the road, opening the carriage door for yourself, being wary not to drop the case in the process. As you stepped into the carriage, you saw the interior was light blue with dark, navy cushioned seats facing each other. The transport was relatively small, yet it was big enough to hold four people.
You hurriedly gazed out the window as the sound of the horse’s trotting at a walking speed began to flood into your ears. There stood Kai, his idealistic white hair drifting in the wind like clouds in the sky. He waved you goodbye, and you returned the action. Waving in a very energised manner and smiling in a way that said a thousand ‘I’ll miss you’s.
You sighed solemnly, feeling heavy weight dawn upon your heart as he faded out of sight, disappearing into the distance along with the home you grew up in. You faced forward, placing the case on the seat in front of you, followed by your black satchel by its side. You leaned back into the cushioned seat, finding it slightly comfortable yet still not the best quality, to relax.
“We’re making our way for Yunoaiu district, correct?” The driver questioned, making sure that he got the right customer and destination to head to.
Your head snapped up to face the small window in front of you. The back of the driver’s head peeked through, bobbing up and down under the carriage’s repetitive bumping along the stone road. You gradually calmed down and nodded as though he would be able to see you. “Yes, that’s correct.” You confirmed, your eyes trailing back out to the window, observing as people walked by and houses seemed to fly past your sight.
“May I ask why? If it’s not confidential that is, I have no wished to intrude on private business.” The driver stated, trying to uphold a conversation with you to make the fourteen hour-long ride a little more bearable and a little less bothersome.
“Ah, I’m delivering the outfit to the palace for the Emperor’s tailoring competition. My boss made the outfit you see, and he’s quite busy, so I’m making the journey in his stead.” You responded, not wanting to give away too much information about your private life. Well, technically, you weren’t lying. Your brother was your boss either way, and you were pretty much his favourite assistant. His only assistant, actually.
“That makes sense. I heard that the winner gets to become the Emperor’s private tailor and that the Emperor will even wear the winning outfit to his first matchmaking session.” He replied, his voice barely audible over the loud clicking of horseshoes against the cobblestone road.
“First matchmaking session?” You pressed, not having heard about that part of the competition prize before.
“Yes. It is funny really, the average life span of a person from Intuuin is one hundred and ten years old, yet the Emperor’s grandmother insists he finds a wife at the ripe age of twenty-one. However, I heard that the young man is cold, heartless and cruel to everybody except his adviser and grandmother. After all, word does spread fast in Intuuin.” The driver asserted, laughing slightly afterwards as he made a turn.
“Ah.. It’s funny how not much is even known about the Emperor. From what I’ve heard, he’s a bit of a fickle character when he wants to be.” You replied, a smirk cracking on your lips at your remark.
“True, I’ve heard so as well. He is a bit of a playboy, I would reckon. Unfortunately, for the girls he plays around with, they all end up being mercilessly cast away as soon as he loses interest. Gosh, the Emperor. I wonder if all these things are true. He takes over the world in just three years; it blows my mind.” The driver responded, his head visibly shaking from outside the small window as a brief breeze swayed the brown strands of his hair to the side.
You both continued to converse among yourselves about everything you knew about the Emperor. It was true, despite the Emperor being rich, proud, successful, charming, handsome and overall the nearest thing in humanity to perfection, his personality wasn’t as perfect.
He was indeed a bit of a heartbreaker: a good persuader, merciless, heartless and, consequently, cruel. However, there is nothing definite to back up these assumptions and rumours the people have heard about him. Not to mention, ever since the Emperor’s parents died when he was such a young age, his grandmother had been so protective over him, not letting him out to play, nor greet his subjects at festivals and so forth. Overall, the Emperor was just as mysterious to his people as he was compelling to the entire world.
Soon enough, the sun had fallen beneath the world, and the moon had risen. Its silver rays of light twinkling wonderfully upon every surface it came into contact with. You rested your head upon the cold and lumpy pillow of your faux fur scarf, which you also relied on to provide you with warmth from the cooler temperatures of the evening. Despite the late night, the loud noises of laughter - especially from intoxicated men - chatter and music were still reverberating throughout the lively and ambiguous kingdom of Intuuin. During your sleep, the carriage had slowly made its way into the Yunoaiu district: the district of the fortunate, famous and wealthy.
Somewhere, you would feel so out of place.
However, the sunlight slowly began to creep up again at dawn; the bustling kingdom never dying out. A new day was gifted to the people, and the usual morning errands were run. The typical business done and the ordinary sounds heard. Your eyes fluttered open while you childishly wiggled your fingers in an attempt to wake your hands up a bit more.
The driver of the carriage just so happened to hear you waken and also seemed to catch the loud yawn emitting from the back of the carriage, causing him to chuckle sleepily. “We’re nearly there, girlie. We’ll be there in just about five minutes or less.” He informed you, finding it convenient how you had woken up at just the right time.
You stretched your arms forward and circled your ankles order to stretch them as well. You blinked rapidly, making your eyesight clearer before looking out the window, excited to see what the Yunoaiu district looked like. Your [E/C] eyes widened to the size of saucers, and you gaped like a goldfish at the fantastic sight. The people on the street wore the most exquisite fashion couture, the latest trends and the most expensive fabric and jewels you had ever seen in your entire lifetime. The buildings were made of white marble, and the rooves were colourful, each seeming to be a unique and wholly different colour of the spectrum. Compared to how things were at your home district, Ouiy, things seemed so different to the point you felt the need to complain about how it was unfair. While they lived lavish and luxurious lives, everybody back in the Ouiy district was much less wealthy, and everything was made of cheaper stone or wood.
You pouted at the sight but still could not help but smile at how everybody was so up to date with fashion. It truly astounded you how the couture appeared well put together at every seam. You tapped your chin curiously at the prosperous district before you were interrupted by the driver.
“I’ll be dropping you off at a fairly cheap inn that’s within a twenty-minute walking distance to the palace. As you can already guess, even the simplest things here are more expensive than back at home. Gosh, I wish I was rich.” The driver said, frowning to himself as his eyes could not help but twinkle at the glamorous city that he drove through.
“Alright, that sounds good.” You responded before deciding it would be best if you began gathering your stuff. You grabbed your coal-black satchel and slung in around your figure before pulling the heavy case onto your thighs, presently ready to exit the carriage as soon as he stopped. You reminded yourself mentally to be cautious like Kai had warned you to be, as well as to lay low and be swift. You nodded your head in conviction, wanting to do the best you could on your first journey to the big city, and an important one at that.
“We’ve arrived now,” The driver mentioned, slowing down the carriage before it came to a complete stop in front of a tall building that looked just as extravagant as all the other ones. It was made of pure white stone with statues and details everywhere upon it, making it seem just that little bit more magical. The roof was purple, symbolising wealth and the flooring made of high-quality tiles. There was a guard next to the large glass door, the entrance, who looked too intimidating for his own good. “It was a pleasure driving you here, girlie. Goodbye!” The driver finished.
You sighed, slowly getting out of the carriage with the heavy, sky blue case in your arms as you somehow managed to close the carriage door behind you. As soon as you stepped onto the bustling pavement, the chauffeur and his four-wheeler drove away, leaving you all alone.
Gulping nervously at the sight before you, you headed towards the entrance of the supposed inn. The guard seemed to look at you with a twinge of disgust as he opened the door for you, causing you to feel slightly insecure. “Welcome.” He said in a monotone and faint voice as you trekked past, muttering a quick ‘thank you’.
Inside, the reception was large and spacious. There was a large sitting area to the left, full of plants, flowers and white sofas spread about the area. To your right was an all you can eat buffet with an arrangement of dining tables and chairs scattered about in that area. Then, in front of you was a long desk with roughly seven disparate people working. That is where you assumed you would need to pay for the accommodation and such.
Imagining how expensive it would be to stay in such a place, you sluggishly dragged yourself over to the front desk, your shoes satisfyingly clicking against the black marble floor, to buy a room for yourself, walking under the colossal and breathtaking crystal chandelier that managed to illuminate the entire reception perfectly.
You approached one of the people at the front desk, a tall woman with snowy pale skin with wrinkles beginning to form, long light brown hair and kind black eyes. She smiled surprisingly kindly to you and greeted you,
“Hello miss. Welcome to the Veridalu Hotel. My name is Faye Yu. How may I help you today?”
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