Alaric looks up at me, holding the flower crown in his hands, smiling at me. It makes me so happy to see him enjoying our time together, it brings a warmth to my life I wish I had experienced more before. He stands up, leaning over the table to place the crown on top of my head. "Now you're a pretty princess."
He sits back down, and I laugh a bit at the comment. I straighten up, holding a finger up and put on a posh voice once again. "It is I, Princess Felix of the Flower Kingdom!" Alaric snickers a bit and I place my hand on my chest. "And who might you serve, handsome knight?"
He keeps the smile on his face as he watches in amusement, "Who do I serve?" He repeats and then hums, playing along and 'thinking'. "I serve.. I serve the princess, of course."
I open my mouth to say something, but then my words are cut off by the grumbles of my stomach. Alaric cuts the interaction, and begins to get up. "We should go get you some lunch." He offers his arm again, and I stand up to take it.
As we walk, I feel his arm tighten onto mine. I wonder if I'm squeezing it too much, he's somewhat skinny in comparison to me, which is surprising seeing that I haven't been eating well until now. I keep looking over to our arms, interlocked at the elbow. We're walking together like two girls hanging out after school, free from any problems currently.
We enter the dining hall, following the same routine we've had for the past few days. We sit at a table, and the waiter drops off menus. They're covered in only words. Shit. Alaric looks at his for a moment before looking back up at me. "So, what do you feel like getting?"
I shrug, honestly not having a clue. "You can order whatever for me. Surprise me." He looks confused at me, and then shuts his menu.
He stares at me in silence for a moment and then kisses his teeth before speaking, "Got it. I'll go fancy today, maybe some crêpes." He slaps the menu down onto the table, leaning back and calling over a waiter.
I feel a bit bad for making him order for me, but it's honestly embarrassing to admit I can't read well. In my old orphanage, we were only taught by volunteer tutors who cared enough to spend time, so education wasn't the best. And when Diego and my mom tried teaching me, they would always become so frustrated. I wouldn't want Alaric to deal with that now that I'm already an adult.
He pulls me back into the current moment, as the waiter walks away. "So, I noticed you don't have any other..." He pauses, almost like he doesn't want to step on an eggshell. "...formal clothes. What if after this, we went to go get you a new suit?" He smiles at me, pointing a spoon from the table at my shirt.
"Why would we get one for me?" I bring up my hands, somewhat confused now.
He leans back, groaning. "Because, I want to hang out with you at the ball, dummy. And I want you to have nice things." The waiter brings us our food, and he leans back in. "You know, since you're my 'boyfriend', I want to see you prettied up." He takes his fork and starts to eat the crêpes.
I nod, and pick up my fork to start eating. I've never tried one before, and it's adorned in all sorts of fruits. I slowly take up a bit to my mouth, taking in the crêpe covered in strawberries and blueberries. Rich people are so lucky to eat this shit all the time. Alaric watches me, before he speaks up. "So, what are your favorite books to read?"
I think for a moment, trying to remember any books Myra had read. "Uh... well, I don't remember that well, but I think..." Why can't I remember any of the books? "I really liked... The Handmaid's Tale."
I barely know anything about that book.
Alaric nodded slowly, still eating his food. "Well, maybe one day we can read together." I wish we could. "Anyways, do you have any color in mind for the suit? Oooh, we can get you nice cufflinks too. You seem like you'd do well in a nice suit." He lightened up with excitement, I guess he really likes to play dress-up with people.
I scarf down my food quickly, and we both stand again. He gestures to the door, and we both begin our walk to his car with his "henchmen." Soon, we arrive at a formal clothing store, and I'm dragged in as Alaric pulls me in.
One of the workers, a tailor, immediately walks up to us and greets us. "Welcome, what do you need today gentlemen?" Alaric pulls me up, almost as if he's showing me off.
"I need a suit for my friend, preferably something with..." he turns to me, squinting his eyes in thought as he looks me up and down. "Something in red. Also with cufflinks, and make the fabric nice. Oh, and a nice tie."
The tailor nods, calling over another worker. "Follow me sir, we have ties over here. Do you know your size, sir?" He turns to me, and I shake my head, I've never worn a suit this well made. "My co-worker will go and take measurements on your friend, the un-dressing rooms are that way."
The co-worker comes up and gestures for me to follow, and so I do. We walk to the back and I can hear footsteps behind me, I turn my head and it's Alaric. He's coming back with me for some reason. His eyes are glued on the co-worker and his hands are in his pockets, he looks on edge for some reason.
The co-worker stops, confused. "I am sorry sir, but I thought you would be picking out ties for your friend." He grabs some measuring tape, and knocks on the door of one of the rooms.
Alaric shakes his head, glaring at the worker. "No, I can wait." The worker shrugs, and motions for us to come in.
He instructs me to take my shirt off, and I do so. Alaric seems to not only be staring at me, but also watching the worker as he takes the measuring tape up to my chest. I hold my arms up, and the cold press of the tape wraps around from my back to my chest. I hate the feeling of it, but I can't do anything so I freeze up and hold my breath like I am underwater.
The tailor is finally done, and pulls away the tape, now placing it lower on my hip. "Wow, you seem to have an impressive build. What do you do for a living?"
I am about to speak before Alaric cuts me off, speaking for me instead. "He is just strong. That's it." Alaric's voice is much colder, and now he's leaning on the wall with his arms crossed and ears back. I really don't get why he's so mad. He only seems to get more aggressive when he measures the inside of my thigh and makes me stand next to a full-body scale. I'm only in my underwear at this rate.
Alaric scoffs as the worker continues, "Do you really have to do that? That seems unnecessary." I look over at him and he looks like he's practically baring his fangs at the worker.
The worker looks over at Alaric, "See, your friend here is over the normal size, standing at one hundred and ninety-eight centimeters, so we need to get his exact proportions." He backs away from me, putting his hand on his chin while he looks me up and down. "He would be good as a model if he just wasn't so tall. And if he didn't have such wide shoulders... or markings on his torso..." He shakes his head as he snaps himself out of the thought. "I'll go speak with the tailor. I'm sure he's able to sort this out." The worker leaves, and Alaric finally calms down.
Alaric snatches up my shirt and pants, shoving them to me. "Get dressed." He huffs and his ears slowly rise back up.
I raise my eyebrows, a bit confused. "Why are you so mad? Isn't this a normal thing you rich people do for your fancy dresses and suits?" I take my clothes, pulling my pants back onto me.
He crosses his arms and leans on the wall again, "It is normal. But he just seemed... he was doing too much. I didn't like it." He hisses out his words. I've never seen him this upset before at somebody else.
I walk up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's really fine. You're here and either way do you think somebody like that would do anything to me?" I flick his ear playfully, and pull back on my shirt. "Now, lemme put on my shoes so we can go back out there."
He smiles and nods, calming down more. "Got it." He then looks at the door and pops his knuckles, "...I mean, I might have a word with the manager before we go. Or the worker privately."
I roll my eyes, sliding on my boots before shoving him lightly. "Okay Karen, settle down. It's really fine." I gesture to him to follow me, and we both return outside with the tailor who's been receiving my measurements.
"So gentlemen, I believe we already have a tie and shirt that will fit you." He pulls them out on a hanger covered in a plastic bag, and hands them to me. "You can try that on while I fix up some pants and a jacket that just need a small modification for you. The cufflinks will also be easier to adjust to your wrist size." He smiles at me, and Alaric scowls at the news. God, they will not hear the end of it from him.
The worker that measured me gestures me back to the room, and I walk back in to try on the button-up. I can hear Alaric grumble outside, "So, who is head management here? I have a few things to mention to them..." I quickly button up my shirt and run back out, holding the tie.
"Alaric, can you help me with this tie? I can't really get it on right." I stop to see Alaric scowling at the tailor working on my jacket and pants, before turning to me with a smile.
"Of course, let me show you." He shoots one last look at the tailor, flashing his fangs, before he walks up to. He gestures to me to go back inside of the dressing room and then shuts the door behind him. He takes a deep breath to calm himself and then takes the tie from my hands. "It's simple once you get the hang of it." He gets closer to me, nearing chest-to-chest and starts narrating each step of tying a tie as he does it.
"It's easy to do!" I can imagine being told that by Myra any time we had to dress up for family events, and I had to wear a dumb bow or tie for it. For once, I don't mind dressing up, I'd rather dress up for Alaric rather than Diego.
Alaric steps back, smiling at me as he adjusts my tie. "You look lovely just in the tie and shirt." He pauses and looks up at me, locking our eyes together. "If I was an artist, you would be the focus point of every drawing and painting I'd do."
We keep gazing into each others' eyes until the tailor knocks on the door, seemingly filled with excitement. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I believe the pants and jacket are finished!" We open the door, and he has them on a hanger. "Please, try it on and come back out."
Alaric takes the hanger and then nods to the tailor, "Wonderful." He then shuts the door and hands the hanger to me, "Here you go, perfect for you." He smiles.
I open my mouth to ask if he's going to leave, but then stop myself. It's just changing quickly anyways, and I did say he was being a baby when I was shirtless. I changed into the new pants, finding a new pair of dress shoes to slide into as well before I tried on the jacket.
Alaric steps back to look me up and down, taking in every detail of the suit on my body. He hums and then smiles, "It looks amazing. It fits you so nicely.." He circles around me once and then stands back in front of me, "Do you like it? Does it feel fine? Are any parts too tight or too loose?"
I stretch my arms up again, stretching each leg out. "No, it fits me well. Got enough leeway to move, which I might need." I put two thumbs up, with a beaming smile on my face. He smiles back at me, copying my gesticulations. I lower my hands and step out the room, and he follows me.
"So I believe you like this suit, yes?" The tailor chimes in. I nod and Alaric walks up to pay for it. I turn to a mirror propped up, seeing myself in nice clothes for once. I'm glad Alaric cares enough about my well being, even though we're still complete strangers to each other in so many ways.