Moonshadow (31 page)

With a wide grin on his face, Darien swiftly replied to Kelda’s request.

For over an hour, Diana was in seventh heaven as she tried on gorgeous dress after gorgeous dress. She modeled day dresses, evening dresses—each more exquisite than the next—and every time she came out from behind the curtain to be inspected, Darien’s eyes lit up, brighter than the time before, marveling at Diana in a way that made her feel like queen.

Madame Kelda—in stark contrast to most elves Diana had met thus far—treated her with the utmost respect and courtesy, tending to her every need. She even offered Diana a nice cup of tea and a scone-like pastry served with berry jam and a delicious, buttery, cream spread. Kelda treated Diana like royalty, making the rudeness of the other elves nothing but an unpleasant memory.

When it finally came time to try on formal gowns for the
Zen’Naphalia
celebration, Diana chose an exquisite, backless, floor-length, green gown that showed off her shoulders and collarbone quite nicely. Silver embroidery decorated the corseted bodice, and matching metal ornaments with emerald, leaf-shaped, jewels encircled the shoulders and biceps, giving way to long, flowing, sleeves that opened up just above her elbows and draped down to her knees. After putting it on, and inspecting a few of the others she’d passed by, Diana noticed that all of the formal gowns were backless.

“Is there a reason none of these gowns have a back?” she asked, stepping out from behind the curtain.

“All Naphalei formal gowns are backless, dear,” Madame Kelda replied. “It has been the fashion for at least three ages. A lady’s grace is most telling within the contours of her back.”

Diana considered Kelda’s intriguing notion and twisted around to look at herself in the mirror, pleased by what she saw.
I always did love my back.
She’d never considered herself “voluptuous,” like most of the girls with the large breasts or posteriors that she saw guys ogling on an almost constant basis. Diana’s mom often told her that she had the body of a runway model—above average height with a long back that made its way into her curvy hips. The curves ended in the hips, however—she didn’t have much of a behind—which made it almost impossible for Diana to find a pair of pants that fit her right.
I’m going to like wearing dresses all the time.

“Well, how do I look?” Diana asked and then spun in a circle to show off her entire form, the skirts of the gown lifting slightly with the force of the spin.

“Simply stunning, dear,” Madame Kelda replied, pleased with her selection.

Darien just stared at Diana, wide eyed, with his mouth hanging slightly open.

“You know, it’s not polite to stare,” Diana teased, hoping to dislodge him from his stupor.

Flushing a bit, Darien closed his mouth and grinned like the cat that caught the canary. “Your grace shines to rival even that of the lovely Udana herself, in all her silver-lit glory.”

“Oh come on.” Diana felt herself flush as the heat rushed to her cheeks. “I’m sure the Moon Keeper wouldn’t be pleased at being compared to someone like me.”

“Nonsense,” Darien replied assuredly. “I’ve told you this before, Diana—you don’t give your beauty the credit it deserves.” He gave a quick and commanding nod. “Madame Kelda, I believe we have found the lady’s
Zen’Naphalia
gown. We will take that and anything else Diana desires.”

“But it’s the first gown I’ve tried on,” Diana protested. “Shouldn’t I at least try on a few more?”

“No need,” Darien replied, shaking his head with confidence. “If you could look any more beautiful, every eye in Silvermoon Palace would be on you and that would be counterproductive to our cause.”

Diana’s heart leapt at his words and her entire body filled with warmth. “Whatever,” Diana said with a shrug, turning around to inspect the dress again—and to hide her obvious blushing. “I do love this gown.”

Kelda reached into a pocket of her dress and pulled out a small writing pad and a pencil. “Shall I settle with the Stoneheart account or your Watcher stipends, Endymion’kon?”

“The Stoneheart account will suffice, Madame,” Darien quickly replied and then he and Kelda went to her small desk at the front of the boutique to settle the cost of Diana’s new elven wardrobe.

Along with the emerald gown, Diana decided on a few other dresses for everyday-wear and less formal evening events—including a lime-green dress that she absolutely adored, with a corseted-bodice trimmed with black lace and matching black underskirts and petticoat. Quite frankly, it was the perfect Steampunk dress to suit Diana’s sense of style—a notion she had quietly kept to herself.

After Diana decided which dress she’d like to wear for the remainder of the day, Madame Kelda had the rest put in a carrying trunk and then called for a courier to take them on ahead to the ship.  It’d been hard to decide which of her new dresses to wear, since Diana was fairly certain that each one was her new favorite piece of clothing. In the end, she chose the long-sleeved, ankle-length, gray dress with the black bodice. Kelda had said it was of a winter fashion and much more suited to the current climate.

When Diana stepped out from behind the curtain in her fabulous new elven dress, she felt like a new person—one she had always dreamed of being. However, that fantasy was quickly shattered by the white tennis shoes waiting for her on the reclining couch.

“I need shoes,” Diana declared, turning to Darien.

“Why do you need shoes?” he asked in reply, looking confused. “Your brown riding boots are back with the luggage.”

“I can’t wear brown boots with all these dresses—now
that’s
absurd,” Diana said, crossing her arms over her chest, astounded by his response. “I can’t very well go barefoot all the time, either. I need a pair of shoes to match each dress or I will look ridiculous.”

Darien turned to Madame Kelda for some clarification, but she simply smiled and nodded her agreement.

He addressed Diana with a sideways smirk. “Well, we can’t have you looking ridiculous, now can we?”

“I suggest my cousin Melida’s shoe boutique,” Gilda said from her desk as she finished writing up Darien’s receipt. “It’s one street over, on the right.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Diana said with a wide smile just before her tummy growled loudly. She cringed slightly in embarrassment as the two Naphalei turned to look at her. “Excuse me; I haven’t eaten much since early this morning. I think the tea and scones just made me hungrier.”

“We should get you something to hold you over before we depart,” Darien said. “Supper won’t be served for some time.”

“Oh that sounds nice,” Diana said with growing enthusiasm. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was. “I could go for a cheeseburger and fries right about now.”

By Kelda’s sardonic chuckle and the look of smug disapproval on Darien’s face, Diana knew that a cheeseburger was probably not an option.

“Thank you again, Madame,” Darien said to the kindly dressmaker. “It’s always a pleasure to see you.”

“It was nice to meet you, Madam Kelda,” Diana chimed in, taking Darien by the arm. “I hope to see you again in the near future; have a lovely afternoon.”

Kelda smiled kindly. “I was glad to have made your acquaintance as well, Miss Diana. Have a lovely journey and enjoy yourself during
Zen’Naphalia.
” Her mouth twisted into a playful smirk. “Don’t let those haw-haw toffs spoil your holiday, dear. As young Endymion-kon can surely tell, you’re quite the proper bit of frock, so you have no reason to burst your laces over them.”

“Thank you Kelda,” Diana replied through a chuckle. “I won’t. Take care.”

As they walked out of
The Gilded Rose
and into the warm light of the afternoon sun, Diana felt quite content and sighed with satisfaction.

“I like her,” she said happily to Darien as they were making their way to the shoe boutique. “Not only was she super nice, her English is filled old-timey gumption.”

“Kelda does have a certain amount of zest for a lady of five and fifteen, doesn’t she?”

“She’s five-hundred and fifteen years old?” Diana asked, astounded. “That means she was born during the Renaissance.” She shook her head at how crazy it sounded. “I still can’t believe how old you people can be.”

Darien playfully grinned at her wonder. “Then I probably shouldn’t tell you my father was only fifteen years younger than her, should I?”

“Nope,” Diana declared as
The Toe & Heel—
the boutique of Kelda’s cousin—came into view and all thoughts of ridiculously long ages fled from Diana’s mind. Shoes had always been a particular weakness of hers.

To Diana’s great relief, the shop was bereft of haughty elves turning their noses up and Melida turned out to be just as warm and friendly as her cousin had been. In the end, Diana picked out some lovely pairs of shoes to match her dresses, including some adorable brown flats with a silver buckle and gorgeous emerald slippers to match her
Zen’Naphalia
gown. For her current ensemble, she chose a charming pair of black, laced, ankle boots.

After they left the shoe parlor, Diana’s mind immediately wandered back to food.

“So that’s a no on cheeseburgers; what do you people eat for a quick bite?”

“Well, for one thing—we typically don’t eat red meat, so any sort of burger is out of the question.”

“What
do
you eat?” she asked, pondering their limited selection.

“For meat, we eat fish that aren’t bottom feeders, and fowl that aren’t scavengers.”

“Why?” Diana asked, feeling like a five-year-old continually asking too many questions.

“To make an extensively long story inadequately short, we don’t eat food that has a life essence—a soul. Nor do we eat meat from animals that could have potentially eaten another with a life essence. A foreign essence can potentially be very harmful to us.”

“Oh,” Diana said. “I sort of understand, I guess. What about the hot dog at the concert?”

“Yes well, consuming hazardous meats from time to time—in small quantities—isn’t a terrible thing. Your smile was worth the risk.”

“Hey now,” Diana protested. “I won’t have you potentially harming yourself just to make me happy. That’s not how real relationships work.”

“It’s alright; I had no adverse after effects.”

Diana was not pleased with his actions and let her disapproving scowl inform him not to do such things in the future.

“So what
can
I eat?” she asked, growing ever hungrier. “You don’t have some beetroot-on-a-stick stand someplace, do you?”

“I’ll have you know, there are chefs that can do wonders with beetroot,” Darien said in all seriousness. “In fact, a delicious beetroot tea is brewed for cleansing rituals at the eastern shrines.”

“I was joking,” Diana said flatly. “I’m not eating beetroot, or drinking it in tea.”

“Hmm…” Darien said, appearing to think. “There’s a café down the way I think you might enjoy.”

When they reached the café, the smells drove Diana mad with hunger and made her tummy growl all the more ferociously—it smelled of soups and pastries. When they went inside, Diana was surprised to see neither the hot soups nor the delectable pastries she had envisioned. Instead, the glass case held small, flaky, squares that had the same consistency as a croissant.

“What are these?” she asked, curious. “They smell wonderful.”

“It’s a
lemdra
,” Darien replied. “The British call them pasties.”

He soon handed a gold coin to the man behind the counter and was then given two lemdras wrapped in cloth napkins. Darien handed one to Diana and she took it greedily. As it was quite hot, she blew on it before taking a bite.

It was pretty much the best thing Diana had ever tasted.

The savory flavors danced on her tongue, having a delicious party all the way down into her starving stomach.

“It
is
a pastry!” she exclaimed inaudibly with her mouth full. It tasted like she had taken a bite out of sweet croissant filled with delectable vegetable soup.

“Indeed it is,” Darien said. “My people originated the art of filling pastries with hearty innards. You are currently eating an Ashmola beetroot lemdra.” He smiled in triumph.

Diana stopped eating, stared a moment, then continued chewing away happily. “Whatever—it’s awesome.”

After they finished their quick bite, Diana and Darien began making their way to the quay where their ship was harbored. Passing a small bookstore, Diana abruptly stopped, gazed longingly through the window, and then promptly dragged Darien inside along with her.

Diana perused the books, happy as can be, even though she couldn’t read any of them; just seeing the elven tomes filled her with an intense fascination. With each one, she demanded that Darien tell her the title and what it was about. The fact that she couldn’t read any of the intriguing books greatly fueled Diana’s desire to learn the Naphalei language for herself, so she begged Darien to buy her a couple items to help her achieve that goal. First, a children’s book on learning to read—which turned out to be exceedingly less offensive than the grammar she’d been using—and second, a large tome of elven legends and epic poetry. Once the transactions were complete they continued on their way, Diana happily clutching her bag of new treasures.