Cinderella Did Not Leave Her Shoe Chapter 16-18
Ladies in the Garden Embroidering (and the flash dude trying to get their attention) - Alb.u.m Amicorum of Gervaisus Fabricus (1603-1637)
16 Conversation between
Mother and Daughter
Fredericka…
Today Mother and I are chatting and
doing things well born young ladies do; embroidery. Surprisingly, it is
something I can immerse myself in.
However, today Mother was fishing.
‘So do you like General Brennan,
Fredericka?’
Eh?!!
Wait. What is with this sudden
question? (Zuben: You did tell your father, remember?) I haven’t heard that one
had to suffer mental attacks during embroidery. My hands lost their rythym.
‘Well, do you like him or not?’
Mother pressed on.
I concentrate on the embroidery
pattern, in order not to make a mistake, trying to diligently thread the
underpainting. But, I feel like I will make a mistake, but I answered as
diplomatically as I could, ‘Well I like him as a person…’
‘What about as a man?’
Ouch. I p.r.i.c.ked my finger.
There is blood.
I pick up a handkerchief to dab the
blood. Hmm, blood on the handkerchief…would you like to see red flowers
blooming on the spot of blood? I could add some tangled ivy…
Chicken.
‘Fredericka.’
My mother pointed her embroidery
needle at me.
Stop it, don’t point the sharp end
of the needle at a person. I was scared if would not end with just a stabbing.
‘I…I don’t suit the General.’
I was just a child. Father told me
that the General was thirty five years old. To him, I must seem like a suckling
child, I bet.
‘Who do you think would suit him?’
Mother asked probing deeper. Because I am afraid of her needle, I answered
honestly,
‘A mature woman; one who is
beautiful, educated, with the strength to support him, and is conservative and
generous.’ Not someone cheeky like me.
I feel like crying now.
I heard an incredulous, ‘Huh?!’ from my
Mother.
Mother, mother, sometimes you don’t
act like a Countess.
‘There is no such perfect woman.’
My mother replied.
I was embarra.s.sed and tossed my
embroidery at the table. Marie makes a scolding noise and searches for the
needle.
‘Even if such a person would suit
the General…’
‘What sort of man would suit you?’
I groaned. I could not deny the
image of the general that appeared in my head.
‘Anyone would be fine. Although,
someone like me who was jilted doesn’t have the option to marry whomever. If
you would like me to be married, maybe I can marry an ero-ero old man?’
I only had a few options.
Option 1: Not marry. Because Ernest
is Father’s successor, I would be in his way. So I would have to live alone as
a single woman. Even if I worked in the business, my presence would be result
in a bad evaluation of my family; that is not good. I could enter a nunnery,
finish my whole life as a virgin.
Oh that’s not it.
Start a business for the monastery
to make money for the orphanage. Maybe.
Option 2: Succeed the Family
Business. I guess that is alright. But I guess I might need to find a stud
after all.
Option 3: The common pattern of a
young lady who has pa.s.sed marriageable age; settle down as a second wife.
Well, I’m still young and unusual
in this industry. Haha!
So what do you say?
Thinking of the three options I nod
to myself and take a sip of tea.
‘Well, General Brennan could be the
ero-ero old man?’
Let’s see…what?!
Hey, what are you saying, mother?!
How could you think that?!
‘Mother, General Brennan is not an
ero-ero old man.’ I argued, with tears filling my eyes. I imagined the general
looking at me with lewd eyes like those men and I shuddered.
Marie nodded while patting my back,
‘General Brennan is a gentleman.’ She said supporting me.
‘Why are you guys thinking about
erotic things? The General is not impossible. He hasn’t ever been married. So
you would be his first wife, isn’t that a good thing?’
I do not want to hear how his flew
away okay.
Also, are you ignoring logic, the
general’s taste and circ.u.mstances?
I took a deep breath to calm down
and sipped my tea.
‘It would be annoying to the
General.’ I said coldly trying to keep calm.
I don’t understand what my Mother
is thinking.
‘Try and act cute for now so he can
have a distinct impression of you. Just put aside your shame. And if it doesn’t
work out, I will be here to comfort you.’
Oh that is amazing.
‘So for now, if you like him, why
don’t you try tempting him?
‘Whu! What?’
‘Don’t be too hasty and get f.u.c.ked
up. I mean, talk honestly, maybe hold hands?’
Uh Oh
That hurdle is high. I’ve never had
to do such a thing. I didn’t do such a thing with Eugene…I-I couldn’t do it.
‘You like the General, don’t you?’
I didn’t reply.
Mother pestered me, ‘Do you like
him or not?’
Do I really like the general that
way?
‘I like him…’
As soon as I said the words, my
eyes grew hot and tears threatened to fall. But Mother hugged me to her abundant
bosom; she was soft and she smelled nice.
‘Do your best alright, and if you
have any trouble, just push your chest against him.’
I burst out laughing, Mother
laughed too.
That’s right, the b.r.e.a.s.t.s are a
weapon. It didn’t work on Eugene, maybe it would work on General Brennan.
‘If it’s lady’s b.r.e.a.s.t.s, it will be
alright.’ Marie said, encouraging the madness.
I don’t think this is alright
though. I remember a similar conversation…
pngtree.com
17 Evening of the
“Moonlight Gra.s.s Night.”
When the sky began to show the
colours of twilight, General Brennan came to take me to the theatre. Unlike the
armour he had been wearing when we met in the training fields, he was wearing
a gentlemanly blue coat, with beautifully ornate embroidery. Under Oliver’s
watch, he bowed over my hand, and escorted me out to the carriage.
It felt like a dream as I said,
‘Thank you,’
His hand was warm.
As the maids and footmen watched us, from
beside Oliver, we made our way to the carriage.
It was as though we were walking on
fluffy clouds.
♢
The evening before yesterday, my
father casually proclaimed,
‘The general is coming to take you
to see a play the day after tomorrow.’
At that point in time, I had
decided to eat my chiffon cake with my hand rather than the fork. Oliver gently
chastised my unladylike behaviour. But amongst family, it was okay.
Why would Father tell me such a
thing at this moment?!
My mouth hung open and the cake
fell out.
Father folded his arms.
‘The general was forward and bought
the tickets before he even asked me. He wanted to go see the play with you that
much.’
Oh good heavens!
General Brennan wanted to go out
with me?!
I looked at Mother, who gave me two
thumbs up from across the table.
I’m so happy I don’t know what to
do with myself.
Was it safe to say the General did
not dislike me?
Father smirked, and held my face in
his hands,
‘Fredericka, when are you going to
change?’ he asked.
Mother elbowed him in the ribs. It
didn’t look painful, but father collapsed in his chair like he fainted.
‘You must behave like a lady. Be a
good girl and don’t cause any problems for the General. Do your best so that it
can’t be said that you are uncouth because you are rich.’ Mother said.
Father recovered quickly and
grasped my hands in his, ‘No, the direction you need to work hard in is
different.’ He said a little mournfully.
‘You both have only met three
times. You do not know each other well; don’t make a mistake here, alright?’
That’s true.
Our first meeting wasn’t really a
meeting, since I pretended to faint, when I lost my underwear. Really, it could
be said, it was only a shallow acquaintance; we have only properly met twice.
It is surprisingly dark content. I
pretended to faint because I lost my undies in front of him. Then we circled
around, and then our third meeting, I fell and dropped the sandwiches.
It will forever be etched in my
memory, aside from his likes and dislikes.
‘Oh what are you on about? You
kissed me when we first met!’ Mother said with a chuckle before she sipped her
tea.
It seems that father is not only
fast in business, he was the same in love as well.
Yet, Father is concerned about
things going in that direction. (Zuben: He doesn’t want to lose his baby that
quickly) It is makes me feel embarra.s.sed that Father is worrying about such a
thing.
But I don’t think he needs to have
such worries; to the General, I am just an unusual creature or his friend’s
daughter. I want him to recognise me as
an individual named Fredericka if I can!
Okay, I will do my best with this
goal in mind!
I quickly ate my cake, and excused
myself from the table. (Zuben: Priorities)
I pulled Marie along and rushed to
my room. We have to think of my clothes and accessory combination that would
make me look cute!
And this time, I could try a low
cut dress, couldn’t I? With the necklace I just bought from Kalome!
‘Milady,’ Marie called, ‘what style
do you want to go for? Fairy? Princess? Or…’ was she going to say something
exciting and dreamlike?
‘Or you can be an ordinary Lady?’
Send that thought back to where it
came from!
The answer is…fairy.
18 Volker: Night of the
Moonlight Gra.s.s Night
I thought a fairy had come from the
fairy lands.
Lady Fredericka was wearing a soft
blue dress of silk, lace and chiffon. She looked like she was floating with
delicate wings as she walked. My heart beat painfully in my chest. (Zuben: Abeg
marry this guy quickly before he expires)
Her dress was low cut, but it
wasn’t vulgar. Never vulgar. It emphasised her delicate beauty, as well as the
beautiful workmanship of the necklace she was wearing. It made a “sharshara”
sound as she moved.
I held her hand while suppressing
the strange desire to have my teeth on her clavicle. She was like cotton candy.
Ephemeral. She looked like she would melt away and disappear if I didn’t hold
her and confirm her existence. Yet I was afraid that she would want to touch a
warbler like me. Yet, I was escorting her.
As we rode in the carriage
together, the night looked more beautiful than usual.
‘Your dress is very beautiful. It suits you.’
I tell her.
She smiled and lowered her gaze
shyly as she replied, ‘Thank you.’
She more dressed more beautifully
that she was at the training grounds the other day.
I was beginning to be impatient.
Her golden hair was put up, and
held with elegant hair ornaments. Her neck was exposed, but tendrils of hair
hung stylishly around her face and neck, attracting my attention.
On the battlefield, the battle flag
blowing in the wind attracts the eyes of the soldiers more than anything else.
People’s gazes were attracted to moving objects. Certainly, Lady Fredericka
will attract attention at the theatre like a flag in the battlefield.
Fortunately, she was still unknown
now because of the bad rumours surrounding her. Her fairy like beauty and her
kind heart were still not known well. But as she became acquainted with more
people, she would soon be approached by men. Soon, she would find a man more
suited to her than I am.
I scramble around in my brain in
frustration looking for a topic that might interest Lady Fredericka
‘…Lady Fredericka likes to go to
the jewellery store often?’ I asked. (Zuben: Foot meet mouth)
I realised my blunder as soon as I
spoke. This was one of the offences that the Duke’s messenger had worded
against her. I feel all the blood drain from my face. I felt terrible and I
could not meet her eyes. I haven’t had this feeling since I was a new soldier
before my superior officers at recruitment. I wondered how I could rectify this
blunder, but nothing came to mind. I am filled with despair. (Zuben: zetsubou shiita!)
I hallucinated a mocking sniff, as
though Xavier was here mocking me.
‘Yes.’ She replied, ‘I really like
going to Kalome.’
I looked at her. She had no
appearance of being hurt by my words. Xavier had told me of Kalome; it was an
up and coming jewellery shop that was attracting customers from all works with
ingenious designs and ideas. It was at the top of the list of places to buy
gifts for Fredericka that Xavier had drawn up for me.
‘Actually, I am making and designing
new accessories with the designer of Kalome. This is a prototype.’ She said
shaking her necklace.
‘New accessories…?’
‘Yes. Proper jewels are expensive,
and getting new ones like new clothes isn’t just going to happen like that,
except if one’s family has heirlooms. So we are trying to design more stylish
and wearable accessories that would match girls’ attire.’
I think that accessories are fine
if they match the wearer or their attire. She spoke she put her fore-finger to
her chin which attracted my eyes to her full rose coloured lips. There were
inviting like freshly ripe and juicy fruit. (Zuben: ero-ero oyaji)
‘What about being able to add or
remove strands and stones, so the necklace looks different each time.’ I said
thoughtfully.
She smiled, ‘Exactly! The necklace
I am wearing is just like that.’ Fredericka raised the necklace and leaned
forward to show me that strands and links could be removed. Her unprotected
chest came closer to me.
The moral part of me was disgusted
that I was staring at a lady’s bosom. But another part of me wanted her closer
so I could see it properly. My not-so-moral side won. (Zuben: Yay!)
At this time, the carriage well
went over a large stone, that there was a great b.u.mp. Lady Fredericka
exclaimed…
It's a sunny long weekend where I am, except I'm working booooo!
Hope you all have a nice one.
♢