Chapter 2.14 Something Special

"Do you really have to go, mom?"

Alyssa looked down at Belle and Melody, and sighed. "I won't be gone that long. I'll be back on Sunday, and I promise I'll get you something special." She smiled assuringly, and kissed Belle on the top of her head. 

"Something really special." Belle looked back at Alyssa. "Like, ultra special." She grinned. 

"'cial." Melody chirped in, half heartedly. She wasn't fully sure of what was going on, but she was mostly paying attention to the man on the lawn. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't exactly trust him. He was one of her mommy's friends, so he had to be alright, but Melody didn't really like new people all too much. Her attention came away from her mommy's friend when she picked her up.

"Are you going to be a good girl for daddy while I'm gone?" Alyssa asked, smiling.
"Rah!" Melody replied, her hands going up to Alyssa's face, making a small slapping noise, which made both girls laugh.
"How about I get you and your brother something special too?" She asked, considering taking a second suitcase just for all the presents she's promised.
"No Ash." Melody pouted. "Me."
"I've got to get your brother something too, Little Miss Selfish." Alyssa smiled, and then put Melody down to talk to Damon

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" She asked, even though it was more of a mute point now. She wanted to go, and she was. It wasn't like she could go back on it now.

"I'll be fine." He replied, making sure to keep steady so Ashton doesn't fall. Ash didn't quite manage to stay up to say bye to Alyssa, but then again, it wasn't like she was going to be gone forever.

"I'll see you on Sunday night then." She half smiled, it's been rather frosty between the two of them since their argument, but she knew that soon enough they would work it out, especially after her trip.

"See you then." He returned a small smile. There was no kiss or even hug. Just an awkward moment before she got her suitcase and got into Adrian's car.

"I'm guessing things between you and your fiance aren't going all too well." Adrian mentioned, quickly glancing over at her.

"What makes you think that?" Alyssa asked, a little too defensively.

"Well, for a start neither of you seemed all too upset about you leaving for the weekend." He spoke matter of factly.

"Its only for a weekend. It's not like either of us are going to be that heartbroken over me leaving for about forty eight hours." She shrugged, but she did hope he would have been a little bit more bothered, and not just by the person she was going with.

"Maybe, but he seemed more bothered that I was going rather than you even going in the first place." He then smirked slightly. "Then again boyfriends, fiances, and husbands tend not to like me."

Alyssa rolled her eyes, "Because you're God's gift to women?" She asked, faking interest.

He smirked more. "Smart as usual, aren't you?"

"Wow." Alyssa looked up at the hotel, having to crane her neck just to see a glimpse of the top. All of the buildings here were huge! They made the ones back home look like homes for ants.

"Massive, isn't it?" Adrian asked rhetorically. It was obvious how huge and pristine it was. 

"Just like most of the buildings here." She noted, holding a little tighter on to her suitcase. She's heard what people can do here, and how bad some of them could be. Adrian didn't seem to take the same precautions.

"It's so pretty and clean." She grinned, looking up at it just that bit longer. She hadn't noticed that Adrian was almost at the front door.

"You know, we can go in instead of just looking at it. They don't make us camp outside." He pointed out, and she followed him after rolling her eyes. She just hoped she didn't pull the muscle that controlled eye rolling.

Alyssa was mostly zoned out when Adrian was checking in. She was focused on the painting behind the desk. It was really nice, but she figured it was probably expensive too. Aside from admiring paintings, she was also making a mental note of what she needed to do. She knew she needed to get the wedding dress, and maybe a little bit of shopping too.

"The receptionist said it'll be a while until the room's ready. She said our bags are in the storage room if we need them in the meantime."

"Would you mind if I went out and explored around a little?" She asked, excited to see the city. She's never been out of Dragon Valley and wanted to get some experiences and culture while in the big city.

Adrian seemed a little uncertain. "Just be careful, alright? Not everyone's nice out here like what the people in Dragon Valley are like."

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "I'm not a kid. I'll be fine." She half smiled, then left the hotel.

Of course she went to the wedding dress shop first. She wanted to try on her dress. It was a little sad how she was on her own, but it wouldn't be that bad. After all, she wanted to make sure it was perfect before other people saw it.

Alyssa was taken aback by how pink and girly everything was. All it was missing was a unicorn and a rainbow and it could have fit perfectly into any little girl's dream.

That being said though, it was very classy. Even the girl who was working there fit the place perfectly.

Elysia sighed, and murmured into her ear piece "I've already told you once, don't make me tell you again. There's not much I can do until the company gets back on its feet, and it's not like I can afford to take it over. Until someone else buys the compant, I'm a boutique worker, not a journalist." She then rolled her eyes at the caller's response. "Not a store, boutique. There's a difference, sheesh. Anyway, I have to go. There's a customer here." And with a touch to her left ear, she hung up.

"Everything's so..." Alyssa trailed off, looking around.

"Pink? Yeah, I know. Welcome to Bridal Dreams Boutique, where we make your dream come true. I'm taking you're here for a dress?" She asked, even though she already knew. That huge pink rock on her finger is a clear enough sign that she wasn't another one of those classic crazy cat ladies who just come to try on the dresses.

"Yep." She grinned, and showed off her ring. "And I think I've seen the perfect one, it's mostly the reason I've come out here."

Elysia looked at her ring, and it was really pretty. She couldn't help but be the slightest bit jealous, but she knew that this kind of thing was better suited for her sister rather than her. "It is pretty." She admitted.

"Princess cut pink sapphire on a white gold band." She beamed. "It's pretty, and expensive." 

"Pretty and expensive? Sounds like most of the dresses here." She smirked slightly. "And I bet I know the exact dress you're looking for." Elysia grinned. This woman was as easy as a child's book to read. It wasn't like anyone was all too difficult to read though. "I just need to find it in the book, there's a cup of coffee on the coffee table too."

Alyssa watched Elysia, honestly a little bit puzzled. She seemed to know almost what she was thinking. Maybe it was from being in retail? Maybe she was just a typical stereotype? She started to wonder how long she's been here.

"I've not been here that long. I moved away from my home town to further my career in journalism, only for my firm to go under within my first working year." She answered, flicking through the book.

Blinking, Alyssa murmured. "So, you've not always wanted to work in a boutique?" She asked, wondering how on Earth she managed to answer a question that was never asked. It was as if she could read her mind!

"I've never really considered boutique work, but when everything went under I just got whatever job I could find, which is why I'm here." Elysia smiled, then slid the book over to Alyssa. "I'm guessing this is the kind of dress you'd want?"

Alyssa nodded, her eyes widening. "You'd tell me if you were a mind reader, right?" She asked, mostly joking. Could she be though? "This is exactly the one I wanted, how did you know?" She asked yet another question.

Elysia smiled. Maybe she wasn't as airheaded as she came off to be, or maybe she herself was being too obvious. "How about we just leave it as I have a talent for knowing what clients want? And if you want to go into one of the rooms, I'll get the dress off the rack and put it in one of the rooms. Just call me again once you're changed, alright?"

"So, I'm taking that you like it?" Elysia asked, watching Alyssa. It confused her how some girls could get so attached to a dress they only wear once in their whole life.

"It's perfect, just like what I thought." She grinned, mostly looking at the dress and not actually herself. It was so pretty and princessy. She sighed softly, "I don't get how you can work here and not be tempted to try all of these on."

"Honestly, I don't really see the point in marriage or committed relationships. I can understand why some people would want them, like my sister for example. But it's just not for me. I'm a career girl, I'd prefer to be independent and on my own than having to rely on someone." She spoke the truth, and couldn't help but realize that her words had stuck with Alyssa.

"I kind of thought I was that way too. I mean, I'm not ready to swear off love, but I did originally think that I could be independent and that I didn't need anyone." She murmured, looking at her reflection again. Only this time it more seemed to sink in that it was actually her in the dress. It was her that was getting married, and the woman in the mirror wasn't anyone else. It was her.

"That's just my opinion though. Don't let what I said turn you against it or anything. I mean, if you love your fiance, then why even bother thinking about what I said? If you love him, then there's no need to even question it." Elysia tried to almost go back on what she said. She could tell Alyssa was freaking out at least a little, and she's dealt with enough cold footed brides to know what to do. Spill out some speech about love and usually the bride calms down.

"I-I do love him, I do." Alyssa almost tried to convince herself, her hand going up to the lace at the top of the dress. She could have sworn it wasn't always this tight. It was getting slightly difficult to breathe, maybe it was just too close to her neck? She cleared her throat, trying to move the seam slightly away from her neck.

"Exactly, you love him and he loves you. There's no point getting worked up about it." Elysia sighed. Usually any sign of cold feet would have gone by now, but this case was trickier. She didn't want her record of all her customers buying something to end.

"I'm not getting worked up, I'm fine." She tried to breathe. The dress had never been this tight. She tried to swallow, but it felt as if something was stuck. She felt like she was choking. She fumbled to try and undo the dress. 

Elysia went over to her, and helped undo the dress as Alyssa felt her knees buckle beneath her.

Elysia undid the first few clasps on the dress, mostly so Alyssa could breathe if it really was the dress causing her such discomfort. She couldn't help but feel bad, but there must have been at least a little doubt beforehand. After all, who would react that way after her giving her opinion. 

Alyssa managed to collect herself again, feeling rather embarrassed about the whole ordeal. Part of her just wanted to be left be for a little while.

"I'll give you a minute." Elysia stood up hesitantly and cautiously left the dressing room and closing the outer curtains. It was still uncanny how she knew exactly what Alyssa was thinking...

She stayed on the floor for just a while longer, her heart racing. She managed to breathe alright again, and as soon as she was alright, she was going to stand up and get back changed into her normal clothes. She hadn't imagined trying on a wedding dress would quite lead to this, but there was one thing she was certain of.

Somewhere deep down in her subconscious, she didn't want to get married. If dreaming about adultery and choking over it wasn't enough, then what would be?

She sighed, and managed to stand up. She should probably get back to the hotel soon.

Chapter 2.13 Ice                                                         

 Chapter 2.15 Interlude; The Ex and The Incident

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AN: So, first of all I want to say a thank you to Owly for letting me borrow Elysia from her (You can get her from here (Her eyes are slightly lighter there though, I had to darken slightly))

The wedding dress choking scene was inspired by Carrie's wedding anxiety (on Sex and The City). I was wondering about a month or two ago about how to fulfill one of the rolls, and that scene came on the TV and I was like 'perfect!' so there we have it.

Last thing, I really love the tea pot set <3 I also got one where it's a phone box tea pot with post box cups(? I think...) and they're so the-kind-of-thing-you'd-buy-as-a-gag-in-London-ish!  I love it! But the pink set seemed a lot more fitting with the scene. (In the next house (if there is one and I can get my lazy butt around to making one) I'm going to have a special tea room and everything <3)