Thin ribbons of crimson satin glistened under the gentle rays of sunlight pouring from outside the large elaborate windows of a spacious eighteenth century style French mansion as those red strips were being hand-stitched into roses varying in sizes as embellishments for a long Victorian-like dress that flared out from the waist suitable for only a princess-like girl such as Jeanne.
Giving a beautiful illusion of the delicate roses gradually blossoming into full bloom as the flowers spiraled from the hem of the skirt and up to the slender waistline, it contrasted perfectly with pure silvery hair of the girl who was currently wearing it. The ends of her curly hair delicately cascaded below the even tinier rose-embroidered white sash tied above her small hips by a few centimeters.
"Mademoiselle Jeanne," a soft voice rose from below her which belonged to a petite girl with Asian features around her age.
"Si joli, non?" Continued the Asian girl very hesitantly as the needle between her fingers carefully secured the last satin rose embellishment in the middle of the sash which was tied into a large, attractive bow behind the pale maiden.
"Did I speak good? Do you...like?" The young dressmaker asked in broken French with a detectable hint of shyness.
Jeanne decided to spare her the difficulty of the language barrier as well as playful banter between them by conversing in English, a common language ground for both of them.
"Hyolyn," the silver-haired teen praised warmly as she smiled sweetly down at her well-experienced seamstress friend. "Your work is always pleasing and very creative each time."
Upon seeing the angelic smile of approval from Jeanne, the humbled Asian girl blushed in gratitude as she stood up to be right beside her so the two girls could both stare into reflections of an three-tiered, full length mirror. Both with long hair except instead of delicate waves of layered silver tresses, Hyolyn had straight jet-black hair with full-length bangs that touched the top of her well-groomed eyebrows.
"You are so beautiful...like out of fairy tale," Hyolyn sighed dreamily as her plum-colored eyes were admiringly fixed of the pretty silver-haired girl in delicate fabrics of ribbons and lace from her own hand-made French Rococo style dress.
"Then in no time, your Prince Charming travel great lengths for your love," continued the young dressmaker cheerily.
In excitement, Jeanne abruptly turned to the side to face the reliable and skillful girl. Her crimson eyes twinkled with sheer delight at the violet-eyed girl as she spoke.
"I am blessed to have you not only your services," Jeanne beamed at her. " But also as a true friend, Hyolyn."
The delicate corners of the small lips from Hyolyn tugged into appreciative smile as she merely nodded humbly while ensuring that her feelings of overjoy were kept to a minimum within herself.
"Hyolyn..." Jeanne returned back to face her reflection with an extremely pleased expression as though she had fallen in love.
In a casual tone, she continued while smoothing her flouncy skirt out neatly. "Would you like to accompany me to Japan? I am visiting some friends there whom I met from my visit while I was in America."
The purple irises in Hyolyn's eyes widen in slight disbelief at the unexpected request from one of the most respected and intimidatingly lovely, high-class girls in comparison to the most people around her age. She felt tremendously honored to even be considered as a friend. It was like a modern-day fairy tale where the path of unsightly common girl intersects with a beautiful, magical being that grants her hope for promising life.
"To be more accurate, you could call it something along the lines of reunion," Jeanne added gingerly with a hint of hope in her tone.
For a while, it seemed as if everything around the quiet girl paused. It felt so surreal as those words echoed in her mind.
In the brief moment of silence, her heart pounded imploringly against her chest as dumbstruck girl took a few breaths so she could ensure adequate oxygen flow for her thin frame to functioning hearing the last phrase that carried a hint of sincere desire for her presence to be right next to her, Hyolyn's expression lit up exuberantly as her small beige hands clasped Jeanne's creamy white hands in hers.
"Do you mean it? Japan?" Hyolyn exclaimed with broad interest as her grip slightly tightened.
Jeanne nodded eagerly with a pleasant smile at the reaction of her dear friend.
"Yes!" Both of them squealed in unison.
Still holding to each other's hands, the two girls grinned impishly at each other as though they had read each other's minds. Suddenly, a full on tickle fight erupted simultaneously between the two as they began laughing and screaming hysterically at each other in a mixture of French, English, and Korean. Then, they randomly began spinning each other around playfully in circles across the glistening white alabaster marble floor. The sound of their giggles of excitement grew louder as the their silly whirling increased in turbulent speed until they became too dizzy and exhausted, collapsing backwards to the ground.
As they both laid sprawled out right next to each other on the cool floor, they panted to catch their breaths as if it were a matter of life and death while the ceiling spun mercilessly above them.
Hyolyn rolled over and swung one arm over her silvery-haired friend so she could hug her. Jeanne had finally caught her breath and turned over to face her, slipping her own arm underneath a few jet-black strands of hair and the sun-kissed arm of her seamstress friend, making the embrace totally complete.
Under the tender warmth of light blue skies stretching over the lush verdant countryside from outside the large-framed, European vintage windows, both teenage girls were cradled fast asleep in each other's arms with blissful smiles on each of their faces.
A peaceful silence lingered on as the stubbornly, loving hug between the two friends ceased to be pulled apart from either of them.