Soon after the group had finished their meal, they set out to the carriages. The Herondale family and Cordelia all gathered into one, and Anna and her parents in another. She was nervous, yet excited for what exactly her mother had planned for them. She seemed to have an idea, something she was trying to do for Anna.
It wasn't long before their carriage pulled out in front of a store, dresses and suits in the shop windows. Anna looked confusedly at her mother, -surely Cecily knew by now what Anna's opinion on dresses was.
Cecily simply smiled at her daughter, "Anna, please, come along," she said, the door swinging open as her father hopped out of the carriage.
He offered his hand to Cecily, but she simply jumped out herself, smirking as she landed steadily on her feet. Anna exited next, standing next to her parents. The family began walking to the store front. There were large doors, half open, held by a small wooden wedge. Gabriel held them all the way open, letting the others through first.
"All right Anna," Cecily said, her mouth a half smile, "since you steal your father's suits, I think it's about time you get your own." She stated, her eyes connecting to her daughter's.
Anna beamed, wrapping her arms around her mother, "yes, Mama I think I must agree," she returned, smiling even brighter than before.
Gabriel stepped to join them, letting the door fall back to the doorjamb. They approached the suit section and were greeted by a sales associate. He simply tipped his head in a welcome. Gabriel smiled back and returned the nod.
Anna was smiling brighter than Cecily had ever seen before. She was so content just looking at the different suits, different materials and patterns. She browsed freely through the ties, suspenders, shirts, and all through.
While her parents watched, Anna was checking different types of foulards, ascots, and bowties. She fell in love with an embroidered green floral design against a black satin bowtie. Anna picked it up off the rack and held it in her hands, smiling at it and thinking to herself: finally something of my own.
She continues on her search of clothing as she noticed her parents smiling at her. She heard her father speak softly to her mother, "she's never been so happy." The words hit her in a way where she couldn't help but smile bigger—which she didn't think was possible at that point.
All the while she searched, she failed to figure out one thing. She didn't understand exactly what styles would suit her body type to give her a more androgynous look. She never had her own suits or pants, so she wasn't sure how to end up without everything fitting too tight or loose.
Anna turned to her parents and asked her father to assist her in her searches for clothing that will be proper on her. It is true that while she stole Gabriel and Christopher's clothing, she never exactly had anything of theirs fit completely correct. There was always some tucking and folding to be done with whatever she wore.
Gabriel smiled at his daughter asking for his help, feeling as though there was a slight anxiety in the air that disappeared. She was becoming herself, and she was confidant. Anna was always one to do everything herself no matter how difficult, and Gabriel missed having time with her. He missed the days when she was younger and still needed her parents' help. But today was a day where the family seemed to return to what it once was: little things started to fall back into place today.
As Anna searched the racks with her father for different suit jackets, and waistcoats, she wasn't aware of a salesperson approaching her. There was a man in a tailored suit that came and stepped into her view on the other side of the rack, giving her a strange look "Miss, the dresses are on the other side of the store," he elucidated, gesturing his hand towards the far walls of corsets, lace gloves and flouncy skirts.
Gabriel froze, unsure of how to reply to the man. Was someone questioning the integrity of his daughter? Did this hurt Anna? What to do…
Before either men could say another word, Anna spoke in a very firm, yet polite tone: "yes sir, I am very aware," she said, continuing to look through the jackets as if nothing had happened.
The man scrunched his eyebrows together, confused, "Miss, please. This is no place for a lady," his voice was harsh as he glared at Anna.
"I simply must agree," she said. Anna turned towards her mother, taking her by the arm "look Mam, dresses" she said, directing her to the other side of the store, "for women."
Cecily grinned in the slightest as Anna walked with her to the other side. Cecily and Anna shared a quiet laugh before Anna turned back around and returned to the men's side of the store.
The man was growing more and more frustrated and Gabriel couldn't help the smirk that came up onto his face. He, of course, wanted to jump into action and protect his little girl from the rude people, but he wasn't prepared to see how well Anna was handling the situation.
"Sir please, this is no place for childish jokes," the salesman said to Gabriel upon the return of Anna.
"Sophistication is of utmost importance, I do agree sir," Anna said, continuing to hold herself high, "I would appreciate if you ceased your childish behaviour," she gibed, cocking an eyebrow at him, maintaining sharp eye contact.
Gabriel was surprised to see that his daughter had such attitude, he was secretly proud of it. In another world this would have been unacceptable, unladylike, and disgraceful, but to him, it was quite entertaining to see. The confidence that Anna was demonstrating truly was astonishing.
The salesman had had it with this family. He turned on his heels and went to a back counter.
Anna smiled. She waved to her mother from across the store, who returned to their side. Cecily and Gabriel stood next to Anna as the three acted as though nothing had even happened.
But what happened next didn't surprise Gabriel; it did bother him nonetheless. The salesman had the three of them escorted from the store. He was fuming and had made sure to shut the door behind them and turning the open sign to closed. It was quite clear in his face that this was enough for him today.
Cecily turned to Anna, her face proud yet laced with a bit of disappointment. She put her hand on her daughter's cheek, a half smile coming to her face "I'm proud of you, Anna. You stood up for yourself, you were so strong," she smiled bigger and pulled her daughter in for a hug.
"Mother," Anna interrupted pulling away slightly, "I wasn't kind enough. I got us thrown out of the store," she pointed out.
Cecily shook her head, "it may not have been kind, but it was brave. That is how you are. Brash, bold, brave—" she paused, taking a breath. "Don't ever let anyone change that, dear. I love you for that Anna. I love the strong person that you have become. I love the way you do unto yourself. I love how you are who you want to be and won't back down." She smiled at her daughter, feeling tears welling up behind her eyes, "I only wish that I could have realised that about you sooner."
Anna felt tears now coming up behind her eyes, she couldn't say any words. She had never felt so loved at one time in her life—she had never felt so accepted either.
The pair locked in another tight hug, completely ignoring Gabriel, who had been watching the whole exchange. He felt proud of Cecily for overcoming herself and realising what an amazing and unique daughter they had. He also felt proud of Anna for standing her ground.
Anna and her parents had ended up finding another store and being fast enough to get what they had wanted without attracting much attention there. The three of them hopped back into their carriage, and met back up with Tessa, Will, Lucie, and Cordelia back at the institute.
It felt nice to be together again, even nicer that she could now look at her mother without fear of rejection for who she was.
Anna knew that in her life she will get in trouble for her attitude and her identity—it was inevitable. However, if someone has a problem with Anna, they can see themselves out of her life. She will not deal with those who don't respect her; if they do not respect her, then why must she unto them?
A/N: Thank you all for reading this. I still may post an epilogue, I'm unsure whether or not it will happen [2019 me is saying that I may come back to this, idk] This took place in 1899 so the next will be in 1903 (same year that TLH is set to happen) so hopefully I can also slide in some casual headcannons :)))
