Academic Success
Well I think Death from Darksiders II wins best death scythe. He's going to wield dual scythes he can combine into one double-bladed weapon. I think that's what I'd use if I were a Shinigami, legally modified or not!
Chapter 14
Molly had expected Miss Natalie to be angry over Akane and Abigail constantly being in her shop. To her surprise, Miss Natalie seemed to ignore them unless they helped her. As long as Molly did her job, she had no problem with anyone else being in the shop.
Molly had nearly forgotten that the time of the month to purchase new fabrics was drawing near. Surprisingly, Miss Natalie sent Akane and Abigail along with her, saying, "With three of you it should be faster, unless you start giggling and cutting up like schoolgirls."
Molly assured her they would not as she hitched the horse up to the wagon. Miss Natalie and three other shop owners shared the horse and wagon, using him to pick up their goods and making the occasional delivery.
Akane and Abigail stood in the back of the large cart, whispering to each other as Molly directed the horse slowly down the street.
"I'm surprised you allow that woman to boss you around," Abigail muttered to Akane.
"The way I see it, she'll be lacking three helpers in a few weeks," Akane replied. "Let her push me around a little bit, I don't care."
To Abigail it sounded like she did care but she said nothing. Instead she chose to call to Molly, "Why are we doing this? It looked to me like you had enough fabric to last several months."
Molly smiled at that. "We do, I think," she said, "but there's always something new and Miss Natalie wants only the newest of things." She let go of the horse's reins with one hand and patted around her dress, finally pulling a small list from one of her pockets. "Besides, we need other things as well." She passed the list to Abigail.
Akane leaned over her shoulder to read it as well. It included several things one would expect a seamstress to need, including buttons, needles, thread, pins, ribbon, lace, and even beads. Abigail raised an eyebrow, looking so much more like William as she did.
"I was hoping we could split up," Molly called. "With three of us, getting the little things crossed off is no problem. By the time I finish with the fabric, usually there's only cheap lace and ribbons left."
"We'll get these then," Abigail told her, tearing the list in half and offering one half to Akane. She stuffed her own half in her pocket. She had no idea what colors or designs Molly would need but surely getting some would be better than getting none.
When multiple booths and stalls came into sight, Abigail found herself in awe. She had never seen anything like it before. Freshly caught seafood, all different varieties of butchered meats, homemade pastries and cakes, fresh tea, candies, and that was just the food! Further along, she could make out bright bolts of cloth, jewelry, handcrafted blankets, fans, parasol, and who knew what else?
"Humans certainly know how to sell their goods don't they?" Akane asked.
"What was that?" Molly asked distractedly. She was fumbling around with two small pouches and the money Miss Natalie had given her. After she was satisfied, she passed the two smaller pouches to Akane and Abigail. "That should be enough but if you need more I'll be with the fabrics." She pointed to the booths nearby selling fabrics of all colors and textures.
"We'll be back soon," Akane told her as she and Abigail accepted the pouches.
"Smooth," Abigail told her after they had left Molly.
"Shut up," Akane shot back. "She wasn't even listening to us."
"But what if she had?" Abigail demanded.
Akane just scoffed and hurried away from Abigail and to the booths overflowing with ribbons.
Abigail took a slower approach. She took her time getting to the sewing needles. An older woman, her brown hair streaked with silver, operated the booth that sold the sewing needles. But to Abigail's surprise, she also had small mountains of yarn and hooks for crocheting.
Abigail stopped in her tracks, slowly running a finger along the metallic hooks. She had vague memories of her mother using her own set of hooks to create dresses for her dolls when she was smaller. Recently, when she could not sleep, Annabelle would curl up in William's chair with a hook and yarn, working on blankets or shawls.
"May I help you?" the older woman asked.
"Um, yes," Abigail said, jumping in surprise. She fumbled in her pocket for her list and pulled it out. "I need to buy some sewing needles but I'm not entirely sure what she needs." She then explained to the patient woman why she was hunting for needles.
"I'll get what you need, honey," she told Abigail, immediately setting about gathering several different types of sewing needles, varying in size.
Abigail did not watch her, trusting her to get what she needed. Instead she fumbled in her own pocket to count her own money. A beautiful black yarn ribboned with silver thread had caught her eye. She gathered as many skeins of it as she could find, placing them before the woman as well. "And these," she added somewhat meekly.
"Do you crochet?" the woman asked, bundling the needles in a small container. "Or knit?"
"My mother does, sometimes," Abigail said.
The woman nodded in an understanding way and thanked Abigail for her purchases. Abigail held tightly to her bag of yarn, the needles held fast in her other hand. She needed to find buttons, again explaining, this time to the older couple selling buttons, thimbles, and other small whatnots she had seen around Natalie's shop.
As she looked through the buttons, she listened to them as they explained how their son would send them their wares from American in order for them to make a little extra money. "He must know what he's doing," the man told her, "because we usually sell out fast."
Abigail managed a distracted smile as she collected the pearl buttons. Several of Natalie's dresses included them, she knew. The black buttons, she decided, would go with most anything. She did not know if there was any need for corset lacing. The list did not include it so she passed that by.
It took her over an hour to collect the things Molly needed. To her surprise, people were fierce and attempted to buy things from her hand. She was tired and ready to go home, mostly to see what her mother thought of her yarn.
Akane was already finished with her part of the list, her own purchases tucked away in the back of the cart. Abigail placed hers in there as well, except for the yarn. She was unwilling to release it for fear someone would steal it. She did not care if Natalie's goods were stolen, but her yarn was another story entirely.
She joined Molly and Akane as they argued over the price of several bolts of bright blue satin. Molly, it seemed, had nearly bought the entirety of the booth. Several bolts of cloth were put aside, the owner waving away offers on them.
"Akane, will you and Abigail start putting them away?" Molly asked. She seemed determined to have that blue satin. Silently the two of them took turns making trips from the booth to the wagon, each carrying a heavy bolt of material.
"That poor horse is going to keel over if he has to walk back carrying this load," Akane remarked.
"He'll be good practice," Abigail teased. Akane stuck her tongue out at Abigail behind Molly's back. "Looks like she got that blue," Abigail added, pointing to Molly, who seemed pleased with herself.
Sure enough, on the ride back to the shop Abigail sat in the cart, her back propped against several bolts of blue cloth. Akane looked annoyed as she leaned against some purple velvet. Together, they silently nibbled on some of the pastries Molly had bought for the ride back.
"Why did you buy that?" Akane asked, pointing to the bag of yarn resting on Abigail's knees.
"To see what my mom could do with it," Abigail replied.
Akane made a face, rolling her eyes at the answer. Abigail did her best to ignore her. She licked the icing from her fingers. Then she glanced up at the rooftops overhead, almost certain she had seen something or someone moving on them. She saw nothing, shrugged, and resumed licking her fingers.
Akane's prediction turned out to be wrong. The horse made it back to the shop in one piece, though tired from the walk. He rested in the shade, drinking from a trough as the three of them unloaded their purchases and placed them in the shop. Miss Natalie said nothing to them, she just put everything in its proper place.
That night, she slept the peaceful sleep of the tired. Her parents stood in the doorway of her bedroom, checking on her before going to bed themselves. "Did she see you?" William asked.
"No," Annabelle replied. "I doubt she suspected a thing."