Disclaimer: Not mine-y, don't fine me.
Glass Slippers
"Unacceptable! Un-a-ccep-ta-ble!" Shaking an embroidered dress of sea green muslin, Lady Makino raged at the cowering shopkeeper. "You expect me to buy this...this...this frock for 200 silver pieces?" Dramatically, she beat a hand to her scented bosom and cried out. "Do you know who I am? Do you know who I am?"
The cheapest dowager in the kingdom. Prudently, the quivering merchant kept his thoughts to himself and hoped to make at least a copper's worth of profit on the wares of his trade "But my lady, I have already halved the price. It is an incomparable rate. You will not get better anywhere else, I assure you." Come on, you old biddy, just buy the bloody dress.
Lady Makino leaned forward and squinted at him with most daunting manner her shrewish face could achieve. "Really? Is that so?" Shaking a finger in the poor man's face, she tsked at him. "Then explain to me why I bought a better gown of fine water silk at the dressmaker's across the street, for the incomparable price of 120 silvers? Hmm?"
Because you would have gossiped him out of business. Lady Makino, the terror of all shopkeepers within Dango, capital of Hana, was known for her ability to appraise the worth and make of any material object within her view. Her word on fabrics, adornments, and cuisine at the various shops around the city were taken as sacred amongst the lower nobility. Sensibly, retailers made sure to offer her the best everything within their wares at the lowest price they could just for her favor…at least most did."My lady, please, this is the best muslin you can find in all of Hana. The fabric itself costs 120 silvers alone. The craftsmanship and skill that went into the beading and threading is valued more than 300 silvers. You are getting an outstanding deal." Half-pleading, the dressmaker wished his tormentor to simply make the purchase and leave.
Miffed, she struck her nose into the air and with almost a regal intonation she replied, "Fine, if that is how you wish to be, then I shall be leaving. Good day." Spinning on her heel, she made way for the door. Hiding her smile, she counted under her breath. Five, four, three…
Watching his store go slowly bankrupt with each step away the petite woman made, he immediately held up a hand to stop her, "Uh…uh…my lady, wait. Please, I'm sure that we can come to an agreement. Surely."
"Hmmm, of course we can come to a agreement, I'll take the dress for 150 silvers…," She smiled like proverbial cat who ate the canary, "and that rose silk gown as well as the blue velvet one."
It took a minute for the tailor to realize that he had been boxed into a corner. She would damage his store's reputation irreparably if he refused her again. Argh, just take the freaking dresses and leave, hag! Pasting on a fake smile, he managed to mangle out between his gritted teeth. "As you wish, madam. Would you like them wrapped?"
Author's Note: I know this was dumb, but I pretty much came up for the idea of this fic from watching a part of anime where Tsukushi's mother is haggling over the price of a fish and the vendor said something like, "You always get the best prices from me." …or something like that. *Oro?* I had hopes to make a Cinderella version of HYD starting with this as the first chapter. That never panned out. I guess I just want to give this little one-shot closure before dumping it into my never-to-be-seen-again folder. Hope you enjoyed it.
