Quick Update: Sorry for the mishap!
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fantasyanimegirl283: yeah! I was totally referring to that in-game expression of his lol ^^ glad you caught up on that!
Having an afternoon walk around the town was a routine for both Klaus and Iris for different reasons: Klaus to rest his nose and Iris to take a breather before going back to her script. Klaus enjoyed the novelist's company; sometimes she would tell him how her story was going or even asked for some inputs which he would gladly give, if he had any. However, this afternoon Iris seemed to be thinking of something else than her script.
"What should I do this year, hm…?"
Spring Fashion Show; Iris never missed to participate in the fashion show and proved her excellent sense of fashion over and over again. It seemed to Klaus that Iris could be an excellent wardrobe coordinator if she was ever bored with her job as a novelist.
They were just walking past the guild when Klaus noticed someone walking out from the restaurant. For reasons he couldn't fathom, her head perked up just as her foot touched the ground off from the steps and she turned ninety degrees to face them.
"Good afternoon, Miss Raelyn," he greeted amiably.
The young woman bowed down. "Good afternoon, Mr. Klaus, Miss Iris."
Unlike other days, Iris didn't immediately greet the farmer back; must've been because of the upcoming fashion show, he thought. Klaus gave the blonde a slight nudge to her side to pull her out from her trance and only then she noticed Raelyn, who had shown a slight discomfort and awkwardness.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you," Iris apologized sincerely. "It's just that I've been thinking of what should I put together for the upcoming fashion show."
"…Fashion show?"
Right, she's new here, Klaus noted to himself. "It's held every spring and fall," he told her. "Iris is a regular contestant."
The pinkette's mouth formed a small circle and she nodded.
"Why don't you become my model?"
Klaus and Raelyn both looked at Iris, whose face suddenly brightened up. Iris approached Raelyn and smiled at her. "I suddenly have an idea of what I'm going to show when I look at you!"
"Me?" the younger woman squeaked nervously. "But, I…"
"Please, Raelyn?" Iris smiled sweetly.
Klaus wondered who could ever resist that smile of hers.
Fashion Show would be one of the few times the town would be filled with visitors, either contestants or simply fashionistas that heard the news about the festival. Klaus remembered the theme of this particular show would be Long Dresses for Spring/Summer.
He stood at the side of the lane that would be used for the catwalk together with Mistel and Marian, the latter seemed to be completely fired up to see this season's lineup. "I'm sure Iris would put together another wonderful display!" he chortled amidst the noise from the crowd. "I heard she managed to convince Raelyn to be her model?"
"Yes, she did," Klaus replied. "I remember Iris being completely enamored by her hair."
"Aaah, yes… rose hair is quite a thing around here. She's a pretty one," the doctor commented. "She just needs to take care of her skin more lovingly. Farm work is rough."
"I can imagine that…"
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Spring Fashion Fiesta!" Veronica's voice boomed through the speakers, completely drowning out Klaus' voice. The guild master then proceeded to introduce the contestants and the judge, before announcing that the judging time would commence soon.
The first model wore a long bright green dress with yellow flower ornaments on the shoulder area. Del Cossa praised the elegance but he didn't seem to be thoroughly impressed by the outfit. The second entry wore a bright blue dress with clouds pattern on it, which Del Cossa found to be "playing safe and plain".
Then, it was Iris'—or rather, Raelyn's—turn. No one said a thing when the farmer appeared on the lane with her dress. Her dress was made from rainbow silk, giving it a white color overall but turned into the faintest shade of the seven rainbow colors under strong light. While the previous dresses were sleeveless, this dress had long sleeves instead, detached from the body of the dress, which were made from white organza that gave a faint outline of her arms. Her hair was let loose, allowing the wavy tresses to hang freely on her back. Its pink color, reminder of blooming cherry blossoms, accentuated the dress while keeping the theme of blooming spring.
When Raelyn reached the end of the lane, she spread her arms and revealed that her sleeves were styled after the eastern kimono. She then spun around, allowing the dress to show its various colors much to everyone's amazement. Midway through the turning, she slipped and fell. However, no one realized that it was an accident because they were so stunned by the dress—how the skirt spread on the floor and displayed its rainbow colors under the light—and when Raelyn covered her face in embarrassment they—even Del Cossa—thought it was part of the scripted pose.
"Bravo! Marvelous!" he clapped as Raelyn hurriedly stood up. "This is Art with capital A!"
No one was surprised when Victoria announced Iris to be the winner. Del Cossa shook her hand excitedly. "You really should consider a career in fashion!" Klaus could hear him saying. Iris simply smiled at that and carried on by receiving her prize and bouquet.
Although the festival was officially over, people still lingered to see more of the outfits. As the winning model, Raelyn of course had most visitors… and why wasn't he surprised that her visitors were mostly male?
"You were wonderful up there!" Klaus heard one of them said.
"May I know your name?"
"Can we have tea together after this?"
Raelyn's face, partly hid by her oversized sleeve as she put her hand to cover the lower part of her face, twisted in discomfort and he could see that even from where he was standing. Before he knew what he was thinking, he walked towards the crowd surrounding the young farmer and cleared his throat—making sure that it was audible.
"Iris was looking for you," he announced.
Raelyn didn't immediately catch it; she stood frozen there for a few moments before she snapped back to her senses and walked towards him. She lifted her skirt with one of her hand while still covering her face with the other and they walked away from the crowd. Klaus noticed that Raelyn was struggling with her dress; its skirt was completely sweeping the floor. Raelyn tried to pull back the train and gathered it in her arms, but her kimono sleeves made the job harder.
"Let me help you," Klaus offered as he bent down and gathered an armful of the train and lifted it. Her feet were now visible; there was no swelling anywhere, he noted to himself.
"T-Thank you, Mr. Klaus," she stammered as she took the skirt from Klaus and hugged it tightly.
"Congratulations for your winning," he said.
"It's Miss Iris, really, not me…"
"You made a wonderful display of her choice of dress."
"But I fell down…"
"You stood up and finished the show. That's all that matters."
Unbeknownst to him, Raelyn blushed at his words. "T-Thanks…" she muttered.
Finally, they found Iris surrounded by some people, strangers, most probably fashionistas who noticed her. She noticed them, however, and excused herself to approach Klaus and Raelyn.
"Mr. Klaus said you were looking for me…" Raelyn muttered.
Oh, no, Klaus thought inwardly. Iris was obviously confused and glanced at him quizzically, asking for an explanation. Although for others he might seem to be calm, Iris knew how to really read his heart. She smiled and turned back to Raelyn. "Yes, I was," she said. "I really have to thank you for being my model."
"But, I screwed up…"
"No, no, no, you certainly did not," Iris said immediately. "You might not have planned falling on the runway, but look—we won!"
Iris hugged Raelyn and patted her head softly. "I hope you didn't hurt yourself?"
"I'm okay, Miss Iris…"
Klaus sighed in relief. Thank goodness Iris understood…
He blinked in surprise when he caught himself thinking that way.
Why I must be very subtle in helping her out?
Stay tuned for the next chapter!
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