Pretty in Pink

Writers: Estelle, Paula
Date Posted: 12th December 2019

Characters: Ailda, Corolia, Wallia, Coria, Telany, Khiram
Description: Ailda takes the girls to Weaver Hall for Turnover dresses
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 13, day 3 of Turn 9
Notes: I have permanent permission from Suzee to write Coria. Backdated due loa/lia

Ailda had agreed to take the girls to Weaver Hall for new gather
dresses. Including the fosterlings, Coria and Telany. They took a
carriage there. On her own, Ailda would had either walked or ridden, the distance wasn't that great, but they had a blind person and a toddler
with them.

"So, do you have any ideas what kind of dress you want for Turn Over?" Ailda asked when the carriage rolled towards the Weaver Hall.

"Pink!" Coria replied. It was probably only colour she could name.

"You'll look pretty in pink," Ailda agreed. She looked the other girls.

"I don't care," Wallia said, sulking a little. Since she couldn't see
what she wore, she felt this whole outing was waste of time.

"I don't know yet, I kind of like pink but it's a little girl's colour,"
Corolia mused, feeling mature with all her eleven Turns. "What colour
you'll be wearing, Ailda?"

"Well, since your father asked me to be hostess for the Feast, I'll be
wearing Emerald Falls' colours," Ailda replied.

Telany was not keen on the idea of wearing dresses at all, but she
didn't say so. It would be rude, since they were going to the trouble of
having one made for her, and by the Weavers, too. And it wouldn't be so bad to have a new one, rather that her older sisters' cast-offs.

She thought about colours, but the only one that came to mind was brown, the colour of her brother's dragon, and that was a rather dull choice for a Gather dress. To give herself time to consider, she asked Ailda a question. "What do you have to do when you're hostess?"

"I stand next to Lord Corowal, smile, greet and look pretty," Ailda
replied. "Some small talk with people and dancing is also required."

That sounded utterly boring to Telany, apart from the dancing, which she didn't mind. At least with dancing you didn't have to sit still. Would
being a lady mean a lifetime of smiling and looking pretty? She fidgeted
in her seat. "Do I have to do anything at the feast?"

"No. You're excepted to show up for the dinner and after you've eaten,
you can go back to your quarters," Ailda replied gently.

"This time daddy let's me stay up late and attend the first few dances,"
Corolia said with smug tone. She was very excited about it.

The carriage rolled to stop.
"Oh, we're here," Ailda said and was out of the carriage before the
driver could help her out. She gestured him to help Wallia, while
lifting down Coria herself.

Telany followed them out, her mind already busy with plans for Turn
Over. In her opinion, having to go back to her room after dinner was
even more boring than being made to attend the celebration afterwards
and make polite conversation. She didn't want to miss the dancing! It
wasn't fair, Corolia wasn't that much older than her. But she was the
Lord Holder's daughter.

Maybe it wasn't so bad. Maybe she could slip out when the others were
asleep... Absorbed in her thoughts, she almost didn't realise when they
reached the entrance to the Hall. A young journeyman had come out to
greet them, and bowed to Ailda.

"Good day, my lady, and welcome to the Weaver Hall. How can I help you?"

"Good day, we have appointment about gather dresses," Ailda replied.
"With master Khiram."

"Pink!" excited Coria whooped.

"Yes, she's made up her mind about colour," Ailda said with laughter.
She was such a cute little thing.

The corners of the weaver's mouth twitched in amusement, though he tried to remain dignified. "Yes, ma'am. We have some very fine pink cloth in various shades, just come from the dyers. If you'll come this way, I'll show you to the Master's workroom."

Telany followed him through the corridors, admiring the fine quality of
the tapestries that decorated the walls. She lingered to look into a
classroom where young boys, a few Turns older than were, were gathered around a loom while an older man demonstrated his craft, moving the shuttle slowly back and forth so the apprentices could follow his motion. She'd never thought to be inside a Crafthall. Suddenly realising she might get lost, she hurried to catch up with the others.

"Come along, girls," Ailda ushered her charges to follow the weaver. She had Coria's hand and had to make sure Wallia was not walking into
obstacles.

The journeyman stopped in front of a door and knocked, then opened it
and stepped inside. "Master, your visitors from the Hold are here. My
lady?" He stood aside to allow Ailda to enter.

The Master Weaver was seated at a desk piled high with large, hidebound books. One was propped open in front of him, the pages showing various designs for embroidered hems. He pushed a paper he'd been sketching on aside and stood, smiling. "Welcome, Lady Ailda, young ladies. Please, come in and sit down." He gestured towards a pair of comfortable couches around a low table. "You're here for Turn Over gowns?"

"That's right," Ailda replied and got the girls seated.

Telany sat down, looking around with wide eyes at the vividly coloured
fabrics of the half-finished dresses that were pinned up on dressmaker's
dummies around the room. She'd never seen so much finery in her life,
and the thought of actually wearing a gown like that terrified her.
She'd be bound to trip over the skirts, or spill something on it and
ruin it.

"Very good. Who wants to be first to choose?" Master Khiram winked at
Coria. "The youngest, perhaps?"

"Pink!" Coria didn't hesitate.

"There you go, no buts or ifs," Ailda grinned. "How about you, Wallia?"

"I don't care," the blind girl sulked.

"How about Emerald Fall's colours? Or maybe pastel versions of them?" Ailda suggested.

"That would be a good choice." The master thought for a moment. "Those colours are popular here, so we have several different materials. There are fine, light linens, cottons and wool in varying weaves and thicknesses. Perhaps the young lady would like to touch some samples. They each have their own distinctive texture."

That cheered up Wallia and she nodded an agreement.

"How about Corolia and Telany? Have you made up your minds or do you want to look at the samples first?" Ailda asked.

"Um..." Telany's home wasn't big enough to have colours of its own. She wondered what they would be if it did. Green for grass, or white for the fleeces of the ovines they herded? "What about the colours of the Weyr? Would it be all right for me to wear those? My brother is there," she explained for the weaver's benefit.

"Yes, I should think so. I'll fetch some samples." Khiram got to his
feet, went over to a shelf and took down what looked like a book. Inside
were sewn squares of different kinds of fabric in a bright array of
colours. "Here, take a look. These are all suitable for ball dresses."

"That would be fine," Ailda replied to Telany She guided Wallia's hand
so she found the fabric samples.

Corolia came over to see them too, since she hadn't made up her mind either. "There's just so many choices," she sighed. "Would I look good in purple?"

Telany watched as the other girls turned over the pages of the sample
book. The cloth was of far better quality than she'd ever worn before,
and she felt suddenly nervous in case she picked something too expensive for her rank. She glanced up at Ailda. "They're pretty, but I don't know how to choose..."

"Choose something you like or just pick one at random," Ailda suggested.

"Then...maybe that colour?" She pointed at a piece of fabric which was
visible for a moment as Wallia turned over the pages of samples. Telany
had never seen the sea and couldn't have named the colour as the deep ocean blue of Dolphin Cove, but she recognised it from the badge her brother wore.

"That's a lovely colour," AIlda said approvingly. Showing Weyr's colours
could never go wrong. It was also not far off from Emerald Fall's blue.

"And you, my lady?" the master weaver asked Ailda. "Have you seen a
colour you like?"

"I've already decided to wear Emerald Falls' colours, so emerald green,
blue and gold embroidery," Ailda replied.

"I want this cloth," Wallia said, stroking the sample piece. It was soft
material, thicker than was customary for a dress grown, but to the blind
girl, the feel of if was more important than fashion.

"That's a good choice. It'll keep you warm in the evening, when the sun
goes down," Master Khiram said, the approval evident in his voice as he made notes on a hide. It always pleased him when someone chose a fine quality fabric. "Next you'll need to choose the style." He reached for another book. "These designs are for young ladies of different ages, but perhaps you'd like to look, Lady Ailda." He left it up to her to choose
what was suitable for the girls.

Telany peeped at the book over Ailda's shoulder, hoping for something
without too many frills.

Ailda ended up choosing a style that was elegant yet simple. not too
revealing but not too prudent either.
She picked suitable little girl designs for both Coria and Wallia. Her
own taste tended to go towards less is better, so the little ones
dresses were going to be rather simple too.

Corolia hadn't even choosen a colour yet and the different dress desings made it even harder for her to choose. She groaned. "Can I just follow your style and colours, cousin Ailda?" she asked.

"Of course you can, we're family after all, so no one minds if we look
alike," Ailda replied gently.

"Can I wear a design like that too?" Telany asked shyly. She was younger and of lesser rank than Corolia, so she wasn't sure if it would be right, but she did want to look grown up, like the Lord Holder's daughter.

"Yes, you can. The only restriction is that you can't use gold in your
embroidery, that's for Blood only. You could use silver, which would
look good with that blue or if you want to keep it to Dolphin Cove's
colours, black," Ailda replied.
Girls were going to set a trend for next Turns fashion for young girls.

"Here, these are different embroidery threads." The master pulled out a
box from his desk drawer and took out some reels, then draped them over the fabric sample that Telany had chosen. "You can see how the silver stands out well against the blue."

Telany nodded, watching how the silver thread sparkled against the
cloth. She still could hardly imagine wearing a dress made of such fine
materials.

"There we are then - silver and blue." Khiram added to the notes he'd
been making on a hide. "Now, we just need the young ladies'
measurements. I'll send for a journeyman to take them." He looked up and smiled. "The dresses will all be ready in plenty of time for Turn Over."

"Good," Ailda replied.

Last updated on the December 18th 2019

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Pretty in Pink