章 203: 201: A Company of Fools: Anniversary Preparations IV
"FUUUUUUUUCK!" I bellowed as I looked through my luggage. I was inside my bedroom at the palace with my clothes thrown all over the bed.
"What's wrong?" Bo asked, peeking his head into my room.
"I don't have any clothes for a fancy banqueeeeeeeeet!" I cried, then fell face first onto my bed. "All the clothes I brought were jeans and tee-shirts!"
"Don't you have any dress shirts or slacks?" Boasked.
"The only pair I had got burned up last month while I was training with Jiggles!" I groaned. Bo walked over and plopped down on the bed with me.
"Well, that is a problem, considering that Jane's parents' anniversary party thing is tonight." Bo said. I lifted my head up and frowned at him.
"Well, thank you, Captain, obvious." I drawled. Bo smiled and stuck his tongue out at me.
"Well, you should have gone shopping before you left or at all." Bo said.
"Bo, I am going to hit you if you don't shut up." I said menacingly. Bo hopped off the bed and walked over to the door.
"Why don't you just ask Arumay for some new clothes? It's what I've been doing." Bo asked.
Arumay was the butler in charge of taking care of Bo and I. Over the last few days, he's made sure that Bo had a change of clothes and was even the one that got us the swim trunks we wore yesterday. While I tried not to bother him with requests, Bo made sure to ask him for every little thing he needed.
I groaned and rolled onto my back, then stood up. I really didn't want to have to ask, while I felt that Arumay was a genuine and nice person and wouldn't make me feel like shit for asking for something I did not like having to rely on someone else, especially when it's for something I should have had myself. But it wasn't like I had many options.
"Fine, let's go see Arumay." I said. Bo smiled. The little shit knew I would cave eventually.
I followed Bo into the main living room of our quarters and out the door. As usual, there were a couple of guards outside our room. Since my duel with Rowad, they've dropped the attitude they've had when dealing with me and even acted fearful at times when I got a little pussed with Bo.
"Master Kingston, Master Kestrel, are you two heading somewhere?" the first of the two guards asked. Bo nodded enthusiastically.
"We're going to see Arumay, Chase needs to see him." Bo said. The guards both nodded and stepped in front of us. Since we didn't know our way around the palace, we normally had to have them guide us to where we needed to go, a less annoying aspect since the duel.
The hallways were crowded with staff rushing every way, trying to get things finished in time for the party tonight. Thanks to the guards, the staff all moved out of our way rather quickly. It only took a few minutes to get to the butlers' nook, as it was called by the staff. It was where all the butlers and maids congregated. It wasn't an extravagant room like the ones the guests stayed in, but compared to what the average room in America looked like, it was borderline luxury.
The room was nearly deserted with most butlers and maids working around the palace. Thankfully, Arumay was one of the few people inside the butlers nook. He was a tall older man who was a little on the skinny side but held himself with a sense of decorum and dignity that made his years of service and pride in those years apparent.
"Arumay!" Bo exclaimed as he walked into the butlers nook. Arumay was giving another butler instructions but stopped when he heard Bo's voice and turned to look at him. A pleasant smile spread across his face when he saw Bo, and he gave the other butler he'd talked to a curt nod before giving Bo his undivided attention.
"Master Kestrel, how can I be of service to you?" He asked, his tone light and jovial.
"I need your help, Arumay! It's important!" Bo exclaimed and raced over to the older butler. Bo stood at his side and pointed at me; I was standing in the doorway with our guards. "Chase here doesn't have any clothes he can wear to the Uncle Turry's and Auntie Vivi's anniversary party."
I frowned when I heard Bo refer to the Pharaoh and Queen as Uncle and Auntie but once again Bo had managed to worm his way onto the two's good graces to the point that they actually called him their nephew. The kid had a way of making people like him, and I was a little jealous of it.
"Well, that cannot stand!" Arumay exclaimed, then rushed over to me and ushered me into the center of the butlers nook, then took a step back and looked me over. "Master Kingston is a guest of honor to the ball. My honor as butler can not allow anyone under my care to be seen at anything less than their best!"
"Well, you got your work cut out for you, Arumay. This currently is my best." I said, motioning to myself.
The jeans I was wearing were over three years old, tee-shirt was a bright red when u first got it but now was a slightly faded pink, my shies which had been new when I left America was the last pair I had that weren't covered in blood or slightly scorched. Arumay looked worriedly at me and then sighed.
"We have a lot of work to do." He said with a shake of his head. "We'll have to sort the attire for you too Master Kestrel. Follow me, young masters."
Aruman walked out the butlers nook with a slightly quickened step. Bo and I hurried after him with our guards walking close behind. He led us to a part of the palace we hadn't been to before. The amount of traffic seemed to increase by three-fold in this section of the palace. Thankfully, anyone who saw Arumay quickly moved out of his way no matter how busy they were.
As we walked through this section, I noticed that not a lot of the staff were Egyptian or even had on the palace staff uniforms. Most of them had badges on that said 'guest staff' or so and so's 'valet'.
Arumay turned down one hallway, and suddenly, all the traffic vanished. Nobody was walking down that hallway, and at the end of it stood two guards, guarding a staircase to a user level of the palace. I recognized them from my duel with Rowad. They were some of the lackeys that supported him.
Arumay walked right up to those guards. At first, they started to stop him, but once they saw me and Bo behind him, they moved to the side without a word. Arumay ascended the staircase, and the rest of us had to almost run in order to keep up with him, not fun for our guards since they were wearing body armor.
When we reached the top of the stairs, I understood why those guards were downstairs preventing anyone from getting past them. The area in front of us looked like the world's largest closet that stretched so far the end seemed almost a mile away. There were racks of clothes in almost every size imaginable from any style imaginable. There had to be millions of dollars worth of clothes here.
"What is this place?" I asked, coming to a full stop look at everything.
"The royal wardrobe." Arumay answered, then turned to face Bo and I. "Anytime a designer comes out with new fashion or line, the court wardrobe coordinator buys them in every size and color imaginable. This ensures that the royal family is always at the height of fashion."
"Sounds like a huge waste of money to me…but hey, with all this showy stuff here, we're bound to find something that can fit you." Bo said, looking up at me. Arumay looked at Bo with an amused smile and shook his head.
"Yes, I suppose to many without the means to afford such things, it does seem like like a waste. However, for a royal, the clothes they wear are like armor. It is a direct reflection on the state of their country…usually." Arumay said.
I caught the dark glint in his eye when he said that, and I understood what he meant. There were probably going to be a lot of royals and world leaders from poorer countries at this ball that were dressed in extravagant fashion while their people barely had enough to eat. However, I couldn't help but remember the state of the bronze city back in Andromeda and how wonder how many cities in the country had slums like that one.
"Well now…where is…" Arumay muttered as he walked further into the wardrobe, looking from side to side as if he was looking for something or someone. "…Sallia? Are you in here? Sallia?!"
A face popped out of one of the clothing racks. It belonged to a young woman who had a diamond shaped farm crystal on her forehead. She saw Arumay and smiled broadly as she rushed out of the rack and over to Arumay.
"Arumay! What brings you by?" She asked sweetly, battering her eyelashes innocently up at the older man.
"Ah, Sallia, there you are…." Arumay said, then turned and motioned to Bo and I. "…These young masters need clothes for the ball tonight. You are already acquainted with Master Kestrel and his situation. This is Master Kingston."
I noticed the slight pout on Sallia's face when Arumay motioned to Bo and I but hid it well as she turned to look at me. Her eyebrows shot up as she saw my current outfit, and then she rushed over to me and walked around me, getting the full look.
"I can say with full certainty Master Kingston, that you need an ungodly amount of help." Sallia said. I frowned and crossed my arms.
"Well, I'm sorry, I'm not on the forefront of fashion." I said sarcastically. Sallia stopped in front of me and sighed.
"Your apology is accepted…." She turned and walked further into the wardrobe and motioned for everyone to follow her. I sighed and followed her with everyone else, following behind her. "…judging from your clothing, I can guess that you are American, probably middle to upper middle class. Sadly, a handicap when I'm it comes to fashion, you Americans aren't exactly known for much apart from being ass backward. So I suppose you could be forgiving for your lack of style."
She led us to the back of the wardrobe where there was a large office of sorts. It was set up like a tailors shop, with bolts of cloths and fabrics strewn on every wall. Tailors back in the states would have killed to have such a wide variety of fabrics at their disposal.
"First, I need to take your measurements, strip down to your underwear." Sallia ordered.
"Say what?!" I exclaimed. Bo snickered and looked up at me with a devious smirk.
"Yeah, in order for Sallia to find the right size for you, she needs to take measurements, and your clothes will get in the way." Bo explained, then stood with his hands on his hips and smirked.
"Fine…let's get this over with…." I mumbled.
***
"I see, you're rather on the skinny side for a splicer…that must be your Star farm crystal at work. I'm impressed." Sallia said as she rolled up her measuring tape. "It's too late to make you clothes from scratch, so we'll need to find something that would match your style… Tell me, how do you see yourself?"
I frowned at the question for two reasons. One: I was standing in my underwear, and she wanted to ask me questions still. The fact that Arumay and Bo were still in the room didn't help.. Two: I didn't really know how to answer that question. While a lot has happened in the past few months, I really didn't have time for a lot of self reflection.
"I…don't know, really." I said. Sallia sighed and shook her head.
"That can be a difficult question to ask for some. So let me rephrase it. How do you want everyone at the party to view you?" Sallia asked. I scratched my chin for a moment and then answered.
"A confident badass, I don't want anyone at the ball to look down at me or Sho'lajah Artifact Company. However, I don't want to be seen as flashy or tacky." I said. Sallia smiled and nodded.
"So you want an outfit that gives off an aura of understated authority that won't be seen as gauche or tacky…." Sallia grabbed my arm and looked at my skin, then frowned. "…hmm, your skin tone is a little on the darker side and warmer tone, so the safe route would be to use darker colors like black and grey but…."
Sallia paused and looked down at my farm crystal. My star was normally a bland grey color, or at least it used to be before I came to Andromeda College. Lately, my farm crystal glowed faintly, giving off a rainbow glow that shimmered and shifted between all the colors of the rainbow.
"But….?" Arumay prompted when Sallia didn't finish her thought. Sallia broke out kf her trance and shook her head.
"…Buuuuuut! Given how your farm crystal has a radiant class, ambient aura going with brighter colors might be the better choice." Sallia finished. I arched a brow at her.
"Radiant class ambient aura?" I repeated.
"Ambient aura. It's the glow that a powerful splicer's farm crystal gives off. The brighter the glow, the stronger the splicer or the stronger the splicer's evos." Arumay explained then motioned to my hand. "Radiant class is the rarest and most visible of all the classes and the mark of a truly powerful splicer."
"Yes! And it's rare for even a radiant class to have their crystal switch between so many colors." Sallia said.
"It's probably all your transcended evos and your mana-zana….whatever channeling thingy." Bo spoke up.
"Either way, I believe sticking to just dull darker colors will be a poor choice….hold on for a few moments…!" Sallia said, then rushed out of her office. I looked to Arumay and frowned.
"How much longer do I have to stand here in my underwear?" I asked. Arumay chuckled lightly at my obvious annoyance.
"Just a little longer Master Kingston. Sallia might be young, but she's one of the best at what she does. The royal family wouldn't have employed her otherwise." Arumay said. I sighed and crossed my arms.
Sallia came back a few minutes later with her arms full of different clothes. She hung them on a rack next to me then stepped back and looked me up and down before stepping back over to the rack and pulling a pair of black dress slacks with pink trim off the rack with a beige dinner jacket then held them up to me. She curled her lip up in disgust and threw them on a table on my other side.
"…no….let's see….talk around the palace is you're cocky…brash and bold….no something simple and expected is not your style..." Sallia muttered.
"If it helps, my grandmother is from West Africa, and my grandfather is from Scotland. If possible, I'd like to incorporate styles from their homelands." I said. Sallia's eyes widened, and a broad smile spread across her lips.
"Really? Many of the best designers come from South Africa, and thought their fashion can hardly be called understated…Scottish fashion can however…maybe I can find a middle ground…."
Sallia rushed out of her office again. When she came back, she had another bundle in her arms that promptly went onto the rack. She pulled off this black silk shirt with a rose pink tribal pattern that encapsulated the entire collar of the shirt and went down towards the hem, narrowing to a point just above where the navel would be. She held the shirt up to me, and her eyebrows shot up.
"Hmmm….mabye…" she muttered, then reached over on the rack and pulled off a pair of black silk pants with the rose pink tribal pattern around the waist and running down the sides of the pants leg. She held it up to me and then nodded. "Put these on!"
It was an order and not a request but an order. I frowned as I took the shirt and the pants from her hands. She promptly turned to her rack and started flipping through the clothes she had.
I threw the shirt over my shoulder for the moment and then slipped on pants. I was surprised by how light and airy they felt. It was almost as if I wasn't wearing any pants at all. The shirt felt the same once I slipped it on.
"Whoooa….I was going to crack a joke about you wearing pink, but that actually looks good on you." Bo said. I nodded in agreement as I looked at myself in the full-length mirror in the corner.
"Yeah, you're right. I like it." I said.
"Well, I'm not done yet." Sallia said, pulling a long piece of silk from the rack. It was about nine feet long, easily, and no wider than my hand. It was black and had a beautiful rose gold mosaic pattern woven into it that twinkled when the light hit it just right. "What you have on I'd called a Dashiki, it's typical fashion in West Africa. In Scotland, it's common for men to wear kilts of certain colors to symbolize clans. Since I can't presume to know what clan your grandfather was from…if any, I can at least give you a sash as they are typically warned with kilts. Lucky for you, the designer of this dashiki also designed this….just trust me."
Sallia then walked up and wrapped the sash around my waist before draping the excess over my left shoulder and wrapping it around my waist again. She repeated this until she reached the end of the sash and tied it into the waist. Sallia then went and corrected the sash, keeping it out of the way so that it didn't block the design on the dashiki. She then went to the wrap around the shoulder and unfolded it, making the material drape down over my left arm, covering it up to the elbow. Sallia took a step back to look at her work and then nodded.
"A few adjustments here and there, take if in here….it'll be perfect!" She exclaimed happily.
"That a tally looks pretty good!" Bo exclaimed. Arumay nodded and smiled.
"See, I told you she was one of three bests at what she does master Kingston." Arumay said. Sallia smiled and looked away from everyone.
"Oh…Arumay…" Sallia said, blushing. There was a sudden knock on the door to the office, and a second later, a man walked into the room and smiled at everyone.
"Sallllllliaaaaaaaa! You called?!" The man exclaimed in a loud sing-song voice. Sallka groaned and then frowned at the man.
"Yes, Kopihil." Sallia said, then turned towards me. "Master Kingston, this is Kopihil. He's one of the hair stylists that the palace employs. While I was put looking for an outfit for you, I sent a message asking for him to come….though I'm regretting that now."
"Yes! You called and I am appeared!" Kopihil exclaimed, then arched a brow at me.
"So this is my new canvas….hmmm…obviously been a whole since he took care of his hair."
I frowned, then reached up and grabbed my hair. As a splicer, my hair and fingernails grew faster than normal. In the last few months, my hair had grown long enough to make a decent sized afro. While I tried my best to keep it from looking nappy, there was only so much I could do without a hair stylist. I sighed and then looked at Kopihil.
"I'm from a different country, and even back home, not a lot of hair stylists were willing to deal with me." I said. Kopihil nodded, then walked over to me and walked a full circle around me, and nodded again.
"I see! I see! Oh, I have a vision already! It's going to take a while to do so. I'm going to need you to hurry up with the clothes, Sallia." He exclaimed. Sallia groaned and then looked at Sallia.
"You don't rush art, Kopihil! It'll take a bit for me to make small alterations. You can have him after that." Sallia said sternly. Kopihil sighed exaggeratedly, then shrugged
"Fine! I'll have to really work my magic then! So much work and so little time, but don't worry, my pretty little canvas. I'll mold you into a work of art worthy of the Mona Lisa!"
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