We arrived at the city square. With two carriages and five horses, I was sure we would cause a commotion, but surprisingly, the people did not make a scene. They glanced at us, certainly, but went about their business.
When I prepared to step out of the carriage, I saw the twins waiting for me by the door. Their faces were sorrowful, eyes downcast. I tried to avert my gaze and keep walking, but a gentle hand patted my shoulder from behind.
I looked back. Mother was smiling at me encouragingly. It was clear she wanted me to make up with them.
Once everyone was on the ground, the twins stood directly in front of me, with Mother and Father watching from behind.
"Sigh." I crossed my arms. "Is there anything that you two want from me?"
They flinched slightly at my tone and looked at each other, seemingly trying to silently push the other to speak first.
"We want to say something, Sister Aurelia," Ophelia mumbled.
"What is that?"
"We want to….."
They fell silent again, shuffling their feet.
"What are you two going to say to me?" I tapped my foot.
People around us were starting to stare. The silence stretched.
"Sigh. Can you two say it fast? Before we make a scene here."
The twins just kept silent, heads bowed.
Something inside me snapped.
"You know," I started, my voice rising, "it was you two who wanted to stroll in the city. And right now, you are just standing in front of me. You said you want to say something. Here is your sister, right in front of you, and you two just keep silent. Do you two really want to stroll in the city or just want to stand here all day?"
For no reason, the words kept pouring out.
"How about this? I can do both. I can stand in here all day until you two say what you want to say, because it is not me who wants to go out. It is you two who asked Father to go out. And here, you two wasted it because you cannot speak to your own sister, even when she is right in front of you."
A strange, boiling feeling rose in my chest.
"Your father has prepared all of this—from carriages to guards—even spared his time for us so we can be here. And here I am, stuck in front of my two little siblings who cannot say a single word to me."
For no reason, I stepped forward until my face was directly in front of theirs.
"HEY!! Is your sister really scary in my sweet little siblings' view? It's not scary, right? If it is, your sister will be so sad. But it will be even more sad if her sweet little siblings cannot say something even when she is in front of—"
Suddenly, I felt two hands clamp down on my shoulders.
I looked back. It was Mother. But then I realized my arms felt tightened too. I looked down. Lady Octavi and Adel were beside me, and for some reason, they were gripping my arms tightly. I hadn't even realized they had moved closer.
I turned my face back to the twins. They looked terrified.
Mother physically turned my body to face her. She placed her hands on either side of my face and pulled me close, forcing me to look her in the eye.
"Aurelia!!!" she hissed, her tone filled with worry. "Remember, they are your little siblings. Grip your emotions and keep your composure. Surely I asked you to make up with them, but it doesn't mean like this."
"Huh??" I blinked, confused. "I didn't know what happened."
Livia and Martia quickly scooped up Aurelio and Ophelia and took them over to Father, moving them away from us.
I looked around. The people nearby looked unbelieving and scared.
"Can Mother let go of your hands from my head, please?" I asked calmly.
"No. Until you are calm."
"I am already calm, Mother."
"Are you sure?" She searched my eyes.
"Yes, I am. Can you lower your hands?"
Mother slowly lowered her hands from my head. But Lady Octavi and Adel still gripped my arms firmly.
"Can you lower your grips?" I asked them.
They released my upper arms… only to immediately slide their hands down and clasp my hands tightly. They were holding hands with me, but it felt more like a restraint.
"When I said lower, I didn't mean like this," I sighed. "It means take them off my arms entirely."
"They will keep holding your hands until we get home," Mother declared.
"What!" I gasped. "Is it not a little too embarrassing for me?"
"No, it is not."
"But two people holding my hands seems too much. How about one person holding my hand?"
"No," Mother said firmly. "They will hold your hands, no matter what happens."
"Sigh. Right."
I tried to shake their grip—up and down, left and right, pull and push. Their grip was ironclad. They wouldn't budge an inch.
"I apologize, My Lady," Adel whispered. "But it is an order from Madam, so I must obey it."
"Yeah..."
I looked at Father. Lady Laura whispered something to him, and immediately she excused herself to do her work as his substitute.
We continued our stroll in the city. After the incident, the twins kept their distance from me, and even the four new children stayed back. Father walked with the children, while Mother walked beside me. Three guards followed us closely, while two stayed behind to watch the carriages and horses.
In the square, we watched some performers. Even the trobairitz and the singer I had met before were there performing. I saw the twins and the four children watching from a safe distance, thoroughly entertained. I noticed Father gave coins with much more generosity to the performers than we had when we were here before.
Afterward, we walked through the streets toward our first destination: a boutique with a fancy design.
It had a glass window. Glass was expensive, classified as a luxury item. When Lady Octavi told me about it during tutoring, I was amazed because our house was full of glass windows. Looking around the street, no other store used glass; they all used wooden shutters.
The guards stayed outside. We stepped into the boutique.
Suddenly, Mother and Ophelia changed. Their demeanor shifted instantly. They charged toward the clerks, asking about this cloth and that dress. Father, seemingly used to this, immediately took a seat on a bench inside the store.
Since it was my first time in such a store, I walked around looking at things—Adel and Lady Octavi trailing attached to my hands. All the dresses and clothes were incredibly fancy. There were no price tags, so I went to one of the clerks and asked. She led me down every row, explaining the prices.
I was dumbfounded.
There were eight rows of clothing, grouped by material and motif. The most expensive material was silk, followed by linen, cotton, and wool. Four of the rows contained imported items not produced locally; these were the most expensive. The other four rows contained locally produced items made by women in their households.
The prices were staggering. The cheapest row had a silver coin price tag. The most expensive row was priced in platinum coins. Anything made of silk was worth at least a gold coin; if it was imported silk, it was worth platinum.
I saw Mother browsing the imported rows, while Ophelia was in the local rows. Both were focused on the silk sections.
For some reason, I wasn't interested in any of it.
I walked over to the bench and sat next to Father. Aurelio and the four children were with Ophelia, followed by Livia and Martia. So it was just Father and I, with Lady Octavi and Adel holding both my hands on the bench.
Father looked surprised when I sat down, then glanced around.
I was more surprised about Lady Octavi. She usually wore a knight's dress—more like a man's attire than a woman's.
"Lady Octavi, are you not interested in dresses or clothes?" I asked her.
"I am not that interested in that," she answered stoically. "I am more interested in you, My Lady."
"Right…." I turned my gaze to the other side. "How about you, Adel? Are you not interested?"
"Like Lady Octavi, I am more interested in you, My Lady, than clothes."
"Right…"
I saw Father beside Adel giggling into his hand. I turned my gaze to him.
"How about Father? Are you not interested too?"
"Like Adel and Lady Octav…" He tried to hold a cool face, but failed. "Father is more interested in you than clothes." He burst into giggles.
I felt teased by all of them.
Then I saw Mother walking toward me from a distance, a woman beside her.
"What are you doing sitting in here, Aurelia?" Mother asked as she arrived in front of us.
"I am just sitting with Father."
Father was still emitting small giggles. Mother shot a sharp gaze at him, and he stopped immediately.
"You cannot sit around here with your father," she scolded. "You will follow me with this lady."
"Who is she, Mother?"
"She is the owner of this store. And she will be trying to find the dresses that suit you with her workers."
"But, as you can see, Mother…" I raised my two hands, showing Lady Octavi and Adel still clamped onto them. "With these, can I wear or try a dress?"
I heard a small snicker from Father. Again, Mother shot a glare at him, and he silenced himself.
"There is no excuse, Aurelia. You will come with her, and Mother will follow to watch you."
Suddenly, Lady Octavi and Adel stood up, pulling me to my feet with them. Mother and the owner walked away from the bench. Lady Octavi and Adel followed, dragging me along. I tried to resist, but their grip was so strong that I was forced to follow.
They led me to a corner of the store with a large mirror. There was a table and chairs set up with drinks and snacks where Mother sat to watch. Three workers joined the owner. They measured my body size, while other workers ran to fetch dresses.
They brought an entire row of dresses.
They ushered me into a fitting area—a large circular curtain that could fit two or three people inside.
They started to dress me. Lady Octavi and Adel had to switch up holding my hands whenever the workers tried to pull sleeves over my arms because the grip disturbed the process. When I held Adel's hand, I thought her grip might be weaker than Lady Octavi's, so I tried to pull away. She didn't flinch.
Forcefully, I gave up.
They dressed me in various gowns. After each one, the curtains were thrown open to show Mother and the owner. Mother just kept whispering to the owner every time she looked at me.
After several dresses, the audience in front of the curtains increased. Father, the four children, and the twins followed by their maids had all gathered. They added another table and two chairs for the twins. Father sat with Mother.
Now, whenever they opened the curtains to show me off, the whole group discussed it with each other while enjoying the snacks and drinks on their tables, leaving me standing there on display, like I was a porcelain doll.