The Fragrance - Part 1

With the main attraction, the dress out of the way, there were a few other items on the list.

First was some shoes, but obviously, this only applied to Sylvia.

They ended up reaching a very fancy shop, almost as large as Maria's, where it was filled with shoes. Many could not be used in the ball, but there was a good selection that could.

Sylvia spent a good several minutes going through the shoes trying them on and feeling them out. As soon as she found what she liked, she grabbed a pair that worked with her dress. The annoying thing was she did it out of Octavia's sight, stating she wanted it to be a surprise.

What was surprising though was how little time Sylvia spent searching for them. Compared to Olivia's dress the time it took was minuscule. She did question Sylvia on this, and after a confused look from her, not understanding how Octavia didn't know, she explained.

As it stands, the dresses they wear are massive, reaching all the way down to the floor. If that is the case… no one is going to see your shoes. Because of this, comfort was the important aspect to look for when choosing shoes for a ball. Design is only secondary.

It made sense to her after she heard it. She had to use the fact that she didn't have feet to cover why she didn't know, which Sylvia gobbled up.

…

With the Shoes down, next, it was perfume, however, in this world, it was just called a scent or smell or fragrance.

This meant a trip to the apothecary shop.

"Welcome, how can I help… Oh, I remember you two." The proprietor said as she turned around.

"Hi again. We are attending the ball in the castle and are looking for-"

"Ah, you need a nice fragrance to use. Say no more, follow me."

She quickly moved around the counter and ended up at the wall displaying all of the potions that Olivia had seen before. As she looked at it this time, it appeared to be not as full as before.

"Apologies but some of the scents are currently out of stock. With the ball approaching, many have come to purchase potions for it. Also, during the ball at the castle, many commoners use this time to woo potential suitors as well during the town festival."

"Town festival?" Octavia asked as this was the first she had heard of it.

"Oh yeah. While the ball in the castle happens, many people in the town get together to have a small festival at the same time. I completely forgot about it. I mean, nobles can't really go to it since it happens at the same time as the ball."

"I figured" It's not like Octavia was desperate to go but considering the difference in the crowds at each event, she was sure she would do better during a festival without nobles, than a ball with them. But alas, she was stuck with the ball. As she thought about it though, she was sure that as long as Sylvia was with her, she could get through it.

"Now, do either of you have a preference for a smell, or would you like me to assist you in finding one."

Octavia was pulled out of her thoughts as the store owner said that and had to wonder what…smell to use. She had used perfume on Earth of course, but even if she could remember what scents they imitated, who was to say they had the same thing here. With the odd fruits and other differences, she may have to be very lucky to find something like a strawberry here, let alone a potion with the same smell.

"Huh, I mean I have used some before, but my parents mostly choose for me. I think I shall leave it to you to choose. Octavia, do you already know which scent to use?"

"Ah, no. I'll let you decide as well."

"Oh, wonderful. I shall find you something that will complement you both, perfectly. Now tell me about yourselves so I can find something to match your personalities."

Octavia and Sylvia looked at each other, not sure they made the right choice., but all they could do now was hand themselves over to fate.

…

"I've never had to talk so much about myself in my whole life."

"I know, that felt like a job interview…but much more invasive."

It felt like it went on for hours, but it had only been a short while. The number of questions the store owner had asked had been arduous. Questions such as their favourite colours, food and animal were a few of the many she asked. There were questions about their favourite memories, what their childhood was like and how they dealt with certain problems the latter of her reminded her of the job interviews she took on Earth.

She had to change things so they worked in this world, but she had gotten better at this and managed to make her way through it.

But thankfully, it was finally over, and the shop owner was currently looking through her notes and the bottles on her shelf.

"Huh, maybe this one. No, no, that fragrance won't do for someone like her. Maybe this one. No, the ingredients are all wrong."

She had been mumbling to herself all the while Sylvia and Octavia had been recovering.

"Is there anything else after this?" Octavia reluctantly asked, hoping she could just return home, take a bath and lay down.

"Err, no I don't think so. We can head back after this and practice our dancing."

"Wait. What. Dancing. How did I not think about the fact that there would be dancing? How did that slip my mind." She thought, as her brain ran at a mile a minute as she realised this. "What do I do? I mean I have done dancing before on Earth, but not like ballroom dancing. And now, I have a tail instead of feet. How is that going to work?"

Sylvia just sat there looking over at Octavia who had her head in her hands. She wasn't sure why she did. It took some time to figure it out, but she eventually came to realise what the problem is.

"Dancing. You don't know how to dance."

"Of course I don't. I woke up from an egg only several days ago. How would I know how to dance?! How did I not realise I would have to dance either."

They both just sat there staring at each other, unsure of what to say, until Sylvia came up with a plan.

"Ok. We need to fix this. We have a couple of days till it starts, so that's two days to teach you how to dance…" As she said this she looked down at Octavia. "…with a tail instead of legs. Yeah, that's going to be difficult. But this is my fault. I somehow just assumed you could dance, so I will spend the next two days teaching you how to do it."

Octavia was cheering while crying on the inside.

…

"Ok, I think I have the scents for you. Now, if you will allow it, I would like to speak out of turn, with no repercussions."

"Err" Octavia didn't know how to respond to that, but she figured it was more for Sylvia to decide rather than her given she was a noble and must hold a lot of power in this situation.

"That is fine. By my honour, you shall not be held accountable for the words you speak."

The shop owner sighed in relief at that, and then went on to explain the potions she now held in her hands. Looking over at Sylvia, she began.

"Ok, it took a while but this potion should be perfect for you. From what you told me, I can see that you can be brash and blunt. You speak before you think sometimes, and that can push people away. But, the ones that leave are foolish as they don't see the kind and compassionate person underneath all of that. You help people when you can and you care deeply for your friends and your family and would do anything for them."

As she spoke, Sylvia was just enamoured by what she was saying. She was annoyed at the start, but as far as Octavia could see, all of it was true and Sylvia could see that too.

"Because of all of that, this is the potion I have chosen for you. This is made from two main ingredients. One is a flower found deep in the south. It has a beautifully sweet smell and often fills you with calmness and a happy memory as you smell it. The other is a fruit which not many people eat. It is known for its sharp taste, and only the bravest or eccentric truly enjoy eating it. These are quite the polar opposites, but the smell it gives works very well. You get a sudden kick from the fruit, but this then changes and flows into the calming and soothing smell of the flower. This will surely show how you are, both on the surface and deep down."

She handed over the potion to Sylvia, who took a whiff of it. As she said, there was a sudden note at the start, similar to being hit by the smell of spice, but this only lasted a while and did turn into a lovely fragrant smell.

"Its-its perfect. I didn't think it would be, but you are right. Its lovely, thank you."

With a quick nod, she turned to Octavia.

"Now for you. You are a very good person, so much so that it would be fair to say that your good nature is what has brought you to this point. While you are kind and compassionate, it is not as if you feel no other emotions apart from them, but they are what drive you through life. "

"So far so right," Octavia said to herself.

"While this is the case, things are different for you now. You feel a bit lost and unsure of things, but you are working hard like you normally do, to find the answers you seek. Whether the answers you find are what you are looking for or not, you will have to wait and see."

Octavia looked up at the woman and could only wonder why she became an apothecary and not a soothsayer or psychic.

She then leaned in so that Octavia was the only one that could hear her before she continued. "But what you should know, and part of you already does, is that you are not alone in this search."

That managed to knock Octavia around a bit. "Hold on, this was all to do about our personalities. Sylvia's was just about her personality, but mine is turning more into an actual psychic reading." She couldn't help but wonder. Before she could voice anything, the shopkeeper continued.

"I'm sure the part of you is thinking that Sylvia is the one who would help you in your search and I'm sure she will, she is not the only one I am referring to."

Octavia had to pull back as she heard that last sentence.

"Who is this woman?"