I fought the urge to all but collapse on the table in front of . Instead, I neatly laid my head down on my arms and groaned. Across the table, Avuri mirrored , with a groan of her own. I stifled a laugh.
"Well, at least we're not both miserable alone." I whined, my fingers toying with a teacup in front of my head.
"I suppose?" Avuri grumbled. "But if you hadn't eaten too much, you could be rubbing my back and be all comforting right now."
"That goes both ways, you know." I said, tilting my head to try to get a glimpse of Avuri. All I saw was the top of her head. "I bla you."
"Why ?" Avuri's response was tinged with fake outrage. But apparently feeling sick dulled her bite.
"Because you just had to try everything on the tables. Both of them. And make try them all too."
"Of course! How else could we decide what to have at the wedding, rri?" She sounded so incredibly affronted that I had to focus not to laugh again. "But also, it was Celestial Dragon Pavilion food, and it was free." She added.
I made a rather undignified sound as I struggled not to get sick. Or maybe just burp. "I can't fault you there. I regret my choices now, but it was all delicious."
There was a mont of silence, which Avuri's stomach felt the need to fill. "I think we made the right call by choosing so of the upgraded dishes. That spicy beef dish was delicious, and it would've been sad to miss it."
"If you say so." I said, trying to avoid thinking about any of the food that was currently filling my stomach. "What or when did you say the next appointnt was?"
Avuri finally turned her head and propped her chin on the table to look at . She looked a little green. "Dresses. Probably in an hour or so."
"Lovely." I said, feeling not at all prepared for any sort of dress choosing or fitting at the mont. I eyed my ginger tea warily. "The thought of drinking anymore physically makes feel sick, but I still think the ginger should help settle things…"
"I'm not sure the ginger will help with us over eating, sweetie." Avuri said with a condescending smile. I glared at her, and she tried and failed to shrug from her position on the table. "I'm just saying."
"Whatever." I said as my head dropped back to my arms.
"Wow, feeling sick can remove even your bite." Avuri teased.
"Bite ." I said dryly. "Let take a quick nap. Hopefully that'll help."
"Sure. I'll wake you up in a bit to go do our dress shopping then." Avuri said, and reached out a hand to rub my shoulder gently. "Feel better, rri."
When I was finally getting close to sleep, I could've sworn I heard Avuri order more food.
When we finally made it to the clothing store later, I was feeling mildly better. Still a little queasy, but the sick, bloated feeling had passed, and I was ready to shop dresses. When Avuri and I arrived at 'Symphony of Silk', there were two won already waiting for us. As soon as they confird our appointnt, we were both whisked away into our own rooms. Afterall, we wanted our dress picks to be a surprise for one another.
We had only briefly discussed what our individual plans were for our dresses. Avuri had told that she was fully planning on going all out on her fairly typical white and blue. The words 'Ice Princess' had been thrown around, so I had at least so idea of what she was thinking.
I knew I could trust Avuri's taste when it ca to clothing, or really just about anything fashion related. She had good taste.
However, I was apparently far less trustworthy when it ca to fashion. I wasn't hopeless by any stretch, but highly valued comfort and utility in my clothing, especially when it ca to everyday use. That taste typically appeared in my flowing, sowhat loose-fitting martial artist robes and other comfortable day wear.
When we had discussed it all at length, Avuri had assured that the loose-fitting robes were actually quite attractive. They added to my appearance while quickly moving around in a fight - especially the sleeves, if they were baggy.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
And at the end of that discussion, Avuri had left with two main options when it ca to choosing a dress for our wedding. I could opt to lean into the flowing robes, and go for an impressive, empress-like look. The other option was a more classic, sleeker silk dress.
I had decided earlier to myself to go with the classic Qipao look. I figured that if Avuri was choosing to go all out on her 'Ice Princess' look, a sleek, more form-fitting dress would contrast well.
The question remaining was what color or pattern to go for.
The woman helping try things on, Sanla, was quick and efficient when it ca to moving dresses in and out of the room. Far more efficient than I was at getting in and out of the dresses.
"Okay, dear, the next one is out here when you're ready." She called while I carefully removed a shimring green dress, reminiscent of the green robes that Avuri had buy on our first date.
"Thank you, Sanla." I said, stepping out of the current dress. "Any thoughts so far?"
"Hmm." She humd, and it sounded like she was moving hangers and clothes around. "I do think the erald looks lovely on you. But there's sothing to be said for the classic red and gold. It's supposed to be lucky after all."
I could hear the smile in her voice as she spoke. "I considered the crimson and gold." I said, "You don't think it would clash too much with what Avuri's wearing? That was my biggest concern."
"It could…" She said, concern bleeding into her voice. "If you'd like, I can go sneak a peek at Avuri and see what her dress looks like. See how it'll look next to what your options are?"
I considered that for a mont while I folded the dress. "Yeah, I think that may be a good idea. Just to be sure."
As I slid out from behind the dressing partition and laid the green dress on a stool nearby, Sanla nodded and smiled. "Be right back!" She chirped, excited, and slipped from the room.
I perused the other options that she had gathered for , setting aside the ones I liked. There was the one I had just tried on; a gorgeous erald dress with gold embroidering. I mostly liked it because it reminded of our first date, and I thought that would be a cute connection.
The second was a striking crimson red Qipao, with gold dragons running up the sides and curling around the breast. It was a beautiful dress, but definitely visually loud. I was worried it might stand out too much or clash with what I imagine was going to be a cool blue and white combination from Avuri.
Contrast was good, but I didn't want it to be too severe.
Third in line was yet a third Qipao style dress. However, rather than contrast with Avuri's color sche, it would match it. The main silk portions of the dress were a clean, crisp white while the embroidery was an icy blue in the design of flowers that looked as if they were made of ice, or even perhaps snowflakes. It was a beautiful dress, and I liked it a lot. I was just worried whether or not Avuri would approve of matching.
A few minutes went by before Sanla returned. She had a calm smile on her face when she slipped back into the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
"Okay, so. I think you're probably safe with any of your current options." Sanla said, looking over the three dresses. "Avuri's current favorite is primarily a crisp white with just a little bit of cool blue detailing. The blue itself is pale enough that I don't think it'll clash with anything."
I sighed. "So it doesn't help us eliminate any of the options then…" I said, looking over the three dresses. "Alright. Knowing that the erald and red ones won't clash I think is enough to remove the matching one from the running. I think Avuri would prefer in a more dramatic color."
"Well, if you want a more dramatic color…" Sanla trailed off as she pointed at the bright red dress. "You can't go wrong with the classic red and gold. And like I said, it's lucky." She nearly sang the last few words.
I looked over the dress again. She was right; it was gorgeous and the color was traditionally auspicious. It couldn't hurt for us to have so good luck going into our marriage. Not that I thought we'd need it for the marriage itself, but perhaps luck in external affairs wouldn't go amiss.
Finally, I nodded. "Alright then. We'll go with the crimson." I nodded confidently once more, then nearly slumped. I really hoped that I hadn't picked wrong.
Apparently Avuri hadn't quite picked yet when I had decided, because I ended up waiting for her for a while after I was done. I had Sanla check on her periodically to make sure she didn't make any drastic changes to her dress choice in that ti; if she had, I may have had to double back myself.
Thankfully, Sanla gave the all clear when Avuri finally erged. She had taken extra ti because the dresses she was trying on were several layers, and took ti to get into and out of. But she seed happy with her choices, because she was grinning ear to ear when she t in the lobby of the shop.
"Looks like we're both decided?" She asked, looking almost smug.
"Yes, ma'am." I said with a smile in return. "Good to go."
"Don't you ma'am ." Avuri said, indignant. She spun around on a heel and dramatically stomped out of the store. "Three years!" She grumbled, throwing her hands up in the air. "Three years! That's it! I'm not that much older!"
As she left the building, several of the employees were laughing behind as I bowed toward them and hurried after my soon to be wife.
I caught up with her just outside the store, where she had turned to watch for with a big smile. "I'm glad they got a laugh out of my exit." She said, watching over my shoulder. "But if you ma'am again, you'll regret it later."
"Oh? And just what're you gonna do, hm?" I teased.
Avuri was silent and lifted an eyebrow at . "I'll tell the girls they don't get to sleep in our room anymore, and that it's your fault."
"Oh, that's playing dirty." I said begrudgingly. "Fine. No more ma'am."
"Good."
"So what's next on our little agenda for the day?"
Avuri silently pointed down the road.
"Flowers."
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