Chapter 45 Chapter 45 A Lovely Girlfriend
Each time Crystal pulled out a dress and held it to her body, it looked like she had a mini orgasm. Her breath would cease in awe, and her eyes would roll in admiration. To Nexus, they were all the same. But to Crystal, each dress was a piece of art. The embroidery and designs on each were unique.
"Young lady, if I may butt in here," the salesman held up his hand; "Why don't you take the dresses you've selected and try them on in the dressing area. . ."
He pointed to a wooden shack at the far end that had been painted white.
"That's a good idea Crystal. That way, you can see them on you firsthand."
Crystal blushed.
"If you say so."
"Excellent!" the salesman exclaimed. "We'll be waiting for you young lady."
Crystal hurried along. Hardly a few moments went by before she emerged wearing a jade colored dress. Nexus' eyes lit up when he saw her. She looked absolutely stunning in it. It was embroided with silver-colored threads, and it sat on her frame nicely. It was not too tight. But it was not loose either. It flowed all the way to her feet. Nexus knew it was perfect on her.
"Wow Crystal," his eyes twinkled; "This looks like it was made exactly for you."
She blushed, and tucked her hair behind her ear.
"How much for this?" Nexus asked the man.
"Oh, it actually goes for four gold coins. However, because of the wonderful energy you two have. . ."
He paused a little, pretending to give it a bit of thought;
"You can have it for two gold coins instead. Shall I wrap it up?"
Nexus was about to say; "Ye–"
But Crystal's shocked voice cut the transaction short;
"TWO WHOLE GOLD COINS??? That's a whole horse in some parts of town."
The salesman swiftly swooped in to gainsay her;
"My dear," he began sweetly; "You have great taste. You picked up a really pricey one. Even you can tell that it's a phenomenal dress."
Nexus interjected at this point; "Crystal don't worry about it. I got you okay?"
The saleman smiled warmly; "What a lucky woman you are. Do you see how much your boyfriend loves you? He wants the very best for–"
The words trailed off in his mouth as confusion set in on his seasoned face.
Before him, Crystal eyes were wide open in apprehension. Her hands were waving at him hysterically- supposedly gesturing him to cut it out.
The salesman went a deathly pale white. He knew he had made a presumptuous mistake. In fact, it was an albeit costly one. His brain fired off on all cylinders as his eyes roved back and forth across the young man, and the beautiful girl in the jade dress.
He began to connect the dots together like a puzzle, and it all came to him in the fraction of a second.
If a young man was buying an expensive dress for a woman who was so scared of being dubbed a girlfriend, years of experience told him that this was probably a mistress/married-man situation.
Immediately, he swiftly moved to diffuse the situation;
"I beg your pardon my dear, I promise you, it was not my intention to presume anything about your relationship."
Crystal interjected at this point; "Mister shop keeper, you got it all wrong–"
His tufted white eyebrows furrowed even tighter
"–our relationship is that of mast–"
Nexus' arm lovingly reached around her waist, cutting the words right out of her mouth.
"Come on Crystal, don't be so shy in front of the salesman. . ." he pulled her in and gently planted a kiss on her forehead right in front of the salesman.
"You're a lovely girlfriend, and I think it is so apparent, the dear salesman couldn't help but pick up on it," he smiled sweetly at her before turning his head to the man;
"Isn't that right sir?"
Eager to please, he nodded energetically, chanting; "Oh yes! oh yes! The two of you make a lovely couple."
He clasped his hands together at his chest; "It's so cute that she's so shy about it. Oh dear, look how red her cheeks are! Ah, to be young and in love."
The salesman was right about her cheeks.
The flesh around her jaw had turned a bright red! She looked as rosy, and as red as a ripe tomato! Worse still, she could not seem to rein in the sides of her mouth to stop smiling. Shamefaced, and lost for words, all she could do was blush hard with a goofy grin.
Gratittude and warmth rose inside Crystal. It engulfed her with the comfort of a blanket on a stormy night.
She looked up at Nexus dreamily. Her eyes shimmered in awe and gratitude. Even though she was basically a servant to him, Nexus had never made her feel like she was ever in servitude. He had been so delightfully sweet- like an angel. He had the power to make her do anything, and yet, he had never taken advantage of her will.
She did not say a word.
But Nexus understood. He understood it all. So, the salesman watched with a broad smile as he leaned forward and kissed the girl, making her even redder.
"So mister shop keeper, you said two gold coins huh?"
"Yes." The man greedily bobbed his head up and down; "Just two gold coins for the beautiful dress."
Nexus slid his hand into his pocket, fished out the money and completed the transaction.
"Come on Crystal," he slipped his hand into hers; "Let's get out of here."
Having made two sweet gold coins, the elderly salesman waved them goodbye;
"Please come another time! May her wide hips birth you many children sire!"
They both chuckled as they strutted back into the street.
Overhead, the weather had morphed into a friendlier version of its morning variant. The dark storm clouds had not ebbed completely, but a portend of rain still sat in the horizon.
But that did not at all stop business in the medieval market. Nexus and Crystal streaked in between the lines of stalls, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells.
By his side, Crystal stood on her toes, and shouted into Nexus' ear;
"Where're we off to my lord?!"
"Back to the castle of course." he boomed back.
"But you haven't gotten anything for yourse–"
Loud cheers broke out from a small crowd from up ahead. A public entertainer dazzled his audience with a hilarious puppet show.
Nexus lowered his head and bent his ear in her direction;
"Come again, I didn't get you!"
She pulled him off the street, into a secluded alley way that was barely five foot wide;
"How can we leave now? We haven't gotten anything for you."
He could not resist the smile that broke out softly;
"Don't worry about me Crystal; I'm all good. I think I have everything I need."
Her eyebrows slowly went up;
"Pardon me my lord, but that's not exactly true."
"What do you mean?"
"Your clothes m'lord. Forgive me, but they make you stick out like a sore thumb."
"Hey!" he looked down at his all black combat gear; "I think I look pretty darn good."
Crystal covered her mouth with her hand and chuckled like a little girl;
"I spotted a decent store around the corner. I think some local clothes will make you look less like a–"
She paused, as if trying to find the right word;
"–like someone who's not from around here."
Nexus knew she had a point. So, that was why he found himself trying out a grey colored tunic a few moments later at a men's fitting store.
Crystal clapped her hands excitedly; "You look great my lord! It really suits you!"
Nexus turned around uncomfortably with his arms stretched out, as the tailor fitted him;
"This is ridiculous, I feel really weird in this garb."
The tailor, a teenage boy did not mind him at all. He tightened Nexus' breeches, squishing his balls in the process, causing Nexus to grit his teeth. He then stepped away, allowing Nexus to view himself in the mirror.
His gray colored apparell was long, and was threaded with black edges. It flayed out at the arms, and a long slit ran from his groin to his feet. He sill had his black pants on, but he had discarded his rugged combat boots, and dorned on a simple sandals instead. His naked pale toes, poked out in the open.
"Damn, I really look like one of those toxically aristocatic medieval douchebags. If this tunic was all black, I would have certainly passed as a vampire."