The Ogre Strength Fairy and the Eldest 'Son'
Chapter 83 - Dress Woven For A Future So Bright That Ancient Eyes Just Gleam With Delight!

Chapter 83: Chapter 83 - Dress Woven For A Future So Bright That Ancient Eyes Just Gleam With Delight!

The tall windows of the Goltbred estate’s largest guest room let in a lot of light. Elua stood at the threshold taking in the scene of how it had been completely transformed into an impromptu bridal salon. The usually sparse space was no more as attendants and craftspeople hurried and made the final preparations for her dress fitting.

At the center of the room stood a mannequin draped in shimmering silver. Up on the raised platform, the wedding dress caught the light beautifully. It threw the light reflections across the walls. The cultivator held her breath in her throat as she approached.

Her steps were as measured and deliberate as the saving of the sight from her perspective in an illusion before pressing it into a fragment for safekeeping. One day, she would share all of these moments she loved with Qat in private. Her mind momentarily thought of the teenager swinging her sword with her shirt taken off.

’Some of the more... questionable ones might have to wait. I can’t even watch them alone without trouble these days!’

"We’ve been eagerly awaiting your arrival."

The dressmaker was a woman with silver-dyed hair and clever eyes. Though she was aged enough that the color might not seem out of place to anyone else. Her weathered hands gestured excitedly as she guided the heiress closer to the dress.

"It’s astonishing, isn’t it? We’ve never worked with such exceptional alloy threads before. They’re as delicate as spider silk to work with... but strong as wire made from a harder metal."

Elua nodded with a ’smile’. Her facade expressed polite interest while masking the ancient cultivator’s more keen assessment. Her fingers trailed over the embroidery adorning the bodice to feel the shift of the fabric under her touch. Meanwhile her spirit was tracing every part of it for imperfections.

She had to admit that the dress was a masterpiece of craftsmanship. The metal threads had been woven so finely that the silver fabric seemed to flow like silk. The skirt cascaded down in graceful folds that would catch the light with every movement.

What truly caught the girl’s eye were the tasteful accents of mint-green gems adorning the sleeve near her shoulders. The stones were perfectly matched to her eye color and added a touch of personal flair to the traditional silver affair. The dressmaker noticed the direction of her gaze and answered before she could ask.

"Those were your mother’s idea! She said they would bring out your eyes... I must say, she was absolutely right."

A pair of lips curved into a deeper smile. She couldn’t wait to tease Yatrel, implying that she had merely found a way to incorporate a touch of *her* legacy into the dress. But even if the woman admitted it was so... it was fine with the daughter.

The dressmaker began to explain the intricacies of the dress’s actual construction... and Elua let her mind wander. Her fingers continued to trace the delicate patterns that she pointed out... already identifying potential hiding spots for the micro-sigils she planned to add to it later. After all, a little extra protection never hurts.

’Especially the kind that comes *from* Qatrand~ I wonder what she’ll think if I-’

The thought of her beloved seeing her in this dress sent a sugary flutter through her chest. It was a sensation that still managed to surprise her with its intensity. The sigils she had in their planning stage just flew away from their mental confines!

"Shall we begin the fitting, young miss?"

The old woman’s question snapped Elua back to the present. She nodded, her face composing itself into the picture of a blushing bride-to-be. Which did not take very much work other than kicking away some of her ’real’ self.

"Yes. I think I’m ready."

After removing the simple dress she wore, Elua stood perfectly still. The dressmaker and her assistants carefully lifted the gown from the mannequin. They draped the dress over her and she felt the cool touch of metal against her skin - a tangible reminder of the significance of this moment. The weight of the silver-alloy fabric surprised her despite not letting it show on her face.

’I wonder just what kind of expensive metal it was?’

"I’ve never seen a bride stand so still during a fitting. I’ll have to compliment your mother. It’s as if you’ve done this a hundred times before."

The woman in charge murmured to herself while circling the intended wearer.

"Perhaps I have, in my dreams."

Elua’s lips turned up in a ’smile’ as she replied. She’d allowed her voice to carry the note of ’innocent yearning’. The attendants had begun pinning and adjusting the dress when she grew bored enough to allow her mind to wander.

The idea for sigils began to resurface until she thought of Qatrand. The imagined look on her beloved’s face when she saw her in this dress sent a deep warmth through her. Goosebumps that had almost nothing to do with the chilly silver fabric surfaced, but none of those working around her made a mention.

"Elua, my dear girl... you look radiant."

Yatrel’s voice eventually cut through her reverie. The heiress turned her head ever so slightly to not disturb their work. Her mother was entering the room and her mint eyes were moist with unshed tears as she took in the sight of her eldest daughter standing there in her wedding gown.

"I have something for you. Your father made this crystal for you when you were just a child. You were never very interested in it so we put it away. Now, we thought it would be perfect for the wedding."

She opened a small, lacquered box to reveal an exquisite hair ornament. The strikingly mint-colored crystal sent light from the window dancing across the room. Her facade slipped away, eyes dulling and response monotone... but the woman was coming to understand that such was often a ’good’ thing.

"It’s beautiful."

The reddish-blonde hair brushed her shoulder as the ornament was carefully placed in Elua’s hair. She would let the attendants adjust it if necessary before they pulled the cloth covering the mirrors.

"You know, your father initially wanted your dress to look exactly like the one I wore at our wedding. Can you imagine? I had to gently remind him that we’re in a slightly different position now than we were then."

The daughter ’giggled’ while the mother chuckled. It was easy to picture Ondua’s enthusiastic suggestion and Yatrel’s ’diplomatic’ rejection.

"I’m glad you intervened. Though I’m sure you looked lovely, mom. Regardless of any dress."

The fitting continued its lengthy process of checking everything from every angle. The dressmaker seemed to struggle with something about the way the fabric fell around her hips. With a subtle manipulation of her Element, the brunette girl caused the material to billow slightly as if caught in a coastal breeze.

"Oh my. I’ve never had my fabric move quite like that before in a fitting. It’s as if my work is alive."

The effect was striking to the workers. Their eyes were all taking in the way the folds caught as they spun her about...

"It seems the *dress* knows where it will be worn, on that windy coast."

Yatrel expressed softly, knowing the venue where the young couple would soon be joined must clearly be in her daughter’s mind. The subtle manipulations. The dressmaker circled the girl with great concentration.

"I must say, young miss... I’ve never worked with a bride quite like you. Most are fidgeting or chattering nervously with us or their family by now. You’re as still as a statue."

Her practiced smile ’beamed’ at the older woman before speaking in a ’serene’ tone edged with ’excitement’.

"I suppose I’m just focused on the importance of this moment... and all the next."

The fitting drew to a close when Elua was guided to a series of three full-length mirrors. She stood maintaining her facade with an iron-fisted spirit as she took in her reflection.

The silver dress hugged her form before flowing out in graceful waves from her hips. The gems at her shoulders drew the eyes from some angles and remained unobtrusive at others. The hair ornament from her parents nearly completed the ensemble.

’I hope for them it looks as good when I do a final thing before the day~’

She looked beyond her reflection and saw herself not just as the young bride-to-be, but the ancient cultivator who had lived hard to count years. The infamous Acid-Tongued villain to the people around her now - and arguably many even back then. Beating that past roughly into a totally new shape was as unlikely for her to try as ignoring it entirely.

But as she built herself a version of her expected adult form in an illusion only she could see...

’I guess growing into something new is acceptable.’

The attendants began to help her out of the dress. She’d cataloged every form and fold inside a blueprint so she might later add her hidden sigils - once they were done with their final touches. The dress would eventually be more than just a symbol of her union with Qat.

It would be a ’fortress’ imbued with the best protections she could muster. Whether it would strike anyone as strange she continued to wear this dress to battle didn’t matter to her. After all, she could always fool their senses to seem like it was a normal dress!

’It’s been a while since I could consider myself attached to a mere set of clothing.’

"Well, my dear. I think it’s safe to say you’ve made quite an impression today. I imagine it will be no different in the larger crowd."

Her mother spoke as her daughter changed back into her simple dress. An even voice responded as their mint eyes locked.

"It’s a beautiful dress. I look forward to wearing it when Qatrand and I are joined."

The fact that her statement could be talking about the wedding event *as well as* any time after their marriage was not a mistake of choice!