The Forgotten Zodiac

Isabella eyed the shop skeptically, unsure of it based on the sign in small print below the one with the shop name. "It says no dogs... I don't like stores that say no dogs; they make Morgan sad." She scowled at the sign furiously. "There's probably all sorts of grumpy people in there."
"It's so the dog doesn't leave his fur on any of the material. Besides, Madame Dolly probably knows how friendly and protective dogs are and doesn't want them invading her changing rooms." Dagan explained with the hope that it would pacify Isabella. "I can hold Morgan out here, if you would prefer."

"Dagan will take good care of Morgan. I trust him, so you can too." Morgan nodded, taking the leash from Isabella and handing it to Dagan. "Don't worry, Issy, he'll be just fine out here with our friend." He reassured her, holding out his hand for her to take as he walked to the door.

"I'll be just a minute, then I'll come out and help Dagan take care of him," Vi nodded. "I already have a dress in mind, after all. You, on the other hand, need to shop!"

"Well..." Isabella looked on the verge of deciding when Morgan took the leash from her hands and transfered it to Dagan. When Morgan, Jr., seemed happy enough with the action, she nodded. "Okay, time to go find... Something. What're we finding in here?" She asked as she bounced up to the door, looking around as she did. Stores were exciting, even if they were mean to dogs.
Alexander caught the door as Isabella skipped through it and turned to Morgan. "You going in?"

Morgan shook his head. "Nah. I'll stick around with Dagan. You go ahead and help her shop. I'll stand guard out here." He shrugged.

Vi, on the other hand, was already inside. "Dresses, dear. Any dress you want. We have the ball coming up, after all; you have to look your best. So, just pick one you like. We can start with what your favorite color is." She looked questioningly at the girl, then took a guess. "Pink?"

Alexander nodded and stepped through the door. He paused in the doorway as the distinct sensations of the dress shop wrapped around him. The teen hadn't been there for quite a while, since six months before his father had disappeared. That had been when he escorted his mother, Victoria, shopping before she left for London. That'd been the last time he saw his mother. Following his father's disappearance and the enacting of his father's will, Alexander had discovered exactly how paranoid his father had been about a Finnigan losing control. The will, in no uncertain terms, had spelled out how exactly ruined Victoria would be were she to return to Lanstul; and Alexander had been unable to make it all the way to London in quite some time. Letters, for now, sufficed.
Isabella looked around the shop in awe as the colors flooded over her. Vi's question snapped her attention back to her companions and she shook her head. "No, not pink. I like blue, and green, and not yellow, and purple, and sometimes orange, and not red, and white, and brown, and not black, and my favorite is all the ones I like." She nodded and looked around. When her eyes settled on a blue bolt of cloth, she rushed over to run her fingers over it and frowned. "Oh! I like this color, but it's so scratchy!" The girl pulled her hands back from the cloth and rubbed them against the hyper-smooth material of her shirt. "I don't like scratchy."

"Oh, well, I'm sure we can find some nice blue cloth that isn't scratchy. Like...this one, maybe? Or perhaps this one?" Vi compared the cotton and satin fabrics, mulling it over. "These are both good. Of course, it's not up to me. Which would you prefer?"

The next half hour or so was spent looking through various fabrics. Isabella's was found before too long, but then Vi decided to browse, as well. It wasn't long, however, before she spotted the wistful look on Alexander's face. "What, revering in your few moments without your guard dog at your heels?" She asked quietly, giggling a bit at her own - apt - description of Morgan.

"What?" Alexander's attention snapped back to the people around him. "Oh, yes. I was taking the opportunity to examine the shop. I don't exactly spend a lot of time in dress shops, so I decided to make use of the educational opportunity." He'd been glancing around the building as he continued talking to Virellis, but now he looked back at Vi and smiled. "You're finding everything  well enough, I take it?"
Isabella, having found the fabric that made her happy, had then been running back and forth between the bolt and her two Morgans outside.

"Yes, I suppose...I can't decide which I would like better, though. Satin is easier to take care of, but the quality has nothing on the oriental-styled fabrics. I'm really finding it hard to choose..." She tutted, shaking her head. "But then, I can always come back later, if you want to get a move on with the dress making.

"Everything ready for the measurements? Or do you need a couple minutes more?" The young woman manning the shop asked. It was not Dolly, but her daughter, Heather (as so proclaimed by the nametag on her lapel). She would get the measurements and fabric and take their order. It was a very old-fashioned shop, but quite unique. No two dresses were the same, after all.

"Virellis Lowell. 31, 23, 30. I can't choose between the fabrics, though..." Vi sighed, then spotted the slightly confused look on the girl's face. "Oh, those numbers are inches, aren't they?"

"No, no, it's okay. I can convert it." Heather shook her head, then smiled again. "Just tell me what fabric you'd like, whenever you're ready, and then I'll need to take your height." Her eyes trailed to Alexander, and her smile widened. "Good afternoon, Lord Finnigan. Can I get you anything to make your stay more comfortable? A chair, maybe?"

"No, thank you," Alexander declined gratefully. "I'm not here officially; I'm just escorting two of my company." He nodded at Isabella, who was currently wandering through model dresses and gasping at every one, and then at Virellis. "It's been quite a while, Heather. I'm glad to see you and your mother are still doing well." His mother had been known to come multiple times a week when he was younger, and Heather had been kind enough to start keeping various small children's toys under the front counter to keep him entertained. It'd been one of the few consistent ways to keep him out from under both his parents feet.

"We're doing quite well, thank you. We've had a couple of rough patches, but we managed to pull through with the help of our neighbors. Mum still hasn't been the same since dad died, but I do what I can. She still makes the dresses, she just...doesn't like talking to our customers. Oh, but she did say to send you something! I think it's for your birthday. I'll go and get it!" She hurried off before Alexander could protest.

"What do you think, Xanders, dear? The silk or the angora? I'm in love with both, I can't decide." Vi asked, beaming as she held the two up in front of him. "How are you coming along, Isabella? Finding everything you like? You can request ruffles or lace, if you like that. Or how about bows?"

"I found everything very well, thank you." Isabella responded immediately. She stared at the two fabrics in Vi's hand, analyzing them both. Refering to the silk and the angora, she inquired, "How come you have a nice one and a scratchy one?" The girl reached out and stroked the angora gently, but she frowned immediately. "Yuck. I don't like that one."
Alexander looked at both fabrics, trying to discern any kind of important difference between the two. When Isabella declared the silk superior, he shrugged. "There's your vote. She knows just as much as I do."

((SAGE, ANGORA IS RABBIT FUR. IT'S NOT SCRATCHY. IT'S ACTUALLY REALLY FAR FROM SCRATCHY. REALLY REALLY FAR FROM SCRATCHY. OUT OF ALL THE SCRATCHY FABRICS ANGORA IS REALLY NOT ONE OF THEM. LIKE SERIOUSLY. MY MOTHER HAS A FAKE ANGORA COAT AND IT IS THE MOST FLUFFY THING IN THE WORLD.))

((BUN, I UNDERSTAND, I ACTUALLY HAVE GLOVES MADE FROM PART MOHAIR(ANGORA). HOWEVER, IT LOOKS SCRATCHY https://www.google.com/search?q=angora+cloth&safe=active&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS449US449&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ehplUoyFF7He4APPi4H4Cg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=667&bih=639" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.google.com/search?q=angora+cloth&safe=active&rlz=1C1CHFX_enUS449US449&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ehplUoyFF7He4APPi4H4Cg&ved=0CAkQ IT DOES NOT LOOK SMOOTH, LIKE SILK. ))

((BUT IT'S SO SOFT BUT FINE

DID WE ACTUALLY PAUSE A ROLEPLAY TO DISCUSS THE QUALITIES OF FABRICS))

"Alright then," Vi giggled. "I'll take the silk. Oh, here comes Heather again,"

The young woman hurried out of the back room again, holding a small box with a nice green bow on it. "Here you are, Alexander. Mother wanted you to have this on your birthday, but...you may as well just take it now. It was given to her by a friend of our family, before they passed on...we've held onto it for awhile, but it just seemed wrong to keep it hidden away for so long. I hope you'll take care of it."

((It's the Albrecht family crest. Namely, a ring with a raven on it. Albrecht Sr. knew something terrible was coming, so he gave that to an unrelated person. Being Dolly.))

((NO BUN THE TEXTURE DON'T BE RIDICULOUS PAUSING TO DISCUSS QUALITY WOULD BE SILLY TEXTURE IS IMPORTANT
AND YES I HAVE GLOVES WITH MOHAIR IN THEM I KNOW IT IS SOFT))

Alexander took the box and untied the ribbon with a gentle tug. Before opening the box, he turned and offered the ribbon to Isabella, who had been staring fixedly at it since it come out. Green was on her list of good colors. The teen turned back to the box and popped the lid off. He methodically placed the lower half inside the top, then he pushed back the thin paper wrapping. When he saw what was inside, he nearly dropped the box. "What? You two had this?" He stared at the contents in shock a moment more before collecting himself and lifting the signet ring up so the others around him could see. "It's the Albrecht seal. I thought this was lost years ago."
Isabella smiled delightedly when she was presented with the ribbon, and she spent several seconds feeling the texture of the ribbon. She turned when she heard Alexander's gasp when he saw the contents, and she gasped too when he revealed the ring. The girl stared at the ring for several seconds before shrugging and running out the door to Morgan. "Hey! Hey, Morgan!" She wrapped her arms around him in a hug and stared up at her cousin. "Miss Heather just gave Alexander your daddy's ring."

((NO SAGE I MEAN QUALITY AS IN A SPECIFIC QUALITY OF SOMETHING LIKE A QUALITY OF MINE IS BEING HONEST AND DIRECT.))

Heather stared after her, obviously hearing the young girl. If the ring belonged to Morgan's father, then didn't that make Morgan...?

Morgan hugged her in return, but stared at her for a few seconds before managing to respond. "I...what?" He took Isabella by the hand and led her back inside, and his eyes fell on the ring. Then they fell on Heather. He smiled. "No, that's not my father's ring, Isabella. It's similar, but that's the Albrecht's symbol. We're not Albrechts, are we?" He patted her shoulder, and gave her a sly wink.

Heather smiled, then turned back to Vi to assist her with her order. Morgan looked around, in the meantime. "Did you find a fabric you like, Issy? You've got to pick the fabric, then the nice woman can take your measurements. Then, in a day or so, your dress will be sent to us."