The afternoon sun was surprisingly warm and had long since evaporated the roadside puddles on their way to the Celadon Department Store. The impressive, thirty story building took up several city blocks and included such unmall-like things as a wave pool and a small amusement park. It also had the reputation of having anything anyone could conceivably want to buy. The problem, of course, being that all of the Celadon Department Store's prices were 20% higher than anywhere else in all of Kanto. As the double glass doors slid open for the seemingly continuously chatting group, Miranda glanced about herself for the thousandth time, feeling dreadfully self-conscious in the newly made kimono Erika had given her. The courier had been half-hoping that the Gym Leader would have forgotten about it, and just given the girl her clothes old back, but Miranda's luck just wasn't running in that direction. It did make the girl feel better, though, that the others in their group were dressed similarly, only in far brighter colours than the vaguely embarrassing lavender and midnight purple kimono she'd been made to wear. And with so many people all wearing the same, archaic clothing, it made Miranda feel as though she didn't stand out as much. 'They'll remember the group, not the individuals,' the girl assured herself, half-expecting to see a fellow courier at any moment leap out of nowhere and make a scene. 'Anyone but Zachary,' Miranda wished silently, 'or worse. Joshua. He'll tell my Mother and she'll want pictures!' Miranda's reverie was interrupted as the group began their ascent of an escalator that would take them up three floors at once from the crowded main floor. "Where're we going, anyway?" she inquired, clutching the moving handrail as she leaned forward to speak to Samantha. "You'll see," the woman chuckled, glancing over her shoulder and smiling mischievously as she glanced out through her long wavy bangs. "That's not terribly reassuring," the courier muttered, shaking her head and staring down at he impossible distance beneath them where far below a crowd of people were clogging the entrance to a record store. "Don't worry," assured the girl just behind her, and as Miranda turned she recognized her as one of the two that had woken her up that morning, "Lady Erika usually comes here first to be ahead of the after work crowd, but after that we'll be hitting a bunch more 'normal' stores." "N-normal?" the courier inquired, turning her worried expression back to Samantha who was following Erika as she glided off the escalator, her posture making it seem as though the woman were floating through the sea of people who parted almost unconsciously to make way for her group, "Just what have I gotten myself into here, exactly?" "Nothing too scandalous," said both girls from that morning, whom Miranda realized she hadn't inquired the names of yet, in unison, "don't worry, it's kinda fun." "I'm in trouble, aren't I?" Miranda gulped rhetorically as she found both the green and blue kimono clad apprentices linking their arms through hers, leading the lagging courier in Erika's wake. The store they took her to seemed innocuous enough form the outside, with dark red velvet curtains obscuring the interior just inside the sliding glass doors that most stores put in place when they were closed. This one, however, was obviously open, with a laughing couple coming through the beaded curtain that blocked the doorway as Erika approached. The sign above the shop was almost as subdued as the storefront, with the simple phrase "Lady Angelique's" written in a curving, overly stylized font and surrounded by the twisting stems of budding rose bushes. "In you go!" laughed the girl with the long braided yellow hair as the two pushed the courier through the beaded curtain after Erika and Samantha. Miranda's yelp of protest caught in her throat as she entered what for a moment felt like another world. The air in the shop was almost subliminally scented with pleasant, flowery smelling incense, and the room was lit soft white lighting, which seemed a pleasant change from the harsh fluorescent bulbs that lit the rest of the mall. But it was the products that Lady Angelique's sold which caused the courier's cheeks to fare red and her breath to catch in her throat. Placed tastefully along lengthy glass display shelves were an apothecary's worth of crystal decanters of all shapes, sizes and colours. They were all carefully labeled with little tags, which were affixed to the products by small, thin bits of string. The dark script upon the labels was written in a clear, concise handwriting, which was no less dramatic for its simplicity. The labels gave the names and surprisingly modest prices of the various oils and lotions, as well as extolling their virtues and giving a few ideas as to how they should be properly used. Farther into the store, the courier caught glimpses of specially designed display case/shelving units where the variety of far more 'adult' products seemed to her to blend into one large collogue of multiple colours and shapes. Amongst the more or less phallic objects were strings of beads, peculiar egg shaped devices attached by thin cables to remote switches as well as peculiar rings of all sizes and colours. Miranda turned away quickly, feeling her glasses fog up as the rest of her group to divided up, abandoning her in the midst of it all as they each headed for a different section of the store. Miranda herself glanced hesitantly to her right, and smiled as she found an interestingly designed series of glass shelves, made into a spiraling ascending staircase of sorts. Upon each of the little round shelves were a plethora of scented and simply colourful candles, and the girl smiled as she picked up one carved to look like an eight-pointed star. Miranda inhaled deeply and let out a long, slow sigh of contentment as the sweet scent of vanilla filled her lungs before setting it down again and ran her fingers along several others, each more colourful and more beautifully sculpted than the last. But as Miranda's fingers caressed one upon the top shelf, her distracted eyes shifted back to it, unable to accept what her fingertips told her. The courier blinked as she stared at the beautifully designed, spectacularly crafted figurine the candle had been made into. Its features were perfect, a replica so exact that it seemed as though the model in question had been shrunken down and turned to wax, only to be put up for display and sale. Miranda turned away blushing, only to immediately spot Erika talking to a slightly older woman behind the front counter, causing the girl's pulse to race with conflicting feelings. Instead, she turned back to the statuette/candle depiction of Erika herself. The likeness was beyond remarkable, with the same facial contours, the same all knowing eyes, enigmatic mischievous smile, and neatly trimmed hair that fell almost, but not quite to her shoulders. But it was the statuette's pose that caused Miranda actual distress. The small figure of Erika was standing tall, confidently with her chin held up just a little, and her chest held out proudly. The kimono the candle wore, however, had been opened, and was in the process of falling back, sliding off the perfectly proportioned arms as the figurine stepped elegantly away and out of it, her naked right leg stepping forwards with both timid grace and a confident stride, somehow merged as one. It was exactly like Erika in every way, except that the figurine was nearly stark naked. Miranda quickly shut her eyes as she found her glaze casting quickly up to the small, perfectly formed breasts which sat high upon the candle woman's chest, and bit her lip to resist the temptation to move closer and inhale to see if the candle was even scented with the subtle lilac perfume that Erika favoured. Instead she set it down carefully, took a deep slow breath, and turned around. The courier then practically jumped out of her skin, though, as she stared back at the real Erika, who had moved silently as always to stand directly behind her. "Erika!" Miranda squeaked out, cringing as the glass display rattled, causing the woman's smile to grow slightly wider. "I'm sorry, deary," the Gym Leader replied, placing a gentle hand upon Miranda's shoulder to steady her, "I was just wondering if perhaps you'd found something you liked?" Miranda swallowed hard, glancing to one side to avoid Erika's gaze, wishing that the warmth of her cheeks would subside before catching glimpse a of the store's movie section and instantly forgetting what she was going to say. "Well, I-" the courier stammered, feeling panic rise within her as Erika stood upon her toes to see over the girl's shoulder, "No... That is, I-" "Oh, I see you've found it," said Erika nonchalantly, her slender arm easily reaching around Miranda even as the courier tilted purposely to impede her, and picking up the candle, "You know, Samantha made the mold for these a few months ago. Apparently they're selling quite well." Miranda blinked, gulping as her hostess held the wax statuette fondly, cradling it carefully in her delicate seeming hands. "You... You don't find it embarrassing at all?" the courier inquired, breaking Erika's reverie and causing her to give a short, musical laugh. "Goodness no!" the woman assured, smiling into Miranda's eyes as Samantha approached them from the line-up where the others were paying for their purchases, "to be honest, the people who own these candles tend to be more embarrassed about meeting me, than I about them." "Gives us something of an advantage," Samantha added slyly, giving Miranda a wink as she slid her arms around her mentor, kissing the side of Erika's neck and soliciting a small, contented sigh from the woman. "Yes, I suppose there is that as well," Erika conceded, her mysterious emerald eyes fluttering closed for a moment as she held Samantha's arms against her, linking fingers with her apprentice, "But I like them more for their artistic value." "They, they're really quite something," Miranda managed, smiling weakly at the seemingly amused expression Samantha gave her, still wondering if the woman was jealous of Erika's earlier advances, "You did a really good job on them." Samantha shrugged, blushing slightly as Erika set the candle back down as the other girls began to assemble behind them. "I suppose it was just a labour of lust, I guess," the red haired woman replied with a chuckle, making Erika bow her head slightly to hide her amusement. "So, shall we go then?" the Gym Leader inquired semi-rhetorically, looking up at Miranda for a moment with a curious expression before glancing over her shoulder at her students, "We still have much to do today." Her apprentice smirked as Erika stepped past Miranda and passed back through the beaded curtain. "If you want one," Samantha said slyly, glancing sideways at the courier and making her blush, "I have a few back at the Gym. What's your fav' colour?" "Oh, look at the time!" said Miranda briskly, desperate for a change of subject, half glancing at the watch she wasn't actually wearing that day before making for the door almost too quickly just ahead of the rest of the group.
Back to Rainbow Reminiscence Index - Back to Pokemon Shoujo-Ai Fanfiction