The Goldsmiths Daughter

“The Port of Kings looks beautiful today,” Celeste thought walking from one shop to another. The Port of Kings was un-naturally clear for the time of year. Normally winter brought in stormy weather, and a slate gray bay, but today was clear and the water was a bright blue.

Struggling up the steps she sighed, her arms were burdened by a week’s worth of food and necessities. Trying to balance the packages, she looked up making sure that her next stop was the right place. It was. Opening the green door gingerly, she stepped inside.

The shop was a dressmaker’s shop. Filled the roof were rolls of colorful fabric, in every color, you could imagine. Bins of lace and trimmings lay in woven baskets organized by color. The room was a stark contrast to Celeste’s gray dress. Although it was clean and well-made, it made her feel self-conscious about her style. Tugging at the hem of her apron, which covered the front of her, she cried out for the shopkeeper

“Hello, I have a delivery”

“Yes, yes one moment please” A voice in the back of the house cried out a few moments later. It sounded very far away as if in another house altogether.

“Ah, hello”

Turning around Celeste came face to face with the shopkeeper. A small woman who looked to be as old as The Bay itself. Her hair was slate gray and piled on top of her head in a wild style that reminded Celeste of a bramble bush.

“How does that stay up there?” wondered Celeste to herself, as sh the woman up and down. The shopkeeper’s dress was a patchwork, different colors, and fabrics sewn together almost haphazardly and yet it was beautiful. On her face perched little glasses that the woman’s eyes curiously peered over.

“Do you have a delivery for my dear, or are you going to look me up and down all day?”

Celeste blushed “yes ma’am, I’m so sorry”

Dropping her packages, she dug into her apron pocket and pulled out a small package tied in a red ribbon.

“My father wishes you well,” she said as she handed over the package to the peculiar woman.

The woman laughed “your father and I have never wished each other well. Not since the incident in school eons ago.”

“What is she talking about?” Celeste wondered, a puzzled look crossing her face. She didn’t know her father knew this woman. She had never heard him talk about her before

The woman laughed looking at Celeste's face, “ask your father when you get the chance. Ah, these gold buttons are beautiful. Your father certainly knows his trade.”

Celeste allowed a small smile to creep on her face “yes he is still on top of his craft.”

“What size are you, dear?” The woman asked eyeing Celeste up and down inquisitively

“Size? I am not sure, I haven’t measured in a while” she admitted shyly, new dresses came few and far between

The woman set down her buttons on a cluttered table and started walking through her shop. “I made this dress at the request of a merchant who was supposed to come to pick it up at the end of the season last year, but I heard recently he drowned with his ship in the last storm we had. It’s all paid for, and it will probably fit you.”

Before Celeste could start to protest, the woman came back with a deep wine red dress in her arms.

“Here, there is a changing room in the back room. Go try it on”

Flustered Celeste dropped her packages, and went to the back room. As she wove in and out of piles of fabric she stood amazed at the sheer amount of fabric that was in the building.

“It didn’t seem this large from the outside” she muttered as she found the booth and stepped in.

The cold air hit Celeste as she dropped her dress on the floor and gently put the red one on. Unnaturally soft the material slid right on, over her shoulders, and met perfectly on her chest. Clasping the silver buttons on the side, Celeste could feel the dress tighten perfectly across her chest and rib cage.

Stepping out of the booth, Celeste rocked her hips back and forth, feeling the swaying of the fabric that reached to the floor. The dress was perfectly tailored and showed the talent of the strange little woman.

“How does it fit my dear?” The woman called out from the other room.

Woken from her daydream fluster, Celeste walked back to the other room.

“Oh, that fits perfectly. Here spin for me”

As Celeste spun slowly, the light caught on the small silver threads woven in and out of the red fabric, almost like small veins of silver. They played with the light, catching and throwing small beams off of the dress.

“I’m so glad the dress is going to a good use, my dear.”

“Surely not, I can not take this off of you. It is far too nice of a dress for me” Celeste argued. While a new dress would surely be wonderful, she did not need a dress this nice. She would have no place to wear it. Not to mention how much the dress must originally have cost

“It will just sit on the shelf, as a relic of a job I once did. It’s already paid for, what use do I have for it? Besides” The woman laughed, “I should think that you will have an occasion to wear it very soon. Now you must hurry out. it will get dark before you reach your father’s house if you tarry here any longer”

Before she could speak, Celeste found herself on the doorstep of the shop. packages in hand, with a small bag of silver coins, as payment for the buttons.

“What just happened,” She asked herself out loud, turning around to face the door of the shop “I’m not even sure if I caught her name”

Puzzled, Celeste turned to walk home. The light on the bay was already growing soft, and the wind was winding its way through the trees.