Lord Gould's Expedition: They Who Had Lofty Pillars (IC)

[Lancearc]

Madame Booker took the gown from the young girl that had returned it to her, allowing the youthful woman to return to whatever duty she had been carrying out before Madame Booker had intercepted her for her own uses. The seamstress admired the creation as she held it, as an artist might admire their work hanging in a great gallery. She attempted to fit it against her living mannequin's body, envisioning her within the fabric. "Oh, this will look absolutely lovely on you my dear." she gushed with her grandmotherly grin. "Have you any objections to necklaces, bracelets? This would be absolutely complete, and perhaps a pair of gloves to accompany it as well, though nowhere near the length of your others of course!" she suggested, seeing her vision coming to life for the girl.

[The Ik Ka Ek Akai]

"I suppose I have no objections, Madame Booker. Whatever you think completes this dress, I am willing to take, but may I suggest..." She holds up her medical gloves, the ones she had worn on the way in, "That perhaps there is not a size shorter than these. Aren't long gloves the fashion, anyways?" Ese questioned, now getting thoroughly confused about the situation. She thought herself educated, but Madam Booker's remarks had, evidently, set Ese's image of a ballgown out the window as it were. "I am excited to try it on, Madame Booker. I've never had truly fancy clothing to wear, and the European gowns are all just so pretty...I might have to wear it out!" She giggled, "Even if it isn't usually for normal day wear. Please, Madame Booker, add whatever you think necessary, crucial, or even just helpful. As much as you wish. You are, after all, the eye of fashion as far as I am concerned."

She looked over everything, considering what her mentor had said. "Perhaps this dress would be accompanied by the leather gloves? I would say they are fashionable, to my knowledge, and it would be an excellent opportunity to display their more unique appearance." She hoped her suggestion went well, although she could never know. Madame Booker had suggested she get a pair earlier, and so Ese hoped her contribution might make her appear perhaps less clueless, as well as killing two birds with one stone.

[Lancearc]

Madame Booker

"Oh, of course no shorter than that my dear! I was thinking more along the lines of perhaps half the length of the forearm? Not quite past the elbow, yet..." the madame stopped to hear her pupil's suggestion. "I believe that could do darling, it certainly would make you stand out against all the other high chinned ladies out there in the streets of course. I'm all for a bit of identity!" she agreed, though she'd yet to see how exactly this would look worn along with the elegant gown she knew that the girl loved them and it would give her a uniqueness at the very least. As if reading their minds, or overhearing the conversation taking place, the same young girl that had fetched the gown had been scooting past and was already off to retrieve a pair of the gloves.

"Perhaps a necklace of pearls, gold bracelets, light of course, yet beautiful. If you wear it out I'm certain all the high ladies will mock you in their jealousy, though if you really want to make them feel inadequate then that's exactly what you should do." Madame Booker chuckled at her imagined scene.

[The Ik Ka Ek Akai]

Ese perked up, "Madame Booker, you have forced me into a difficult position." She stated blankly, "I suppose I have no choice. I must do so." She began to laugh, losing her balance just a bit, steadying herself on a nearby piece of furniture. "I have no other options before me, I must wear the ballgown out. There is simply nothing else that can be done, no alternative path to take." She smiled widely, "Thank you, Madame Booker, for giving me such a wonderful singular path." She let out a pleased sigh, catching her breath once more, and turned back to the apparent employees gathering various bits and pieces for the dress. "Whatever you think makes the gown work, Madame Booker, I would be more than content to display for the world. I say, perhaps, you would enable me to do a great justice in doing so. Please, Madame Booker, fit me and measure, do whatever you must. I am eager."

[Lancearc]

"Of course, sweetheart, of course!" Madame Booker seemed to share in the girl's jubilation as Ese giggled without restraint, nearly losing her balance and requiring a nearby bit of furniture to keep her on her feet. "Girls, please, pick up the pace a bit! I don't know how much time I've got left." the Madame snapped a bit harshly, loud enough to be heard throughout the store, before a smile reappeared on her face as several girls with different measures made their way quickly into the room at the barking command of their employer. They wasted no time in getting measurements all about Ese's figure, recording them with the same haste, and being gone near as quickly as they'd come. With these specific numbers then know they were prepared to offer Ese a properly fitted gown to try out herself.

Madame Booker handed over the mass of violet fabric, smiling. "Go on dear, see if it suits you. I do believe you'll look positively stunning, though that's not a surprise." she complimented the eastern girl with a grandmotherly clasping of her hand.

[The Ik Ka Ek Akai]

She took the mass into her hands and nodded, slipping and squeezing herself into the large dress. It was, of course, beautiful. Putting it on made her feel beautiful, although it was notably heavier than the other dress had been for obvious reasons, but she enjoyed it nonetheless. Before Madame Booker could respond with comments grabbing her attention, only to sneak up and toss twenty pounds of jewelry onto the poor girl, Ese looked around at the servants gathering the accessories she would be wearing. Only then, with this quick glance and her own tightening of the corset, although only to a healthy degree and not at all tightlacing, did she give her full, undivided attention to Madame Booker, her mentor and expert in this field, for which she would be eternally grateful for the clothing she had been given.

[Lancearc]

As anticipated, the dress was quite heavy, given the several layers of fabric that it consisted of. Of course dyed the lovely purple that Ese adored so much, this color was accented by elaborate, swirling patters of silver detailing on the front of the gown, down to the waistline where the skirt began to bloom out into the large bell shape that concealed her legs and footwear completely. Those intricate swirls that roughly resembled some type of floral design ran up to the shoulders, the gown held up by ornamental, spherical bits of fabric located there. The bust was lower than her first dress, though that was likely given that it was weighed down much more by the weight of the skirt, and her back was visible roughly a third of the way down. Madame Booker insisted that she don a necklace of beautifully lustrous pearls, accompanied by matching golden bracelets with ornaments in the shape of crescent moons hanging down about her wrists.

"My goodness Darling, I do believe I enjoy this look more than the first!" Madame Booker smiled widely as if admiring a daughter of her own.

[The Ik Ka Ek Akai]

"It is quite the dress, Madame Booker." she stated, giving her own thoughts on the matter, "Though, if what I have learned so far from you and about you is accurate, you're not quite done, are you? May I ask, then, what elaborate footwear or gloves you have for me? Is there more jewelry to be added?" She smiled, "I am sure that when this is fully complete, it shall be my favorite dress. I just know it will, and I shall enjoy wearing it as I please. Such a gown deserves to be seen, Madame Booker. It truly does."

She tried walking around a bit. While she found some difficulty at first in dealing with the skirt, she soon became accustomed to the weight and the motion, able to walk in circles effectively. She was thankful that the bell was not too large, as the paintings she had seen had detailed such skirts that were as wide as a full room on their own. Ese could not imagine the horror of having to deal with that, and thanked both herself, Madame Booker, and the entire world for not pressuring her to wear such a thing. It would be absolutely horrid.

[Lancearc]

"Of course not dear, we shall have to have your gloves...and here they are, excellent timing darling!" Madame Booker praised one of her young associates, accepting a pair of gloves from her. They were white, though unlike the gloves intended to accompany her much smaller dress they did not reach up to or past her elbows, stopping approximately halfway up to her elbow. "For footwear? Oh, something comfortable almost certainly. It's not as if anyone is going to be able to see anyway what with all that happening with the skirt. Something with low tops, soft, easy to slip on." Booker suggested, surprisingly not caring much for looks in that specific area, as it would be well concealed, rather focusing on the comfort and ease of wearing.

[The Ik Ka Ek Akai]

Ese took a hold of the white gloves she was given and slipped them on, tugging at them until they met the ends of her fingers, and then with her other hand held the leather gloves that the fashionable acolyte had brought forth from realms unknown. She, at this point, listened closely to the words of Madame Booker. They made sense, of course. The gown was heavier than most dresses, and so wearing some of the more fashionable heel heights of the time would probably end up resulting in an unfortunate ankle accident. "You make an excellent point, Madame Booker. I'd rather not put too much strain on my poor feet." She chuckled a bit, and began to exchange one of her white gloves for one of the leather ones she had been given, looking at them side-by-side. Both were comfortable and both looked rather nice, and she waited for input from Madame Booker before she voiced her own thoughts.

[Altito Asmoro]

Tailor Shop

"It doesn't sound like it takes a lot to be better than your father at that rate." the tailor smirked slightly, having finished his measurements and returned the measure to its location behind the counter amongst many other materials, likely to be lost again to the ire of the next patron to enter his shop. "Any particular idea what you're looking for here? Feel free to browse. I can point you in the right direction for headwear, of course." he nodded politely, though it was clear he had other questions waiting to be asked. "I'd...there were rumors about a bit of an...engagement near his manor. The other night, that is."

Haikal Tashome

For what it's worth, the place could get used to some additions of African cultures since they just colonized most of them.

Haikal arrived at London with a sense of different cultures clashing to each other. Each European cultures are different, to be fair. Same with Africans. As he made his way across the streets, the sight of independent, strong, and Western-educated black person is a strange thing on sight, despite the lack of racism, still appears but not publicly. Few did waved him away, mostly white shopkeepers and some other people. Not really hungry, but perhaps something can be eaten.

He stopped by in a tailor shop, in front of it. He never see Lord Jamison Gould, or his troops (he chuckles along the way), but perhaps the man in front of the shop can help him. He looks really...upbringing, perhaps a noble? Then why he's alone? He though to himself.

"Excuse me, sir," as he approached the man, who is actually Lord Jamison Gould himself, "Can you please tell me the direction to Lord Jamison Gould's estate? His...servant, as this letter inquire, invited me for his service, which I would find will be a great honor. For me, of course, and him, too."

[Jamessonia]

Sverre Frederiksgård howled into the foggy London sky. He pushed his heavy trunk off of his smarting left foot and gritted his teeth, trying to ignore the stares of the dockworkers as they resumed their labor. Fiddling with the buttons on his overcoat, he adjusted his tie and looked around. Behind him was the gangplank being raised as the last of the SS St. Olaf’s passengers meandered onto the filthy wooden pier and dissipated into the greatest city on Earth. Before him lay London, a city unknown to Sverre but through word of mouth, myth, and legend. While the scent of rotting fish and briny sea did the metropolis no justice, Sverre was undeterred in his amazement and enthusiasm.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing? Move out of here before I throw you in a barrel too..!"

A meaty hand pushed Sverre forwards and the beefy dockworker gave him a glare as he picked up a barrel and moved past Sverre, spitting in the river as he passed. Sverre gave him a weak smile, even as his foot was throbbing in pain, before picking up his trunk and stumbling away from the water and further into the bustling and grimy docks of the Thames. Before too long he found a mustachioed and uniformed customs official marking down notes as he reviewed a cod shipment. Sverre gave a sigh of relief and moved towards the man. In heavily accented English, he spoke up.

"Excuse me sir, I’m looking for a Lord Gould's estate, but I'm afraid I don't know how to get there. I have an invitation here…"

Sverre shuffled in his coat pocket before producing the letter that brought him to this city in the first place.