DANDELION || Nikolai Lantsov

17. OS ALTA

What on earth am I doing her? He looked out of the window. And where is Aneela?

She wasn't cold-hearted like Jana.

She wasn't vile like Vilde.

She wasn't manipulative like Brigitta.

She wasn't fake like Josefine.

She was everything he wished for.

Amazing. Beautiful. Charming. Delightful. Energetic. Intelligent. Joyful. Kind. Loyal. Mesmerizing. Passionate. Respectful. Optimistic. Thoughtful-

"...creme or rosé, Your Highness?"

Aneela would look great in either. I bet there's no colour known to mankind that doesn't suit her. "Both are very beautiful."

Vilde gave him a bright smile. "Yes, but if you had to choose."

"That depends on what it would be used for."

She tilted her head and looked in the air for a moment, thinking. "Let's say ... it is for a new jacket and only those two colours are available."

"I guess ... rosé, then." Nikolai said distant and kept looking around. Somebody come and safe me ... I am going to die of boredom with them. He was about to call Tamar over, who was waiting for them in the back of the room, to distract them so he could sneak away but then he heard Jana coughing which sounded like a laugh, and he looked back. "Pardon?"

"You would wear a pink jacket?" She asked with a crooked eyebrow, clearing thinking he was joking.

"Rosé." He corrected her and watched her carefully. "Yes, why not?"

A mocking facial expression showed on her face. "That isn't very manly, is it?"

"Who decides on what is and what is not?"

"Well, pink is typically for girls." She disagreed, crossing her arms. "Would you allow your son to wear such a colour?"

"If he wants to, yes, of course."

It startled her how sure he had replied to her question who she thought rhetorically. The characters are now slowly showing even to me, seems like they are comfortable enough to show their true colours.

Nikolai wanted to test if this was truly the way she was thinking. "Would you allow your daughter to learn how to fight, then?"

"No, we women are not meant to fight." She replied immediately and was about to elaborate but Nikolai was quicker.

"Hm." He made and nodded knowingly. "I see."

Jana's face dropped as she saw that her believes didn't quite match his expectation. "What I mean is that women are better suited for more feminine work, like-"

But he didn't want to hear it, he turned to the other fjerdan. "Would you let your son wear pink, Miss Mohn? Or let your daughter learn how to fight?"

"Absolutely not, that's against their nature." Vilde scoffed and then froze as she realized what she had done.

That gave Nikolai everything he needed to know. "I would stay with the lighter colours, matches your pale skin tone better than those you just pointed out."

Well, these ignorant two are now finally off the table.

When he stepped out of the fabric shop, he felt somewhat relieved. Although conversation hasn't been pleasant, he could retrieve from the fjerdans now because they realized that they were out of the competition, and he didn't need to pursue them anymore. And he could finally turn his attention to somebody else but unfortunately, he couldn't find the shu and the zemini before Tamar called everybody back to the carriages, calling their trip to an end.