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JERALDINE’S DRESS EMPORIUMwas a modestly-sized shop not unlike mine, though it was located in a more populous part of the city with cleaner windows and a custom made sign embellished with pastel decals hanging above the door.A bell tinkled gently when I entered.
Inside was a neat display of fabrics and mannequins with empire waist gowns in duochrome silk taffeta, dresses in the latest fashion made with witch-made fabrics.A few girls roamed about, browsing the fabric selection and cooing over the ribbons and trim.I noted that it was considerably less crowded compared to the last time I visited.Instead of feeling triumph, which I would have a week earlier, I felt something akin to indignation.If it weren’t for The Crown and their rotten article, Jeraldine’s shop would be crowded around this time.
I wandered around, wondering if my shop would’ve looked like this if things had gone more favorably.Would I have succeeded like Jeraldine if bad luck and prejudice hadn’t been in my way?
I wanted to say yes, but my innermost thoughts were more realistic.I had never been equipped with the skills necessary to successfully start a business like this.Save for the basic concepts of exchanging service and goods for money, I had no knowledge of what it took to run a shop.
“Can I help you?”
I turned at the voice, startled to see a middle-aged woman standing behind me.A smattering of golden freckles dotted her apple-red cheeks.
“Jeraldine?”I asked hesitantly.I had spent so much time being envious of her that I never realized I hadn’t met her face to face before.
The charmwitch nodded with a smile.
“I don’t know if you know me,” I said awkwardly, sticking out a hand.“I’m Giselle.Giselle Phula.”
Jeraldine shook my hand firmly.“Of course I know you.You’re the accomplished young charmwitch who became the royal seamstress last winter.What can I help you with?”
I blushed at the praise, not expecting to be recognized. “Thank you.I was just browsing.For inspiration.”
“Ah, is that so?Is there anything in particular you’re looking for?”
“Bridal things,” I said.
Jeraldine raised her eyebrows.“For Lady Narcissa’s wedding gown, I presume.”
I nodded glumly.
“Forgive me for saying so, but I believe your design was leaked just this morning.”
My face heated.My anger at Edmund surged, then fizzled away again.I could blame him all I wanted, but there was no undoing what had already been done.“That was shared without my permission,” I mumbled.“I’m starting over.”
Jeraldine clucked and shook her head.“You were taken advantage of?”
I supposed it could be called that, though admitting it was humbling; I always thought I was too smart to be taken advantage of.
Jeraldine took my silence as confirmation.“I’m very sorry about that, child.It’s difficult enough for us witches to do business up here as is.”
“You seem to be doing well,” I blurted out.I hoped I sounded more curious than jealous.“What’s your secret?”
Jeraldine blinked, as if I had surprised her.“Why, there’s no secret.It’s knowledge and observation.A few books from the bookshop did the trick for me, and reading Olderean laws on business and commerce.You’ve heard the common complaints about witch businesses, have you not?That we work too quickly and don’t charge enough for things that are near impossible to create without magic?”
I frowned.“They’re all—”
“True,” Jeraldine finished with a nod.
This stopped me in my tracks.“But...but...”
“Humans and witches have been separated for so long that we no longer know how to exist around each other.For peace to reign between magical and non-magical parties, each group must yield to the other to some degree.Mutual accommodation.I try not to use too much magic in my operations.I hand sew my dresses, no charms involved.I have a few human seamstresses hired too.The only time when magic comes in handy is when a dress needs a fast turnaround time, or if one of my girls is having a particularly difficult time getting satin to lay flat while cutting pattern pieces.”She smiled.“Magic in moderation, at least when it comes to business.Otherwise, it just wouldn’t be fair to Gertrude across the street, who has been making dresses for the same clientele for far longer than I have.”
I let this sink in.A part of me still resisted.Why did witches have to hold back just to make the humans comfortable?“It’s their fault for driving us out of the kingdom in the first place,” I grumbled.
Jeraldine nodded.“So they did.It is important we never forget that.Awareness precedes change, after all, and knowing our history can prevent it from being repeated.I have little sympathy for the humans who are mindlessly hateful toward us no matter what we do.But for everyone else who is reasonable, there is room to be kind and work toward a better future together.”
Jeraldine was a better witch than I was.She was more talented, more successful, more compassionate.I stepped back and lowered my head, all at once shamed and humbled.
