Hey Seri does this dress make me look fat?

Serilda couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a true day off. Between running the Rune Knights, living up to her duties as a God of Ishgar and a noble heiress, planning a wedding, and dealing with a lot of the more sensitive matters that had come up lately regarding Mythal’s past, it felt like she barely had time to breathe let alone think. But, she didn’t mind. Out of all of her siblings, Serilda was the one who had turned most into a workaholic, though that was likely a byproduct of being the oldest. She enjoyed keeping herself busy and feeling productive, even if a lot of times the work entailed with that wasn’t always the most thrilling or pleasant.

But today was different. Today was a girl day, meant to spend with her mother and her youngest sister. Serilda didn’t really get to see her siblings too much outside of the holidays, anymore. In fact, the last time she’d really gotten to spend any time at all with Alicia was at the Rune Knight ball the night that Mythal had proposed to her, and even that time had been fairly minimal as the field marshal and her fiance had been swarmed by people all night looking to extend their congratulations. Even after Alicia had made the choice to join the Knights herself, which had been quite the surprise to Serilda, the two had yet to really do more than see one another from time to time across the room. But in many ways, that was a bit deliberate on both their parts. Alicia was young, but she was strong and proud, and wanted to make her own reputation rather than live in the shadow of her eldest sister. And Serilda was more than supportive and encouraging of that desire, doing her best to ensure that no one had any reason to believe she was doing Alicia any favors or treating her differently from anyone else that worked for her.

So it was more than a relief for the heiress to finally get a day to spend with her sister. In truth, the only thing that would have made it more perfect was if Jenna and Scarlet had been able to come as well, but both of them had their hands full with their own families and responsibilities, and that was okay. Serilda knew they would be there if they could, and the Voidwalker was more than happy to be with the two women in her life that could be there. Her iLac buzzed gently in her pocket, notifying her of a message from her sister. Apparently, she was already at the cafe, and she was looking forward to the day just as much as Serilda herself was. The elder sister smiled softly before shooting a message back.

Sounds great! I am looking forward to seeing you. I will be there in just a minute. Mom managed to clear her schedule, so she is going to join us. Just picking her up and then we will be right there.

At this point, Alicia would be more than well aware that Serilda could use her connection to the Void to travel just about anywhere instantly, so it would take her no time at all to get from Clover Town to Rose Garden. It was never easy for the duchess to find free time outside of her responsibilities, but it seemed she had managed to do so last minute, and one simply could not go shopping for a wedding dress without their mother. So, Serilda quickly zipped over to Clover to pick the older woman up before opening another portal that took them to Rose Garden, just a block or two down the street from the Cafe where Alicia was waiting.

The two women walked in and it took no time at all to spot Alicia inside. They both made their way over with a smile. “Good morning, Jodie,” Serilda said, giving her sister a light but loving hug. The field marshal was dressed in a similar color scheme as Alicia. A loose blouse of a light blue hue was tucked into a black and white checkered pencil skirt, and a long white trench coat completed the ensemble. She wore plain black heels, and her hair was pulled up in its traditional bun with only a swath of bangs left loose to frame one side of her face. At her heel, as always, was her furred companion Xiuhcoatl, one of the many Star Wolves that Miriam raised. The hound was as dutiful as ever about keeping to Serilda’s side, though there was never any mistaking the puppy like excitement with which she often greeted the outside world as her tail wagged happily at the sight of someone she knew.

Miriam was only a beat behind, wrapping her arms around her youngest daughter in a similar fashion but also accompanied by an affectionate kiss on the cheek. “Good morning, darling.” Their mother had donned a long, blue vest over a long sleeved, white shirt with a jabot that was secured with a ruby broach. A black skirt covered her lower torso, and the vest was kept in place with a wide black belt around the woman’s midsection. Her long white hair was worn in a loose ponytail that rested on one shoulder. “I can’t remember the last time the three of us got together to go shopping,” the older woman remarked with a dignified but genuine smile. “And here I feel like I’m getting an escorted day on the town with the Rune Knights.”

“We’re just here to make sure you don’t get into any trouble,” Serilda teased lightly, shooting Alicia a playful smirk. With a wave of her hand, she dismissed Xiuh to let the wolf greet her sister as she clearly wanted to do, the large hound eagerly trotting over to sniff Alicia and demand pets. Turning her attention back to the younger Sinclair, Serilda said, “I’m so sorry that I haven’t really been able to take as much time to see you as I’d like to. How have you been? Have you had any trouble settling in at work?” She had no intentions on filling the day with work talk, because that wasn’t what they had gathered for, but that didn’t stop her from at least checking in on how her sister had been faring.