A High-Class Date

Job Details:

Job Sign-Up: Page 7, Post Number 166

-Capital Crocus, outside the Wellington Estate, 10:00 A.M.-

Wearing her usual casual outfit of purple t-shirt, black skirt with pockets, white thigh-high stockings, and black tennis shoes, Diana stood outside the wooden double doors of a large three-story mansion in the nice part of Capital Crocus. It was so nice that she was sure that she would need a very large sum of Jewels in the millions to buy one if she were so inclined. Her own townhouse had cost three million or so Jewels and that ourchase had taken a decent chunk of her savings, so even thinking about buying something here would likely take many times that sum.

Diana approached the double doors and spotted a small doorbell button to the right of the doors. She walked over and pressed it, then heard a pleasant chime. She stepped back from the doors and heard the sound of a doorknob being turned. The door opened to reveal a blond-haired young man with pale blue eyes wearing a black three-piece suit.

"Hello. I am-" Diana began to introduce herself before the young man panicked and quickly shut the door. The blonde mage wondered why he had done that. She remained standing in place and wondered if she should wait here or just go back home and look for another job. Diana's patience was rewarded when the door opened again and an older man stood inside the doorway.

"Oh, you must be here for the date with my son!" The older man greeted her. He was an older man in his early or mid-fifties with graying hair and a graying mustache. He wore a black three-piece suit with a white dress shirt and a black tie. He looked to be glad to see Diana.

"I'm Edgar Wellington. You met my son Edward a few moments ago. I do apologize for him leaving you outside. You see, he's had several bad dates before and he's fearful that this one will turn out the same way." Edgar apologized on behalf of his son for the latter's behavior.

"Is the young woman here?" A female voice asked Edgar. Moments later an older woman wearing a blue dress and a white coat walked over to the door and took her place beside Edgar. Diana took a closer look at her and saw that she had light blonde hair that was shoulder length and had streaks of gray starting to form in it.

"Oh, she is here! And what a beautiful young woman she is!" The older woman exclaimed. She was arguably happier to see Diana than her husband was.

"Oh dear, I forgot to introduce myself! My name's Claudia Wellington!" The older woman introduced herself to Diana.

"I am Diana Winchester." Diana introduced herself to Edgar and Claudia.

"Diana? What a beautiful name! Do come in, my dear!" Claudia bade Diana to enter the house. Edgar and Claudia stepped back to permit Diana entry. When she entered the door was shut behind her.

-Inside the Wellington Estate-

Diana found herself standing in a large foyer that was lavishly decorated. It had actual wood paneling, paintings of various hunting scenes on the walls, and a literal red carpet underneath her feet. In front of her loomed a large space ending with a carpeted staircase that led up to the second floor. The flooring was made of white marble tile and the whole place had an "old money" look to it, which was appropriate considering how Edgar and Claudia were dressed.

"Welcome to the Wellington Estate, Diana." Edgar welcomed the blonde mage to his home.

"As I said earlier, poor Edward's had bad luck with dates and I hope you can change that for him." Edgar told Diana the reason she was here. He had hinted at that earlier, but now he had told her why she was here. Diana remembered Amber's words about her chances of a date and got the impression that some cosmic entity had a strange sense of humor.

"My husband's right, Diana. You see, Edward's a shy young man who hasn't had the best luck with young women. The last one he dated was a beautiful young woman with a ghastly personality. She kept verbally abusing him and even slapped him once or twice." Claudia added to her husband's story. Diana wondered who the young woman was but did not ask. It was none of her business.

"Let me see if I can find Edward, Miss Winchester. I'll be back as soon as I can." Claudia said before turning around and walking towards the stairs while Edgar and Diana waited for her to return with Edward.

[Post Word Count: 774]
[Total Word Count: 774/11,000]

Diana waited in the foyer with Mr. Wellington, who stood in silence waiting for his wife to return with their son. After a minute or two elapsed Mr. Wellington turned to face Diana.

"This might sound a bit strange, but I hired you to go on a date with my son to show him that not all young women are abusive. The last one really did a number of him and he's afraid to go on another date, which is why he left you standing at the door." Mr. Wellington told Diana why she was here. Diana did not find the reason to be strange. Compared to some of the jobs she had taken in the past this one was pretty tame.

"Here's Edward now!" Mrs. Wellington called out from the top of the staircase. Behind her was Edward Wellington, who did not look happy to see Diana. He looked like he would rather be back in his room or wherever it was he had went when he had left Diana standing at the door than be out here having to face her. Diana did her best to look pleasant by raising a hand in greeting as he approached.

"Say hello to Miss Winchester, Edward. She's going to be your date for the evening." Mr. Wellington instructed his son. Edward was slumping a little and his face did not have the most cheerful expression on it. Diana guessed that his consent had not been asked when the date had been arranged for him.

"H-hello." Edward greeted Diana before debating whether to retreat behind his mother or not. He looked at his father and decided against it, remaining where he was in front of Diana.

"Hello, Edward." Diana calmly greeted the shy young man. Mrs. Wellington seemed pleased by Edward and Diana getting along so well and the older woman smiled brightly.

"Edward, please tell Diana about the plans for the evening." She bade her son. Edward made eye contact with Diana and tried to maintain it while speaking.

"We're g-going to a ball being h-hosted by the Winthrops. Mr. Winthrop is an old friend of my father's. They're hosting one tonight and I'm invited. I n-needed a date in order to go and my father chose you." Edward told her and looked down at the ground at the very end of the conversation. He had clearly had all the eye contact he could handle for the time being. At that point Mrs. Wellington stepped in to speak.

"Please forgive Edward, my dear. That young woman named Francesca was so cruel to him. She repeatedly called him a momma's boy who needed to get rid of "unmanly" hobbies like theater and music. She claimed that he'd never get anywhere with a woman as long as he didn't cut the apron strings and made fun of his interests. She even slapped him a few times. Poor Edward's always had bad luck with women for various reasons, but that Francesca almost made him swear off dating altogether!" Mrs. Wellington apologized to Diana for Edward's shyness and brought up a familiar name, citing that person as the reason Edward was so reluctant to interact with her.

"If I may ask, is this "Francesca" person named Francesca Corlone?" Diana asked Mrs. Wellington. The older woman frowned and glared at the blonde mage.

"That's her! She's the one who terrorized poor Edward!" The older woman answered with anger on her voice. Mr. Wellington did not say anything, but his frown spoke volumes. Diana had mentioned a sore subject for the older Wellingtons and she needed to explain herself quickly before she found herself kicked out of their mansion.

"I assure you both that I am no friend of hers. We have met several times in the past and those meetings have been unpleasant. At least one meeting ended with me being slapped in the face because that seems to be her go-to punishment for anyone who does something she does not like." Diana tried to assure the clients that she and Francesca were not friends. They seemed to buy her words because the tension in the air began to dissipate.

"I'd be grateful if you never mentioned that name again, Miss Winchester." Mr. Wellington requested that Francesca's name never be brought up in the Wellington household again.

"Very well then, Mr. Wellington. I will not mention her again." Diana promised the older man. When he heard that promise he smiled at her.

"Before we continue, I have a question for you, Miss Winchester. I'd like for us to discuss the subject of Edward's date over a drink. Would you like tea or coffee?" The older man asked Diana.

"I would like coffee, please." Diana calmly replied to the question.

"I'd like coffee too!" Mrs. Wellington chimed in with her drink request.

"I'd like tea." Edward added softly as if he were afraid of being heard by the wrong person.

"Let's go to the dining room then! We'll have our drinks shortly!" Mr. Wellington said to his family and to Diana. He led the way out of the foyer and everyone else followed.

[Post Word Count: 856]
[Total Word Count: 1,630/11,000]

-Inside the dining room, twenty-two minutes later-

The Wellingtons and Diana sat at a large rectangular table that was made of an expensive wood and had a white linen tablecloth draped over it. The dining room itself was just as lavishly decorated as the foyer was. One prominent feature was an old grandfather clock in the back of the dining room... it was not a modern reproduction but an old antique model. Another feature that stood out was the wood paneling on the walls in place of wallpaper.

Edgar Wellington sat at the head of the table. Claudia and Edward sat on the left side while Diana sat on the opposite side and faced them. All four people had their drinks, but there was not much drinking going on because at the moment the Wellington patriarch was speaking.

"The ball Edward's going to is a ball to celebrate the birthday of the Winthop family's oldest daughter, a young woman named Cassandra Winthrop. She's about your age, Miss Winchester. She's a cheerful and outgoing young woman with a pleasant personality." Edgar gave a little more detail about the ball that Edward and Diana were going to. Diana had not been to a birthday party in a long time and she had never been to a high-class birthday party. She had no idea of the standards of behavior she was expected to adhere to and she had no idea what sort of gift to bring the young woman.

"We'll handle the gift, Diana. Our concern is that you go with Edward and keep him company." Claudia informed the mage that the Wellingtons would take care of getting the proper gift for the Winthrop family's daughter while Diana needed to worry about Edward. Speaking of Edward, the young man was not contributing much to the conversation. Instead he was looking straight ahead at Diana with a look of apprehension like he anticipated her throwing the contents of her coffee cup on him at any moment.

"Edward, you don't look particularly happy. Are you still wanting to go to the ball?" Edward's mother asked him. The young man looked up and faced her for the first time since the quartet entered the dining room.

"I still want to go, mother. Mr. Winthrop's a good friend of Father's and I don't want to insult him by turning down his invitation." Edward claimed that he was still wanting to go to the ball. He then made eye contact with Diana for a moment before turning away to face his mother again.

"I'm willing to go if Miss Winchester's willing to a-accompany me." Edward told his mother. The older woman faced Diana.

"You'll have to forgive Edward. He's a shy young man and his past experiences with young women haven't done him any favors." Claudia requested Diana's patience in dealing with her son. The mage recalled the conversation in the foyer and recalled what her old enemy Francesca Corlone had done to the hapless Edward when he did not meet her standards of masculinity. Diana was not going to intentionally hurt Edward... unless he tried to hurt her first, but she doubted that he would do such a thing.

"I have no problem with your son's shyness, Mrs. Wellington." Diana assured her that she had no problem with Edward's behavior. The older woman gave a beaming smile.

"I wish all the young women who dated Edward were as patient as you, Miss Winchester." She said to the mage. One reason Diana was so patient was that... well, she was a patient sort to begin with. Another reason was that she was going to get paid for this job. Compared to some people Diana had dealt with in the past Edward was a gift from above.

"The ball will be later tonight and you'll need to get prepared, Miss Winchester. Your current outfit's fairly nice as far as casual outfits go, but it simply won't do. You'll need to wear a dress." Edgar informed Diana that she was going to need to dress up for the ball. Diana made eye contact with the older man.

"Where can I get a suitable dress in time for the ball?" Diana asked him. Claudia chose this moment to speak up.

"Perhaps I can help you, Miss Winchester. I know a good place in the city that sells dresses." The older woman volunteered to aid Diana in getting what she needed for tonight.

"I would appreciate the help, Mrs. Wellington." Diana gratefully accepted the offer of assistance.

"Good! We have plenty of time, so there's no need for us to rush. There's always time for coffee and tea." Claudia told her that they would go to the dress shop as soon as they had finished their beverages. With the conversation over the quartet began to drink their beverage of choice while they were still warm. The older Wellingtons and Diana drank coffee while Edward drank tea. There was not much sound in the dining room except the ticking of the grandfather clock.

[Post Word Count: 840]
[Total Word Count: 2,470/11,000]

-Capital Crocus, The Well-Dressed Woman, one hour and twenty-two minutes later-

After drinking coffee with Mr. and Mrs. Wellington Diana had been taken to a dress shop in the upscale part of Capital Crocus by Mrs. Wellington in order to get a dress that was suitable for the birthday ball. The two women walked into a small dress shop with a wooden counter in the back, an open doorway on the back left wall that led to dressing rooms, a few glass display cases containing dresses, and wall-to-wall wood paneling that was even more elaborate than that in the Wellington home. As the pair walked towards the back counter an older woman walked out of the back to greet them.

"Hello ladies. I am Penelope Graham, the owner of this shop. What brings you to The Well-Dressed Woman?" An older woman wearing an old-fashioned blue dress with corset and hoop skirt greeted them. Diana looked at her and noticed that her hair was a mix of black and gray and went down just past her ears. She also wore brown-rimmed glasses.

"I'm looking for a dress for Miss Winchester here. She's going with my son Edward to a ball being hosted by Mr. Winthrop and I need a dress that's suitable for the occasion." Mrs. Wellington told Penelope. The other woman gave a slight smile.

"A ball being hosted by Mr. Winthrop, you say? If I may ask, what is the occasion for this ball?" Penelope asked.

"His oldest daughter Cassandra's having a birthday party. It's one that requires guests to be dressed up, but it's not exactly a formal ball. I'm a bit confused by how that works, but it's Miss Winthrop's party, not mine." Mrs. Wellington answered. The other woman kept smiling as she looked at Diana as if appraising her.

"And you say that this young woman will accompany your Edward to the ball?" Came the question. Mrs. Wellington nodded.

"Yes, Miss Winchester will accompany him. My husband hired her to go with him to the ball to try and show him that not all young women are bad. Poor Edward's had poor luck with young women and he's almost too scared to try again... the last one was the most awful of them all, but we won't discuss that here." Mrs. Wellington informed the other woman. Diana knew exactly who had traumatized the hapless Edward, but she was sworn to not mention the other person's name. Instead Diana kept quiet and let Mrs. Wellington do the talking.

"Since you said that the ball is not a formal one, I think I have just the dress for Miss Winchester. Please stay here and I will get it for you to try on." Penelope requested.

"We'll wait right here for you, Mrs. Graham. There's no need for you to be in any hurry." Mrs. Wellington assured her. The blue-clad woman walked towards the back of the shop while Diana and her client waited in the center of the shop. Diana walked over towards one of the glass display cases and looked at the dresses within. They looked to be hand-made instead of mass-produced in a factory and they looked to be made in an older style, though not quite as old as the style Mrs. Graham was wearing.

Diana continued to browse at the dresses and noticed the price tags were all in the tens of thousands of Jewels. While she had the budget for it, she had never needed a dress until now. Diana did not travel in high society circles... she tended to keep to herself and interact with a few regular clients or her longtime friend Aliarey Casady and those occasions did not call for dressing up. She was about to move over to another display case on the right when she heard footsteps and turned to find Mrs. Graham holding a folded black dress in her hands.

"Miss Winchester, I have your dress ready. If you would be so kind as to follow me to the dressing room you may try it on." Mrs. Graham bade Diana.

"If it's permissible I'll go with Miss Winchester." Mrs. Wellington requested. The owner nodded her consent.

"Very well then. You may go with her." Mrs. Graham gave permission for Mrs. Wellington to accompany Diana to the dressing room. The blue-clad woman then led the way into the dressing rooms in the back of the shop.

-Inside the first dressing room, six minutes later-

Diana was now in a small dressing room with wood paneling on the walls and a mirror in a gold frame. She was now wearing the black dress that Mrs. Graham had picked out for her. Diana looked at herself in the mirror and was not sure what to make of the dress.

On one hand it was a modern dress that did not make her look frumpy. it also fit well. On the other hand the dress showed far more skin than she was used to showing, especially when it came to her cleavage. Diana hoped that Mrs. Wellington would not be upset by the way the dressed looked on her.

"Are you dressed now, Miss Winchester? May I come in to see the dress?" Mrs. Wellington asked through the door.

"Yes, Mrs. Wellington." Diana replied. The door opened and in walked the client. Diana was not sure how the older woman would react to the dress she was wearing and watched the latter closely.

Diana's Dress (Minus M1918 BAR, Sunglasses, and Necklace) :

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[Total Word Count: 3,382/11,000]

Diana remained silent as Mrs. Wellington looked her dress over. The blonde noted the look on her client's face and waited in silence for the latter's judgment. When the older woman finally finished inspecting Diana's dress the latter stepped back and spoke.

"It's not exactly what I'd wear, but then again, I am an older person with more traditional views and the party you're going to isn't exactly a traditional ball." Mrs. Wellington announced her opinion of the dress. Diana kept quiet and waited for further words from her client while stealing glances at herself in the mirror. Normally she did not want to even look at herself in a mirror, but for today she would make an exception.

The dress she was wearing exposed much more skin than she would have liked, especially her cleavage. Diana did not like being the center of attention and part of her was concerned that she might upstage the person the ball was being held for, but she would just have to wait and see what the other female party guests wore. Besides, the event was tonight and she did not have the luxury of being picky about what she wore.

"Putting my personal feelings aside, I say the dress looks good on you, Miss Winchester." The older woman finished passing judgment on the black dress. Diana looked at herself in the mirror again, her eyes lingering on the garment she was wearing. While she did not care for how much it revealed, it had a certain flair that was a radical departure from her normal attire of purple t-shirt and black skirt. On the whole Diana would wear it so that she would fit in with the other guests.

"I'll inform Mrs. Graham that we'll take the dress." Mrs. Wellington informed Diana. The older woman left the dressing room, allowing Diana to take off the garment and change back into her normal clothes... for now. When it came time for her and Edward to go to the ball she would don the garment again.

-The Wellington Estate, 12:44 P.M.-

After finding what she needed for the party and returning to the Wellington Estate Diana stood in the foyer with Mrs. Wellington while holding the box her dress was packed in for safe transportation. Now Diana had to find something to do until it was time to go to the ball. She was not sure what she could do, though. She was not going to ask either... it was not up to the Wellingtons to entertain her.

"Ah, you're back! And Miss Winchester has a dress!" Mr. Wellington said when he spotted his wife and Diana. The older woman faced her husband.

"Miss Winchester does indeed have a dress and a nice one at that. Mrs. Graham came through for us when we needed her to. That woman is a miracle worker." Mrs. Wellington told her husband while Diana stood by in silence. She listened to the clients talk more about the owner of The Well-Dressed Woman and got the impression that this was not the first time they had patronized the establishment. Eventually Mr. Wellington indirectly told Diana something that she needed to know, which was how she and Edward were going to get to their destination.

"Mr. Winthrop's limousine will arrive at 6:00 P.M. sharp to take Edward and Miss Winchester to the ball, so they'll have to be ready by then." Mr. Wellington informed his wife. The older woman smiled.

"Don't worry, dear. They'll be ready by then." She assured her husband. Again Diana remained silent and let the older woman do the talking. She had nothing to add to the conversation, so she chose to be quiet and listen to what was being said.

"Excellent. Mr. Winthrop was kind enough to arrange for transportation for all of his guests, so it's important that we don't keep him waiting." Mr. Wellington added. The older woman turned to Diana.

"As you heard us say earlier, Mr. Winthrop's an old family friend. Edgar has known him ever since they were children and that friendship hasn't faded with time. I'm flattered that Mr. Winthrop's extended an invitation to his oldest daughter's birthday ball to Edward." Mrs. Wellington reiterated a point that had been made earlier. Diana had a friendship with fellow Guildless mage Aliarey Casady that had lasted for some time, but it could not hold a candle to the length of Mr. Winthrop and Mr. Wellington's friendship. That was all right, though. Aliarey and Diana got along rather well and their connection showed no signs of being severed any time soon.

"Please wait here, Miss Winchester. I'll go inform Edward of the transportation arrangement." Mrs. Wellington bade Diana to wait in the foyer while the older woman updated her son on what was going on.

"Certainly." Diana replied laconically.

"I'll be back as soon as I can, Miss Winchester." The older woman assured her before walking towards the stairs. When she began to ascend them Diana looked towards the box in her hands. She then looked towards Mr. Wellington.

"Would you care for some more coffee?" Mr. Wellington asked Diana.

[Post Word Count: 858]
[Total Word Count: 4,240/11,000]

-The Wellington Estate, 5:15 P.M.-

Diana was in the bedroom of the Wellingtons and Mrs. Wellington stood at her left while the pair stood in front of a large oval mirror that had a gold frame. Diana had changed into the black dress that had been bought for her and the older woman was helping her with some finishing touches. One of them was to provide Diana with black thigh-high stockings to wear. Another was to loan her a diamond necklace that went with the outfit.

"You look beautiful, Miss Winchester." Mrs. Wellington commented on Diana's appearance. The blonde mage would have preferred a more modest dress that did not expose so much of her chest. Despite that one major problem the dress was otherwise fine... it was a perfect fit and because of that it was comfortable to wear.

Mrs. Wellington moved Diana's hair to the right to be better able to put the necklace on the latter. Diana felt the older woman's hands brush the back of her neck and her skin began to crawl. Mrs. Wellington gasped and pulled her hands back, causing the hair to fall back into place. The mage instantly knew what the older woman had seen that caused her to gasp... the scars on her upper back.

"How... how did you get those scars?" The older woman hesitantly asked Diana. Diana looked in the mirror and made eye contact with her client.

"Several years ago I was in an abusive relationship." Diana replied without missing a beat. Her response was partially true. While she really had been in an abusive relationship, the scars had not been made by a boyfriend or girlfriend but by her own mother. Elizabeth Winchester was an abusive woman who thought nothing of using harsh methods of "discipline" to keep her children in line... all of them except for Lucius and Melody, her favorites who could do no wrong.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Mrs. Wellington apologized for bringing up the sensitive subject.

"You have nothing to apologize for, Mrs. Wellington." Diana assured the older woman that the latter was not to blame. Elizabeth Winchester was responsible, but she had been dead for over four years now, so there was no chance of Diana getting revenge for the abuse that had been inflicted on her. There was nothing Diana could do about that now but to try and move on the best she could.

"Let's try this again, Miss Winchester." Mrs. Wellington announced, letting the subject drop. Diana remained silent as her hair was moved again and felt her skin crawl as the older woman's hands brushed her neck as the latter moved the necklace into place. Diana did her best to ignore the sensation and waited until the piece of jewelry had been put on before she moved.

"You look wonderful, dear." Mrs. Wellington paid Diana another compliment.

"Thank you." Diana replied. Mrs. Wellington walked from behind Diana and stood to the mage's left to admire her handiwork from another angle. There was a knock on the door and both women turned to face it.

"Come in." Mrs. Wellington bade the person on the other side. The door opened and Mr. Wellington walked in, stopping a few steps away from his wife and Diana. His eyes first focused on his wife before they drifted over to the dress Diana was wearing.

"I see that Miss Winchester's ready for the ball. She looks great thanks to you, Claudia. You put a lot of work into getting her ready and it shows." He complimented his wife on her work in getting Diana ready to accompany their son to the birthday ball.

"It didn't take too much work to get her ready. Miss Winchester's a beautiful young woman. All I did was get her a dress and loan her a necklace of mine." Mrs. Wellington commented. Diana felt that the client was only complimenting her beauty because it was , but she was not going to say anything. She would let the Wellingtons do the talking and speak only when spoken to.

"Mr. Winthrop's limo will arrive in a few minutes. Edward's ready and waiting downstairs." Mr. Wellington informed the two women that the limo was due to arrive shortly and that Edward had finished getting ready.

"We'll be there shortly, dear." Mrs. Wellington assured her husband. He turned and left the room without a word, leaving her and Diana alone again. The older woman turned her head and made eye contact with Diana.

"Are you ready, Miss Winchester?" The older woman asked the blonde mage.

"I am ready, Mrs. Wellington." Diana replied calmly. Mrs Wellington smiled at the mage.

"Excellent. We shouldn't keep Edward waiting for much longer. Please follow me, Miss Winchester." Mrs. Wellington requested. She turned towards the door and walked towards it while Diana followed just a few steps behind her client. The older woman opened the door for Diana and she walked out, then waited for her to follow. Mrs. Wellington shut the door and led Diana towards the stairs that led to the foyer.

[Post Word Count: 850]
[Total Word Count: 5,090/11,000]

-The Winthrop Estate, 6:45 P.M.-

When the clock struck 6:00 P.M. Diana and Edward boarded the black limo sent to collect them and within moments of the door being shut they were on their way to the Winthrop Estate. By some minor miracle the limo made it through the city's dense vehicular traffic without incident and rolled up to the destination. The driver got out and opened the door for Edward and Diana and the pair exited their transportation, which drove off as soon as the door was closed and the driver could get back behind the wheel.

In front of them loomed a large three-story mansion that was painted white and had a large lawn with a cobblestone path running down the middle. Ahead of them were a few other guests walking towards the large double doors of the mansion, which were attended by two men wearing black suits. Edward reached into his left suit pocket and picked out two pieces of folded stationery.

"Here are our invitations, Di- um, Miss Winchester. I forgot to m-mention that we would need these" Edward said, turning right and handing Diana one of the invitations. Diana held it in her right hand and looked at the young man, who looked more than a little nervous.

"Should we go now, Miss Winchester?" Edward asked her, his voice temporarily calm. Diana made eye contact before speaking.

"Certainly." Diana said calmly. Edward offered his right arm and Diana took it with her left arm. Together the two blonds walked towards the mansion with carefully measured steps so that neither one of them outpaced their partner. The pair only suffered a few minor missteps when Edward took a step ahead of Diana a couple of times, but in the end they reached the door without a major mishap. The man on the right, a black-haired man of average height and build in his mid-forties, greeted the pair.

"Welcome to Miss Winthrop's birthday celebration. Present your invitations, please." He requested. Edward and Diana presented their invitations almost simultaneously and the man took both of them into his right hand. He looked over them briefly, then looked towards his partner on the left and nodded. Each man opened a door and the older man looked towards the two blonds.

"Please enjoy your evening." He said to them. Edward and Diana walked into the mansion and the doors were shut behind them.

-Inside the Winthrop Estate-

Edward and Diana were now standing inside the foyer of the Winthrop Estate, which was a classic black-and-white checkerboard tile covered by a literal red carpet with gold borders. The carpet led away from the foyer and towards a set of double doors that presumably led deeper into the mansion. A short distance away stood an older couple... one of them was a slender gray-haired man wearing black-rimmed glasses and a black three-piece suit with a golden chain that might be connected to a watch resting in his left pocket. The other was a woman with graying brown hair wearing a conservative white dress of an old style and wearing brown-rimmed glasses. The man noticed Edward and looked towards him.

"Ah, you must be Mr. Wellington's son Edward!" The man greeted him.

"Y-yes sir." Edward answered nervously. Diana stood by and watched the two men converse.

"Welcome to my oldest daughter Cassandra's birthday ball, Edward. I'm glad that you were able to attend." The older man said to him. Edward took a few moments to breathe before speaking again.

"I'm glad I could make it. I appreciate the invitation, Mr. Winthrop." The young blond man thanked his host for the invitation. Mr. Winthrop turned his attention to Diana, who stood in silence.

"And who might you be?" The older man asked her.

"Diana Winchester." Diana gave her name.

"She's my companion for the evening." Edward explained how the blonde mage came to be here. Mr. Winthrop gave him a beaming smile.

"What a lovely young woman she is. But I've held you up long enough. Please, let us guide you to the other guests!" Their host requested of Edward and Diana, motioning towards the double doors further down the way.

"Yes, please." Edward agreed to the request. Mr. Winthrop and his wife began to walk down the carpet with Edward and Diana following close behind.

-Inside the ballroom, 6:53 P.M.-

"Here we are. The ballroom where my daughter's birthday celebration is taking place!" Mr. Winthrop said, opening the double doors and entering the ballroom with his wife. Edward and Diana followed behind them and were soon standing inside a large ballroom with an immaculately polished wooden floor and beige walls. On the ceiling hung two large golden chandeliers holding Lacrima globes that provided light. On the far left wall was a long, rectangular wooden table set with an abundance of finger foods and drinks both alcoholic and non-alcoholic with small white signs on metal stands in front of each type of drink to let guests know what they were looking at.

Diana looked around the ballroom and saw that there were quite a few guests in attendance. They were all young men and women around Diana's age dressed in formal clothing and most of them had gathered in pairs or in small groups near the center of the room. She did not recognize any of them, but that was to be expected when she did not go to very many social events. Diana looked towards Mr. Winthrop and Edward and waited for one of them to speak.

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[Total Word Count: 6,014/11,000]

"Thank you for the invitation to the party, Mr. Winthrop. I'm sure Diana appreciates it too." Edward told their host.

"I second what Edward said. Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Winthrop." Diana echoed the words of her companion. Even though she was Edward's companion and was likely to get an invitation anyway because of that fact she did not want to seem ungrateful for being permitted into someone else's home and being permitted to attend someone else's birthday party.

"Both of you are welcome." He said to them. He looked at his wife, then looked back at them.

"I've held you two up long enough. My wife and I still have to finish preparations for the main event." Mr. Winthrop informed Edward and Diana before leaving without saying another word. Diana wondered what preparations remained to be made. Maybe they were adding something special to the party at the last minute and needed a bit more time to make it happen. The mage supposed that she would find out when the "main event" happened.

"Would you like something to eat, Miss Winchester?" Edward asked Diana. Diana was a bit hungry and the finger foods were exactly what she wanted. It seemed that some of the other guests were hungry too since there were a few other people standing a short distance away from the table and munching what they had picked up.

"Yes, please." Diana answered. The two blondes walked over to the table and began perusing what was available. There were some small ham sandwiches cut into triangles, a few varieties of cookies, grapes in a bowl, pistachios in a bowl, carrot sticks, celery sticks, and a few other finger foods. To the right of the food was a section of drinks that was equally abundant.

For non-alcoholic drinks Diana saw glasses of sparkling grape juice, water, soda of four different kinds, root beer, normal lemonade and strawberry lemonade. As far as alcohol went there were three different types of champagne with fancy names and five different kinds of wine with fancy names of their own.

"Would you like some wine?" Edward asked Diana while reaching for a glass for himself. Diana shook her head.

"No thank you, Edward." Diana quickly declined the offer. The speed at which she had declined the offer must have startled Edward because he nearly dropped the glass he had picked for himself.

"I'm s-sorry, Diana. I'll put it back." Edward told her. He set the glass of wine back on the table and had turned away from the table entirely when Diana spoke to him.

"You can have wine, Edward. I just do not want any myself." Diana informed him. She had no problem with others choosing to drink alcohol. She just did not want any for herself for reasons both personal and practical.

"It isn't my business, but why don't you like wine?" The young man inquired.

"I just do not care for it." Diana answered without elaborating. Her reasons for not wanting the beverage were no concern of his and she was not about to go into detail about how much misery wine caused her when she was growing up. After seeing her mother drink wine to excess on many, many occasions before physically abusing her or her sisters the mage intensely disliked the drink.

"Oh. I'm sorry that I brought it up." Edward apologized for asking the question. Diana wanted to move on from the subject, so she was willing to let the mistake go.

"It is no problem." Diana accepted the apology. He honestly did not know that she disliked wine, so it was not like he asked the question to get a rise out of her. The young man took the hint and quickly moved on. He reclaimed the glass of wine he had picked up earlier and faced Diana.

"Anyway, what are you going to eat?" He asked her, presumably for the sake of conversation. Diana looked towards the sandwiches, then  the cookies. She was not in the mood for a full meal... yet. She did not know if there would be food served at the main event or if this was the extent of the food, but she was not going to ask. She was a guest here and she had no right to make demands of her host.

"I am leaning towards the cookies myself." Diana gave an answer. She did not have a special fondness for cookies, but tonight she wanted to eat some. She had three choices... macaroons on a clear glass plate to the left, white chocolate macadamia cookies on a plate in the center, and chocolate chip cookies on a plate to the right. All three options were appealing and she was not sure which one to try first, so she would ask Edward what he liked.

"Edward, which of the three kinds of cookie do you prefer?" Diana asked the young man while pointing towards the plates.

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"Me? I'm leaning towards the macaroons." Edward told her without hesitation. He reached out and grabbed a handful, then took a cookie for himself before holding out his hand to Diana.

"Want one?" Edward offered in between bites. Diana wordlessly grabbed one and ate it. It was not a bad cookie... it had a pleasant flavor, but it was not what Diana was after. Still, it was a free snack and she could not complain about free food.

"Thank you." Diana thanked the young man for the macaroon. He extended the hand to her again, but this time she held her right hand out with the palm facing him.

"I do not want another right now, thank you." Diana politely declined the offer of another cookie. Edward retracted his hand and happily helped himself to another one while Diana looked towards the table for something else to eat. She was not seeing anything that was very appealing to her but she kept quiet about it. Edward, on the other hand, was quite pleased with the macaroons and was eating them as fast as he could shovel them into his mouth.

Diana looked around the room at the young twentysomethings and watched them talk to each other in small groups or in pairs. She wished that she had something meaningful to talk about to Edward, but she hardly knew the young man and he was preoccupied with the macaroons on his plate. Her thoughts were interrupted by Mr. Winthrop entering the room through the double doors and walking to the center of it before stopping.

"Excuse me everyone, I'd like your attention for a moment." Mr. Winthrop requested in a voice so loud that he did not need any amplifying devices to make himself heard. Diana, Edward, and everyone else in the ballroom stopped talking and turned to face their host.

"I apologize for you having to wait so long, but it's time for the main event. If you'd be so kind as to follow me I'll take you to where it's going to be held." He made another request of the guests. He started walking out of the ballroom and the guests obligingly followed behind him with Edward and Diana bringing up the rear... before they left the young man grabbed another handful of macaroons. As they walked Edward looked over at Diana, who was facing straight ahead.

"I wonder what Mr. Winthrop means by that." Edward mused to the mage between mouthfuls of cookie. Diana shrugged her shoulders a little.

"I suppose we will find out soon enough." Diana calmly replied to the young man.

-In the back yard of the Winthrop Estate-

The guests had been led by their host to an immaculately trimmed back yard that was hemmed in by a tall white stone wall with black wrought-iron fence near the top and a large movable stage in the center. On each side of it was a large speaker and in the center was a turntable. A short distance in front of the turntable was a microphone resting on a stand. Diana got the impression that a live music act had been hired and had needed some time to set up the equipment, hence the gathering of the guests in the ballroom. The guests began to murmur amongst themselves and they were wondering who had been hired to provide the music.

Everyone watched as Mr. Winthrop walked up the stairs on the left side of the stage and walked onto the stage itself before stopping in the center of it and facing the assembled guests. Diana looked at her host with her undivided attention as the older man began to address the group.

"I apologize for the delay, everyone. As you might have guessed from the stage and the sound equipment, we have hired a special guest to provide the entertainment for this evening. But before we introduce the special guest, allow me to introduce my oldest daughter Cassandra." Mr. Winthrop addressed the group. A young woman with wavy shoulder-length blonde hair wearing a pink dress with spaghetti straps and pink high heels walked from behind the stage and walked to the left, where she climbed the stairs and picked up the microphone off the stand before joining her father at his left side. When she faced the group Diana immediately noticed that Cassandra had heterochromia... her left eye was blue while her right eye was hazel.

"Hello everyone! As my father told you, my name's Cassandra. This party celebrates my twenty-first birthday, but it wouldn't be a party without guests. I'd like to thank each and every one of you for showing up tonight!" The young woman thanked the guests for attending the special occasion. Polite applause sounded from the guests and stopped after a few seconds.

"She's really cute. I like her hairstyle." Edward commented on the young woman's appearance between bites of macaroons. Diana looked over at his plate and saw that he still had a few left. She turned back to face the stage and listen to Cassandra, who had paused for a few moments before speaking again.

"I won't bore you with my life story or anything like that, so I'll cut to the chase and introduce the special guest my generous father hired to provide the music." Cassandra told everyone. The birthday girl let the suspense build as guests began to murmur guesses as to who the musician was.

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Minutes passed before the act finally arrived on stage, but when they did they made quite an impression. They were a young woman who was about four inches shorter than Diana and had shoulder-length blonde hair. They wore a blue t-shirt with the words "Power Plant" printed in black letters and wore a black skirt with black tennis shoes. They also wore black-rimmed glasses.

"I present to you... DJ AMPERE!" Cassandra announced the name of the special guest. The assembled guests immediately went silent for a few moments before erupting into cheers. Diana recognized that name... the DJ was the younger sister of DJ Dynamo, one of the star acts of Power Plant Records. Edward turned to Diana and grabbed her shoulders.

"IT'S HER! IT'S REALLY HER! DJ AMPERE!" Edward exclaimed with excitement so intense that he accidentally spit macaroon crumbs on the blonde's chest. Realizing what he had done, he began to try and brush them off of her dress before realizing what he was doing and letting out a horrified screech. Edward jumped back from her and made eye contact.

"I'm so sorry, Diana! I'm so sorry!" He begged Diana for forgiveness for accidentally touching her chest without permission. Diana brushed the crumbs off of her chest before speaking to him. By the time she had finished he looked like he was expecting her to call for a firing squad or otherwise have him put to death.

"It is OK-" Diana started to try and assure him that while the mistake was one that made her uncomfortable she was not going to kill him or have him killed. Edward did not wait to hear that and turned and ran towards the mansion before she could get more than three words out. Diana remained silent as Cassandra gave the microphone to DJ Ampere, who proceeded to introduced herself and expressed gratitude to the Winthrop family for hiring her for the event. She turned to look back at the stage, then turned towards the Winthrop house. She began walking towards it as electronic music began to play.

-Inside the Winthrop Estate, four minutes later-

Diana entered the mansion and began to look for Edward. She had no idea where he had fled to and did not even know where to begin looking. Instead of going on a wild goose chase she would seek out Mr. Winthrop and ask him where to find the missing young man.

But first she would need to find Mr. Winthrop.

"Hello, young lady. Can I help you?" Mr. Winthrop asked Diana. Diana turned left and saw him standing a short distance away.

"Yes. I am looking for Edward Wellington." Diana replied. The older man did not take long to come up with an answer.

"He went to the ballroom in an awful hurry. Did something happen?" He asked Diana. She would need to phrase her answer carefully because Mr. Winthrop was a family friend of the Wellingtons and what she said could be reported back to them. If she said the wrong thing she could find herself in trouble with Edward's parents.

"Edward got so excited about DJ Ampere's appearance that he accidentally spit macaroon crumbs on me. He tried to brush them off but accidentally touched my chest. He was convinced that I would exact revenge on the spot, so he ran off after his apology. I wanted to tell him that it was a mistake and nothing more." Diana calmly replied with the truth. She expected to be questioned further and the older man examined her as if looking for lies in her words, but his facial expression softened.

"I see. You'll find him in the ballroom. And do try to be gentle with him. Edward's a painfully shy young man and he won't respond well to shouting." Mr. Winthrop gave Diana the young man's location and urged her to treat Edward gently. She used her special ability to detect lies in people's body language and saw that her host was telling the truth. Diana decided to go to the ballroom right away.

"Thank you." Diana thanked her host for telling her where to find Edward.

"Edward's really awkward around young women and can be a bit excitable, but he's a good young man. Do try to be gentle with him." Mr. Winthrop again urged her to be gentle when speaking with Edward.

"I will." Diana promised. She then made her way towards the ballroom to find Edward and speak to him about what had happened earlier.

-Inside the ballroom, six minutes later-

Diana entered the ballroom to find that a few of the guests who had either arrived late or did not care for the music were gathered in here talking amongst themselves or were eating the appetizers. Diana looked around the area for Edward and found him standing next to the table with a glass of wine in his hand. She immediately made a beeline for him and the young man was in the middle of drinking some wine when he opened his eyes and happened to spot her approaching. He spit the wine out and set the glass down on the table, then made eye contact for a moment before looking towards the door.

It looked like he was about to make a run for it.

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[Total Word Count: 8,636/11,000]

Diana slowly and carefully approached Edward to try and avoid spooking him, but her effort was in vain. The young man quickly turned left and sprinted before Diana could even say a single word to him. He left the ballroom and left the green-eyed blonde standing there with the other guests looking at her with expressions of confusion. Diana ignored both people and looks and calmly walked out of the ballroom to begin her search for Edward.

-The Winthrop Estate, twenty-five minutes later-

Diana had searched everywhere that guests were permitted to go on the estate, but she could not find Edward anywhere. She had searched the area where DJ Ampere was playing and she had returned to search the ballroom a few minutes after leaving it, but she could not find the young man. As she stood in the foyer planning her next move Mr. Winthrop approached and initiated conversation.

"Edward left in a hurry as if he were being chased by someone. What did you say to him?" Mr. Winthrop asked Diana with a definite edge on his voice. She did not fully understand why he was going after her like that, but she would try and defuse the tension so that she did not burn bridges with possible clients.

"I did not get to say a single word to him. When I approached him he ran away from me and left the ballroom." Diana informed the older man. Mr. Winthrop looked at her a moment, then sighed.

"That sounds like Edward all right. With the way he's going that young man might never get a girlfriend, let alone marry." The older man opined. Diana did not respond to that because she did not want to offend anyone, especially the client's mother and father. The Wellingtons knew people and any bad things Diana said at the party would likely get back to them before she did.

"He seems like a nice person. Perhaps he will find someone someday." Diana replied, making it a point to be kind despite Edward accidentally spilling crumbs on her chest and trying to brush them off with his hand. While she did not like being touched it was not a capital offense for a minor mistake like the one the young man had committed. She was going to assure him that everything was all right, but apparently he feared that Diana would take swift and violent revenge on him.

"You're a kind person, Miss Winchester." Mr. Winthrop complimented Diana for her charitable words. Diana remained silent until her host spoke again.

"You won't see Edward again tonight, Miss Winchester. He had me arrange for transportation back to his home. Would you like to stay at the party?" Mr. Winthrop offered for Diana to stay despite the absence of Edward. The blonde raised her right hand in a "no thanks" gesture.

"No thank you, Mr. Winthrop. I appreciate your generosity, but I must get back to Edward." Diana politely refused the offer. The older man smiled.

"At least let me arrange for transportation to The Wellington Estate." He made a second offer. This time Diana accepted.

"I would like that, thank you." Diana accepted the offer of transportation. She did not want to walk there in high heels if she could help it. She also wanted to get out of the dress she was wearing as quickly as possible.

"Excellent. Please wait right here and I'll arrange a ride for you." He bade Diana.

-Outside The Wellington Estate, one hour and twenty-one minutes later-

The vehicular traffic had been slightly less dense than usual and as a result Diana was able to get to the Wellington Estate a bit sooner than she had anticipated. The moment the car came to a stop near her destination she opened the door and got out. She shut the door and the car drove off without further delay leaving Diana to face the door to Edward's house. She was not sure what to expect.

Was she going to get a pleasant reception from the Wellingtons or was she going to be in for a tongue-lashing?

Diana would find out in a minute or two. She walked towards the double doors to the mansion and stopped in front of the doorbell. She reached out and pressed it with her right index finger, then stood back and waited for someone to open the door.

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[Total Word Count: 9,370/11,000]

-Diana's Townhouse, the bedroom, three hours later-

Dressed in her normal clothes again, Diana was now back in the bedroom of her townhouse and reclining on the bed after returning from the Wellington Estate. She was glad to be out of the black dress because she hated how much attention it had brought to her. The first thing people noticed about it was almost always her chest and she was more than a little self-conscious about that. At least no one except Mrs. Wellington had seen the scars on her back.

Speaking of the Wellingtons, when Diana had explained to Edgar and Claudia what had happened at the Winthrop Estate they were apologetic. The two apologized to her on behalf of Edward for him abandoning her at the party and Edward did not come down at any point during the conversation. He did not even peer down from the stairs onto the foyer below, which suggested that he was so ashamed of himself that he did not dare show his face. He was also probably afraid that Diana was going to hurt him for touching her chest in the process of brushing macaroon crumbs off of her dress.

Diana returned the necklace Mrs. Wellington had loaned her but was allowed to keep the dress. She would keep it as a souvenir but intended to find a more modest black or purple dress to keep on hand for any future parties she might attend. At the moment the green-eyed blonde was content to go to places that did not require a formal dress such as Boomslang, Capital Crocus Mall, and Capital Coffee.

She would pay a visit to Capital Coffee tomorrow. Right now she really needed to sleep for awhile. Taking off her shoes, Diana placed them at the foot of her bed and rolled back onto the bed, then faced the curtained windows and closed her eyes.

-Diana's Townhouse, ten hours later-

Diana woke up and slowly sat up, then faced her room door. She stood up and went into her walk-in closet to change out of her wrinkled clothes and into unwrinkled components of her usual outfit. Within two minutes she was back in the bedroom and wearing another purple t-shirt and black skirt with pockets. She walked over to her dresser and procured a new pair of white thigh-high stockings to put on, which she did.

After dressing Diana sat back down on the edge of her bed and got her shoes, then put them on. She was now ready to go to Capital Coffee and get her favorite drink, but first she needed some Jewels and her house keys. Diana grabbed them from her nightstand and walked out of the bedroom to go to the first floor and leave her townhouse in the care of Ami and Crescent Moon.

-Capital Coffee, one hour and twenty minutes later-

Diana had traveled to Capital Coffee with ease thanks to having traveled to the coffee shop so many times she could make the trip with her eyes closed. She had ordered a double espresso and was now seated in her favorite white pod chair with a direct view of the mall. Diana was sipping from her drink and watching the people stream by while thinking about what had happened with Edward Wellington last night.

The green-eyed blonde had given it a lot of thought and came to the conclusion that she could have spent her time in better ways. She had made no new friends or acquaintances and she had not even gotten to attend the DJ Ampere concert because of what Edward had done and his overreaction to the accident. One of the only good parts was the appetizers, which were rather good. She wished that she could have stayed for the DJ Ampere concert, but she figured that she would get another chance when the DJ appeared at Boomslang for a VIP concert. Diana was a patient sort and would wait however long it took for that to happen.

Diana sat in silence and watched the crowds stream by while occasionally hearing the music overhead, which was a generic pop song she had never heard by an artist she had never heard of before. It was background noise at best. When she finished her cup of coffee she quietly got up from her seat and went to order a refill for the road. She needed to find a "real" job soon and she would do that tomorrow... for now she was killing time until she either got a job offer or could think of a contact to talk to about a job.

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-Outside Capital Crocus Mall, ten minutes later-

Diana had left Capital Coffee and was halfway through her refill of espresso. She was standing off to the side of the double doors to the mall and was considering entering it to do some window shopping just to do something other than go home and stare at the ceiling of her bedroom or flip through the television channels. Something was keeping Diana from entering and that something was most likely the fact she knew that she was not going to buy anything and was only wasting her time.

"Hey Diana!" A familiar voice called out to the blonde. Before she could turn to the right to face the voice she saw a pair of arms wrap themselves around her and the green-eyed blonde's skin began to crawl so hard it was a wonder the person hugging her did not feel it too. When she was finally freed she turned to face the person and saw Amber, who was dressed in a baby blue t-shirt and short black skirt with white tennis shoes.

"How's it going?" The black-haired young woman asked Diana. Diana looked at her and noticed that Amber's hair was unusually shiny. She must have been using a special shampoo or conditioner, which meant that a date with her boyfriend was likely in the cards.

"It is going all right." Diana calmly replied. She then took a sip from her half-full cup of coffee.

"I heard that you went to the Winthrop Estate for Cassandra Winthrop's birthday celebration last night. You went with Edward Wellington." Amber informed Diana with a smile. The blonde suspected that Amber believed that she and Edward were a couple now. Diana lowered her coffee cup and made eye contact.

"I have a few friends who attended that party and they saw you there. When they described you to me I knew exactly who they were talking about." Amber added. Diana maintained eye contact and remained calm. Since she was not sworn to secrecy the blonde would confirm that she was indeed at the Winthrop Estate for Cassandra's birthday ball... or party... or whatever it was.

"I was there." Diana confirmed.

"I heard that Edward ran off on you and left you there." Amber stated.

"Yes." Diana confirmed again. She was not going to go into details about what happened because if Amber had informants who were there they likely told her everything.

"It's a shame, really." The black-haired young woman stated. Diana was not sure if Amber knew all the details and was just stating her opinion on someone abandoning the blonde or if Amber really did not know what went on. If the latter was the case she was not about to enlighten Amber.

"I thought you had found a guy that you might start dating." Amber casually added. Diana was not sure what to make of that. The blonde was not the dating type because she lacked the ability to get really close to anyone. She could put on a convincing act, but she lacked a real connection to anyone besides Aliarey Casady and that connection was platonic.

"Or is there a young woman you're seeing?" Amber playfully asked if Diana was interested in women instead.

"There is no young woman in the equation." Diana calmly answered. Her personal life was none of Amber's business, but the subject was safe enough to give an answer to. The blonde was not sure if Lorelei Wingate had a romantic interest in her and she was not about to ask. Diana was content with her life as a single career mage.

"It's a shame, really. I think you'd be a good girlfriend for someone. You're low maintenance and you go with the flow." Amber opined. Diana calmly maintained eye contact and the black-haired young woman's face soon turned beet red when the way her words sounded dawned on her.

"I-it's not like I'm implying that you're difficult or anything!" Amber quickly backpedaled and raised her hands in a "I don't want trouble" gesture. Diana remained silent because she was analyzing the other person's body language. In a matter of seconds she learned that Amber's claim was the truth.

"It is fine, Amber. No harm was done." Diana tried to put her acquaintance at ease with a calm statement. The black-haired young woman looked at Diana for a moment before lowering her hands and visibly relaxing.

"I was about to go to the mall to do a bit of window shopping and maybe buy something at Earthland Eagle. Want to go with me?" Amber asked, seizing the opportunity to change the subject.

"Certainly." Diana replied in the affirmative. She did not have anything pressing to do and she was partially tempted to go into the mall anyway. Amber's invitation gave the blonde the reason she needed to finally enter the place... maybe she could learn a bit more about Amber while they were shopping.

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[Total Word Count: 10,970/11,000]

-Inside Earthland Eagle, forty-three minutes later-

Amber and Diana were now standing in Earthland Eagle, which was packed with shoppers to the point that it was a challenge to move without bumping into someone. The pair had nonetheless made their way in and Amber had found a good deal of what she wanted. She had picked out four t-shirts in lavender, pink, aqua, and mint green and two tank tops with spaghetti straps: those shirts were pink and lavender. Diana was holding them and standing off to the side of the t-shirt rack while Amber looked around for more shirts.

Diana did not mind holding them because Amber needed the help. She also had no interest in anything Earthland Eagle had to offer, so helping her acquaintance was not inconveniencing her in any way. Speaking of Amber, Diana looked over at her acquaintance and saw the dark-haired young woman making her way towards the racks of skirts on the other side of the store. Diana quietly made her way through the customers and soon stood off to the side of the rack Amber was browsing.

Within moments Amber spotted something and almost dove into the rack to retrieve it. When she pulled out what she wanted she was holding a white miniskirt. She handed it off to Diana, who reached out with her right hand and took hold of the hanger it was on. Amber then went back to searching for more skirts.

-Outside Earthland Eagle, thirty-one minutes later-

Slightly over half an hour later the pair were standing outside of Earthland Eagle and Diana was waiting for Amber to tell her their next destination. Amber had bought four t-shirts, two tank tops with spaghetti straps, and three miniskirts. One was white, one was black like the one she was currently wearing, and the last one was denim. The black-haired young woman looked at Diana.

"I forgot to ask you this earlier... is there anything you wanted from Earthland Eagle, Diana?" Amber asked the blonde. Diana shook her head.

"No, Amber. I did not want anything from there." Diana assured her acquaintance. Amber looked like she did not believe the blonde but soon dismissed it.

"All right then. If you're ready to go I'm ready to go. There's no point in trying to go to any of the other stores today because this mall's absolutely packed and we'll be waiting a really long time to get anywhere." Amber said and pointed towards the food court with the index finger of her left hand. Diana looked and saw that the food court had so many people waiting in line that the line snaked all the way to the entrance hall and the stairways were crammed with people trying to go up and trying to go down. The blonde was not keen on getting stuck in a stairwell and having people brush up against her. Earthland Eagle was bad enough.

"I am ready to leave when you are." Diana stated. Amber wordlessly turned left and began walking. Diana followed right behind her and the entrance hall was so full of people that she had to wait until she exited the mall to walk beside her acquaintance.

-Diana's Townhouse, Diana's bedroom, three hours later-

After returning from the mall Amber and Diana had parted ways less than an hour ago and now the blonde was lying on her bed. Diana did not learn very much about Amber on this trip other than the black-haired young woman really liked pink and lavender. Diana already knew that Amber had a boyfriend named Adam Turner and that Amber liked to dress in a sleeveless crop top and blue jeans for him, but the blonde was hoping to learn something new about her acquaintance today.

Diana put that out of her mind and just stared at the ceiling. As she stared she began to think about something. Something important.

Maybe she needed to get up and check the state of her household supplies.

It had been awhile since Diana had done that and she might need to make a grocery store run. She slowly rolled over and sat up on the edge of her bed before letting her feet touch the floor. She would do a check of her bathroom supplies and take a glance at her food and beverage supplies.

Diana left her bedroom to go do that frequently neglected but essential task. If she needed to make a supply run she would make one and then look for another job. She needed to get back to doing "real" work soon.

[Post Word Count: 766]
[Total Word Count: 11,736/11,000]