La Vie En Rose

[Élodie Valois]

Reinette loved the smell of the perfume shop. One would think that it was full with mixing and clashing scents, but thanks again to Reinette’s family and a little bit of magic [actually a lot], they had finally come up with a potion that neutralized the scents and left the shop smelling fresh. It really smelled like anything the customer desired. That was one of the perks of having magic and mixing it with perfume. You always got the desired scents after a little bit of tinkering an a lot of hard work.

Although Reinette was the owner and per custom, she never really worked as an employee in the shop, today was an especially busy day. They’d just gotten a huge order in, and they needed stocking, arranging and customer service, which just added to the chaos. Reinette was good with chaos though, thanks to her children. Lucien was more well behaved than Louisa, and she had Lucien in the shop with her. He wanted to see “mummy at work” so she consented. It was unconventional to bring a child into the work space, but seeing as Lucien would be a part of the family business when he grew older, he needed to learn the ropes of the business.

Lucien was being a rather big help, though. He hadn’t started showing any signs of magic, but he’d been sitting on his stool and helping tie the bows for their parcels. “Bien fait, cher,” Reinette was encouraging as the bell run to signal a customer entering the shop. “Ils seront tout parfait!"

  

[Briljantia Mysterium]

Since the ordeal and her venture out into public a few days later, Briljantia had kept to the company of her son. Truthfully she was hoping that if she stayed out of sight just a bit longer, something else might happen to draw the attention of the curious gossips. Caelius certainly hadn’t objected as he’d been particularly clingy since she’d told him about the attack and subsequent rescue by Mr. Faustus Prewett who her son knew nothing about but insisted he wanted to be like when he grew.

As such, he’d taken it upon himself to go with his mother when she went to the dress shop to get fitted for a couple new dresses she would be needing for this season. No doubt she would be getting at least a handful of invitations if only because she had been in the papers. She’d brought his nanny along as well but Caelius was being surprisingly well behaved and if he wasn’t clinging to her hand, he wasn’t far from her. While she enjoyed his attention as he was becoming more and more independent by the day, she worried that he was perhaps just as traumatized by the attack as she was.

With the fittings finished, Briljantia was going to take Caelius to Honeydukes when she passed the Valois Parfumerie and remembered that she did not have perfume. In fact she had not had any in months and hadn’t bothered to get more as she was rarely out of the house for fancy functions and didn’t enjoy overwhelming scents. When she suggested that he go with his nanny to the candy shop, her son adamantly refused, even when she offered him a silver sickle to spend however he chose. Sighing, she warned him not to touch anything once they were in the shop and then took his hand as they entered, a small bell tinkling above their heads.

Having expected a cloying mixture of scents when she entered, Briljantia was pleasantly surprised to find the air clean and clear of any scent at all. Smiling at the woman behind the counter where a boy a few years younger than Caelius was tying bows. She was speaking french, a language that Briljantia knew though she was really trying to improve her English.

  

[Élodie Valois]

"Bonjour, Madame," Reinette smiled at the entering customer. She noticed it was the woman who had been rescued by Mr Prewett a few nights ago. Poor thing, she must have been traumatized. She looked to be around Reinette's age. And she had a son! Reinette looked at the little boy, hoping he was the type to behave himself. The perfume bottles were fragile, and although it was easy to repair broken bottles, the perfume's shelf life would be useless if mixed with oxygen when it wasn't meant to be used.

Reinette turned her attention back to the customer. She probably already had reporters swarming her and asking her questions. The maternal side of Reinette wanted to ask her if she was alright and comfort her, but she figured that would hardly do any help since she would just come off as another nosy citizen rather than concerned. Reinette decided on simply walking around the counter and approaching the woman, a gentle smile on her face. "How may I help you?" She also gave the small boy a kind smile. He didn't look more than a few years older than her Lucien.

  

[Briljantia Mysterium]

She saw it, that look of recognition that everyone seemed to have whenever they saw her. Not for the first time she wished that she’d had the presence of mind to refuse the interview or at the very least insisted that they not use a picture of her in the article. Steeling herself for a barrage of nosey questions that invariably seemed to follow that look of recognition, Briljantia found herself surprised when the only question asked was a typical shop inquiry. It took her a moment to recover and actually answer the woman.

“Yes, please. I am hoping to get a new perfume.” Having worn before what had been given to her by Aurelius, even though it hadn’t truly been all that appealing to her, Briljantia thought it might be good to find a new scent. She was slowly shedding bits of her from her past life that no longer suited her; pet name, habits and now scent. “I am not sure what I should be wearing.”

  

[Élodie Valois]

Reinette was no stranger to comments from new customers saying they did not know what they desired in regards to perfume. She was also privy to the information that people's tastes change, and in this society, rather quickly, so she was also accustomed to the fact that someone may changer their mind after a week or so of their first decision. Reinette gave the woman a small smile. She looked to be about her age. "You should be wearing scents that you want to wear," she said simply, before leading the customer to one of the more decorative displays.

"These are our most popular scents, though perhaps you would tell me a bit about your tastes, so I may be of more assistance?" Reinette was always delicate when asking personal questions, though in her line of work, it was always necessary and involved a little more interaction with the customer than the normal run of the mill shop. She offered a little more of a nudge to the customer to help narrow down the possible answer. "Spring is upon us - what are the smells you find you most enjoy when strolling through the park?"