Chapter Text
The jeweler’s shop is always packed, from when it opens at midday till it closes at dusk, you can’t walk through it without bumping wings with another dragon, but royalty can’t be expected to shop with commoners, and the princesses need to see the full selection for their hatching day, so, much to the annoyance of many customers, it’s closed to the public for the day.
“How about the red ones?” Auburn asks, trying on a third colour of the same set of earrings
Scarlet shakes her head “They’re much brighter than you. Makes your scales look muddy.”
Auburn drops them like they’re fire. Scarlet picks a pair of teal teardrop earrings from the branching silver tree they’re hung on.
“Try these. They’re tourmaline, it’ll set you off.”
Auburn takes them from her with a grin and puts them through her ears, they look like winter leaves on a manzanita, her golden eyes crinkle with her smile. “They’re good?”
“They’re very good.” Scarlet nods, grinning with her “I have great taste, don’t I always tell you that?”
“Yes,” She giggles “You do. Now what are you going to wear? You can’t go with just a tiara and earrings, especially ones you already own, I mean, are you certain you can wear the same jewels you wore to the Winter solstice, it’s been an entire ten moons.” Auburn says, eyeing the Yellow Topaz and gold, princess cut in last year’s fashion.
Scarlet gives her a look that’s accompanied with a groan “It’s a signature look, Auburn, not all of us need to change ourselves every season.”
She peels away from the earrings display, flicking her sister’s wing with her tail to tell her to follow. “But you’re completely right that I need something else…”
“Horn rings are in at the moment.” She suggests “Especially the ones with those fine chains to connect each horn, you layer them, and you make them cross each other, it’s called a spiderweb, and-”
“That’s gorgeous.” Scarlet interrupts, looking at a mannequin adorned in a gold and iron chainmail vest, the two metals lacing together in a rippling pattern.
The deep red dragoness gives her sister a skeptical look “Nobody’s worn chainmail in seasons.”
“I’ll bring it back then.” She replies without looking at her, transfixed still. “We’re royalty, aren’t we? The trends are meant to copy us.”
Auburn pauses, shrugs. "I guess so. Everyone copies mother."
---
When they land on their bedroom balcony, talons clicking against grey stone, they're covered in new jewels and holding wrappings containing even more.
"So," Begins Scarlet, walking inside, "We need a new earring display, I think a nice silver tree would work well in the southern corner, and maybe a pair of antlers for horn rings, can we get gilded antlers? That would look stunning on that wall." She gestures to an area between bloody red draperies.
Auburn considers "Just gild the tips of the antlers though, the whole thing'd look gaudy." She teases, wrinkling her snout.
"That's what I meant!" Scarlet huffs back. "Besides, you can't talk about gaudy when you bought another one of those massive amber necklaces, I mean really, it looks like a slimy slug trying to choke you to death."
Auburn gasps in mock offense "How dare you! When you bought chainmail, of all fashion sins."
"I'm trying not to be basic." She dumps her folded silk wrap containing her own purchases in her nest.
"And we have to leave now, dinner's a talon to Mount Augur." Scarlet holds her claws level to the highest mountain on the horizon, Mount Augur, the sun is almost past the top of her red scales. "So we'll if we fly down now we'll be fashionably late but not inconsiderately in inattendance." She smirks, flicking her tail towards her sister.
"Alright, okay, gotcha." Auburn smiles back, stepping beside her sister as they walk to the balcony, following Scarlet as they take flight.