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Lily studied the jacket with the eye of a seasoned weaver. What sort of wonders did electrope enable? This was made by a machine, yet she could have been fooled. The shade of bright yellow was also from a dye she was unfamiliar with. Perhaps a closer look would be good.
Another hand collided into hers as she tried to reach for the article of clothing.
“My apologies,” Lily said to the other person. Her heart skipped a beat. Her tan skin was smooth and glowing, and her golden hair was absolutely divine.
“Sorry! Didn’t see you there,” the woman said. “It looks like we both want the jacket.”
“You can have it,” Lily said. It wasn’t like she was starved for clothes. She had a bunch of glamour plates saved up for virtually any occasion. Today she dressed to blend in with the Solution 9 crowd, but the lack of regulator on her head made her stick like a sore thumb. She considered wearing one, but it could invite all sorts of nasty complications.
“Well if you insist,” the woman said cheerfully, taking advantage of the situation.
Lily was about to comment, when the woman ducked behind a rack of clothes. Before she could say anything, Lily saw a group of men enter their own section of the store.
“Um,” Lily started, but the woman shushed her with a gesture.
“Not them again,” she said, motioning Lily to hide with her. “Look, I need to get away from them. Please help me.”
Lily found the woman’s pleading face hard to refuse. When she nodded, the woman smiled and immediately dragged her to a room with a bunch of doors.
“Surely they wouldn’t invade the privacy of the changing rooms,” the woman said, nodding to herself. “Quickly!” She pulled Lily into one of the rooms, the door swinging behind them.
“Uh… what did I get myself into?” Lily whispered to herself.
“You don’t seem from around here,” the woman said, eyeing her up and down. “You don’t have a regulator, so you must be from outside the barrier.”
“I just got here on the queen’s invitation,” Lily said.
“Queen Sphene’s personal guest?” the woman said, making a reverent gesture. “Then perhaps fortune hasn’t left me yet. Listen. I’m Honey B. Lovely, a fighter from Arcadion.”
Lily recalled Arcadion as the name of that impressive building. “You’re an entertainer?”
“A fighter , though perhaps the word entertainer counts as well. I prefer the term idol , though.”
“Idol?”
Honey B. sighed. “Someone who sings and dances while looking cute the entire time. It’s an Alexandrian thing. Anyway, I’m a little… popular around these parts, as you might have noticed.”
“Are those men your admirers?”
“My fans, yes. A fanatical, unruly sort. The sweet facade I put up doesn’t help.” Honey stepped back and made a practiced gesture, her hands drawn together in a heart shape not unlike the ministrations of House Valentione from Eorzea. The cute wink was cherry on top.
Gods, she is adorable, Lily thought. She mentally kicked herself. Now was not the time to fall for this woman’s charms. Her heart ached for the adorable, sleepless Sharlayan researcher she had left back across the salt, as the Turali were wont to say.
“Forgive me for stating the obvious, but if they make you uncomfortable with their advances, why don’t you just tell them off?”
Honey sighed. “I can’t. It’ll ruin my image. I’ll lose all my fans if I do.”
“But you don’t need them to fight, do you?” Lily had trouble picturing how the adoration of spectators could turn the tide in a fight.
“I do. I’m not the strongest fighter, nor the most vicious, so I need all the support I can get. If I can’t be champion, I can be the leader in Arcadion merch sales at least. So I absolutely must keep this act up.”
“I think she went this way!” A man’s voice called, echoing across the room.
“Oh, shit.” Honey’s eyes widened in abject horror. Her hunch was wrong.
“Dude, isn’t this going a bit too far? Queen Honey B. wouldn’t appreciate it if we stalked her this much.”
“You’re already stalking, me you numbskull,” Honey B. seethed.
“But I really want her autograph!”
“So do I… Let’s just keep watch over who comes out,” the second man said.
“Queen’s stones…” Honey B. said.
“If you’re not giving them a stern talking-to, I will,” Lily said, rolling up her sleeves.
Honey B. pulled her from the door. “Please don’t. I’ll be ruined.”
“But someone has to tell these ruffians off! You shouldn’t live in fear of your so-called fans! Don’t you tire of this charade?”
Honey B. shook her head. “It’s all I know…”
“You can’t keep this all bottled up,” Lily said, with the face of someone who has gone through such a thing herself. “I should know.”
“Just… please help me. I’ll manage somehow.”
“I didn’t say I wouldn’t help,” Lily said, her voice softening. “I’m already involved, right? If we’re not going to punish those perverts–”
“Fans.”
“I said what I said. What do you have in mind?”
Honey B. told Lily about her plan.
“Are you sure this will work?” Lily said.
“As strange as it may sound, you do resemble me from a distance. All you have to do is drive their attention away from me so that I could make my escape. If you can get me through this ordeal, the dress is yours.”
“Deal,” Lily said. “I suppose I’ve done stranger things,” she mumbled.
“Like what?” Honey B. quizzed.
Lily shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. Are we doing this or not?”
Honey B.’s clothes fit her miraculously well.
“You look better than I envisioned,” Honey B. said, now wearing Lily’s own clothes. “If ever you need employment, why not work for me as a body double?”
“I’m flattered, but I have some other matters to attend to after.” Lily doubted that they would see each other again. She didn’t dislike Honey B.’s company, but she couldn’t afford to forget the primary reason for coming here.
“Oh well, that’s a shame. And now for our finishing touch, here.” Honey B. tapped Lily’s hair, turning it into a shade of honey yellow, same as hers.
“You aren’t really blonde, are you?” Lily said.
“That’s a secret,” Honey B. said, winking. “Now go and earn that dress.”
“It’s Queen Honey B. Lovely!”
Lily bolted out of the changing rooms and ran through the aisles of clothing. Three men dashed right behind her, wearing yellow outfits that evoked their obsession with Honey B. Lovely. She considered using Peloton, but that might give the game away–she wasn’t sure if the real Honey B. knew such a skill.
“Our queen! We just desire an audience!”
“Just a lil’ drop of honey, my queen!”
Skirt rippling, Lily leapt down the entire flight of stairs, and dashed out of the building without stopping to catch her breath. She wasn’t going to obey Honey B.’s plan to the letter. Even if Honey B. successfully escaped, it didn’t solve the root of her problem.
She stopped by in the middle of the busy street, right outside the shopping center. Alexandrians strolled by, with nary a worry in the world.
“Hey, isn’t that Honey B. Lovely?”
“I thought Arcadion was closed by the order of the king?”
“Is she holding a guerilla concert here?”
Lily ignored the onlookers, watching the doors of the shopping center like a falcon eyeing its prey. Honey B.’s fans exited the building, and ran towards her.
“Veraero II.”
A gust of wind knocked the men off their feet.
“My queen!” one of the men called.
“Silence!” Lily snapped, channeling all her indignation into the act. “Kneel before me, you lowly cretins!”
The fans did as they were told. Their absolute obedience unsettled Lily, but she doubled down on her act.
“Does the concept of personal space fly over your tiny little heads? Did I ever authorize that my privacy can be invaded at any time? You are an embarrassment to my hive!”
Out of the corner of her eye, Lily spotted Honey B. Lovely sneaking out of the building as well. As she saw the commotion, Honey B.’s jaw dropped, and she ran to the scene.
“What are you doing? This isn’t the plan!”
“It’s not,” Lily said, her arms crossed. “But these men won’t trouble you anymore.”
“You’re not… Honey B. Lovely?”
“Your queen employed my services to throw you off her scent. You’ve made her feel unsafe with your advances. Have some shame!”
“Is it true, our queen? Have we really caused you pain?” The men looked up at the real Honey B. pleadingly.
Honey B. Lovely sighed. “DAMN RIGHT YOU DID! Your behavior is disgusting! I cannot for the life of me fathom how I’ve tolerated this for so long.” She walked up to Lily and stood beside her. “My friend here merely spoke the thoughts I’ve been too afraid to convey.”
“My queen–”
“Who gave you permission to stand?” Honey B. thundered. “Also, Arcadion is closed and there are no fights. You do not call me queen off-season! Right now, there is only one queen, and it’s Her Highness Sphene! Do you want to be dragged off by the sentries for inciting sedition?”
“We’re… WE’RE SORRY!”
As the Alexandrians dispersed and the fans scurried away to reflect on their actions, Lily turned to Honey B. Lovely. “I must apologize if I deviated from the plan.”
“In all honesty, I think this is all for the best,” Honey B. said. “And it all worked out in the end, didn’t it? Your impression of my act was rather… creative. You saw right through me, didn’t you?”
“If I might be bold to say, but I like this side of you more,” Lily said. “Not everyone gets to be true to themselves. You were absolutely radiant, Q- Miss Honey B. Lovely.”
“I don’t believe I’ve asked for your name. What should I call my savior?”
“Lily. My name is Lily.”
“That’s a wonderful name. You’re a real busybody, aren’t you, Lily? Of all the people who could help me, who could have thought it would be an outsider from beyond the barrier.”
Lily smiled. “I just saw someone in need of help.”
Honey B. peered at her. “I think the dress would look fantastic on you. Here, take it.” She offered the bag to Lily, who gladly accepted it.
“You’re too kind.”
“I don’t know when we’ll get to open again, with the king’s war and all that, but when you have the chance, do check out the Arcadion,” Honey B. Lovely said. She made a heart gesture with her hands and winked. “I’ll put on a show that you won’t forget!”
“I will,” Lily said, without thinking too much about it.
Little did she know that they would meet again, but that is another story for later.