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"Tell us again why did you tag along?" asked Leonard as they walked on the quiet street where it had been not more than two hours since the sun had grace on the lands on this fine day where they had come to shop for the Winter\'s ball.

"I haven\'t picked my own clothes and shopping alone is never fun. Don\'t you agree with me, Vivian?" Lord Nicholas asked her knowing well the girl would never refuse as Leonard did.

"You are right," Vivian agreed, "You are my brother now, we should spend time like this," she smiled to have one of them smiling while the other turn unhappy.

"You need not worry about him, Bambi. The man has enough playmates to go around with. Why did you come, Nick?" asked Leonard a little annoyed that the man was interrupting their new married life where he wanted to spend time with his wife.

Nicholas coughed, a fake cough where he placed his hand on his chest, "You always doubt my intentions, Leo."

"Because they tend to be vile," the young Duke commented as they passed the store of clothes where he had bought Vivian her black dress in the presence of his cousin sister Eleanor. Vivian had her gown ready for the Winter\'s ball but she didn\'t have the right shoes for it. He knew if he asked her she would right away refuse at the thought of him spending his money unnecessarily but what was his was hers now and what was hers was his to take and care of. With him needing clothes himself he had decided to take her out but Nicholas had dropped like the ghost he was wanting to take up their time.

"I have fallen short of suits myself. Can\'t a man ask for the company?" asked Lord Nicholas.

Vivian frowned and turned to scold her husband, "Leo!"

"What?" Leonard questioned her to turn away his face as if he were pouting like a child.

An onlooker who was using his pipe to smoke coughed to take away the pipe and bowed at the men\'s presence. Vivian asked Nicholas, "Is it only suit? Leonard needs them too, we can go get them together. Having more than one opinion will get you the best one," the Lord nodded to agree with what she said.

"That\'s true. How about you, Vivian? I know this excellent store that has one of the finest gowns for pureblooded vampires. The store owner is very picky with his customers but with my word, he\'ll readily hand you out the best ones," Lord Nicholas suggested at the thought that she might have come here to buy her gown for the Winter\'s ball.

She smiled at Nicholas\' kind words, "Leo bought me the dress a few days ago. It\'s a lovely one."

"Did he now," the man grinned to see Leonard who was quiet walking next to Vivian without any comment.

"Yes," she answered him.

"The shoe store is here," Leonard halted in front of a store which was built similar to the glass room as even the door was made of glass so was its walls, "Let\'s get your shoes first," with that the party stepped inside the shoe shop.

When she entered the shoe shop, she saw a line of boxes that were arranged on the walls and some were placed on racks on the other side of the room like books in a library. The boxes weren\'t placed symmetrically but they were arranged neat enough for the owner to pull out one of them if it was needed. Unlike the dresses which were put on the mannequins, here there wasn\'t even one that was put out for display. It was strange, making her think about how anyone would come to look at the shoes if there wasn\'t one to look at as a sample piece. Having seen some other shoe shops, she had found two or three shoes being put up so that the customers could have an idea on what the store had to offer and if it would fit in the taste.

For Leonard who always had picked the best among the best, this shop must be one of reputation, thought Vivian to herself.

"Lord Nicholas, Duke Leonard!" a man popped out of one of those racks, his red eyes bright. Stepping away from the racks, he came to make his way where they were so that he could assist them, "How can I be of your service?" he looked at them eager to please before his eyes fell on the human who stood behind them who was looking around the boxes.

The man was and of average height, he looked weak as if he would perish any minute but his eyes said otherwise. "Good morning, Trevor. How have you been? It\'s been a while," Lord Nicholas smiled kindly at the weak man.

"I just saw you yesterday, milord," the shopkeeper named Trevor smiled, "Did you come to buy more shoes? Is it for Master Leonard? Or is it for the lady there?" Vivian who had been looking at the racks and boxes brought her gaze to her front where the shopkeeper stared at her keenly. She offered him a smile when their eyes met, "I see it is for her."

"It is Trevor," Leonard confirmed the shopkeeper to have him bob his head up and down in understanding. Gauging the girl and knowing well on how to please his customers, the man didn\'t pick on if the girl looked human or was a vampire. Serving men and women his handmade shoes were what was important.

"Madame," he asked for Vivian\'s attention with his heavy accent even though she was listening to them, "Please allow me to see your feet," her feet? thought Vivian to herself. Of course, she was here to buy shoes, she would need to give her measurements. The local villagers didn\'t have the luxury to look at their specified size of shoes and had to try every possible one\'s until one of them fit them close enough but when it came to the high society, shoe sizes mattered for the perfect fit.

Taking out both her boots, she removed the socks that she wore with them. A little embarrassed to show her feet, she lifted her skirt waiting for the man to scale it with equipment. But instead of getting a scale, the man leaned over as he stared her feet for a long time. It took her time to realize that the man was mentally calculating and finding out her size before he spoke, "Please take a seat while I go search for the right shoe. Are you looking for anything in particular?" he asked her.

"It\'s for the Winter\'s ball," she said loud enough for the man to hear who had disappeared behind his racks where one could see the box being pulled before being pushed back in its place.

"Ah, the Winter\'s Ball! What a night those are, I have only heard of them. Any particular colour you have on your mind, milady?" he asked her.

Vivian wondered what might go well with the gown, "What would go well with black, Sir?" she asked him to have his hand stop for two seconds. His hand hadn\'t stopped because he was thinking about the suggestion but because she had used \'Sir\' to address him. There was hardly anyone who was polite in the elite society as the society always looked down upon him and to have her call him with such respect. The man decided to pick her the best out of what he had, something that would satisfy her.

Pulling three boxes from different sides of the rack, he came forward to leave his counter. Bending down he opened the box to pull one pair of shoe out which was a black in colour. It was one with a slightly raised heel which would make her look an inch taller than her usual height.

"May I?" he asked the girl so that he could help her wear them. She nodded her head. Helping her wear them, she stood up with the front of her skirt being held with her hands. She liked the pattern but it seemed that more than her the shopkeeper didn\'t look happy, "Let\'s try another one," he suggested having her sit back again as he removed and made her wear another pair which was black again but this time it was flat.

As the shopkeeper helped the girl with her shoes, Nicholas went to Leonard who had been looking at one of the shoes which was being worked on by the owner, "Your wife is being doted by another man. Are you not jealous?" Lord Nicholas poked fun at Leonard who dropped the shoe back on the counter.

"He\'s happy with the way she addressed him. There\'s nothing to be jealous about it," Leo turned to look over his shoulder with Vivian who sat quietly while listening to the shopkeeper who was explaining about his shoemaking skills and why it was important to pick what kind one wanted to suit the personality.

Leonard wasn\'t a petty man to be jealous about little things. In truth, he was a jealous man but he knew the shopkeeper had no intentions as such with his beloved girl. The shopkeeper\'s entire demeanour changed when Vivian had added the word \'Sir\'. It might have been an unconscious word used by her but it had left an impression on the lowly vampire enough to now show her that he was a capable man.

Vivian sat there trying three more shoes and though she liked it, the shopkeeper gave an unsatisfied look as if he were the one buying the shoes. A few more minutes passed that Nicholas took an unwilling Leo out of the store saying they would be in the dress shop named \'Ventroquilor\' leaving her here.

After some time passed, the scrawny looking vampire appeared back in front of her muttering something under his breath telling this must be it, "Let\'s try these," he opened the shoe box to give her a look of a black shoe which was not an inch but had almost more than two inches heel with ankle straps that went around the ankle as well as the top of her feet to have a snug feet.

"It is a new design," stated the shopkeeper as he pulled them out of the box delicately as if he were handling a newborn baby. After helping her wear them, his eyes lit up in final satisfaction, "Do you like them, milady?" he leaned to his side, waiting for her to answer.

Vivian stood up very carefully, her back feeling even straighter than before, hoping she wouldn\'t fall she took a step forward which didn\'t feel as wobbly as she had imagined it to be. They did look good on her feet, "I will take these," she smiled to see him nod.

"Let me pack them for you," he replied back in pure delight. When Vivian was paying the man with the coins Leonard had given her so that she could spend it on herself, she thanked him to see him staring at her before he smiled back, "You\'re welcome, milady. I hope you visit this man\'s store again," he bowed his head and she returned the courtesy by lowering her head. She appreciated his help in waiting on for her, bringing her shoes and opening boxes to make sure she liked what was going to buy.

Taking the box along with her, she stepped out, searching for the store which Lord Nicholas had mentioned. She had spent quite some time in there to see the sun to have risen up in the sky along with the clouds that tried to hide the rays. Isle Valley was one of the fewer parts of the lands which were highly developed with tall buildings even though they did look ragged in some of the corners.

If one were to step into this part of the land at night, they would see illuminating lights coming from the windows which gave the valley an orange colour of hue to itself. With the shops adorning the front of the valley, some of them weren\'t aware of the dark side of the valley which not everyone dared or weren\'t aware of stepped into. They were shady with shadier business and if something half decent walked the deserted alleys of the Isle Valley which was situated at the back of the town, there was no saying they would be returned back unless there was a collar that stated the owner so that the person wouldn\'t be sold.

Vivian had been sidetracked when she found a vampiress pulling a young man by his collar as he crawled on the ground. It wasn\'t the first time she had seen something but something like this disturbed her mind greatly. Her brows furrowed in a deep concentration of why people would enslave another being. It wasn\'t just one she had spotted but there were a couple more whom she had seen treating the humans or lowly vampires lowly as if they were mere pets.

One of the girls was collared with her master pulling her, she cried, showing resistance and defiance who was kicked for her to fall down. The life here looked good at the surface but the truth was that it wasn\'t all glitter. This part of the society showed no shame to flaunt their assets. Having known about the slave establishment and other parts of society during her studies. Vivian knew there were a few things she couldn\'t do or change but she couldn\'t help herself to protect the young girl who seemed to be in pain.

"Milady."

Vivian called the vampiress who had kicked the girl to her stomach and the woman turned with one of her brows raised as to who he had dared to interfere between her pet and her.