Strengthening the economy [Vienna/Pulic]

[babby]

Fränze had decided that this mall was awful. Absolutely awful.

What kind of mall had just a Burberry store? That was it. Not any other top notch store. Well, it would have to do. All she needed was a new shirt for one of her uniforms, since the last one suffered a death without dignity in a... Moment of passion. She had thought about fixing it, but it wasn't as if she could jut return it.

That being said, she was supposed to get a shirt. It was covered by a new pile of other clothes and topped off with a new large purse in the arms of the salesman who had the misfortune of asking her if she needed help as she walked in. She pulled him around the shop, asking about this and that and adding to his growing lis of things needin tailored at the waist.

She herself was not in her uniform. That thing was so ugly. No, rather than that, Fränze was in a dress more often than not from earlier than the 1940s, deep red with patent leather pumps and, of course, pearls.

As she continued to throw things onto the poor salesmans pile (hey, not so poor, he was getting the commission), her phone rang. She answered it, aiming poorly with her next shot, and a cashmere cardigan flew into the salesman's face. "V-Vati... Na, I'm... Studying. Why? ...well maybe someone stole the credit card." The credit card she was now brandishing in her manicured fingers. "...no don't cancel it...! I won't spend too much... I'm... Strengthening the economy."

[panicsheep]

Sighing at disappointing assortment of clothing that spanned the shelves, Alex placed the low neck dress back on the hanger. Not that she raised as much Cain about western fashion as some of her family (evident from her hijab casually tied across her neck), but she had standards to abide to!

"Honestly, I don't see how some of those girls can get away with that much cleavage!" She wrinkled her nose, believing for a moment that they tricked for the grades they so obviously didn't earn. But who needed sex when you had money? Obviously those skanks at Edison. What ever happened to a dress code? No man- no body- would take a lady seriously if they didn't dress like the part.

She picked through the jewelery aisle, judging some necklaces or bangles and putting others back. Truth be told, she wasn't that interested in flashy accessories, but she took advantage of the loophole of the simpler, more intricate, daintier things like charm bracelets or pearls. Somethings never change, I suppose, she smiled at a set of bronze, serpentine bangles.

However her idle browsing slowly turned into a trail of sloppily thrown articles of clothing. "I was sure this was an upscale retailer," Alex wrinkled her nose as she unconsciously followed the clothing and placed them back on the shelves out of pure force of habit. She would have to voice a complaint to the manager about hiring sloppy teenagers to run such an estab--

"Oh."

Alex didn't mean to vocalize her surprise (or disdain depending on the POV) as she caught sight of her BFF Franze, who was smooth-talking her way out of why the limit rent was too damn high was overrun while the poor salesclerk was forced to be the pack mule. No surprise there, the Egyptian flashed a tight smile before moving back into the shelves and pretended to browse the wares.

"Nice to see you again, Franze," Alex chimed as though they were lifelong friends, "Any luck with the new Spring line?"

[babby]

Jumping slightly when she heard her name being called, her eyes slid to the source.

Oh.

Rolling her eyes ever so slightly, she mirrored the Egyptians tight smile. "Well, fashion isn't like it used to be." Shrugging, she continued. "I prefer Givenchy... But there's none to be had in this backwater town."

[panicsheep]

"Mmhm," Alexandria murmured in agreement. "I mean, I'm always into the latest trends and all, but this," she held up the v-neck shirt that she had found, "I'm just not suited for this sort of thing! Can you see me in this? No, of course you can't." She rolled her eyes and laughed half-heartedly. "I can agree with you there, Franze. If there are two things that always change, it's the tides and fashion." She turned back to the piles of sweaters before momentarily glancing back to examine the other girl out of the corner of her eye. Outdated, but not necessarily out of style. "I like your dress," Alex admitted coyly, "reminds me of what I used to wear way back when."

To any one else, it would look like a friendly exchange between classmates, but Alex's motivation ran much deeper than that. After the dorm room fiasco she had, in all intents and purposes, made an enemy within the female higher ups. Patching up what relations she had already made a nice, big dent in wouldn't be easy. But a little bitchy friendly competition could be fun~, Alex thought as she continued to stray across the shoe aisle, humming some pop song absentmindedly.

[babby]

Fränze stopped her browsing. "Listen," She put her hands on her hips. "I didn't come here to be pandered to, alright?"

She called her 'frankie'.

She would never be forgiven. "So why don't you go back where you belong. It's certainly not here." She knew Arash, that meant Muslims were always poor.

[panicsheep]

Well, time for a new plan of action.

"And I didn't come looking for you, either, honey," Alex scoffed humorlessly, "I just came to get some new outfits, not company, but if you want to be denied my pleasant company then it's your loss,er, choice." She placed a blue turtleneck across her torso to examine the look, then smiled in approval.

"I don't belong in here?" Alex feigned hurt and indignation, "What is 'Vati's kleine prinzessin' going to do if I object to her whims? Toss me out of her court?" She waved to the spacious parlor, "This is a public establishment of which I am a paying customer; I have just as much right to walk into any store I want to, so don't trouble yourself as I take advantage of this 20% discount!"

Alex walked past the pile of clothes that were heaped upon the fidgety clerk before swiping a blush pink blouse that she promptly added to her pile of merchandise, and placed it on the check-out counter. "What do you think? A little white gold chain to spruce this up?" As a final stab to her estrogen-fueled tirade, she rang the service bell once, twice, and a third time.

"Waiting when you are."

[babby]

Fränze would never let on exactly how much her feelings had been hurt previously by the Egyptian. Passive aggression was the way to go. That, and shows of power.

Walking up to the counter, the salesman trailing behind, all of her things were placed on the counter, the replacement blouse on top. She quickly hid it under the others. There was no chance she would know what happened. Unless Marja had been talking to her. But Marja didnt talk to anyone, or so she believed.

When the Austrian rang the bell, the cashier came almost immediately. She smirked at Alex. "the court is the whole world, 'honey'."

[panicsheep]

Alex's smug face fell for a split second, realizing how disgustingly similar she and the Viennese girl were. She was younger than the Egyptian by about 4 Milena or so, but seeing that bravado, that grace Franze carried as equally as her wrath... It was like looking into a mirror, a more Caucasian one but still!

"I used to think that too, Franze. Way before you were even a twinkle in that Roman's lecherous, filthy, pig-fucking--!" Alex breathed heavily through her wide nostrils, fists shaking as they held onto the counter for support. "My apologies," she stated flatly. "I'd rather not talk about him anyway."

She watched the clerk bag and box their clothes in silence (was that another blouse?). "But I did think the same way when I was younger; the world was my playground and nobody could do a thing to stop me." How odd it was that back in both girls' heyday that they were the centers of contemporary culture- music, academics, political games that the royalty played. The difference being only age and downfall. How sad. So similar, but neither were friends. So sad.

"'The Court is the whole world?'" Alex picked up her bags, but felt no weight as though the melancholy had drained the mass. "I don't know what world you're from, 'honey', but you better come down from the clouds fast, because this world's a whole lot colder than your gilded playground." She doled out her cash and member's card, and then left the store.

"I'm going to get something to eat," she said as though the Austrian were her mother, "See you at Edison."

[babby]

She only raised an eyebrow at her outburst over Rome. She didn't have any qualms against the man. After all, when she first knew him she was only a child who was getting more and more obese by the day-- Maybe she did hate him a little. But he had worked in tandem with her father for centuries.

Still, the other woman's words hit her deeply. Because they were wrong. "If you were given the choice, wouldn't you prefer to stay in the playground and not be thrown to the wolves?" Franze wasn't even looking at the older girl who knew so little about what had happened to her. Her life was like that of Alexandria's. But condensed. She was hurt young and shut away instead of all the years she should have been exploring. She hadn't the gift of time any other major capital had. Who knew time could make such a difference.

She said nothing else, only told the cashier to deliver the bags to her room at the school. There was no way she could carry all that.

[panicsheep]

Alex stopped at the glass doors and looked back, one eyebrow arched in a incredulous manner.

"I wasn't given the choice in anything. Back then I lived with the elite, but I didn't hold the reigns to what I could and could not do." Alex reluctantly walked back into the store, and sat in a plush chair, "As for those wolves you mentioned, well, let's just say that Capitoline Wolf came after me first."

What empire that was built on war wouldn't want the vast wealth and technology of the Ptolemies? "My playground was just one coastline; I didn't need to go anywhere. People came to me, gave me what I needed and I took what I wanted."

The Greek Pharaohs never fully understood the plight of the Egyptian citizens until it was too late, when Octavian decimated their pitiful army and the nobles had little manpower to back them up. Alexandrians were considered to be the most religious of the pagans, worshiping their rulers like gods. However the only 'gods' they actually respected were the Alpha and the Omega: Alexander and Cleopatra, beginning and end. In the centuries following the end of antiquity, Alexandria would be destroyed by the very closed mindedness she sought to dispel. Just like when she lived with her original mother Aegyptus, Alex was shut off from the world once more, returning to the destitute fishing village she began as.

"I've read about you, but that doesn't mean I...know you." Alex rubbed her face, discreetly attempting to rid herself of the tear that beaded up in the corners of her eyes. "And you're right, I don't know you, and for that I'm... sorry." She wrung her hands, still unused to humbling herself to another. "Truly, I am for all of the animosity. It was undeserved. Sorry."

[babby]

Finally turning when she heard that apology (which didn't count for much, but it still.... seemed thoughtful), she laughed sadly. "The wolves were all I had to play with."

She wouldn't pretend to know anything about Egypt other than what she saw in exotic shows, or circuses, or vacations. So she only listened.

"Read about me?" She w ould have been flattered if she hadn't known what was in those books. To her it was like being caught by a papparazzo. Never good. "What is it that you read, then? 'Princess returns home after destroying the Spanish hapsburg alliance'?" She had lost her child, then, and the only thing she had as comfort was a war and being dubbed the disappointment of the ages in the eyes of her father. "'Hapsburg Princess brings revolution in France, country bankrupt and in dire straits'?" She had no choice but to take the lead for her second husband. She was barely 17, she had no idea what she was doing. "Or maybe... 'Hapsburg princes refuses to let go of her underlings, starts war'...'Vienna buckles under Nazi pressures'?"

[panicsheep]

Alex wasn't one to sugarcoat the truth, so...

"Depends on who you are asking," she shook her head in disdain. "I don't trust most of what gets churned out by the publishers these days. They're always up in arms about "political correctness" (when has politics ever been correct?) or are too afraid to speak their own minds and let others speak through them." She sat straight up, anger bristling through her tense muscles, "Most of today's history books are written by those in power, not by the truthful or the fair. Of course that's how it's always been, but still! Knowledge is power!"

Her headaches began to kick in, but she shoved them away to continue with how England's literature and America's films degraded the great and brilliant Cleopatra into nothing but a manipulative and promiscuous sex symbol whose value was placed not on her wit, but on the beauty that wasn't even there. "She wasn't even Egyptian: no dark skin or hair! She was blond and--oh no, I'm ranting again, aren't I?" Alex squeaked, rouge darkening her already dusky face.

"But, yes, you are half right." Alexandria rested her head on her palms and gave a thoughtful smile, "it's either that or Mozart." Her head perked up for a second, hoping to alleviate the gloomy atmosphere. "Did you know that I invented pipe organs? Well, steam-based prototypes, but an organ nonetheless!" Her smile broadened at the similarities she and this Austrian shared, traumatic or not.

"Hey, I understand if you are busy, but...would you like to catch lunch with me? My treat?" She picked up her purchases and motioned to wards the door. "If you have somewhere else to be that's fine, but I'd just like to make this whole mess up to you, if that's okay?"

[babby]

Fränze had to stop brooding when Alex went on a rant. "Really? Well, I guess what I read in books about Egypt isn't right, either."

Then, her laugh broke through the gloom permanently. "Pipe organs are *so* early first millennia. You really need to play a harpsichord."

Lunch...? She wasn't supposed to eat much today. Or any day. "I suppose I could go for a smoothie..." She mused, against her better judgement. But someone asking for her company was rare. "Jawohl, I'll go."