In the village of the Heavengate kingdom.
"Mariana!"
A pause.
"Where are you, beautiful Mariana?"
Smiling at the teasing compliment, Mariana looked at the door through which her best friend entered in her kitchen.
"There you are", he said and came to stand at the opposite side of the table over which she was working.
"Good morning, Caelen. Would you like some tea?", she asked while pouring hot water in the tea pot.
"No, thankyou. I came to tell you a gossip", Caelen said wriggling his eyebrows. He was a good-looking man. Blond hair, green eyes. No wonder, many girls in the village tried very hard to get his attention.
"Being a man you sure like to make gossips".
Caelen paid no heed to her comment. "Veronica is back in the village. You should meet her. She just keeps babbling about her time in the town. It's so frustrating".
Mariana, Veronica, Caelen and Martha used to be really close friends in their childhood. Three years before, there was an announcement in the village that helping hands were needed in the mansions of the town and Veronica was one of the selected servants. She exchanged few letters with her in the earlier months but later she stopped sending the responses and so there correspondence was stopped. Mariana hated Veronica's greedy and self-centered nature but loved her nonetheless. She was still a good friend.
"Did Martha meet her yet?" She asked while buttering the toast.
"No, Martha is perhaps still in her honeymoon phase. Hasn't woken up yet. I saw her door closed".
"Caelen!" She gasped but laughed.
Caelen chuckled.
Martha married the same year Veronica left the town. Her husband owned a farm in the village and the two were usually very busy. So Mariana only had Caelen to her now and she was grateful for him. He has always helped her, was always there whenever she needed him.
"She is going to hate Veronica even more now. She never really liked her very much".
Mariana picked up the breakfast tray and moved towards the dining table. "Come, sit for breakfast. Let me call aunt Penny and Voilet.
Caelen sat at the table and picked up a biscuit.
"Voilet! Aunt Penny! Breakfast is ready", she bellowed her loving family. She walked at the table and sat on the chair opposite Caelen.
Voilet came running towards the kitchen and sat besides Caelen.
"Good morning, Voilet", Caelen greeted her ten year old cousin.
"Good morning, Mr. Caelen", Voilet chirped. She looked at the table and frowned. "No sausage", she said sadly.
Mariana served her toast and eggs. "I'm Sorry dear, I didn't get a chance to go to the shop.
Voilet looked at Caelen. "Where is my sausage, Mr. Caelen?"
"Voilet!" Mariana warned her. "Just because Caelen owns a butcher shop doesn't mean he need to bring us meat everyday". Caelen was always so kind as to bring whatever Voilet demanded from his shop, whenever he came at their home.
"Oh please, Marie. Don't you dare stop Voilet on anything". He bent towards his right and picked up a parcel wrapped in paper. He handed it to Voilet. "Just as you ordered, ma'am".
Voilet's cute face lit up with happiness. Thanking him, she took the parcel and ran towards the kitchen yelling,"Make sure to make them tomorrow, Marie". Mariana smiled. The little girl knew Mariana had to work and so she didn't demand it now.
"You are spoling my sister". Mariana raised her eyebrows at Caelen.
He waved his hand indicating it was nothing. "Anything for our Voilet", he said and shoved a biscuit in his mouth.
"Where did you hid the sausages, by the way? I didn't see them in your hand earlier".
"I knew you would lecture us so I hid it under the table", he said with a mouthful of biscuit and a wink.
Voilet took her seat back and her Aunt too, entered the kitchen and sat beside her.
"What gossip did you bring today, Caelen?" Her Aunt smiled at her best friend while placing her spectacles on her face and picked up the newspaper as was her usual routine.
Caelen leaned on the table towards her aunt and in a very secret manner said with a low voice, "Veronica is back".
Her aunt gasped and abandoned the newspaper. Leaning forward, she too, enquired. "She must be all pretentious. I'm sure her tone must have changed a lot".
Caelen laughed and told her every bit he knew about their friend. They all had their breakfast happily and aunt Penny satisfied her hunger more with the gossip than the actual food.
Mariana cleaned the table, went to her room and looked in the mirror. She looked presentable. Her long brown hair was neat in a chignon. Her cream-coloured gown clean, without wrinkles. She did not need gloves for her work. So she took her pocket watch and her satchel, decended the stairs and with Caelen, headed out of the house to her work.
Caelen's shop was near to her house. Although he insisted to accompany her further, she said it wasn't necessary and walked forward.
Even though it was an early hour, their village market was bustling with people. She greeted whoever she was acquainted with, with a smile. This lane leads to the market straightly and was filled with people.
The lane that went from behind her house was filled with fields. People who owned a field mostly had it behind their houses. That lane was lush green, fresher amd freer, filled with children and farm animals. Mariana would have preferred that lane had it not been very long. This market lane took her to her shop within twenty minutes
Finally, she reached her shop, The Clifton's. Her dressmaking business which she had acquired from her aunt. The bell rang as soon as she entered. Her assistance, Mr. Roberts as usual had come an hour before, cleaned her shop amd set everything properly. She removed her satchel and stood over her place behind the counter table.
"Good morning, Mr. Roberts", she greeted him as soon as he came out of the back room with a stack of fabrics and placed them in the racks.
"Miss Mariana! How lovely you look today!" The middle aged man greeted her with a lovely compliment.
She rolled her eyes remembering how Caelen had advised him to greet her with a compliment everyday to increase his wages. Ever since, Mr. Roberts complimented her whenever it suited him, though she had said that it was not going to work.
He shrugged. "No harm speaking the truth".
Mariana got herself busy with her seamstress work. It was something she liked and enjoyed ever since her childhood. Her aunt had given her every wisdom she knew about seamstressing. Now, Mariana took care of the business and her aunt had retired, even though she helped when they needed it. She packed the orders which were ready and sent them to deliver with Thomas, her delivery boy.
As the day went by, several customers came, she suggested the dresses that would suit them and helped them choose their complimenting colours.
She not only sewed but also personally design the dresses in her shop. Because of it, she had started earning much more than the other seamstresses.
She got many orders but she never found it hectic. On the contrary, her job was soothing for her.