Chapter 17: Not a Genius, Just Vindictive

Everyone had some sort of coping mechanism to deal with overwhelming amounts of stress. As an adult, facing the many frustrating challenges of her career, Tori escaped into many things, be it sword, Asian dramas, or stress-baking. During a particularly stressful period, she had cleaned her house inside and out and got rid of half her wardrobe.

Since she woke up in the world of The Romance of Soleil, outside of her general situation of being a displaced soul in a teenage body, she didn’t really have much to stress about. She came from money, her family loved her, she made good friends despite the rumors that surrounded her, and she found the subjects she was taught fascinating and didn’t mind studying them.

Even the excursion, with all the supplies shortage, was something she looked forward to as it gave her a chance to explore the world further.

Then the Golden Cow happened and she was infuriated. If someone else copied the vests after seeing her or her friends wear theirs around town, she could understand. It wasn’t difficult; quilts existed. She just replicated wearable ones from her original world.

But this was a direct set up and as much as she didn’t want to get involved with any of the main characters, she also didn’t want them to take advantage of her. She directed her excess energy to luring out Adrien Rosiek and then focused on crushing him, both legally and in the down apparel market.

When she wasn’t at Lycée, she was at Madam Midstrom’s, having thrown the business portion to Henrik to deal with. She showed the artisans designs and ideas that were extremely familiar in her original world, but non-existent here. First, she started with replicating her favorite down jackets and then it spiraled out of control and she had to pull back so as not to overwhelm the artisans. Madam Midstrom and her family did their best to keep up with her intensity and even helped contract workshops they were close to for production support.

Fabric was always flying about and every poultry farm just outside of Horizon had her as a customer. With a week left before the opening of her high street store, and roughly five days until her first midterm exam, she had the final designs and their samples ready to show to her family and friends.

“Thank you all for coming. I know it’s a hectic time with midterms approaching,” she said as she stood in the parlor of her aunt’s house, facing her friends, aunt, uncle, and their twin sons. “But we are also closing in on the opening of Lions Gate’s high street store and I need to advertise the goods somehow. To do this, I come to you with a mission: to draw attention to the store opening and its goods, I need you all to wear the items. We have various styles for men, women, and children-”

“Tori, we know,” Sonia said from the sofa, where she sat with Ilyana. “You’ve told us what you’re making. Just give us the jackets!”

“Yeah, give us the jackets!” the twin boys repeated, excited.

The speech Tori prepared was clearly not going to be used tonight. She stepped to the side and sighed. “Butler Gustaf, if you’ll help me.”

“Of course, young lady.” He laid out several large canvas garment bags on a table he’d brought in beside Tori.

“Since Sonia is impatient, here you go.” Without much ceremony, she picked up the bag on top by its hanger and handed it over. Sonia immediately pulled off the garment bag as Tori went back to the table to hand out bags to each person. The sizes were all different and she had a little tag on each to indicate whose was whose.

“Oh....” She heard Sonia’s gasp and glanced over. Sonia sat on the edge of the sofa, holding up a hanger with a black spider silk and wool down jacket. The quilting pattern was different from their original vests; this one had slanted stitching making a ‘v’ across the body. The quality of the material was also better than that of the original vests and shimmered a bit more in the light.

“What? You don’t like it?” Tori wrinkled her nose. “The cuffs and collars are woven cotton blend that have a bit of give. I made sure there are at least two pockets on each garment. That one has two on the outside and two inside, one of which is just over your left breast. I thought you could wear it while riding, so there’s a gusset in the back to keep it from bunching up when you’re seated.

“JP’s is the same, except his has vertical lines and is less fitted to the body. Technically, both men and women can wear either one, so it just depends on whether you want it looser or more fitted.”

“I just.... I didn’t expect it to look this nice,” Sonia said. She lifted her head and looked at Tori. “I thought it was just going to be like our vest with sleeves.”

Tori snorted, almost affronted by the suggestion. “How am I going to crush competitors with the same boring things?” She worked for a tech company in her original world; innovation was a big deal.

“The lining is smooth....” JP said. He was standing up, wearing his version of the jacket. Like his sister’s the outside was black, but the interior lining was a hunter green fabric that was even smoother and softer than the outside material.

“Oh, that’s pure spider silk. It’s nice against the skin,” Tori said with a slight nod. “Everyone has different styles and all of them will be available at the high street store. Sonia is wearing the S1 and JP is wearing JP1.”

The teenage twins looked at her simultaneously. “You named it after us?” Sonia asked.

Tori nodded. “Yes. It’s a good thing your names start with different letters. It was convenient.”

“So, this one is E1?” Ewan asked as he buttoned up his jacket. His was fluffier than the others with the straight quilt lines further apart. His was dark green with a hood.

“That is technically E2,” Tori said. “The numbers mean something. The same style can have a different number, but if it’s sleeveless, basically the vest version, it will have a 0. If it’s a jacket, 1. If it’s a jacket and has a hood, 2.”

“Mine has a hood!” Ewan nearly shouted as he lifted the puffed-up hood over his head. It covered his eyes and all they could see was his lopsided grin.

“Yeah, if you all look at the inner corner of the collar flap, you should see a silver logo patch.”

Sonia drew her head back and shook her head. “Is that...is that the lion from the buckle?”

“Yes!” Ewan nearly danced in place.

“Mine came out better than I thought,” Henrik said. He’d already seen the sketches and the preliminary designs and samples, but this was his first time seeing the finished product. His was less fluffy than Ewan’s, but longer, hitting his knee. There was a contrasting leather trim, and around the elbows the stitching was closer to give more detail. He’d selected the dark blue fabric himself.

Tori chuckled. “Madam Midstrom put in that big pocket you wanted inside to ‘hold documents.”

“There are many benefits to working closely with the artisans,” he said as he put his arms through.

Tori sat on the arm of one of the sofa chairs and watched everyone stumble about before her, trying on their outerwear and examining everyone else’s.

“Tori....” Ilyana was standing in front of the mirror Butler Gustaf brought down from one of the rooms. While the quilting pattern was the same as Sonia’s and it had the same cotton cuffs and a gusset, Ilyana’s white down jacket nearly reached her ankles and her hood was trimmed with light brown fur. It was fitted to her upper body and then flared out a little at the waist, allowing it to drape gently over her uniform skirt. Ilyana’s eyes reddened. “It’s so pretty....”

Tori smiled. Her favorite one in her original life was similar. She looked like a puffy marshmallow princess and loved it. “This one doesn’t have a number, since it would look strange without sleeves and the hood is a must for it. It’s just called ‘Ilyana’.”

Her roommate whimpered. “I love it, thank you....”

She ran across the room to hug Tori while the two little boys stood in front of each other, each wearing a small version of JP1, only theirs had two colors. Marco’s hood, shoulders, and arms were cobalt blue while the rest of the body and sleeves were gray. Mateo’s was opposite.

Tori watched her cousins peel off their jackets, exchange them, and smile, satisfied. Mateo was playing with his sleeves and frowned. “Cousin Tori, my cuff has a hole!”

“Mine does, too!” Marco complained. They both lifted their hands to show her.

Tori bent down and adjusted the sleeves over their hands. “Your thumbs go in the hole and the cuff covers your palms, so they won’t get too cold, and it keeps the cold air from going up your arm.”

“Ohhh....” The twins chorused and nodded.

Ewan jutted out his lip and looked at his sleeves. “I want thumb holes....”

“Pull out the cuff that’s folded over inside,” Henrik said as he took a seat and held his jacket on his lap. Ewan fiddled with his sleeves and his face lit up. “It can be tucked away. Tori really likes thumb holes.”

“I think they’re neat.”

“Tori, my dear....” Auntie Lucia wrapped her arms around her niece’s shoulders from behind her as she wore a beige down trench with a dark brown fur trim around her hood and cuffs. It hit her knees and the stitching pattern was uneven by design. Like Ilyana’s, it was fitted at the top, loose at the bottom, but had a belt around the high waist. “This is wonderful!”

It was very much just a trench coat that was puffy, but Tori felt it was more fitting for an older woman. It was sleeker with a bronze spider silk lining. Tori thought it would be cute if Auntie Lucia and Uncle Maurizo matched, so her uncle’s version was the same pattern, just straighter, looser in cut for a more masculine style, and didn’t have the fur trim. His belt had leather detailing and his was a dark brown.

“Do you like it? You and Uncle Maurizo have similar designs. The cut is just a bit different. I call this the Biancci trench,” Tori said.

“I love it, my dear! I’ll wear it every day!” Auntie Lucia kissed both her cheeks as Uncle Maurizo nodded energetically, as if also agreeing to wear it every day. “And I’ll wear it when we go back to Presidio.” Her face darkened. “I can’t wait to show Gregorio....”

“Auntie....”

“The Golden Cow is going to be so upset when they see this,” JP said as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“That’s the plan,” Tori sighed with a nod.

Auntie Lucia gave her a questioning look. “What’s the Golden Cow?”

“It’s a long story, Auntie. Just a competitor.”

“A competitor we’re going to destroy,” Henrik said under his breath.

“Okay, since everyone has their jacket, please wear them every day this week. I checked with Lycée and we are allowed to wear jackets over our uniforms in black, white, or dark neutrals. Besides, it’s already cold out. If anyone asks, tell them about the store and that we’ll open next weekend. Henrik and I made little cards to pass out, too.”

“I didn’t want to agree, but Tori insisted: ten percent off opening weekend for Lycée students and staff,” Henrik said.

“It’s a grand opening sale, Henrik, let me do my rollout marketing.”

“Oh, everyone at the Imperial Knights will be jealous,” her aunt assured her. “I’m already getting overheated in this! You’re a genius!”

She held back a wince. This wasn’t her idea and she just remembered the designs. She was not a genius, just vindictive.

There were two things that dominated Lycée that week and, if Tori were being honest, both brought her a bit of sadistic joy.

The first was the frantic reviewing for midterms and since Tori had proven she was competent during the review exams, Ilyana put less pressure on her to study and let Tori go at her own pace. Tori maintained her usual daily review pattern, but also did more practice questions and added flashcards to her routine. She was very confident about midterms; the more she reviewed, the more powerful she felt.

The second thing was the down jackets. To contrast Ilyana’s white one, Tori wore the black version with a gray fur trim. Ilyana had been overjoyed that they matched and dragged Tori to their classes arm in arm to make sure everyone saw them. When Tori was walking alone, she made a silent show of crossing the campus while pretending she was a regal evil queen. She thought it made her posture and gait better.

She wanted as many people as possible to see her product, but there was one particular person whose reaction she wanted to see most.

Alessa walked into their classroom the first day they wore their jackets and nearly dropped her bag.

Tori was cackling inside as she tried to pretend she didn’t see Alessa’s pretty face drain of all color or watched her arm shoot out to grab the edge of the desk to steady herself. Tori relished the surprise and nervousness in Alessa’s amber eyes as she stared at the black and white matching trenches.

Numerous people had asked Ilyana, who was considered the less intimidating of the two, where she got her jacket and Ilyana boasted about their flagship store, Lions Gate, opening on high street that weekend after midterms. She passed around the little cards that had the brand logo, directions, and a little coupon on the back.

“Are these similar to the vests you had during the excursion?” Dimitri had asked at the beginning of the week. He came to Tori directly.

She nodded. “Yes, we’ve been meaning to sell them, but you know...school comes first, so there was a delay.” She reached into her pocket and took out a card, offering it to him with a bright smile. “Please come by if you are free this weekend.”

Predictably, the little card made its way to Alessa, who didn’t look comfortable for an entire day. Tori simply sat back and watched her squirm in her seat with a peaceful look on her face and a calm in her heart.

Was this how villains felt? Probably.

Ilyana, who had run out of cards, looked over at her. “Do you think this will get the Golden Cow’s attention?”

Tori was in high spirits. “I think it already has.”

Even with exams looming before them, Tori happily went through her week, appearing giddy the day before the first exam. She was sure her friends thought she had lost her mind in between opening the store and studying for the exams.

Henrik only had to deal with a few details and he was stressed and snappy.

Much to the disappointment of her friends, the first day of the exam, Tori had to make good on the agreed upon procedures and take the exam while seated in front of the class. Instructor Rosemund had already addressed the class about it, reiterating that there was no conclusive evidence that Tori cheated and that it was an act of defamation, of which the students who falsely reported it would be forced to write a letter of apology and those letters would be posted on the announcement board outside of the administration office.

After they were posted, Tori asked if she could keep them and stuck them on the wall of her dorm.

Instructor Rosemund also made it clear that Tori was only sitting in front of the class to take the exam to ‘reassure her fellow students’. Despite all of this, there was no doubt that there were students who still believed she cheated. Tori decided to make a show of it all to let out her spite.

She walked down the aisle, skipping her usual seat, and headed to the single student desk and chair brought to the front of the room.

“Miss Guevera, I am sorry you are forced to do this for the sake of the class, but I thank you for your cooperation,” Instructor Rosemund said in a low, apologetic voice.

Tori shrugged. “It’s fine.” She took her writing supplies out of her bag: two pencils, her sharpener, and eraser. Then she placed her bag behind her, against the wall. She removed her ‘Ilyana coat’ and folded it, then rolled it up and gave it to Instructor Rosemund.

She stood beside the desk, waiting for the rest of the students to trickle in. Once everyone was in their seat, she gave Instructor Rosemund a nod to indicate she was ready.

“Before we begin, Miss Guevera has requested that a student check the items on her desk, her hands, and the desk itself to confirm that she is not hiding anything that may be construed as cheating.”

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Several students looked rightly surprised by this. Gideon rolled his eyes.

“Fabian. Go.” Beside him, the dark-haired boy got up and examined Tori’s writing instruments. He looked over the desk and chair before going to Tori, who held her hands out. He narrowed his eyes and grasped her wrists, turning her hands upside down and shoving her sleeves up her forearm to check before he relented. He frowned as he released her.

“Mr. von Dorn?” Instructor Rosemund asked.

“She’s clear.” He sounded disappointed as he returned to his seat.

Instructor Rosemund looked at the class. “Is everyone satisfied?” There were a few low murmurs and disdainful snorts, but no one complained. “Then, Miss Guevera, you may take your seat.”

It was only then that Instructor Rosemund passed out the test booklets. The first and second day had different subjects and the duration was two hours per subject, with three subjects per day and a thirty-minute break in between. Elective exams were only one hour on the first day.

After each subject, Instructor Rosemund would collect the test booklets and then bring them to the nearest staff office before returning with the next subject’s test booklets. It was a steady routine and Tori quickly got used to it.

In the beginning, she had to force herself not to look up, knowing that other students were going to look over at her during the exam. She could feel their suspicious glances, but within a few minutes of becoming absorbed, she’d zone them out.

On the last test on the last day, there was an essay and students could leave once they were finished.

As expected, Dimitri and Ilyana were the first to finish. They closed their booklets, raised their hands, and Instructor Rosemund came to collect their booklets. Once they were finished, they had to leave the classroom. Tori wasn’t sure who left after them, having been lost in her essay. Just as she finished skimming it to check its clarity, she heard shuffling ahead of her.

She glanced up and saw Alessa handing her completed test booklet to their instructor. Tori looked down at her essay. She was done, but wanted to put some space between her test and Alessa’s. She couldn’t help the somewhat paranoid concern that Gideon would say that the booklets were switched if she did better.

She waited until six other students finished and left before closing her own booklet and raising her hand. After her exam was collected, she put her coat back on and got her bag, then silently walked out of the classroom.

Ilyana must’ve been waiting close to the door. As soon as Tori stepped outside, her roommate rushed over.

“How was it? Was it too distracting?” Ilyana asked, searching Tori’s face for any sign of fatigue. “They’re too much making you sit there today, too!”

“It is what it is,” Tori said, lifting her hand and patting Ilyana’s shoulder. “What subject did you pick for the essay? I picked ‘dorm policy changes to improve student life’. I really think they should let us have small pets, but at the same time, I wouldn’t trust everyone to take care of a living creature.”

Her casual, if not far too relaxed reaction to the exam made Ilyana squint her eyes. “I picked the one about improvements for the excursion.... You’re really calm about this.”

“We reviewed the material for days. If it’s not in my head now, it never will be.” Tori led her away, walking past a small group of people who were with Alessa and Dimitri, pretending not to see them. “You couldn’t eat much during lunch. Let’s go get something now. It’s been a stressful week and you’ve worked hard. We can go get that stuffed chicken breast you like at Cafe Fortuna.”

Ilyana nodded and someone called out to Tori.

“Miss Guevera!” Dimitri looked towards them and she turned around. He gave her an inquisitive look. “How well do you think you did on the test?”

The corners of her lips curled up into a grin.

“No matter what, I did better than people expect, right?” She let out a helpless laugh. “Anyway, remember tomorrow is our store’s opening and we’ll be serving free coffee and pastries to celebrate!” She moved her calm, blue eyes to Alessa and her smile grew wider. “I hope to see you all there.”

If she read Alessa’s personality right, then Alessa would undoubtedly go to the Golden Cow and tell its owner about Tori’s shop and that they were going to sell quilted clothing. As a precaution, mainly because Adrien’s wiki article seemed to hint that he would go about business using some unsavory methods, Tori hired reputable mercenaries recommended by Daybreak Garden to watch her stores.

They didn’t just watch them. During the interior reconstruction, Tori had a room built in the back where her new security guards could sleep, eat, and wash up when they alternated their night shifts. She even arranged some coffee and pastries for them from the cafe next door. Henrik thought this was unnecessary, but Tori insisted. She wanted her people alert and loyal.

She made sure the guards knew their faces and were properly introduced to all those associated with Lions Gate.

Her auntie also suggested introducing the guards to the patrol officers and the district constable, in case there was a scuffle, so her rough looking guards wouldn’t be mistaken.

So far, they had not reported anything strange, but Tori didn’t let her guard down. Something was going to happen; she could feel it in her bones. The game had set this up, so something must come out of it.

After all, it was Alessa who never returned her vest. In fact, she never mentioned it again. It was as if it never happened, which Tori thought was a bit rude considering she literally lent the clothes off her back. Then, a few days after they got back from the excursion, the Golden Cow was selling a knockoff version of her down vests. Was that supposed to be a coincidence?

I think the fuck not.

Tori was both excited and anxious the morning of the opening. If there was going to be a confrontation, it would happen when Lions Gate had its grand opening. It was when the most people gathered and all the attention was focused on her. Game and story plots like this always had a flair for the dramatic and what better way for her and Adrien to first meet than this?

“You’ve been wearing that strange grin all morning.” Henrik gave her a look as they completed the final walk through of the store. The high street store was in the city’s premier shopping district, so rent was high.

They had money, but they didn’t have a whole lot of merchandise to showcase, so the duo agreed to settle on a modest-sized store between a cafe and a hatter. It was as wide as her dorm, but four times as deep. The back fourth was split between a stockroom and the guards’ room, while three small rooms acted as changing rooms with two larger ones acting as private appointment rooms.

Henrik kept questioning her, but she insisted. This was going to be their ‘fancy’ store. She felt it had to have services that catered to people with money and while she’d only been rich for five to six months, she knew she appreciated personalized service.

All the displays were set up and surrounded by ready-to-wear garments of varying sizes and standardized colors. Like stores in her original world, women’s wear was closest to the entrance, followed by children and men’s wear. The displays by the window had faceless mannequins posed as a group of friends and another as a family with two children.

Everything was neat and organized. Their small staff of one manager and two salespeople would be supported by the manager and two salespeople from the second store that wasn’t finished yet. Tori would also be on hand to answer any questions, though she wasn’t sure how the turnout would be.

However, having more people ready to help was better than being understaffed.

Tori stood by the sales counter to the left of the entrance, peering past the mannequins outside the window. She snorted and glanced at Henrik before looking back outside.

“What strange grin? I’m just excited.”

“Excited or nervous?” Henrik asked. He shuffled around her to also look out the window. He squinted. His father was outside, along with some of the merchant guild members. Ilyana was outside with the twins, walking and greeting a surprising number of people who had lined up. “This is....” He swallowed hard. “A bit more than I expected.”

“Isn’t it? We did most of our marketing at Lycée and around the main plaza across the street. I expected mostly students to come by out of curiosity....”

“There’s a lot of old people.” Henrik drew his head back. “Maybe associates of your aunt and uncle?”

“Ah, you’re right,” Tori nodded. “She also had some coupons on her.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Those coupons were only for Lycée students and staff.”

“Oh, just accept them today.” Tori lifted her hand and gave him a dismissing wave. “It’s almost time. Let’s head out.”

She and Henrik walked deeper into the store to come out from the back, where a guard was standing. He let them out and the two went around the alley between them and the cafe to get to the front.

The store was one amongst many along a long plaza, so there was plenty of room for the crowd to stand. On either side of the door were guards, both wearing black JP1s. A red ribbon was strung across the door frame to be cut when opened and one of the guards held a pair of scissors.

On some stands on either side of the door, in front of the display windows, were rows of large flower bouquets with ribbons across them displaying words like ‘good luck’ and ‘congratulations’ just beneath the temporary awning they had up for the opening.

“You’re here! Are we going to start soon?” Ilyana asked as she rushed over. Tori looked up from the flowers she was walking by and nodded.

“Yes, the store is ready. The sales associates are on stand-by. Where are my aunt and uncle?” Tori looked around. She could’ve sworn she saw the matching trenches weaving through the crowd earlier.

“They went to get Marco and Mateo. They should be back soon.” Ilyana said.

“Okay, we’ll start as soon as we see them,” Tori said. She continued to look over the flowers. In the winter, flowers were rare and most bouquets were from dried flowers or specific winter varieties. However, it was still much more expensive to send flowers in the winter. She could only imagine how much money was spent just on the half dozen bundles in front of her.

Ilyana seemed to notice her admiring them and laughed. “You have a lot of people wishing you luck.”

Tori raised a brow. “Have you read the names? They’re from my family. Look...that one is from my parents. My mom’s parents sent me another. My brothers sent me one each. This one's from Uncle Lorenzo, my dad’s youngest brother, and his husband.” Tori wrinkled her nose. “How did they even find out? They're stationed on our southern border.”

“My parents sent you one, too!” Ilyana stood by one mainly made of white and yellow winter jasmines.

Tori’s face softened and she stepped closer to touch the soft petals. “It’s lovely.” She read the ribbon saying ‘Congratulations to Lion’s Gate! From the Agafonovs’. “Tell them I said thank you.”

Ilyana nodded, proud. She looked at the last one and tilted her head. “I don’t know who this one came from. It doesn’t have a ribbon and the note doesn’t have a name.”

The bouquet was ranunculus if she identified them correctly. They ranged from white to several shades of violet and dark purple. Tori took hold of the small card attached and flipped it over. She furrowed her brows. “Thanks for the jacket?”

“Who else did you give jackets to?” Ilyana asked.

Tori thought for a moment. “Axton.” She considered him a friend, especially after he sparred her with her, even if she still liked to think of him as a spy for her brother. She picked out a dark gray version of Ewan’s jacket for him and included a random black version of JP’s for Piers, so he wouldn’t be left out. “Must be from him.”

The duo had a prior engagement and Axton told her they couldn’t make it. They must’ve sent the bouquet to try to make up for it.

“Lady Guevera!” A raspy voice called out to her and she and Ilyana turned around. A tall, barrel-chested man with brown hair and a beard beamed as he approached. “Congratulations on your opening! Are you excited?”

“Guild master Skuldsen.” Tori greeted him warmly. “Very excited. Did you and Madam Skuldsen get something to drink first? It’s cold this morning. I think I made the right decision buying out La Lumiere for the morning to provide drinks and pastries.”

“Yes, it was delicious. I’m sure we weren’t the only ones who appreciated the hot coffee this morning,” he said, still smiling from ear to ear. “When do we get started?”

Tori craned her neck to look around. “I just want to wait for my aunt and uncle to...ah! There they are!” She raised her arm and waved towards a man and woman each firmly holding the hands of two boys who seemed ready to escape at any time.

“I’ve brought the rest of the guild members,” Henrik said as he joined her in front of the store with two other older men and a woman. Tori greeted them happily and asked them to stand to the side.

From where her aunt and uncle were with the kids, standing in front row with Sonia, JP, and Ewan, they gave her a nod to tell her they were ready. Ilyana, as a silent partner, nestled up beside Tori, looking happy in her long coat.

Tori glanced at Henrik and gave him a nod. Henrik nodded back and motioned his hand.

The loud wail of trumpets filled the plaza and Tori did a double take towards the four trumpeters she hadn’t noticed standing across the street. Her jaw dropped and as they marched forward in sets of two, she looked at Henrik with dismay.

Her main partner in crime in this project looked extremely pleased.

Oh my God, that’s so extra. I did not approve of this. This is so embarrassing. Dammit, Henrik! You kept bitching about my store design and the coupons, but then you went out and got this?

She drew her lips into a line, but still tried to keep a pleasant face as she inwardly winced. The trumpeting wasn’t a quick bugle-like call, either. It was long, at least to her, and sounded as if they were announcing The Queen. The four trumpeters split in front of her and a pair walked on to either side before lowering their instruments and standing on guard.

Tori forcefully unclenched her jaw and put a welcoming smile on her face as she stepped forward.

“Welcome, everyone to the grand opening of our flagship store, Lions Gate!” She held her arms out and greeted the crowd as if she weren’t mortified inside. “Thank you for coming out this cold winter morning to support us students as we open our first store. We would like to thank all our family and friends for their support, Horizon’s merchant guild for their guidance, and all our artisans, suppliers, and staff for their hard work.

“When you step inside, please feel free to ask one of our staff any questions you may have. For our guests today, we are offering ten percent off the total purchase as a way of celebrating. Without further ado, Guild master Skuldsen, please do us the honor of cutting the ribbon.”

Tori was handed the fancy gilded scissors she borrowed from Madam Midstrom and presented it to Henrik’s father. The proud man graciously took it and walked towards the door.

“Stop!” A voice felt like it echoed through the entire plaza and everyone’s head turned towards the source. A man with russet hair rushed forward with a look of fury on his handsome face. The crowd in front of the store parted for him on cue and he stopped before Tori. He lifted a hand and pointed at her face. “Don’t buy from this store! They’re thieves!”

Gasps filled the crowd and people looked confused. Her friends looked stunned while her aunt looked ready to fight the man. Everyone around her was either lost in scandalized anger or confused disbelief.

Except for Tori.

She looked like she'd won the lottery.

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