Emily felt all the strength ebb out of her arm as she sank back into the leather seat. How had she known? Who the hell was this person? Had Kenneth ratted her out? Was this all a game? She stared at the back of the seat in front of her refusing to say another word, and Nova, thankfully, didn't say anything either. Who was this woman? She didn't know, but somehow, she was going to find out. Nobody made a fool of Emily Ward and lived to tell about it, at least not without a few broken bones.

The car parked and Michael opened the door, first for Nova, then for Emily. The vampire was a little miffed at being made to wait on a human. But she was Kenneth's squeeze and there were benefits to being the Head of House's whore, she supposed.

She got out of the car and found Nova standing there, studying her, like a cat staring at a mouse. Emily found it hard to not feel a little self-conscious under that gaze. What was she talking about? This girl was just a human, she couldn't make her feel like this. Emily stood tall and stared straight ahead, looking at Nova with the same intensity that the black-haired woman studied her. She hoped she looked more confident than she actually felt.

Without saying a word Nova moved off down the street and stopped at a glass doorway nearby. She called back to the blonde, "Are you coming, darling?"

Emily hated her. With every fiber of her being, she hated her. She turned around and stalked towards the open glass door. Without a word she brushed past Nova into the very high-class clothing store.

Emily stared almost wide eyed at the clothes, dresses and skirts that were hanging everywhere. She was drawn to a silk nightgown, it was deep red, with shiny studs going up the left breast of the dress. It was long and elegant and beautiful. She found her hand reaching out to touch it, she wanted to see if it was as soft as it looked.

"Excuse me, miss?" A voice came from behind her.

Emily turned around and saw a woman who was similarly dressed to Nova, except her jacket and skirt were black and her blouse was a striking red with higher heels than Nova. For the first time in a long time, Emily found herself looking down at her jeans and sweater and felt really out of place.

The woman looked Emily up and down, "I don't really know what we have that would be in your…price range. Perhaps you might try a department store in the mall. The Galleria is fairly close to here." The woman gestured with an outstretched arm back towards the door that she had just walked in through.

Emily felt embarrassment and anger. She might have to take this kind of shit from Nova, but this bitch?! Oh, no. Not only no, but hell no. She gazed hard into the woman's eyes. She forced the woman's eyes to focus on her. She extended her will and funneled the other woman's mind down the long, constricting tunnel of domination.

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But before she could speak, she felt Nova's soft hand on her shoulder. Emily ripped her gaze away from the sales woman and glared at Nova. She wanted to dominate her, so bad. She felt like a predator who had just been denied her prey. She wanted to rip Nova's throat out.

"Please, don't be fooled by my niece," Nova said to the sales woman easily.

The woman slowly turned her gaze away from Emily and focused on the deeply tanned, well dressed, and well-mannered woman who was now speaking to her. "You…you're niece?" She had a hard time forming words, it was like her brain was working very slowly for some reason and she had to take a moment to understand anything.

Nova smiled easily and nodded, "Yes, my much older brother's daughter. I know it's strange. But that's why we're here. We're prepared to pay a lot of money here and give my niece a few new looks as she starts her business career. Just out of college and being herself. We've all been there."

The sales woman nodded. Her thoughts were returning, slowly. She hated working nights she always felt a bit sluggish. But she understood money and 'new look.' That was all she needed to hear. She motioned for the blonde to come deeper into the shop towards the back.

The saleswoman, looked at the ratty girl under the light. Her skin was pale and her hair looked like something out of a tin can. Well, the girl's hair was someone else's problem. She turned back to the other woman, "Just what did you have in mind for her? Something formal, business, casual?"

"Hey, lady. I'm right here," Emily retorted.

The salesperson turned her head back to the blonde, "Quite. Forgive me, and your name is, hun?"

"It's sure as hell not 'hun'," Emily spat out. "My name's Emily."

The sales clerk smiled a bit as she nodded, "Very well, Emily. What exactly are we looking for tonight? Something for business, casual, formal, or a combination of the three?" She pushed her brown hair over her shoulder behind her ears. There was something unsettling about this woman. It wasn't just that she had no style or sense of fashion at all. It was something in her eyes. She really hoped that she wouldn't need to touch her too much.

Emily shook her head, "I have no fucking idea, hun," Emily replied venomously, "ask my aunt."

The sales clerk turned toward the more refined woman, "Um, yes, so what are you thinking about? Where should we start?"

Nova smiled easily and moved with a fluid grace as she picked out a few things and asked about different colors. It was ok if somethings were off the rack but everything would have to be tailored. Nova, was pleased with some colors and cuts, and dismissed others.

Emily felt like a coat rack, or a closet. The sales clerk draped clothes over her, held up certain cuts and she was asked to wear a few things as well. Yes, she was a living coat rack. Nova picked out all the clothes and even when she might have liked something, or hated it, Nova made the decisions without even asking her.

She liked her jeans and black shirts. So what if people called her Goth or Emo or whatever. It's who she was. She couldn't wear any of the things that Nova picked out for her. This was embarrassing and she almost ran out of the store a few times. She felt like a kid again, being powerless and not having any say in her life. Now she was being fitted into a mold that she didn't want to fit into. She would love burning all these clothes when she was back in her apartment.

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