337 Gorgon Makeover (1/2)
Freya was not the Goddess of Beauty for no reason. Zero might have read a lot of books but he was still no expert when it came to knowing what a makeover required.
Initially, Freya wasn't too convinced about Zero's plans but the young doctor was nothing but stubborn about it. He insisted that the only way to address a gorgon's grief was to remove the ugliness in their hearts. Athena's curse wasn't a true curse. It was simply manifested according to the fallen titan's will to what she thought would be best for Medusa and her sisters. However, now that she was dead, Zero believed that the magic can be moulded into something less horrifying with some help.
First, they had to go shopping for materials so Zero found himself at La Boutique once more, seating inside Ruban x Pointes and sipping on tea while Jen and Grem Lee busied away with the rushed order. Zero claimed that he would pay for whatever Freya ordered for Medusa and her sisters because it was part of his quest and he couldn't allow Freya to pay for them.
\”Only the best,\” Zero told the goddess of Beauty who looked slightly hesitant at first. However, after Zero showed Freya how much money he had on his intergalactic communicator, her eyes sparkled.
That was how Zero found himself acting as the model for the three gorgon sisters.
\”How about this?\” Jen panted and carried in yet another beautiful light blue satin gown that had been embroidered with silk sashes and pearls.
Freya took one glance at it and hummed. She asked for a lilac one but this wasn't it. Zero wanted three dresses for the sisters in the colours of the three divine sisters who would no longer be in heaven after they assimilated with him. He proposed for Medusa to wear white, Euryale to wear yellow and Stheno to wear lilac. However, the shop didn't have any good lilac dresses so Zero asked Jen to recommend another colour close to lilac that represented a strong beauty.
\”What do you think?\” Freya asked Zero who examined the dress. So far, he had tried the yellow and white dresses and liked their designs very much. Grem is currently altering them so that they would fit the sisters. Zero looked at the flowing sashes and raised a brow. While it looked very elegant and feminine, Zero didn't think that Stheno would like it very much. It was much too restricting for movements.
\”Is there a dress without this much unnecessary ornaments? The woman wearing this is a more practical person whose actions speak louder than her words. However, it has to be something that will make her look respected, not to pale in comparison with the two other finalised dresses.\”
Jen thought about it and sighed. The white dress that Zero selected was an hourglass-shaped silk gown with silk ribbon trims and soft braced support at the waist area. It was also strapless but tasteful enough that it doesn't reveal a cleavage. The white dress was one befitting of a queen.
Jen's sigh made Zero think. He learnt about many kinds of dresses from the books he read. However, looking at Stheno, he wondered if a dress was really the best thing for her to wear. Then an idea struck him.
\”That's it! Hanfu! We can create something similar to the robes that shifu wears. Qin Yun wears them sometimes and I think it will be great for Stheno. It's very modest clothing that is easy for movement and also very beautiful. The ancient humans of Earth really knew how to make practical things beautiful and humble. It's a shame they're not really here anymore.\”
Zero quickly sketched out what a hanfu dress looked like and even Freya was impressed. The design incorporated colours that were easier to find. Apart from the strip of lilac that ran down the middle of the dress' bottom half, the rest of it was made from dark and light blue accents with black as the main body's colour. Freya was impressed that Zero was able to think of such details when it came to choosing a dress for each gorgon. The three sisters were very different and Zero accurately captured their personalities with the dresses.
\”Can this be done?\” Zero asked after the sketch was complete and Jen immediately called for Grem.
The tailor was slightly annoyed to be disturbed from his work but it was a customer who requested his presence so he let it go. When Jen showed her teacher the sketch that Zero did, he raised a brow.
\”Is this for a man or a woman? Hua Tuo wouldn't be caught dead wearing this,\” he said.
Zero had to hold back laughter when he heard that. He certainly couldn't imagine his shifu wearing such eye-catching clothes. Hua Tuo was all about living the simple and humble lie so the image of his teacher wearing a hanfu that was more for royalty like Coux made him crack up badly.
After Zero explained how the hanfu dress worked and left the dresses to Grem's care, He made the payment and left the store. Jeremy would contact them once the dresses were ready for collection. With the major stuff out of the way, Freya took Zero to the apothecary and beauty stores to find makeup and other beauty products.
Zeffery was very happy to see customers and offered Zero his best beauty potions from skin whitening to creams for removing dark eye circles. This time, Freya was the tester and the Goddess decided to buy some of the products for herself. She liked the hair conditioner very much and wanted to try smoothening her hair out to something like Isis' style. As a Nordic goddess, her hair was often frizzy no matter what she did. However, after Zeffery demonstrated the uses of his hair conditioner for the first time, the fizzy red hair automatically became docile.
After the beauty treatment products were purchased, Zero stored what was needed for the gorgons in his inventory. He was going to have to borrow a bathhouse from Nirvana to conduct the beautification makeover.
\”What's left?\” Freya asked and Zero checked his shopping list.