Chapter 5: More Mistakes
Micah Carrington wanted to die.
He regretted everything in his twenty-eight years on this planet that had led up to this point.
This point of publicly crossdressing.
In a maid's uniform.
Yes, the black and white one. The one showing up in approximately half of all kinky scenarios dreamt up by nerdy losers whose greatest, if not only, ambition in life was to be called "master" or "mistress" tenderly.
Yes, that one. There's no other.
Except nobody was fantasizing about Micah.
He simply could not tell what's worse—the itchy powder dusted over his hair to hide its youthful brownness or the old socks and rolled up newspapers stuffed into his clothing to give him a fuller and more "matronly" figure.
Or maybe it was Avery's barely concealed and always present smirk.
Micah. Regretted. Every. Single. Thing.
If God was kind enough to give him a chance to start anew, he'd do things differently.
He'd help every old lady cross the road. He'd volunteer at every animal shelter within a twenty-mile radius of his rented apartment. He'd respect all his teachers (even menopausal Mrs Brocklehurst) and submit every assignment on time. He'd...
He'd even be more patient with his mother and her stupid delusions.
Most importantly, he'd never engineer an "accidental" meet-cute with Adeline after worming his way into her social circle.
Alas, God did not come from a web novel. Micah had to continue suffering for his mistakes.
Adding on to his misery—like frost on snow—was Avery's sense of personal space.
Which did not actually exist.
Avery was standing uncomfortably close, with one hand firm on Micah's upper back, forcing him to keep pace.
And Avery walked very, very fast. He walked like he had a murder to avenge or responsibilities to escape from. Micah struggled to match his speed without letting any of the socks and newspapers slip out.
Avery, that bastard, had no shred of sympathy in his heart. He continued pressing Micah ahead, no slowing down allowed.
Micah briefly considered whether this was what it's like to be held at knifepoint.
He also wondered if this would blow their cover. Was it not at all suspicious that he was moving so quickly despite his supposed old age?
Besides, even if the residents of Kellynich somehow could not recognize their very own Lord Avery Edward Rex Welland beneath his paper-thin disguise, surely they could see that this looked a little like a covert hostage situation?
Unfortunately, all they saw was an old and plump castle maid supported by her good-looking son (who was probably a valet-in-training).
Micah resigned himself to his fate and let Avery march him to Lunsford, one of the oldest districts in Kellynich. The place that no tourists would visit unless they're rich foreign kids trying to discover themselves during their gap years.
Meanwhile, wealthy locals preferred forgetting that Lunsford even existed. Out of sight, out of mind.
Avery was apparently not one such person. The rows and rows of shophouses did not confuse him even though their decrepitude had made them all but indistinguishable to most outsiders. He navigated the dark and narrow paths with confidence, never stopping to check the way.
Micah was almost embarrassed that though he was born in Lunsford, Avery clearly knew this place better than he did.
As they neared the row of shops popularly known as "Jewelry Lane" because no one wanted to use its real name, it dawned on Micah that for Avery to be this familiar with Lunsford, he had to be used to sneaking out of the castle and spending time at places other nobles considered disreputable.
Did Adeline do the same too? Micah opened his mouth to ask, only to let the question die in his throat.
He wasn't ready to admit he didn't know the answer. His chest twinged when he recalled how he'd nearly married someone who was happy letting him delude himself into believing he knew her better than the back of his hand.
Micah was so deep in thought that he did not realize that they had reached their destination until Avery stopped suddenly.
Before them was a three-and-a-half-story shophouse whose peeling paint contrasted with the new neon sign declaring it Blanchard & Blanchard & Blanchard.
The reality of what they were doing finally hit Micah.
It was too late to wonder how Bezalel (the first Blanchard in the shop's name), who had known him since he was a child, would react to seeing him in this state.
Before he could give in to his panic, Avery leaned in and whispered, "Seems like that stupid bitch has followed us all the way here."
"Who?"
"Lower your voice!" Avery hissed. "Don't look back! Go in and talk to your uncle."
"I don't want him to recognize me!"
"I don't care what you want!"
And with that, Micah was half-dragged into the shop.
It'd be an understatement to say Bezalel was surprised. He looked like he was seeing the ghost of Micah's father instead of Micah himself. His jaw dropped and stayed dropped. His eyes were about to bulge out of his sockets.
For a moment, he was more goldfish than goldsmith.
But Bezalel recovered quickly. Opening his arms, he warmly greeted his customers before crushing Micah in a bear hug. "Micah, my boy! What brings you here? What can I help you with?"
Trapped in his suffocating embrace, Micah could only lift one leg to point at Avery, who got the hint instantly. Avery raised his hand to show Bezalel the ring and, in a bright and decidedly un-Avery-like voice, practically chirped, "Hello! I'd like to get this resized to fit my fourth finger. Please and thank you!"
"No problem! Please have a seat!" A lifetime in retail had given Bezalel the ability to match any customer's energy.
As Micah sank gratefully into a chair, another customer walked in. He remembered Avery's instruction and resisted the urge to look back, but he did look. After all, the good thing about being in a jewelry shop was the number of mirrors available for discreet and not-so-discreet spying.
This customer—their stalker—was a man. Or rather, a person who wanted to be thought of as a man, if the greasepaint mustache, business suit, and reflective sunglasses were any indication.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone