Stahlia 10 Years Old, Fourth Month of 947
*CLAP!* “So, now that Stahlia is here, we can officially begin!” Edith’s excited words filled the room in which I was sitting with her and Sarala. What in the world…? I had come over expecting a normal tea time, perhaps some sort of magic practice or something. Sarala, as usual looked a bit apprehensive, but also excited to see what Edith had in store for us. I, on the other hand, greatly disliked surprises.
“Edith…” Catching Sarala’s glancing glare, I amended my statement, “Lady Edith, what are we planning?”
Edith gave me an incredibly pleasant, and incredibly fake, smile, “Well I just thought, you have been in the capital for two months now, and all you have done is school and research! That’s no good, think of how Lord Dominic feels.”
Yea, I could care less how he feels. Still, I would rather not upset you. “…What have you planned today?”
Smiling demurely, the girl in question explained today’s itinerary, “First, we shall be having tea as we usually do. Unlike normal, however, I have arranged for some imported products. It will be more of a tea tasting than a tea party. Later on, I have scheduled for my tailor to come in and take our measurements. I recently discovered several of my dresses were beginning to feel stiff across the chest, and thought it might be fun for us to all dress up and order clothes together!”
This sounds like it will be a massive pain. Fashion was just something I didn’t get. Not that I didn’t own an exorbitant amount of clothing. My mother had seen to it that I had enough dresses to rotate on a daily basis if I wanted to. Which I did not; if I had my way, my wardrobe would contain my school uniform, some casual-looking house wear, and something rugged for exploration. Perhaps also a work shirt for my alchemical endeavors.
I was certainly no fashionista. Since arriving in the capital, I had discovered that other girls in my social class tended to have a lot more than I did. Even after my mother was finished, seven dresses was a bit light when one per day per month was considered normal. The fact that my own clothes had already repeated was probably how Edith had figured out I didn’t own much. Her setting this up was probably a tactful way for her to encourage me to get some more to wear; she knew I could afford it given her sources had definitely discovered the various formulas I had developed and sold.
“Well, if you think that sounds fun…” My voice trailed off into uncertainty; I really was out of my depth here. Edith wasn’t going to let that stand though, no way.
“Oh, I assure you it will be extremely fun.” Based on the way her gaze was studying me, I could tell she was already picturing me in a variety of different outfits. This is going to be a long day. The first order of business was the tea party. For better or worse, I had actually come to enjoy tea parties. It was fun to simply sip tea and chat with friends, as well as being calming after a long day of dealing with bullshit.
The imported tea was, in a word, incredible. Edith had managed to get us beverages from both the Northern Alliance as well as the Trade Confederacy. There was even a tea from the continent of Riodhas that was simply divine. As I sipped that one, I thought involuntarily of Sieg since that was the destination he had departed for after leaving Ris.
Adults may have discussed the tea’s various flavors and qualities, and while I was somewhat interested in any potential medicinal uses it had, my two companions were not. Instead, our conversation seemed to revolve around things I considered mundane. Edith largely led the conversation, while Sarala seemed content to be a fringe non-participant. This meant that I was Edith’s primary conversation partner.
Unfortunately, the talk seemed to revolve around things that a preteen girl would find fascinating. Boys, clothes, desserts, she even brought up a unicorn at one point. It was extremely uncomfortable for me, but I couldn’t risk offending someone of Edith’s stature, and Sarala was quite talented with Blue Magic. In short, I had no other choice but to grin and bear it.
Finally, Edith’s maid leaned in to inform her mistress that the tailor had arrived with his entourage. That word was a bit scary since I had no idea why an entourage was something a clothier would need. My answer came quite quickly though when I saw the sheer volume of clothing samples that had been brought. There seemed to be hundreds of dresses, though that number was definitely and exaggeration.
There was an article in every conceivable color. Several different cuts and styles all combined on four large roller-mounted hanger racks. The man in question was introduced to me by Edith as one Ergi Monteiro. As soon as he had said his greeting, he spun on his heel and departed to converse with Edith’s father or possibly the family’s butler. He left us behind with three women who were introduced as seamstresses and his assistants. They were on hand to take our measurements and make small on-the-fly adjustments while we would actually be dressed by each of our maids. Sarala having been loaned the use of one of the Claurence’s general maids.
Edith clapped her hands in excitement and imediatally began rifling through the clothing on display. Though the way she kept eyeing me every few moments went to show that she was most likely not looking for herself. Well, I may as well get it over with… I held out my arms for Jacqueline with a resigned expression on my face, and she went about removing the clothing that I had worn to the get-together. Left standing in only my panties and an itchy training bra, I felt exposed and a bit cold.
One of the seamstresses came over to me with a tape and began to hold it up and wrap it around my body. While my premature vital statistics were being exposed, I chanced a stealthy glance at my two friends. Edith was being dragged away from the clothing rack by her maid. In her hands she was clutching two dresses; a short pink thing and a longer red satin piece. Neither of them was particularly practical as both were positively covered in bows and lacy bits.
And those colors don’t match her hair at all. I might not understand fashion, but I at least knew the basics of color theory, and neither of those offerings would look good against Edith’s own lighter hair. Well, the pink one might, but it was a bit too frilly. Edith was at the age where she would start to look better with less… “poofy” articles. On the other hand, I was still small enough to pull it off. In other words, I’m going to be forced to wear both of those… yay…
On the other hand, Sarala was holding out both of her arms awkwardly. She actually looked worse off than I felt. Then again, she always was a bit shy. Seeing her forlorn face cheered me up just a bit, as awful as that sounded, and I was able to put on a small smile of sympathy. When she noticed it, said smile was returned to me. This created a sort of feedback loop that left both of us giggling by the end. Well, this could certainly be a lot worse. At least I’m with friends and not being dragged around by my mother.
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The measurements were eventually taken, and no sooner had they concluded, then Edith handed off the two pieces she had picked out to my seamstress, “Here! Don’t you think that Stahlia would look amazing in these?”
Of course, no commoner seamstress was going to tell the duke’s daughter that she was mistaken. The woman accepted the clothes with a brilliant smile, “My, you have good taste! I do believe that Lady Stahlia will look most lovely in either of these!” Those are both the kind of things that a little girl would wear… I’m ten! Not six!
The woman disappeared behind a screen, but I could see her outline working on the dresses. To my surprise, Sarala approached the racks with an extremely serious expression. This was a bit confusing until Edith leaned into my ear and offered an explanation, “See, Sarala knows that the best way to avoid becoming my doll is to make her own choices.”
The way her words were delivered was cheerful, but the message was clear; my participation in today’s events was by no means optional. Forcing myself not to sigh, I approached the rack and began to rifle through it. Unfortunately, very little caught my eye. I could always pick out a few things at random, but that was very likely to be found out by Edith’s keen intuition.
But nothing is catching my fancy… Before I could pick anything, my seamstress appeared from outside of her screen. She had done very fast work, but to my untrained eye it didn’t look like a sloppy rush job. It actually looked better than some factory-made stuff from earth. I wonder what her sewing level is? It certainly had to be quite high.
The two articles were passed off to Jacqueline and I was led behind the screen. This was a bit confusing since I had undressed openly. It all made sense a moment later when I had finished putting on the first item and came back out. Edith squealed in delight and immediately called for me to spin around.
This is so stupid. I complied with the request in order to please my host and received another squeal in thanks. Well, if you like this one so much, you should like the next one even more. The pink dress had been my first choice, I considered it to be quite childish and wanted to get it out of the way as soon as possible. Up next was the red one.
It had a hitched-up skirt, with several folds and bows, while the front of the chest had a lacy pattern over the front and even more bows running down the sleeves. One massive pile of fabric in the shape of a heart bow rested squarely on my lower back. While that description sounded odious, it still didn’t hold a candle to the shear… frilliness of the pink one.
It took me a few minutes to get changed, and when I came out Edith gave me a rather large smile and applauded. There was no squealing though, something that was a bit upsetting. Unlike the previous reception, this one felt more like it was being done simply to be polite. This… I look good in this one too! It’s a lot better than that childish pink thing!
In a bit of a huff, I turned around and went back behind the screen so that Jacqueline could undress me. When I came back, Sarala was gone behind her own screen. Edith was passing the time by perusing a rack with a discerning eye. Based on how serious she was now taking this, she was likely making a selection for herself. She picked out a few things, and passed them to the seamstress just as Sarala came out for her own fashion show.
She had picked a dress dyed a rich blue around the chest and sleeves, but one that paled into an icy blue-white by the time it reached the hem of the skirt. I had no idea how the gradient had been achieved with the available technology of this world, though I suspected magic was most likely involved. There was also a faint sparkle to the whole thing, as though it was covered in a thin layer of ice or snow.
Personally, I was left a bit speechless, but Edith filled in for the both of us, “Ohmygods! That’s so cute on you…!”
After a moment, I nodded dumbly. There wasn’t really anything for me to add to what Edith said. Sarala was plainly cute in that dress. The girl in question smiled nervously and nodded while performing a stiff curtsy. She then spun on her heel and went to change out of the dress as quickly as possible. Edith departed to change into one of her own dresses, as the seamstress had indicated it was ready.
While she did so, I went over to the rack Edith had been looking through when I came back. I had caught a flash of red while she was sliding around the hangers, and I was curious about it. Overall, this was the least frilly of the racks available, and the red I had seen was unique. Unlike the softer red of the dress I had just worn, this one was much deeper. It was a rich red, just a few shades lighter than blood. I thought it would contrast quite well with my dark hair and icy blue eyes.
While both of the other two girls were busy, I sneakily removed the item from the hanger and passed it along to the seamstress. Returning to my place, Sarala was there waiting for me. I was not a moment too soon, as Edith came out. She was wearing a black dress with a veil made of thin lace. Frankly, it looked a bit gaudy and overdone. Sarala giggled and clapped anyways as Edith did a spin with a hand on her hip. She’s not taking this seriously then, probably trying to set me and Sarala more at ease… I clapped as well and paid her a complement, and her sarcastic “Why thank you!” further confirmed my suspicions that she was merely acting.
The seamstress then came out from behind my curtain, the sight of which made Edith widen her eyes in surprise, though it was fleeting. Instead of returning to doff her own dress and try on the next, she indicated that I should do the one I had picked myself, “Stahlia, why don’t you go and try the one she just finished?”
Nodding succinctly, I went behind the screen and had Jacqueline help me put it on. Looking in the mirror, I couldn’t help but have my heart sink a little. The dress was much more adult than the two I had already tried, as though the skirt was folded, it lacked the overabundance of decoration. The top was low cut enough that if I actually had a chest then it would have a small amount of cleavage while still being quite modest. Rather than sleeves or straps, a small section of lace covered my shoulders, upper back, and neckline.
Lastly, the skirt was high enough that I could conceivably run and fight in this thing if I needed, but it was low enough to be deemed fashionable from what I knew. I actually kind of like this one as well… Simply put, I still lacked the appearance necessary to accompany this dress. In a few years, it would probably be dashing on me, but at the moment I was too young.
“…Jacqueline, help me out of this thing. It will not work after all.” My voice quivered a bit as I held out my arms. But to my surprise, rather than following my command, Jacqueline adopted a thoughtful expression as she studied me. After a moment, she snapped her fingers and dug around in her bag. Removing a small cylinder, she produced what looked like a makeup brush. She then went to work on my face and neckline.
A few minutes later, looking in the mirror, I couldn’t recognize that it was me. Sure, the visage that greeted me was still childish and the dress didn’t completely fit right, but I had affected an aura of maturity that I would have thought impossible. Blinking a few times, I realized that the reflection was smiling. When I carefully touched my own lips, I was able to confirm that it was actually me who was making it do that.
“…Really now?” Jacqueline gave me a soft bonk on the head and fixed the makeup that had been smeared by my touch. Then, she applied a thin coating of red lipstick. I had worn something similar a while ago, and hated it; my lips had felt gross. Now though, as I looked in the mirror, I couldn’t help but feel like the vaguely sticky sensation was totally worth it.
When I stepped out for my third runway appearance, I was greeted by silence. Neither Edith nor Sarala had anything to say as they simply stared. After a moment, a rare genuine smile appeared on Edith’s face, “You look lovely.”
It was far from the high-pitched squeal that my first piece had elicited, but this one was so much sweeter. A feeling of happiness welled up in my chest, and for once I was actually glad to be wearing a dress. I think, I think I’ll buy this one after all. It was the first time I had purchased clothing of my own volition, and I was filled with a sense of satisfaction as I watched Jacqueline place the order and hand over the money later that day. Why did she actually bring that much money with us…? That was no small sum… A quick glance at Edith’s smug face gave me my answer.
I was set up!