I grimaced. “From my belly-button, yes, but I’m not going to lift my skirts to do that. I suppose I could cut a slid in a dress, but…” I shrugged.
There are many different types of dresses and garments available here in the capital. I have seen some more risqué designs with the midriff missing.
That was an option too. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. It seemed a bit risqué for me.
“I haven’t even tried changing into my avatar yet, not that a tiny spider would be that impressive.”
“That is pretty much all I can do,” Silence said, shaking his head. “And who will want a mouse in their Noble House?” He seemed to shrink in on himself. “I shouldn’t have come.”
“Pish-tosh!” Blackclaw said with a friendly slap to his shoulder. “Of course you should have come. I think you two will do well enough. Remember that not every avatar’s shape or abilities are flashy and impressive. Just think of the queen. She’s an owl. So… she hunts well at night? I’m sure night vision wasn’t something she could even show to the Nobles when she was testing. Buck-up, you’ll be chosen, I’m sure of it.”
I smiled. The stout young woman had a way of making everything seem… possible and easy. Even Silence perked up a bit.
“Now,” she went on, “Seioa is telling me there is at least one problem we can solve now. Apparently, there are dresses that have some of the stomach area missing. Why don’t we use some of your sister’s funds and get you something nice for the test?”
See? I told you.
For someone who’d shown a lot of leg on my first day at Silverveil — and now had a name for the rest of my life because of it — I was feeling very anxious about showing my belly to anyone. Still… maybe it would make me feel as powerful as I’d felt that first day at Silverveil. Sure, I’d been terrified, but I’d been claiming my body, my power. Perhaps I could do that again.
“There’s apparently a shop not far from here,” Blackclaw said. “Perhaps we can all pick up something special to wear.” She rose decisively.
I couldn’t help but be carried away by her excitement. I rose, and Silence followed.
We left my room and took the stairs down. The afternoon was waning when we left, though the midsummer sun was still high in the west.
We found the shop with ease — guided by Seioa — and entered. And so began a playful bit of shopping, looking for just the right thing for each of us to wear. The shop owners, an aging woman and her daughter, came to help us pick things out and fit them as needed. Silence was the easiest to dress, a fine pair of black pants and a dark-blue linen shirt fit him well, and we purchased those. Blackclaw struggled to find anything that would fit; she was an awkward size being a bit shorter but fuller of figure. Still, we found a dress that cinched under the bust and was easily hemmed up to fit her height. Silence blushed seeing her for the first time. The outfit certainly emphasized Blackclaw’s bust, and she played that up, strutting around a bit.
Then came my turn. We found several dresses that met my criteria of missing a portion around the belly-button. Blackclaw made me try all of them, even if I was very uncomfortable in some. The first was an odd dress, hard to get into. It had a loop behind the neck, a front-piece, then two straps went around the lower back and connected low on the hip for the skirt. It showed my stomach, yes, and the skirt was long, but it showed far too much of the rest of me, being backless with the skirt sitting scandalously low on the hips. My face must have matched its flagrant red coloring, blushing furiously as I wore it to show to the other two. Silence’s eyes went wide before he averted them.
Yeah, exactly.
I think you look beautiful. You have nothing to be ashamed of, Auwei said, supportive.
Thank you, but I won’t be wearing this… ever… again.
That red dress was the most revealing of the three I’d chosen to try. The next had a small diamond-shaped cutout, right around the belly-button, and the top of the dress covered well, but the skirt was short, cut on a slant such that the left side came to mid-thigh, and the right to just below the knee. It also had a slit up the right side, and if I stood with my legs slightly apart, most of my right thigh was exposed. I couldn’t decide if this was too much or not.
Blackclaw thought this one, a deep green, looked best on me and would serve to emphasize my name.
The last outfit was less of a dress and more a skirt and top. It was a lavish dark blue, with a long skirt, belted tight around my waist, just below my belly-button. That was fine. The top however, had a low-cut neckline and a high-cut under the bust. I kept wanting to pull it down to cover more, only to realize I’d still be showing so very much.
So… the green dress it was.
My heart was pounding just thinking of wearing it… and thinking of the tests tomorrow.
I wore the dress to dinner with my sister, who remarked on it with wide eyes; saying I looked amazing, but she was stunned I’d wear anything like it. I’d never been one for such things growing up.
I still wasn’t.
But as the evening wore on, I began to get more comfortable with it.
Perhaps I wouldn’t turn beet red when I was presented before the Nobles tomorrow.
Perhaps.
Spirits and Sprites, I was so nervous!
And when we returned to The Golden Rose, I found myself tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. It was while I lay there that I recalled my words to Pebble — now Silence — from long ago:When this is all done and we’re both Bonded, come and find me.I should talk to him. I didn’t know how things worked after the tests tomorrow, but if we were chosen for different houses, we might not see each other much after that. If I was going to talk to him, I should do that now.
