Chapter 8: Playing dress-up
Sophia decided to take today off from afternoon lessons. We drop by the royal guard barracks to pick up an escort and head to the noble district with a pair of female knights trailing behind. It’s a short walk from the castle, not even worth the trouble to get a carriage prepared. Our first stop is a lady’s boutique where I proceed to pick out several sets of undergarments. I am sure of her sizes, but help her to try them on anyways. You can never be too careful. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that I obtained some valuable eye candies. Second stop is a dress shop that seems fairly stylish. We obtain their catalog and spend nearly two hours picking the details of one new dress. Clothing for nobles is very Victorian style. Most everything is made to order and overly complicated. I’m just glad that the crinoline, that heavy structure to flair out ballroom dresses, hasn’t taken root here. Corsets exist, but the fad to tighten them to the point of suffocation and breaking bones does not. We pick a couple ready made dresses from another shop for everyday wear, which takes only a few minutes to alter. One green and the other white, that look a lot like plain summer dresses. I picked out a few trendy looking belts and accessories to help liven them up.
On our way back to the castle, Sophia detours into an unusual shop that she had noticed. I can’t help but stop outside for a moment when I realized it was a novelty shop. Rushing in after her, I’m somewhat relieved that it sells what appear to be cosplay items, not something more peculiar. The pretty female shopkeeper is showing her…Oh no! Nononono, no! Not good! Sophia has an almost fanatical gleam in her eyes as she is staring at the beastkin special item sets. She drags her eyes away to look at other things only after a few minutes of intense staring. As I heave a sigh of relief, I started to look around at some of the other goods. I ended up picking out a couple jewelry sets that are much more modern than what we had found in the earlier shops. Sophia comes out from a back room followed by the shopkeeper telling her that her order would be tailored in a few days and delivered to the castle. When I see the bill, I can’t help but wonder what she bought. I’m told that it’s a surprise with a mischievous smile on her face. With this, we have managed to spend two thirds of the money.
We arrive back at the castle and I drop our purchases in the room before retrieving dinner a couple hours earlier than usual. When I ask why we are eating dinner so early, I only get a foreboding smile in response. I take the time while she is eating to put away the new items and throw out her ill fitting ones.
“Your turn.”~Sophia
“Huh…my what?”~me
“Hmph, I let you have your way dressing me up all afternoon. It’s your turn to be dressed up.”~Sophia
“Umu, please be gentle.”~me
“Let’s see my new gown first. We’ll alter the colors and design slightly to fit you since you will be joining me for the festivities as my attendant. I’ve already input the specifications while I was eating.”~Sophia
“Wait! Why do I have to dress up too, can’t I just wear this?”~me
“No, you may not! Since I have to dress up for this, so do you. The party is in the evening in two days, then they will depart the next morning.”~Sophia
Finished with her rant, she immediately activates the new outfit from the attire menu and my clothes begin to shift into the gown we had arrange before, complete with all the accessories. Very soon, I’m wearing a floral green evening gown that hangs off my shoulders, swooping down to the top of my breasts. The gown is decorated with white flower patterns and has a white underbust corset with flowery white embellishments that pushes up my breasts. There is accompanying emerald embedded necklace, earrings, and tiara, all made from silver. White gloves and stockings with green flower patterns, and silver colored strappy four inch high heels. My hair has twisted itself up into an intricate braided design in a princess-like style.
“Looks pretty good on you. Can you replicate the hair design for me during the event?”~Sophia
Taking a better look at the hair from my avatar in the equip menu, I memorize every braiding method and positioning before I give my nod of agreement.
“I can do it. We will need to acquire some simple silver hair pins to do so however. My hair is held in place by my curse, yours will need something extra.”~me
“Great! Now let’s see what we can do with the colors.”~Sophia
The silver turns to gold and emeralds to rubies. The dress turns black with yellow flower patterns and my corset, gloves, and stockings turn black as well with similar yellow flower patterns. She seems satisfied at this point and I have to bring up the glaringly obvious issue.
“You weren’t thinking this is complete, right?”~me
“Mmm, it looks good on you.”~Sophia
“You are avoiding the obvious. I cannot wear a tiara to a party. Are you trying to cause trouble?”~me
“Well, it does look good on you, but I see your point. What should I use instead, I’ve never really had much jewelry.”~Sophia
“Use the design of the decorative silver flower hair pins we bought, just change them to gold and use the flowers from the dress instead. What about the hair, shouldn’t I have a more subdued style than my mistress?”~me
“That can work. Forget about the hair! You’re wearing the same style as your mistress, so we match.”~Sophia
Shortly after, my tiara disappears. I now have a flowery clip along each side of my head and a much larger flower of the same type tying up the back with some golden tassels hanging down. She saves the outfit as a new preset, labeled: Party. Then she proceeds to have me wear various other outfits that we bought or she can think up. Somehow, I get the feeling that my life as her personal dress up doll has only just begun. Surprisingly, I don’t end up with beastkin equipment and take the risk of asking why.
“That novelty shop earlier, why were you so focused on that one item?”~me
“Oh, that? My first personal maid was a catkin named Cilia. She was with me while I was still with my mother in the harem and followed me when I was forced to leave at fifteen. My eldest brother took a liking to her and was abusing her in secret for nearly two years before I found out. She ended up dying due to his cruelty after I confronted him. I only manage to keep my next personal maid for a year before my second brother broke her mind with his own form of cruelty. After that, I gave up on taking personal maids, I couldn’t handle the heartbreak. I still miss Cilia a lot and thought about her when I saw those items.”~Sophia
I could see tears forming in her eyes. I stepped up to her and wrapped her in a hug, rubbing her back until she recovers from her crying session. I use a handkerchief to wipe away her tears and go prepare the bath. As we make our way to the bath, she tells me something curious.
“I change your nightwear preset just a little bit. Something from my childhood to help comfort me at night.”~Sophia
“Anything I can do to be service, Mistress.”~me
While feeling happy that I could offer her some comfort, I fail to notice her smirk and a mischievous glint in her eyes. Bath time is as per usual. We used a light flower based oil this time, just something simple to prevent dry skin. I walk out of the bathroom and freeze. My night wear has appeared along with new sensations. Trying to deny knowing what it is, I check out my avatar view from the equipment menu to discover what new special items have been added…
[Catkin ears of disguise]
{Cannot be removed by normal means}
Effect: enhanced senses, disguise(replaces normal ears; behaves realistically)
[Catkin tail of disguise]
{Cannot be removed by normal means}
Effect: enhanced balance, disguise(fuses with body; behaves realistically)
I can feel them twitching atop my head, but still touch them with my hands to confirm it. My normal ears seemed to have vanished completely. Turning to look at my backside, I can see my new tail flicking around. As I’m examining my new equipment, I feel a chill in my spine. I look up to find Sophia staring at me with that same fanatical gleam she had back in the store. I ran away, it was instinctive! I think any beastkin would do the same. She captured me before I took ten steps, her agility being way higher than mine. I was then summarily thrown onto the bed and pounced on. My ears are caressed and tail stroked, quickly turning me into a mess. When she would nibble on my ears, it would cause waves of pleasure to cascade down my body. They are way more sensitive than a normal body part had any right to be. I prayed to the Goddess to save me and could swear I heard her chuckle in response. She continued to ravish my body, banishing my thoughts and eventually sending me into blissful oblivion. Waking up the next morning, my body still feels sore and weak.
“Good morning, Lilia.”~Sophia
“…”
“Oh, a little grumpy this morning are we? Didn’t you have fun last night?”~Sophia
“That was abuse! I claim animal cruelty!”~me
[Checking for abuse. Claim denied.]
I dumbfoundedly stare at the notification from my curse. It seems to have popped up just to have its turn to mock me.
“Bath?”~Sophia
“Yes please! I will get it ready right away, Mistress.”~me
I try to get up from the bed and promptly end up sitting on the floor, legs sprawled out beside me. I give Sophia one last glare, then proceed to crawl into the bathroom with my tail flicking from side to side in irritation. I choose to ignore the giggling I can hear behind me. Using my magic, I clean and heat the tub, a bit hotter than usual. I slip into the water as soon as I’m done and immediately start to feel better. Sophia joins me shortly, still thoroughly amused by my behavior. After soaking and getting cleaned up, I’m now able to walk, albeit slowly. I get our meals and we start the day.
