Despite all the times I'd ended up half naked, or worse, in the last month, I was still blushing bright enough to light up a dark cave as my friends all 'helped' me.

“You have to try this on,” Naomi said. “It will look great on you.”

I took the emerald green bikini that looked like it was made out of string, wondering if it had enough material to make a small fingerless glove. It seemed to be even smaller than the glittering, navy blue bikini I was currently wearing. I was pretty sure if I walked too fast I'd fall out of the top, and I was used to having a bit more cloth covering my butt.

Clarice stood beside me, wearing a flowery, padded bikini, and eyed our reflection with a very serious expression. “I think you should get both of them. The green will help you fit in with the celebration, and the blue looks really good on you.”

“I only need one,” I said.

“What rich girl only brings one swimsuit with her on vacation?” If you don't want to look out of place, you need at least two, and probably four.”

Naomi handed me another swimsuit. This one was a silvery colour with a nearly see-through wrap around the bikini bottoms. “We're all getting new clothes to match our identities. We can't pretend to be rich, young socialites if we don't dress the part.”

“What about this white bathing suit?” I asked, holding up a one piece that didn't look like skimpy underwear.

“White doesn't match your complexion,” Clarice told me. “But if you really want to try it, put it on and we'll see.”

Taking off my bikini, I slipped into the one piece and looked at my reflection. Naomi and Clarice waited as realization sunk in. With my pale skin the ivory white suit made me look even more like a vampire than I usually did. There was no way I could wear it, unless I wanted people pushing holy symbols in my face or calling a hospital on my behalf.

“Here, this is a nice one piece that actually works for you,” Naomi said. She gave me a brown suit that had holes in the side, but would cover my stomach and back, and had a full seat so my butt cheeks wouldn't hang out.

It took a few more minutes to try on the bathing suits. The ones we didn't want were handed to the goblin assistant to be magically cleaned before going back on the shelf. We each got four suits that looked good on us, and headed out to meet Calci, Ivy, and Ella. They were trying on clothes better suited to a dwarf and werewolf, with my roommate providing helpful advice.

“How did it go?” Calci asked, holding a basket full of clothes.

“Really good. We've got the bathing suits, and Petra even found some things she didn't hate,” Clarice said. “How about you guys?”

“We got what we needed. They didn't have much for me to choose from. Swimming isn't something most Dwarves do, we usually sink like a stone. But they had some suits I like.”

Ivy snorted in disgust. She didn't look happy in her new black leather dress that hugged her body. The skirt was loose and short, revealing long, well muscled legs. I was curious what she'd look like in a bathing suit, but I wasn't about to ask her to show them off. She already regularly mauled me in combat class, I didn't want her to do it outside of class.

Ella put her arm around the werewolf girl. “Now don't be like that, Ivy. If you're going to act as my bodyguard, you need to act the part. Remember this will help with your grades. And weren't you told by your parents that you had to start learning how other species live?”

She growled, then grunted, “Yes.”

“So this is perfect. And don't worry, I'm sure that before we're done you'll get to maul a few people.”

“Promise?”

Nodding, my friend said, “If you don't get to fight someone by the end of our heist, I'll hire a few people who will give you a good fight.”

For the first time ever I saw Ivy smile. My knees went weak from fear, and I was sure I'd be seeing her expression in my nightmares for a while.

“So what's next?” I asked, desperate to change the subject.

“Fancy dresses. If we're going to be showing off our art, we have to look right,” Naomi said.

Walking to the other end of the store, we found ourselves surrounded by colourful gowns. There were dragon skin dresses that glittered like jewels in the light. Phoenix feather gowns which flickered as if they were on fire. Pure white unicorn fur almost blinded me when, the light shone on it just right. There was even a ballgown made from water, that rippled just enough to hide the mannequin underneath.

Sales ladies descended on us, sensing an easy sale. I stood at the back as Ella, Naomi and Clarice talked about what we needed the dresses for. It quickly descended into an in-depth discussion about styles, colour theory, jewellery, and more. Having never worried about clothes before, at least not beyond comfort and if it had a cool logo, I found my head spinning trying to keep up. Very quickly I gave up and just tried not to be bored.

Soon enough a sales lady, who happened to be an elf, came over to me. “Hello, Petra,” she said. “After talking with your friend, I think I have the perfect dress for you.”

“OK,” I said, my voice squeaking with uncertainty. Looking at my friends, I found they were all looking at dresses with their own helper.

“Your black hair and pale skin is unique, and to make your beauty come out, we need to get just the right colour. Something that will make your face look lively and playful, while working with your hair. A fiery red is just the thing,” the elf said, leading me to one of the phoenix feather gowns.

The dress flickered with illusionary flames. Thin straps that looked like strands of fire ran over the mannequin's shoulders. The breasts were mostly covered, just giving a hint of cleavage, much to my relief. Seeing some of the other dresses where everything hung out, had made me very nervous. It flared out at the waist into a wide skirt that stopped just above the ankles. Long gloves covered the hands and forearms, and matching red high heels could just be seen. The feathers gave the whole outfit a faint pattern, but it was the flames that drew the eye.

Even I had to admit the dress looked good.

“What do you think?”

All I could say was, “Wow.”

Snapping her fingers, the dress appeared neatly folded in her arms, the shoes and gloves sitting on top. “Let's go to the change room and see how it fits. Then we can show your friends.”

Stepping into the change room, I stripped to my underwear, and let her dress me. I was too afraid of damaging the outfit to want to risk even touching it. Considering my luck with clothes, I half expected it to catch fire as soon as it touched my skin.

It was actually pretty easy to put on. Since it was all one piece, it just went over my head. Some expensive enchantments made it loose at first, then it slowly tightened up. There was enough time to get everything in place, and then I had a perfectly fitted dress. Putting on the gloves was something even I could do. The shoes were harder, I had to hold onto the sales woman's arm to avoid falling.

“You've never worn heels?” she asked.

“Nope. Not something I ever needed to do before.”

“Well just remember, take small steps, lean back a little as you walk, and go heel-toe, heel-toe. You'll need to practice it before you make your big debut, but you should be able to pick it up without too much trouble.”

“Thanks.” I really wished I didn't have to learn how to walk in heels, a good pair of dress shoes would be a lot nicer.

“So do you like the dress?”

Looking at myself in the mirror, I was surprised at my appearance. I'd been a very cute girl, a predatory cat, and a gorgeous, dangerous, demon, but this was different. The red dress made my skin glow with life. I was beautiful, but in an innocent way. Smiling at myself, I couldn't help thinking of myself as a young girl who was ready to go on her first big date.

“I think it looks great. I think I look great,” I said.

“Perfect. Now let's try a few more.”

Turning to her, I had to ask, “Why?”

“We need to make sure it's the right one for you.”

“No this is good. Let's go with this.”

She frowned. “But you have such beautiful features. We should try a few more, I think the water dress would work almost as well, and it will really show off your figure.”

That settled things. “Nope. This is good for now. Let's see what the others think.” Heading for the door, I forgot I was in heels and almost fell on my face.

Clutching the sales woman's arm, I managed not to break an ankle walking to a chair. Soon enough Clarice came out of her fitting room. She was wearing a glittering, baby blue dress, with a plunging V neckline. It tightened up just under her breasts, then turned into a skirt that ended a little above her ankles. She had a pair of very tall and dangerously thin high heels that made her almost as tall as I was.

“What do you think, Petra?” she asked.

“It looks really good,” I said truthfully.

“Thank you! I hope Gold, likes it. You look great in that dress.”

Before I could reply, Naomi stepped out. She was wearing a pitch black dress that covered her shoulders, and showed off her cleavage. It flared out at her waist into a pleated skirt and ended just above her knees. The colour made her pink hair seem to glow, and her muscular legs looked really nice.

Somehow she spun on a pair of stilettos, making her skirt rise up. “I'm ready to party!”

Clarice and I both grinned in admiration. Then my two friends were talking about their dresses, gushing over how they looked and what their boyfriends would think.

Calci came out next. She had a dress that looked like it was made out of emeralds, matching her hair. It had long flowing sleeves that almost covered her large hands. A rounded neckline showed off her large chest, and a long skirt reached the floor. As she walked, I could see a slit on one side of the skirt. We all had to compliment her on the dress.

Then Ivy stalked out, her bare feet slapping against the floor. Since she was almost always silent when she walked, this was like a full blown, stomping temper tantrum from her. She had a black velvet dress, that clung to her like a second skin. It had long sleeves, a square neckline, and a short skirt that ended around mid-thigh with two small slits on each side. The scrawny, black haired werewolf just glared at us, before sitting down.

The sales lady who had been helping her came out holding a pair of high heels. A growl from Ivy made her quickly back away, hiding the shoes behind her back.

“You look good, Ivy,” Calci said.

That earned another growl.

Sitting in awkward silence, not wanting to risk angering the werewolf, we were all relieved when Ella came out.

My jaw dropped. She was wearing a flowing red dress, that seemed to be made of liquid rubies. It was strapless, cupping her breasts, and hugging her body. As she walked, the long skirt flowed out behind her, almost like a cape. A matching red band was wrapped around her head, contrasting the dark black hair beautifully. For the first time I'd met her, she really looked like a princess.

Naomi looked at me and grinned. “I think Petra likes your dress, Ella.”

“I noticed,” Ella said, with a small smile.

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Doom Valley Prep School will be updated every Monday. My other story Necromancer Unmanned will be updated every Tuesday.

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