Ten days of preparation was complete.

Ryan had actually really gotten into it. The challenge of creating something completely over the top to impress the hell out of everyone, not for himself, but for someone else who was having a shitty life, really stoked his fire.

He'd earned more then enough money at this point with his kick backs from his 'creations'. Repurposing his old world's knowledge into the current one was highly profitable. He'd arranged for some truly impressive displays of magic as well as spent a great deal of time practicing. His work out routine changed to involve new and creative ways to handle water.

If you could make water float, why not coat it on the surface of something and use that to pull or push things? Of course, the larger the object, the more water it required, but with manipulation of surface tension as well as decreasing friction, it was amazing how much 'movement' was possible with a low amount of mana. It helped that he could use magical weapons with his own aura, and didn't need mana stones. His designs for enhanced speed and agility really reached the next level, thanks to his dedication to being able to put on a dance the likes of which this world has never seen.

He contemplated this as he took a drag on his cigarette while standing outside the dance hall. He'd harvested more than enough silk from his foray into the spider labyrinth. If you were going to make a dress and suit combination, nothing beat James Bond in the white silk tuxedo from Specter. Yes, it wasn't the style every one else was wearing, but that's why it was perfect. The bright red flower in the lapel matched perfectly with the red mermaid style dress that was a combination of silk and shimmering scales that nobody on this planet has even considered the existence of.

The fact that the outfit could protect its wearer from shrapnel didn't hurt.

You never knew when these sorts of events got ugly and there was no point in taking chances. Besides, the work creating such a dress required him to push his skills as an enchanter to new levels. He learned a great deal from the process, if nothing else. He took another puff on his cigarette as he watched more people walk in. One thing bothered him. Why had she asked to meet him here? He looked up at the sky as it grew darker. The day was ending, the evening beginning. She should have received the gifts several days ago. She would have had plenty of time to prepare. But at the last minute she said she had problems getting ready and he was to meet her here.

His spider senses were tingling.

The longer he waited, the more his paranoia started to kick in. Had something happened to her? Of course, the other possibility was that this whole thing had been a long con. That was possible. It'd suck if that was the case. He'd thought it through, however. Even if it was, he could turn this to his advantage.

That said, he wished it wasn't. He thought back to his own childhood and he never got to go to a dance. The school only sold tickets in pairs and didn't allow people to show up alone. He wasn't one of the cool kids and it seemed like a waste of money. Why go through the effort to beg someone to pretend to be your date? He didn't get a girl until after he joined the army.

Someone walked up behind him, "Hey, Reed." Reed looked over his shoulder. It was someone in his class, but Ryan had never talked to him before. "What?" The young man was smirking. His voice was dripping with sarcasm, "What you doing out here? Your date is waiting for you inside."

Ryan dropped the cigarette on the ground and crushed it beneath his toe while muttering a soft curse, ~Of course. Ah well. It doesn't matter much. Let's go play our part and get this over with.~ He walked past the lad without looking. Ryan cracked his neck as he stepped inside to see Lucinda standing next to the third prince. They were both waiting near the entrance and many people gathered for the spectacle.

~I am SO going to guilt the Schoolmaster into increasing my budget after this bullshit.~

"You what?"

Lucinda smirked and gave that evil look only a laughing socialite can do while hanging on the arm of a prince, "Your gifts? I thought they were pathetic, so I had them thrown out. I ordered them BURNED, specifically." Ryan blinked and then put a finger in his ear and wiggled it around, "Wait... did I hear you say, you BURNED it?" Lucinda's smile grew more wicked, "Why, yes."

She looked to the third prince, "When he asked me to go to the dance, well, I just couldn't pass it up. I'm afraid I really didn't have the option to tell you, and well..." She looked back at Ryan, "I didn't want there to be any misunderstandings. I couldn't accept your gifts. I hope you understand." Ryan sighed inwardly, ~In other words, you planned on standing me up at the dance like this from the start.~ He pinched the bridge of nose, ~Fine fine fine... let's get this over with.~

Ryan's dropped his hand and looked up at Lucinda, "I spent two days collecting enough giant spider silk to weave that dress. It was a unique dress. It was a mermaid style gown with overlapping light weight alloy scales with a prismatic coating that changed color depending on the angle in which you see it." Ryan gestured over his shoulder as if tossing something over it, "You just... destroyed an enchanted dress that was tougher than a suit of plate mail and had matching magical high heel shoes with special gel inserts that not only conformed ergonomically to your feet, but reduced fatigue... and you BURNED IT???"

Her smile flicked for a second.

Ryan ran his fingers through his hair, "And-and-and the cosmetics? I had already spent weeks working on that stuff! Shampoo, a special enchanted form of conditioner that healed damaged hair, skin cream for repairing skin and infusing it with nutrients and vitality!" He stabbed a finger at the ground, "I wove some of my best enchantments into that box set of absolutely cutting edge pharmacopeia! I would go so far as to say it was PRICELESS, because you could not buy it anywhere else in this universe..." Ryan just turned his head slowly to the side and stared at her, "And... you... burned it."

Lucinda rolled her eyes and looked to the third prince, leaning in and resting her head on his shoulder, "You seem sort of slow. Do I need to use smaller words?"

Ryan gaped at her, closed his eyes while he took a deep breath, then turned to walk towards the windows. He grabbed a chair on the way over and dragged it to the window. He climbed up on it, unlocked the window and pushed it open, before leaning out.

"HEY! Gimlee!" A poorly heard reply responded from somewhere in the distance, "Yeah! I know! But as long as you work for me, Your name is Gimlee! Now, pack it all up, GIMLEE! This is a full abort!" Another garbled response, "Oh For FUCK'S SAKE! Just stab a knife in the side and let out all the gas! THEN roll the Zeppelin up and pack it away!" He paused then added, "JUST KEEP OPEN FLAME AWAY FROM IT!" Another garbled response, "Oh HELL NO!" Another response, "GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY!! YES! EVERYONE GET'S PAID! Have everyone pack everything up! Put all the equipment in the warehouse! Send the quartet home AFTER they help you unload!" One more garbled reply, "NO! You cannot keep any of the fireworks! Pack up the pyrotechnic extravaganza and take EV-REE-THANG back! That is what a FULL ABORT MEANS!" Ryan slammed the window closed.

"So hard to get good help these days."