Standing in front of Fey's closet, the weight of what I was about to do bared down on me. When I was in August, I hated clothes shopping. It was nothing more than a required annoyance. Now, the idea of buying clothes as a girl was... tantalizing. Squeezing my hand and giving me a bright smile, Asra led me inside.

A bell rang as we entered the shop. Within a moment, Clarintha was upon up. "Hi. Welcome back. Can I help you with anything?" She said so quickly I barely understood it.

"Yes, actually. We're here to get September some clothes. She has a meeting with the princess in the morning, and we need to build up her wardrobe a bit." Asra answered before I could tell her no.

"Oooooooh!" Clarintha exclaimed. "How fancy are we planning? Are we going all out, or is it just a casual meeting? Maybe it's a more intake type of meeting?" she finished teasingly.

"Definitely not the last one." Asra answered sternly before looking at me.

"Um. I think I'd like something a bit on the fancier side." I told her nervously. "I have no idea how any of this works."

"Don't worry about that, cutie. It's my job to make sure you find exactly what you're looking for. Even if you didn't know if you were looking for it." Clarintha said excitedly. "I suggest we start with building up her wardrobe so we can get a sense of your style."

With a nod like the start of a race, everyone other than Asra dashed off into the maze of fabric. Letting out a light laugh, Asra spoke. "Anything in specific you want to look for?"

"No idea." I said, shaking my head. "I think I like skirts, though."

"Well, let's see if they have any good skirts then." Asra said with a warm smile.

Returning her smile, we entered the maze. The first thing I noticed was that the racks most of the clothes hung from were enchanted, holding more clothes than should be possible. I noticed the second thing as I looked through the endless rack-labeled skirts. I wasn't hating this. In fact, I was a little excited to see what we would find.

After about 20 min of mindless searching, I found something that caught my attention. I had no idea what it was, but the black garment called out to me. Hanging from its shoulder straps, it looked to be halfway between a skirt and a dress. It started at the base of the sternum and reached down to just below the knees. Six polished metal buttons lined the stomach section, three on each side. I was already thinking of the runes I would etch into each of them as I reached for it.

"Found something you like?" Asra asked, holding a pile of clothes she wanted me to try on.

"I think so." I said, pulling it from the rack. "Is this just like some kind of fancy skirt, or does it have its own name?"

"No idea. If you couldn't tell, fashion isn't really my thing." She said, gesturing to her worn grey cotton shirt and brown leather pants. "I hope you're planning to get a shirt to go with it, though."

"Why the hell would I ever wear this without a shirt?" I asked her with an incredulous look.

"I mean, I wouldn't mind seeing you wear it without a shirt, but that's probably something best saved for the home." She answered teasingly.

Feeling my face heat up, I turned away and headed deeper into the maze. I was fortunate she was carrying too much to hold my hand. I very much so did not want to catch fire right now.

Finally feeling myself calm down, I looked around. Gone were the endless racks replaced with dozens of mannequins of all shapes and sizes. Each of them wore some sort of extravagant outfit. From elegant dresses to stately suits. Honestly, it felt a little intimidating being surrounded by them. The dress in front of me stole most of my attention, though.

The black dress in front of me, I believe, was called a corset dress, as a large portion of it was made up of a corset. The skirt was made of layers of lace ending just above the knee. The back of the skirt was longer than the front, with a layer of thin lace reaching down to the floor. The whole thing was accented with red floral embroidery and ribbons.

I found myself entranced by the dress. It looked absolutely stunning, but above all, I wanted to try it on. As I reached out to touch it, I nearly jumped out of my skin as a hand landed on my shoulder.

"Looks like you found the formal wear section. Found anything you like?" Clarintha Asked knowingly.

"Yeah. I guess. I'd like to try on the dress if I can." I said, my eyes not leaving the garment.

"Of course you can try it on. What kind of clothing store would this be if you couldn't try on the clothes." She told me as she started undressing the mannequin.

"Thank you. This has all been a little overwhelming." I said, trying to convey my gratitude.

"No problem, cutie. It is quite literally my job. Now, let's get you back to the others so we can see you in this dress." Clarintha said, the dress now in her arms.

With a nod, she led me through the maze of fabric. Her ability to navigate the cloth maze was impressive. Within minutes, we were in front of the changing room. The four other women already waiting for us. A mountain of clothes sitting beside them.

"You can't possibly expect me to try all of those on, right?" I asked in disbelief. The only answer I got was a series of mischievous smiles as Asra pushed me toward the changing room.

The next few hours went by as I tried on hundreds of different outfits. Some I liked, others not so much, but the majority I was indifferent about. Clarintha had dubbed me as having a punk/goth style. Now, if only I knew what that meant.

Finally, it was time for the dress. Clarintha had stepped into the changing room to help me with the corset. I barely noticed that the image in the mirror distracted me. The dress was absolutely gorgeous, but it felt like there was something missing.

With a whisper into Clarintha's ear, she rushed out of the changing room only to return a moment later with a pair of knee high heeled boots. Laces, along with a series of buckles, ran up the length of the 3 inch heeled boots. They were absolutely perfect.

After fastening the boot, I took another look in the mirror. As my hand grasped the pendent of my choker, I felt a tear in my eye. Trying on all the clothes had been exhausting, but this alone made it worth it. Wiping the tears from my eyes, I stepped out of the changing room.

Looking at the ground as I stepped out, I was greeted by deafening silence. Worriedly looking up, I was greeted with astonished looks on all faces. I really liked how the way Asra was looking at me made me feel.

One word slipped out of Asra's mouth. "Beautiful."

gNatonthewall

Hello, everyone. September Swords popped up on trending again yesterday, but more importantly, it reached over 500 readers. When I started, 500 readers was my long-term goal, and now, not even four months later, it's been reached. I honestly can not express how much this means to me. When I started writing this story, I honestly didn't think anything I ever did would work out. I was in a very dark place with little hope of ever finding a way out. Seeing all of you enjoying the story has given me so much hope that this might actually work out. I nearly had a heart attack when one of my favorite authors on the site, ChiriVulpes, commented on my story for the first time. Thank you all so much. I can't wait to see what the future holds. Thank you for reading, commenting, and favoriting. Have a nice day. 

Here's a link to the reference image I used for the dress. https://www.emp.co.uk/p/ophelie-dress/329120.html