The plant dress turned out well: the skirt is a soft one, possessing no bones nor is it so tight that it chokes my legs, the color green takes over the entire thing, leaving only thin lines of autumn-yellow along the surface, they run up to the bodice, which is a darker shade compared to the skirt.

  A heart-shaped collar sits at the top of the dress, covering most of my torso yet leaving some space for my neck and the 3 inches of skin below it. Orange colors the edges, giving a contrasting outline that puts focus into the bodice instead of the skirt.

  "... Okay, it's not as good as I imagined it to be." Actually, I'd say that it's too simple? I wanted to add more details but got scared that it might be too much you know? Like adding more colors doesn't feel right.

  Not unless the season specifically calls for it...

  "But I should totally add more details shouldn't I? Yep. I should." With a determined nod, I went back to the drawing board and pushed my senses into my dress.

  Well, maybe I can make it more seasonal? I've seen some plants back in the forest and they didn't look that bad? Giving the aesthetic of my dress some influence from forest plants felt right.

  First off, I made a pair of elbow-length gloves and gave the wrist a floral fuzz. Actually, no, it's closer to a berry bush... Aha! A berry bush!

  Dotting the growth with yellow colored bulbs brought the whole thing together and I think the end result was pretty nice. I didn't think I needed to add anymore details to the gloves other than this, doing so would be too much I think.

  That being said, I did make it so that the color of the palm had a lighter shade compared to the rest of the gloves.

  Next up was a hat, I wanted it to feel like a beanie, but at the same time, have some kind of tact and elegance to it and in the end, I ended up with this rimmed hat that had a domed top.

  It's a fedora...

  "Okay, shortening the dress and then giving myself pants now, aha!" I grinned as I raised my legs, it wasn't quite the noble lady aesthetic I was hoping for but looking like I ride horses isn't so bad either! I like it!

  Female jockey Rontress!

  Since it's already happened, I decided to add a vest on top of the bodice, it wasn't big and only covered the lower half of my torso so that the heart shaped collar is still visible, I was really proud of this one.

  So proud in fact that I decided to outline it, I changed the color of the upper half of my torso into a rich orange and then lined the edges with a dark brown to emphasize it.

  Last but not least, I gave myself a pair of boots, because I couldn't be a horse jockey without them right?

  "Right." I lifted the boots and nodded, they didn't look too bad, and the fuzz on their mouth takes away the laborer feeling that they were giving off and replaced it with something fancier. Something noble.

  Hesitation was the first thing that came to me, not excitement, but the exact opposite feeling. I stopped by the door, hand raised towards the knob and wondering why I couldn't move my body and leave my room.

  Ifira would be on the other side of that door, waiting for me to reveal myself and show her the dress that I bragged about— in my mind. — and I should take on that challenge and show her my current self.

  And yet I can't move, I'm just too shy maybe? I've never really bothered dressing up like this before, all the other occasions that had me looking pretty were mostly thanks to my mom, if I had anything to say about it, I wouldn't have dressed up at all.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  Right now, everything that I am wearing is made by me, chosen by me, and looks pretty in my eyes. That, for some reason, is making me worried.

  What if Ifira didn't like my sense of fashion? What if she thinks I'm weird and that I only made myself uglier by dressing up? Was it really a good idea to wear plants as a dress? It's kinda stupid in hindsight...

  "Rontress? Are you dead? If you died on me I wouldn't be happy!"

  Okay, wow, that's a great way to get me to start moving, even if Ifira didn't mean to do it intentionally, her words still struck a nerve and now I'm scared.

  Better get myself through this door quickly.

  "W—wait okay?"

  "Nope! I'm coming in whether—" the door suddenly slams open. "— you like it or not?"

  We stare at each other in awkward silence, broken only by me when I grabbed the hems of my dress and curtsied. "Do you like it?"

  "Yes? I'd argue that you do have some sense of fashion but Rontress, we are having dinner, not riding horses." Ifira looked, sounded, and was probably confused. "Why did you choose to wear that instead of an actual dress?"

  "Yeah, I know, this is on purpose though." Also, I didn't want to wear an actual dress because I felt anxious after I did so. "Should I lengthen the skirt? I want to look formal-casual, you know?"

  "Lengthen it, let's see how you look." Ifira's confirmation got me to modify my dress immediately, I added more length to my skirt and even gave it some inner-layering to make it look thicker.

  "Not bad right?" God, please don't make me modify it even more, I'm burning with shame as is. "I wanna add floral patterns but I don't think that will be a good idea?"

  "Add the moon and several stars on it."

  Did she mean the skirt? Wait, why am I hesitating and freezing up? Of course she meant the skirt!

  A blue ball appeared just below my waist, then after that, dots began to fill the surface of the dress. The stars that I drew varied from small dots to giant four sided stars, they didn't have lines and were more like shapes that glowed.

  "Does this work?" You know, my pride should really be more resistant to asking a literal child for help when it comes to fashion but I can't help it! I'm genuinely clueless when it comes to this type of thing!

  "Yes, but I think we can do better."

  Under Ifira's guidance, I proceeded to modify the design in my skirt, more stars filled the surface, then they got reduced, a constellation formed at the bottom, and after that clouds began to shroud the bottom half of my bodice.

  Even my jacket wasn't spared, the modifications it got caused it to have wavy lines along the back and shoulders, coalescing at the center to form a whirlpool of glowing lines.

  "Yes, perfect."

  "Isn't this... Too much?" I can't help but ask, seriously, isn't she making me do too much? Wouldn't people think that I am being over the top? Too many designs usually ruin art, right?

  "Too much? Rontress, we aren't drawing." Ifira rolled her eyes and grinned. "When it comes to dresses, being minimalist is a sin."

  "Okay?" The only thing that comes to mind, right now, is the fact that the dresses canon Ifira wore throughout the Firelight Chronicles weren't because of the devs and game design, but instead grounded in reality.

  "You do look nice, if I do say so myself." Ifira nodded, proud of her work. "Now, I think we need to rush back home, I will need to look good as well and that requires time, so, shall we?"

  "Yes." Following Ifira out of my room somehow made me less scared.

  "Going somewhere?" My mother's brows rose when she saw me. "And who gave you that dress?" Her eyes went to Ifira.

  "She made it herself." My friend says, all smug and proud like she's feeling excited in my place. "Using her ability to control plants."

  "Ah, I see." She nods like manipulating plants to create clothing is a regular part of her life now. "And I'm guessing you'll be taking my daughter back to your mansion?"

  "Yes, my parents have arranged dinner, see, and they wish to meet Rontress." The explanation was calm, punctual, completely unlike the way she interacts with me. "They also wish to apologize for not giving you aid when you needed it the most and will be paying her compensation because of it."

  "Wouldn't that take money from your family?" Shockingly, the person who asked that question was me.

  "I don't use that much money." Ifira answered simply, reminding me once more that she is the actual ruler of Ghorise and not her parents.

  Huh, I wonder how that works? Does she give her parents an allowance or something? It would make her look less evil in my eyes if she does. Sort of. I mean, at least she's helping them out financially even after everything she did to them right?

  "Oh yeah, you don't." I faked a chuckle. "Why?"

  "No reason to." Was her casual reply. "We really need to go, come on!"

  As we left, I caught my mother's expression. I can tell that she had questions but was just holding herself back. If she ever asks, I would lie to her because telling the truth would compromise the peace that I have built with Ifira.