It took another day of renovation work, but the store was completed, and everything was staged. Fiona was carefree in the number of hugs, girly shrills, and glittery-eyed doe faces she made as she surveyed the hard work invested in the storefront, now showing some glitz and glamor that had been lacking early in the process. Jake got extra hugs, because he was awesome. And fuzzy. Which probably paled to the fuzzies she felt in her body, seeing all this effort that went into getting her out of a bind.

  “Yes! We have done it, Bonnie! It’s time to get out the word that we’re about to have our grand opening!” she announced to the world, her hands on her hips in a dramatic pose.

  “Please don’t put your feet on the display tables,” Greg grunted. She quickly removed her foot, and then wiped an errant bit of dust off with a cloth, to make it shine. “Alright ladies, I think we’re set. Jacob, we’re in your debt–”

  “Gregory, you have your own battle to fight right now, and trust me, I would have done this for you guys, even if Fiona didn’t ask. I know that little red-haired upstart doesn’t like asking for help if she can avoid it, and most of the time, she doesn’t need it,” Jake assured him, and gave a massive paw shake to Greg. The workers had all packed up and headed out the front door, chatting merrily about the event at Jake’s place tomorrow night. He had mentioned sending extra invitations, and he had more than enough room. “Fi, can we talk a minute, before you head out?”

  “Oh! Yeah uh, sure. Guys, see you back at McFly’s this evening?” she called out, and Bonnie nodded with a flash of her tail, and Greg doing that monk-like bow. Man, getting a smile out of Greg is like waiting for a blue moon! I gotta get him to work on that! She thought to herself.

  She pivoted and turned to Jake, who smoothed his scalp fur down into something presentable. He might look like a wild beast on occasion, but his professionalism would counter that thought in a second.

  She heard the door rattle close behind her, and Jake’s expression had gone softer, a little more rounded by his eyes, and he glanced around as if searching for something. But a few seconds later, his attention is back on her. “Fi, this shouldn’t be your burden. We all helped carry that reclaimed loot back from the dragon’s stash. I don’t know why you got stuck with the bill on this one.”

  “Well, you know me. I’ve never let someone knock me down and out, without me trying to sweep their leg, getting back up and ready for another round.” Her words seemed to come with more resistance, and not at her breakneck rate of speaking like she usually did. “Besides, I think once Greybeard gets back, he’s going to have some unkind words with his son—”

  “Fiona. This curse could kill you.” His fur bristled. “Don’t treat it lightly.”

  “Why? I’m never giving Barry the satisfaction that he thinks he can do whatever he wants to me—”

  “Fiona,” Jake said with a bit of edge to his tone. “I know you got some stuff on your plate you don’t tell me about. I found you six months ago begging for a job, never told me where you came from, or any other details. But people do care about you. I’d pay this obscene tax right now if I could. That’s why I’m trying to get people lined up at your door to make purchases, anyone and everyone I can. Percy has come up with money, or he’s screwed. Same thing with Mika, Abigail, Brock…”

  “You never told me what happened before I got back to town.”

  “He dumped the hero tax on them, and unlike you, they were not brave enough to say no, and force his hand,” Jake uttered, his muzzle gritted tightly. “That’s the long and short of it. I had to calm everyone down, so they didn’t storm the palace. That…was not a pleasant discussion. This was after Greybeard himself was leaning on us to help him.”

  Fiona let out a huff of annoyance. “Jake, seriously, the kobolds were more adorable than they were deadly! Now, those nasty beast things they were riding, yeah, they had to go! They ate one of my boots! Luckily my foot was not in said boot when that happened, and he got smacked into the stratosphere with my old Bahn hammer here! The name never seemed so appropriate,” she added with a twirl of the inert handle. “Real talk though, Jake, no one’s going to replace you guys. We’ve done a ton of work, with very little fanfare that the royalty don’t notice. But the rest of the citizens do.”

  “Nah, Greybeard knows the score. He has told me in private, more than a few times.” He rubbed at his mane and gave a toothy smirk with his canine muzzle. “You are coming to the party tomorrow, right? I mean, it’s kind of in your honor.”

  “I helped, but I didn’t win a whole war by myself. Heck, I’m hoping by the end of this, I can send some cash your way.”

  “I’d appreciate that, but first? Fiona, don’t step on Barry’s toes, I worry he can do worse to you. I think he’s up to something skeevy. I’ve heard rumors he was an okay human being, but got thrown out of the treasury for something that wasn’t discussed in public, then was very quiet in the tax office. This is the part I don’t get, Queen Celes used to give all her kids love and attention. Even Dave, with his lackadaisical attitude and half-finished mage degree, is quite the charmer, by any measure.” Fiona raised an eyebrow at this.

  “Interesting word choice, Jake.”

  “You’re a charmer too, Fiona. You’re a wild fey girl, with the way you skip around, chasing around even wilder ideas that should never work. But they do,” he laughed with a deep-throated laugh. She felt a burning rush across her face, was she blushing, in front of him? There was no time for that! She was a bit disappointed that she was going to be lacking a plus one, but, maybe Greg or Bonnie wouldn’t mind?

  "I...might have to tone down some of those wild ideas. If I'm going to make this place work, wild won't always be the answer. Because if I screw up, Bonnie and Greg get pulled down, too. And I don't want that." It was a moment of reflection that made her realize, she’d failed once, already.

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  She didn't want a repeat encounter.

  Jake cleared his throat before she could focus down on the errant thought. “You have a level head, when you need it, Fi. Don't forget that.”

  “I won’t, Jake. And…thank you. Jake, you’re the first person in this world that took a gamble on me,” she admitted. He raised an ear at that. “You know, being from another world and all.”

  “Why are fun ones from the beyond the stars?” Jake asked with a belly-aching laugh, before they headed out the door and she locked up behind her. “Alright, we’ll see you tomorrow, Fi! Dress like you wanna dazzle, alright?”

  “Oh, dazzling? It’s my middle name,” she replied with a flash in her eyes. She had just the outfit in mind for this kind of event.

  And it would dazzle.

  Fiona looked at the dress and wrinkled her nose. “Tucker, this used to fit me. Or it did, three months ago. I haven’t been slacking in the diet department. Even snacks haven’t done that.”

  She frowned and realized the problem wasn’t excessive snacks. It was the fact she swore she was a little taller than she used to be. And her chest, while quite average compared to Bonnie’s generous gift of a genetic dice roll, wasn’t lacking. She flexed her arms and realized the muscle mass was a little more notable. Elves aren’t supposed to get buff. Sheesh. All that work slaying bloodthirsty orcs, and beating up monsters must have done my body some good.

  Her option ‘A’ didn’t fit her anymore, and if she tried to put it on, she would likely need to be holding her breath the whole time, so it didn’t split a seam. That did not seem like a great way to spend a gala with all her friends tonight. Tucker batted at the bright blue slip of a dress, then promptly curled up on it. She glared at the cat accusingly, and Tucker pretended to go to sleep.

  “Really, now? C’mon cat, you can find a cozier spot than that to rest,” she grumbled but made no effort to move him. He then sprawled out, and stretched his legs with a loud yawn. “Alright, I have one more dress. It’s a little more…uh…Bonnie’s style.”

  She dared a dive into the depths of the closet, past the armor stands and toward the back. Then, she stood there, and put a hand to her chin, cogitating on the racecar dress. The one she hadn’t dared to wear, before. Tucker joined her and rubbed against her calf, meowing softly. He, too, gave the dress a contemplative look

  She exhaled like she’d been holding her breath too long. “Yep, Tucker, that one. I think it’ll fit me, it was a tiny bit loose on me before. I mean, I could also get Bonnie or a seamstress to custom tailor it for me. But in the absence of time, I think it’s the one.” It was also a bit more flirty than usual for her, with a wide open back. There was also one other features.

  The neckline wasn’t a notch. It was a plunge down the middle. She looked down and pictured it on herself, and realized there would be almost no room to hide anything. Fortune favors the bold? Man, that’s a pun and a half, coming from me.

  She stood there, putting a hand to her chin, and working up the nerve to conclude that this might be the time to show off. She was not backing down. Hell with it. I died fighting an eldritch lizard god, but I won’t let fear stop me in this life. This will end in disaster, or one hell of a fun night.

  She still pondered the all too recent question: why her?

  What if someone brought me back because I dared to stand defiant in a no-win scenario? She narrowed her eyes, then grabbed the fire-red dress off the rack, and got to work on being the sizzling star of this party.

  It was a bit of an adjustment. It hugged curves she was not cozy with how close they fitted. It did take a few minutes to get the dress on, but with a little bit of maneuvering, she looked down at the sleeves and noticed something odd–the dress fit perfectly after a few seconds, with no creasing or bulging at the joints. When she looked at it, the fabric seemed to stretch and squeeze where it needed to, and she smiled wildly.

  This is why the dress cost as much as it did, it wasn’t the fashion appearance, there was magic weaved into the very fabric of the material! She pondered for a second, could it adjust to be a little less…sporty? She tried to picture it with her mind. It was that, or uttering out keywords and magical sigils, and that could be either useless or dangerous.

  Much to her relief, when she focused on the revealing plunge down her front, the fabric slowly merged itself in real-time, with more left to the imagination for any onlookers. But the basic shape and premise of the dress was unchanged. She glanced at the gold embroidered sleeves and the accommodating skirt before sheheaded over to her dresser by the bed, where she kept a few critical make-up items. She got to work to add just that little bit of extra flair.

  Tucker sat on the edge of the bed, tail flicking gently back and forth, as he made a low purring sound. “Tucker, do you approve? I mean I normally don’t go all out, but this…this feels like an occasion for it,” she announced as she pursed her lips together with just a bit of cherry-red accent.

  The transformation was done. Now, the million-dollar question was, dress shoes? Or, something a little more practical?

  She did have a pair of dress shoes that fit the bill, and were darkly colored--not fancy, but practical. They went quite well to match the set. And no heels to break an ankle in! That was a relief.

  A knock at the door got her attention. Judging by the gentle rap, it was Bonnie–she always was so timid with knocking on a door, even given her bold approach to most other things. “Coming! Just about wrapped up!” Fiona called out, before grabbing a hairbrush. The finishing touch was a quick combing of her hair, and letting it flow loose–it bounced naturally, and strangely, she didn’t have to do much maintenance on it. She pushed back from the small mirror and opened the door.

  Bonnie was there, stunning-looking, and her bright red fur seemed to glow . Her grass green dress was a modest ordeal from her, with an open backing, and room for her poofy tail, too. Bonnie gasped when she saw Fiona at the doorway; a hand went to her muzzle, with fingerless sleeves going from her claws to just past her elbow. “Uh…wow.”

  She must have been awed at seeing Fiona all dressed up like this, looking all cute, and daring, in this race car red version of a dress. It was probably one of her riskier investments in fashion, with the gold embroidery almost glowing. “So uh, how do I look?” Fiona asked anxiously.

  Bonnie finally recovered from the spectacle and flashed a foxy smile. “Hey, have you seen a redheaded, zany chick somewhere around here, that answers to Fiona?” she answered after a second, and her eyes lit up in delight. “She might have lost some square dude who got dressed for the occasion. Greg, get over here, check this out! I think someone stole my favorite long-eared companion.”

  He stepped around the frame and blinked, looking in awe. “Goodness, Miss Swiftheart. I’d like my heart to not be so swift right now,” he quipped.

  Fiona laughed as she steadied him with a firm grip on his shoulder. He was dressed in a proper dress shirt and jacket, with dark trousers that matched the dark-colored jacket. “You know something, Greg? You’re alright. Now, let’s go make our big debut!”

  (Magius acquires the Merchant Class to make the sale...)

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