And then he saw it...

He was beginning to despair of ever finding something suitable when he finally spotted it. He felt his cheeks warm at the thought of wearing it, but he instantly knew this was it. It did need a few accessories, but by now he had a good enough feel for the layout of the store that he quickly gathered those up, too. He folded them all into a compact package, not wanting Lucas to see it before he had it on, and all but ran into the changing room.

Eldrin nearly tore off his clothes in his haste to get into the new outfit, but once they were off he froze. What if it didn't fit right? What if he couldn't do the lacing in the back? What if--No. He stopped himself. He would not fail. He would succeed, and Lucas would be pleased, and all would be well.

Lucas raised an eyebrow as Eldrin raced by. He'd seemed pretty down in the dumps when his first two picks didn't work out, but now he seemed positively euphoric. The bundle of clothes he carried into the changing room revealed little, other than that it all was black and white.He leaned back against the wall and waited. And waited. And waited. And still, Eldrin did not appear. Had something gone wrong? He had seemed so confident. He was about to call out when the door finally opened.

Eldrin stepped out and Lucas could not repress a gasp as he took in the view.

Eldrin had picked out a maid's uniform. This in itself wouldn't be noteworthy, except it seemed to be tailored to a lord or lady with a... particularly indecent taste. A ruffled white headpiece and flat, low-cut shoes were the only concessions the uniform made to practicality. It was otherwise almost entirely lace and frills.

The velvety black dress left her arms uncovered and was clearly meant to show off the wearer's chest. It buttoned up on the front. Over the top she wore a tiny half-apron that would do little to protect her from dirt or filth. As Lucas' eyes drifted further down, he noted that the flared skirt barely reached below the hips. Whoever had designed it had wanted its wearer to constantly have to worry about bending over.

It was completed by a set of black fishnet stockings that served to highlight rather than hide her legs, with a frilly white carter around one leg.

It was a mockery, a perversion of the no-nonsense uniforms he'd sometimes seen the maids of the aristocracy wear. Frilly instead of durable, revealing rather than protective, more suitable to an erotic dancer than a lady's maid. The only purpose for putting one's maids into this uniform was to show off.

In other words, it was perfect. His earlier off-hand remark must've struck a chord with Eldwyn--he could not think of her as Eldrin right now.

She gave him a coquettish smile, twirling around to give him a better look.

"W-what do you think? Do you like it?"

He grinned broadly, letting his eyes rove over her body. "I love it."

"Oh, I forgot something!" She suddenly exclaimed, before darting back into the dressing room. She re-emerged almost immediately, affixing a lacy white ribbon around her neck.