Them little tank tops and frilly little skirts just act too damn sanities, sanities

Ella paced about fretfully in the lobby. It was so surreal, seeing all these faeries pass by. She’d already been convinced that magic was real thanks to Dakota’s actions today, spiriting her away from lockup, but this was just icing on the cake.

There were other issues she needed to consider at the moment, though. She couldn’t waste her time focusing on the faeries.

The big issue?

Clothes.

She didn’t have any- and she needed them. Badly. The only thing she had to wear were those ratty prison jumpsuits she saw in her closet, and those…

Ella wasn’t going to wear something like that. The last thing she needed was to keep walking around in a physical reminder of her crimes. She could feel the judgmental stares from the other women, questioning her, wondering who or what she was. And she didn’t blame them, either. She had several gaps in her memory that could only be accounted for by Cinder’s presence.

If they’d met Cinder… well, the results from that certainly weren’t going to be very positive for Ella, that was for sure.

But again, she couldn’t let herself worry about that right now. If she worried about the possibilities that entailed, then she might start to panic.

And if she started to panic…

…

“Thwap!”

Ella snapped the rubber band on her wrist, just to be safe. Cinder wasn’t pushing against her thoughts right now, and she didn’t feel the usual mounting anxiety that came when her emotions got intense, signaling that she was going to lose control. But she needed to be sure. And snapping her rubber band helped her calm her nerves, Cinder or no Cinder.

She needed to focus.

“First thing’s first… I need to get clothes,” she decided. Her usual first priority would have been food, but she actually didn’t feel all that hungry. She rubbed her stomach, feeling how full she was, and tasted something sweet in her mouth. Cinder must have eaten a lot of candy back in their room.

The thought of that actually made her laugh. Cinder? Pigging out on sweets? It was an adorable thought, if not for how scary it also happened to be.

She could eat later. Clothes came first.

“Um… excuse me…” Normally, Ella wasn’t the kind of girl who would speak to strangers. It had been beaten into her from a very young age that she was only to speak when spoken to. But she couldn’t let that get the better of her. So she got the attention of one of the faeries.

“Yes?” The pixie asked, batting her eyelashes and smiling cheerfully. She was wearing a dress as orange as Ella’s jumpsuit, but where Ella felt miserable, the faerie looked positively glowing, like she had been bathed in sunlight.

“I… I’m looking for something,” Ella said. “Do you know where I can get clothes? O-other than these, I mean!” She tugged on her sleeve awkwardly. “Buy clothes?”

“Oh! You must be looking for the Boutique!” The faerie chirped. “Yes, just take the elevator to the shopping center, and then follow the map! You won’t be able to miss it!”

Ella sighed in relief. She was glad the faeries were so helpful, it really soothed her nerves. Now she just needed to make sure that she could get to where she needed to go.

She listened intently to the faerie’s instructions, and then thanked her graciously. She knew how hard it could be, waiting on someone, and had nothing but sympathy for the poor pixie. The faerie seemed confused by her concern, and just laughed.

“We’re here to serve!” She replied, as if that could settle the doubt and uncertainty that plagued Ella’s heart.

Ella just tried to smile graciously, and headed for the elevators.

As she took the elevator to the shopping center, she wondered how much the clothes would cost. One of the things that she loved about her date with Nick had been going clothes shopping; but that had gone well because no one had needed to pay for anything.

Ella didn’t have a cent to her name- but she did have those Bonus Points. 2100 of them. Not exactly a large sum, judging by the list of purchases she could make from the shop. It seemed like her current BP total was on the low end of things, which wasn’t great.

I want to save up for that mirror, she thought, gritting her teeth. Don’t I?

Her heart was conflicted. Having the magic mirror would finally allow her to communicate with Cinder directly. Her doctor had recommended writing a journal and sharing it with Cinder so the two could pass thoughts back and forth to one another, but since Ella could barely read and had never been taught how to properly write, her handwriting was atrocious. That had been a miserable failure, even with the doctors trying to help her learn.

She needed that mirror… but she was afraid of what it would do.

And who wouldn’t be?

Cinder… Cinder was Cinder. She had every reason to be afraid of the woman, even though she knew her alter would never hurt her. That didn’t mean she couldn’t be intimidated by her other self, and what she represented.

No, don’t think about it that way! Ella shook her head quickly. Cinder is a part of me! She’s a part of who I am, even if she’s separated from me. I shouldn’t be scared of her… she’s just trying to help.

Of course, Cinder’s “help” wasn’t the most helpful thing in the world.

So, the debate continued. Ella wanted the mirror… but she was afraid of it. Either way, though, it was a moot point, because she didn’t have the BP to buy it. She wasn’t even close. Even if she’d come in first in the popularity poll between the four girls, instead of last, she wouldn’t have been close.

She needed to work harder to earn some more BP… that’s what normal people did, right? They worked for their money?

Instead of working for the right to eat scraps of food and live in a cubby underneath the staircase, which was her previous experience.

Ella took another deep breath to calm her nerves, and snapped her rubber band again. She needed to focus. 2100 BP was enough for clothes. It had to be. The host, Dakota, she wouldn’t give her such a small amount and not let her do anything with it, right?

So even though she could save up for the mirror, she needed to buy clothes now, to keep from losing her cool. That’s what she should be doing.

As she walked down the street, she thought back to the frilly skirt she’d bought back at the boutique in her dream. That had been so lovely… maybe she could find something like that?

And just as she was remembering what the clothing shop looked like, she arrived at the Boutique.

Ella was surprised to see it was still open! After all, the sun was just about ready to set; it was getting pretty late.

She knocked on the door.

No response.

Oh, right. It’s not a bedroom… it’s a store! I can just walk in! Ella felt like such a fool. She pushed in the door and stepped inside, and was caught unprepared by what she saw.

It was one of the girls in Nick’s harem. The one with short hair like her, who had been sent away by the host as soon as she finished showing the rooms.

Ella couldn’t remember her name, unfortunately. But that wasn’t really where her brain was going at the moment. She was more concerned with the fact that the asian girl was walking around in a black brassier and lacy panties.

“Um… uh…” Her mind went blank as she fumbled for words. This was another situation where she might have had to feat Cinder taking over, but right now, she didn’t have anything to worry about. She was too caught off-guard to be worried.

“Oh, uh… hey, you’re Ella, right?” Kim said, waving to the woman in orange. She definitely didn’t expect her to come here. “You want to buy some clothes?”

Ella’s eyes widened behind her bangs and she nodded vigorously. “Yes! Yes, please! I would love some clothes!”

That was what she needed more than anything- clothes!

“Well, we’ve got whatever you could want!” Kim said, cracking a grin. “Come on in and take a look! Don’t be shy!”

Her dazzling smile nearly blinded the gloomy Ella. She tried to smile back, but it was a gesture she wasn’t used to making. Instead, she fumbled forward, and nearly tripped over her own feet.

“Um… I’m sorry, I don’t… I don’t remember your name…” Ella looked down bashfully. “I was kind of overwhelmed before…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Kim said, waving her hand dismissively. “It’s not a big deal. Morgana was the same way.”

“Morgana?” Another name Ella didn’t recognize. One of the other girls?

“Yeah, Morgana. Dark hair, pale skin, dresses all in black? Really big curves?” Kim rolled her hand in a rounded motion down her side, emphasizing the difference in their figures. “She had mouse ears for like a hot second, and then Dakota got rid of them?”

“Oh!” Ella’s face lit up. “The nice girl! Her!” Morgana had been so sweet to her… Ella had wondered how anyone could be so considerate of someone who’d done the things she’d done.

Kim grinned. “Yup. Morgana’s pretty nice. She’s also really shy- and she’s been where you are right now, too.”

Ella seriously doubted that, unless the goth girl had a psychotic second personality. But she didn’t have the courage to say something like that- all she could do was **** a smile.

Kim shrugged. “Morgana’s very sweet. But she’s not here right now, and I am! Nice to see you again, my name is Kim, what can I get for you today? You said you were looking for clothes? We mainly specialize in lingerie, but we have regular stuff, too.”

It was a sign of how much Kim had gotten corrupted by the show and her employer that she considered the fetish items on display to be the “regular stuff” here.

“Um… I-I don’t need lingerie or anything like that,” Ella said, shaking her head. “My clothes, they’re… well…”

She felt embarrassed saying that the only thing she had to wear were prison jumpsuits. But because Kim was in a similar boat herself (only with schoolgirl uniforms) she was perceptive enough to pick up on that.

She smiled.

“Don’t worry. We have all kinds of outfits you can buy. You still have 2100 BP, right?”

Ella bobbed her head up and down.

“Then that should be more than enough. If you’re not buying the fancy stuff, anyway.” Kim anticipated there was a possibility of that, given the fact that Ella quite clearly had little money. She remembered wanting to splurge herself when she first got here.

Maybe my schoolgirl transformation was a blessing in disguise, Kim thought as she scanned the shelves. I probably would have blown through all my BP buying nice clothes in the beginning if I could have chosen what to wear for myself.

Then her thoughts about fancy clothes caused an image of Vivian’s smirking face to pop into mind, and she restrained her murderous rage.

It’s okay. You’re just exhausted. It’s been a long day at work, after a really, REALLY long day at not-work. That challenge… and Vivian… calm down. Kim could have really used a rubber band like the one Ella had. Or she could have used some time off.

I really should have taken that sick day.

“Um… about the clothes…” Ella said timidly, not sure what to do to get the other girl’s attention. She’d never been clothing shopping before with an actual person. Her dream had just been a mishmash of ideals she’d gotten from listening to her stepfamily’s talks in passing.

Was there something she was supposed to do, that she wasn’t doing?

Kim’s smile quickly returned. “Sorry,” she apologized. “But it’s been a very long day. Let me show you what we have! You said no lingerie, so you just want regular clothes? Do you prefer pants and shirts? Skirts? Shorts? Or are you more of a full dress kind of gal?”

“Um… skirts! Skirts and dresses, if you have them!” Ella’s eyes lit up like Kim had never seen from her until now. She had to smile at that. It seemed that the girl really wanted this. Which was a good sign. She could make a killing!

“Oh, also, you have something here,” Kim said, gesturing to her mouth. She didn’t want Ella to get any crumbs on the clothing.

Ella glanced at one of the mirrors on the counter, and gasped. Her face was smeared with crumbs and frosting.

What had Cinder been doing!?

Ella knew that her Alter was a slob, but she didn’t expect that she would be… a slob!

Not that she was much better.

“O-oh, I’m so sorry…” Ella looked like she was about to die from shame. Kim shook her head and held up her hands. “Hey, it’s fine, don’t worry about it,” she said, offering her napkin. They always kept some in stock to wipe off… certain fluids. Not that Nick would ever do anything, but apparently the masters on Dakota’s previous seasons were a lot more… open about their desires.

Ella gratefully accepted the napkin and wiped off her face. Now that she was clean, she could actually go shopping.

“Are… are you sure I’ll be able to afford all this stuff?” Ella asked as they walked through the store, picking out clothes that she wanted to buy. They were getting a lot of skirts and dresses, and she was starting to doubt. She’d never handled money before, and Kim was being cagey about how much everything here cost.

“Don’t worry. Ordinary clothes like this won’t be very expensive,” Kim assured her. “But if you really don’t want money to be an issue, you could always do a fashion show.”

Ella blinked. “A… fashion show? Huh?”

Kim nodded. She didn’t like bringing the option up if she didn’t have to, but she’d seen Ella snap her rubber band ten times in the last five minutes. She didn’t know what the story behind it was, but she knew that the girl’s anxiety was something else.

If it would lighten Ella’s burden a little, she could take a hit on her commission.

“Yeah. Basically, you try on all the clothes you want to buy, and pose for the cameras while wearing them,” Kim explained. “Just like a fashion show! The shop uses them to advertise their products through the multiverse or whatever, I don’t know, they don’t tell me the specifics. I just work here.”

“N-no!” Ella exclaimed, shaking her head frantically. Posing in her clothes?! In front of people!? She couldn’t! That would be horrible!

“Are you sure?” Kim asked, raising her eyebrow. “If you do it, then everything you buy will be free.”

That was definitely a tantalizing offer, Ella couldn’t deny that.

But the answer was still no.

“I… I don’t want to put myself on display like that…” She shook her head again. “My clothes… my clothes are just for me.”

Kim shrugged. Well, if Ella wanted to make her some money, she wasn’t exactly going to complain. Of course, Ella’s clothes wouldn’t be just for her, though. She’d also have to show them off to Nick, one way or another.

Personally, Kim didn’t really get it. What was the big deal about showing off her body to other people? It was actually kind of fun.

“If you’re sure,” Kim nodded. “I’m not gonna stop you. But I think you better get used to showing off, at least a little bit.”

She could tell from the anxious gleam in Ella’s eye that she should probably stop there. The nervous wreck snapping her rubber band didn’t need to know about all the times Kim had posed naked for the cameras.

“Um… so yeah… can I… should I try them on now?” Ella was pretty sure if she bought anything more than this, she’d go into debt. Kim nodded, and escorted her to the changing room.

“So you like frilly clothes like that?” Kim tried to make conversation with Ella while the other girl changed. “That’s nice!”

“I… my stepmother… she would always by my stepsisters nice clothes and fancy dresses,” Ella said glumly from behind the door.

Kim could hear the “thwap!” of the rubber band again.

“I was always jealous of them, because I only got to wear disgusting rags,” she added. “I always wanted to wear a nice, frilly dress.”

“Like a princess,” Kim said, gazing back nostalgically. When she was a little girl, had she wanted to wear those frilly dresses? Of course she did. But she’d grown up now, and her tastes had matured along with her.

Frilly lingerie was a lot more fun!

She heard Ella snap her rubber band again. Apparently, this conversation was getting her more and more worked up.

Kim wisely decided to drop the topic.

“Um… I’m done. Is it alright if I wear it out?” The hope aching in Ella’s voice would have led Kim to say absolutely, even if that hadn’t been store policy.

“Of course you can!” Kim assured Ella as she stepped out of the changing room.

She looked lovely. The light pink of her dress really made her skin tone stand out. And while some people might think that a bright pink on a tan complexion looked tacky, Ella’s innocence made her look adorable in it. Along with the pink dusting of her cheeks.

“Is it… does it really look okay?” She asked hopefully. For someone who didn’t want to display her body for millions of eyes to see (even though she was already doing that) she sure seemed to want to hear the opinion of someone else.

“You look great!” Kim said, cracking a grin. “A complete change!”

Ella relaxed with a sigh of relief. She’d been so worried and afraid… the last thing she’d wanted was to look like a weirdo. But if she actually looked good… that was good, right?

Of course, that relief lasted only for a moment. Then her doubts returned.

“So, uh… about my clothes…” Ella bit her lip uncertainly. “How much do I owe you?”

She dreaded the answer.

“For the dresses, the shirts, the skirts, and some modest underwear? Hmm… the total comes out to… 600 BP!”

Ella’s jaw dropped. “Th-th-that little!?” She sputtered.

“Of course!” Kim chirped. “What, did you think we’d bankrupt you? Of course it’s a number you can manage like that! Nick’s gonna love these!”

Ella certainly didn’t pick out the clothes for him. But hearing that was still a relief. She sighed and nodded, and tried to smile.

“Well… good, then,” she said. “I’ll take it!”

Ella: 2100 BP – 600 BP = 1500 BP

Kim: 6200 BP + 300 BP = 6500 BP

Ella glanced enviously at Kim’s BP total as their points shifted on the screen. She wished that she could get money like that.

Maybe Kim could tell her how.