Netori: Stealing The Hero's Party!

"Ohhhh, who needs a sword when her looks can kill ya~" Moving up beside the elf, the gray-haired woman, further helped Aria to fit the dress better. Shifting the shoulder straps, pulling the folds out of her inverted regions, she then grabbed the elf by both hands and turned her around to give a better look to Raven who\'d been sitting in a cushioned chair behind them.

"Try not to parade her through the city, young duke. They might charge you with a thousand murder."

Laughing at her own joke, the woman moved away from Aria. And while Raven was left to admire her beauty, she slipped beside the young duke and leaning into his ears she whispered.

"If you wish we can arrange something more exciting for those lovely nights too, my lord…" Being a madam of business, a rather seasoned one at that, the woman called the Red Maiden, was surprisingly willing to accept the change in the party\'s social status. Where many saw conflict through increased competition, she saw even more profit by fanning a different kind of jealousy in the noble\'s hearts.

Correcting her red ribbon as she pulled herself back up, the Red Madam lifted her crimson-laced skirt and bowed before leaving the two to discuss their likeness for the dress further. She already knew that the hero wasn\'t there looking for something lecherous, but putting the possibility of more business in his mind, she came out of the curtained dressing room with a massive smile.

In the meantime, Raven pulled the dark elf into his lap to admire her even more closely. Making her lean into his arms, he caressed her body from up the face to down until her feet.

"I…I don\'t know about these clothes, they don\'t suit me." Her heart had grown anxious just by wearing such luxury on her bare skin. It was the Madam\'s idea–a way to take away a customer\'s ability to refuse the fabric that has already brushed against their bare skins. But the elf didn\'t much care, after all, her heart was racing more and more the longer the dress stayed on her body.

Grabbing Raven\'s hand as it brushed against her cheek, Aria pressed it against her face and shut her eyes to his warmth to calm her heart a little. But to her surprise, instead of stopping, her heart raced further–not because of the dress, but from the touch of Raven\'s lips against her angst-dried lips.

With a jolt, her eyes popped open, yet as her eyes met his and she allowed herself to enjoy the change, her heart finally mellowed. Wrapping her hands around him while lying in his lap, she shared a kiss of passion, one full of warmth.

Their kiss lasted so long that all concepts of time escaped the lovers. Enveloped in each other\'s arms, the only thing they could focus on were each other\'s lips, and the tug of their tongues. However, eventually, when the kiss broke with a bridge of love dangling between them, Raven caressed Aria\'s face once again and asked her with a smile.

"Did that help?" Hearing those words, Aria realized that her anxiety had been no mystery to Raven. He knew from just a look that she was struggling internally even if she hadn\'t said a word.

"How did you know?" She asked, her hand reaching for his face.

Leaning into her palm, Raven took a deep breath and smiled before responding.

"We\'ve been together throughout our lives, did you really think I wouldn\'t notice?" A smile crept onto Aria\'s face as well, although it quickly turned to a playful smirk with what Raven said next. "Besides, when you\'re angry you swear a lot and when you\'re uncomfortable you get timid and talk all skittish and almost like you\'re afraid."

Rolling her eyes, she chuckled before getting off of Raven\'s lap.

"I would\'ve preferred if you said you looked into my mind, knowing I\'m so easy to read kinda hurts you know?" Raven\'s lips parted for a quick reply, but before he could say a thing, the Red Madam came walking through the curtain holding a black bikini with red flower patterns all over.

She\'d decided to test her luck after all, but seeing how Aria\'s eyes went wide with shock just looking at that scanty article of clothing, she didn\'t ask the girl anything but rather turned to her lover.

"I heard you\'re headed for the ocean my lord, won\'t you wanna try some swimwear? I can have them enchanted with sewn thread that won\'t allow for drowning!" She announced with her wrinkled face lifting with joy.

"D-don\'t you have something more decent?" Having never worn any girly underwear–much less a bikini, Aria\'s angst grew once more as she stared at the scanty pair whose fabric was sure to sink between her ass cheeks–giving everyone a clear look at her buttocks.

Smiling still as she made her way closer to the hero, the Red Madam, covered her mouth with one hand and chuckled to herself.

"Decency is a common folk\'s virtue my lady, nobility like you should be proud of your skin, your breed, and bloodline~" Fanning one hand in front of her face, she chuckled some more before taking a deep breath and looking right into Aria\'s eyes. "Besides, it doesn\'t hurt to grow a lick for fashion. In fact, I advise you to, or else the others might look down on you."

Her words at the last part rang a bit condescending, but the Red Madam meant it with nothing but care. She wanted something new, something fresh–after all, designing clothes for uptight nobility for as long as she\'d lived, she hated them more than anything and the hero\'s party was a way for her to burn them with jealousy.

\'An elf, a dark elf, even monsters, and faes, so much potential for creativity…much better than those whore in high castle that have the same fucking faces and care only about the number of gems in their dresses!\' Keeping those thoughts to herself, she tried to sell the bikinis further, but with much time already having passed, the mage told her that they\'d be back with the other girls for the swimwear.

"So how much for the dress?" Raven asked at the counter.

The desk worker\'s eyes squinted with confusion, she seemed beyond surprised that Raven wanted to pay them upfront.

"My lord, our business comes in your territory…we can\'t accep–"

"I don\'t wanna hear it," grabbing a handful of gold coins from his purse, Raven placed them on the table and took his leave before the girl could even say anything.

Having witnessed the small interaction from the corner, the owner, Red Madam appeared quite pleased.

\'That dress probably cost us a thousand gold for the maroon dye alone, but I suppose it\'s all worth it since we managed to make a connection with the new lord.\' Despite suffering a loss, the Red Madam looked to the future–a future where she could create a greater bond with the new dukes and duchess and get out of the hellish grip that was the greedy cost-cutting tactics of the other nobles.

And she wasn\'t the only one who was happy with how things had turned out. While walking out of the shop named after its owner\'s title, a smile remained stuck on Aria\'s face as she finally grew comfortable in her dress.

"Where to next?" Looking up at Raven offering his hand to help her up the carriage, Aria moved her hand on top of his and was quickly pulled into his arms and inside the carriage.

"Something to eat and then we\'ll see…" Replied Raven, and being so close to him Aria couldn\'t help but kiss him once again.