Adah had to marvel at how much the world could change over the course of a couple of months. From the power structure at the peak of the political machine all the way down to the tone of the comments left on her social media posts, change spared nothing. The passage of time had led Adah to fight alongside her most toxic rival, to depose the leader of her region’s Department of Magic, and to redefine her team’s entire image. It came as no surprise, then, that time had also reshaped the tiny fashion studio known as Magi-Melo.
The last time Adah had visited Lina’s studio, she remembered seeing dresses more suited for weddings or cocktail parties than for magical girls. The studio floor had also been filled with hats and accessories, bits of lingerie, and other random ornaments that targeted the average consumer rather than magical girls. As such, the old Magi-Melo had been part studio and part shop. Lina had needed to take on clients other than magical girls and sell those smaller products to daily shoppers in order to keep her business afloat. That no longer appeared to be the case.
The “studio” portion of Magi-Melo had consumed most of the building, with rolls of fabric standing where mannequins had once been. Lina had also added another workbench to the studio floor, over which she had draped several works-in-progress. Gone were the shelves full of jewelry and ribbons, too. Those had been replaced by poster-sized photographs of magical girls wearing her designs. Most of these photos were of the Last Light, but Adah noted that Lina must have also worked with two other teams since that first photoshoot. Since she didn’t recognize any of the other girls in the photos, she assumed they were local Region 3 teams.
Lina had been busy, but not too busy to help bring Elise’s plan to fruition. As Adah had suspected, the designer was all too eager to take on a job involving this many magical girls.
“What a treat, what a treat,” Lina said when Adah and her teammates arrived at Magi-Melo. “I have to tell you, I had fun playing with all those new faces, but the four of you make my heart beat so hard I can feel it in my fingernails. The classics are the classics for a reason, yes?”
Those “new faces” Lina had referred to were the members of DreamRise and Fifty Flip. They had visited Lina’s studio the day prior, for the same reason that Adah and her team had stopped by today. If they were going to wear new uniforms, they needed to be properly measured first.
Although Lina was now able to focus her business on her true passion—outfits for magical girls—she wasn’t so successful that she could hire a full staff to help her. Magi-Melo remained mostly a solo endeavor, assisted at times like this by Lina’s friends Colette and Kritika. Having some extra help allowed Lina to take measurements and notes on two magic users at once, but with eleven members of Adah’s coalition to work through, it still wasn’t practical to handle them all at once. Whomever Lina inspected last would have been waiting around for half the day.
To make better use of everyone’s time, the coalition teams had split into two groups: DreamRise with Fifty Flip, and the Last Light with Seliah. And once Lina noticed Adah’s team wasn’t alone, she got an impish look in her eyes.
“And it’s the best of both worlds,” she said. “I get a new fantasy to explore at the same time I revisit my favorite.”
Lina looked Seliah up and down, not bothering to hide how her imagination was running wild with thoughts of how she’d like to dress up the little witch. Of course, she had a habit of thinking out loud at the same time.
“You’re like the princess, but of a different flavor,” Lina said as she paced around Seliah to inspect her from all angles. “She’s a bit like a cat, isn’t she? It’s rare to find someone that short-tempered who’s also that gentle. I can’t resist poking her belly until she swipes at me—I know she’ll keep her claws in the first couple of times. You, on the other hand…”
Lina let her words linger as she reached a hand toward Seliah’s face. Just before her fingertips made contact with the girl’s cheek, Lina stopped, then slowly pulled back her hand. Seliah stood perfectly still the whole time, merely watching the designer with curious eyes.
“I see,” Lina said. “I’ll have to be very careful with you.”
Seliah frowned and replied, “Um, it’s nice to meet you, too.”
“Don’t worry about her, Selichi,” Ami said. “She spends all day around mannequins and talks to ‘em like they’re people. That’s why she says all this weird stuff.”
Lina shrugged and said, “Dressing up someone’s body is a means to undress their heart. If I don’t think about who you are inside, I’ll never be able to create something that suits you outside. Consider today as our first date, a chance to get to know each other. On that note, let’s get your numbers sorted out. Adah will join us—we’ll go two at a time today.”
Although she respected Lina’s efficiency, Adah had a different plan in mind. Part of the reason she had wanted Seliah to accompany her team to Lina’s studio was so that she would have a chance to speak to the girl with minimal distractions. Adah needed to find out what had held Seliah back from joining the Last Light, and today’s visit was a surprisingly convenient chance to do so. If Lina took Ami and Emi to the studio’s dressing room first, Adah could dig into the truth of the witch’s feelings.
Ami having such a close relationship with Seliah would be useful when it came to convincing her to join, but it could also keep Seliah from speaking her mind. Seliah looked up to Ami, and would hesitate to say anything that may disappoint her. If she was alone with Adah and Rika, the girl might feel comfortable enough sharing her thoughts directly.
So, Adah had to shoot down Lina’s suggestion.
“Why don’t you start with Ami and Emi?” Adah said to Lina. “I went first last time. Maybe your inspiration will strike a little differently if you take us in a different order this time.”
It was a nonsense suggestion, of course, but Lina was wise enough to play along. She could tell Adah was cooking up one plan or another, and a curious creative like her couldn’t resist seeing what was afoot.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Very well,” Lina said with a grin. “Right this way, my shattered mirrors. Let’s see how we shall break you apart this time.”
The twins followed Lina to the back of the studio, none the wiser to Adah’s scheme. Since the girls had all flown to the studio, that left Adah and Rika alone with Seliah, and Rika had no issue letting Adah lead the conversation. Now Adah just needed to figure out how to broach the topic without putting Seliah off.
Before Adah ever decided on an approach, Seliah started the conversation herself.
“I still haven’t decided,” she said while looking Adah straight in the eyes.
The statement was so sudden that Adah didn’t realize what Seliah meant right away, and simply stared back at her.
“About joining your team,” Seliah continued. “That’s why you wanted Ami and Emi to go first, isn’t it? You wanted to ask me about that again.”
“I guess I’m no good when it comes to subtlety, huh?” Adah said. “Then I’ll get straight to the point. Why wouldn’t you want to? It’s not like you’re leaving anyone behind on your current team.”
“You won’t be crashing our party, either,” Rika added. “Everyone here already likes you.”
Seliah shook her head. At times, even when transformed, she seemed like the nervous type. She would try to sink into her witch’s robes or hide under her hat—especially when some of the more abrasive personalities on the DreamRise roster started acting up. Yet, at other times, Seliah held steady as a rock. She could watch the world with unblinking eyes and stand firm in the face of it all.
That side of her came out most often during battles, when she held her ground with the absolute certainty of knowing she could dodge and counter any attack thrown her way, but it occasionally showed itself at times like this. When she believed in what she had to say with the same conviction as she believed in her combat skills, she would not shake. She was a hawk perched on an outcrop, patiently waiting for her moment to strike.
“I don’t want to have any doubts at the end of my career,” Seliah said. “That means I want to give every day all of the effort I have, so I can be sure I haven’t left anything on the table. But it also means doing things myself, and earning everything through my own effort. I don’t want to wonder if whether what I accomplished was the result of what I did or what someone else did for me.”
“You’ve already done so much on your own,” Adah said. “What’s there to doubt? Besides, even though we’re a team, each of us still has our own goals that we work toward through our own effort. The only difference is that we also have goals that we work toward as a team.”
“I know,” Seliah said. “And I’m not trying to take anything away from other people. I just…”
Though she had stood firm—an ice cold witch—until now, Seliah hesitated slightly now.
“When I have no other choice,” she went on after taking a breath, “I know that’ll make me push myself to find a way forward. When Ami saved those people—and me—from that Cruelty, I realized I didn’t ever want to feel helpless just because I was alone. Pushing forward on my own two feet is my way of making sure I’m a magical girl who can save those around her. Whether someone like Ami is there or not.”
“Then what about the carnival?” Adah asked. “And this? You’re willing to be a part of our coalition but not our team? What’s the difference? The whole reason for any of that was because there are going to be challenges none of us can handle alone. That’s why I want you to join us.”
“I understand that,” Seliah said. “I do, but I’m just… not ready to make a decision like that.”
Not ready? Then when would she be ready? When the Cruelties had her backed into a corner? When it was too late to do anything to help her? And too late for her to help the Last Light? It didn’t make any sense.
Rika tapped Adah on the back, though she was sending a message that Adah already understood. Her frustration must have started to show on her face, so she took a breath and focused on relaxing her muscles. Nothing she would say in this moment would help to convince Seliah to join them, so it was better to not say anything at all. She’d regroup her thoughts, then see if Ami had any ideas for how to talk some sense into the girl.
For now, Adah kept quiet until the twins emerged from the dressing room and Lina poked her head out from behind its door. The designer nodded in Adah and Seliah’s direction, but then bit her lip and shook her head.
“On second thought,” Lina said, “let me take the lovers together. I’ll deal with you two first, then I can focus all my attention on the new toy.”
Maybe Lina had read the room—cooping up Adah and Seliah in that tiny dressing room wouldn’t have helped to relieve any of the tension between them.
Adah and Rika walked over to the dressing room for their fitting, and Lina immediately set to work. She took updated measurements over every inch of their bodies, tested different fabrics and half-formed accessories against them, and did a whole lot of staring. In other words, the same process as their project. At least Adah had been wise enough to wear some form-fitting clothes this time to keep from fully undressing. That would save a little time, if nothing else.
Lina’s measuring proceeded in relative silence, interrupted only by the sound of the designer scribbling in her notebook, until she began to measure Adah’s neck. Once she got a close look at Adah’s face, her eyes locked in place.
“Oh?” Lina said with an unabashed grin on her face. “What do we have here? A princess who isn’t getting her way? Is that why you and that dragonfly are at odds?”
“Is Seliah the dragonfly?” Adah asked. “The problem isn’t about me getting what I want or not. It’s about doing what makes sense.”
“Whatever it is, it must not make sense to her,” Lina said. “Thus, it’s what the princess wants against what she wants. Or should I say ‘commander?’”
“What are you talking about?”
Lina reached up and placed a hat on Adah’s head. It was one of the half-finished accessories she was testing, a round-brimmed cap like a naval officer might wear.
“You’re used to your soldiers falling in line,” Lina said. “Now you have to deal with one who is immune to orders. On paper, you’re her superior. In practice, you can’t help but notice the ways in which she’s superior to you. That only makes you want to control her even more.”
Adah took off the cap and set it on Lina’s head instead.
“You’re getting your fantasies mixed up,” she said. “I’m trying to help her, and to make all of us stronger in the process. Instead of doing what’s smart, she refuses to join our team because of pride. That’s all it is.”
“You would know, wouldn’t you?” Lina said.
Before Adah could respond, Lina grabbed her by the chin and turned her head sideways so that she could take another measurement from that angle.
“Why do you want this Seliah to join you so badly?” Lina asked. “I understand the princess’s reasoning—she’s a selfish cat who always gets what she wants. But what about the commander? What is this girl to you?”
Why Seliah? Because she was alone, of course. It would be dangerous to leave her by herself if the Cruelty attacks intensified. She got along with all the members of the Last Light, so it only made sense to bring her into the fold. Their team would grow stronger, Seliah would benefit from their agency’s resources, and the region would be safer for it.
Yet, Lina’s question gave Adah pause. Would she have felt as strongly about recruiting one of the members of Fifty Flip, had any of them been alone? Perhaps she would push them to join some team, but would it necessarily be the Last Light? If it was anyone but Seliah, any team would do.
But Seliah was a soldier. Although Lina had a crude way of phrasing it, there was no denying that Seliah was a better fighter than anyone else in Region 4. Adah outmatched her in terms of raw power for now, but Seliah would always hold the advantage in strategy and execution.
As a darkness crept ever closer to humanity, Adah wanted someone like Seliah by her side. The girl was a weapon, and Adah needed to wield her against the Cruelties.