“Shopping is a talent,” Ravelina said wistfully, “right?”
“So, what,” Lyria asked, “are you going to drag the entire castle out here to the city so they can watch you thumb through racks of dresses?”
“Why not?” Haribelle said from beneath an armful of tulle. Lyria glanced over just in time to see a little flicker of her hair peek out.
“So many reasons,” Lyria giggled, holding up a satiny dress of a light pink color with long, heavily beaded sleeves.
“No,” Ravelina said, “I think I’ll stick with dancing. But I’m just saying that we should be getting credit here. This is hard work. How many dresses have you tried on?” she asked Lyria.
“Twenty?” Lyria guessed. “I lost count.”
The three contestants, and Aertis, were standing in the second dress shop they’d ventured to that day. Lyria had
