The Crown Hunters: Quest for the Dress!

Eliza was in a crisis.

She stood in front of a wide open closet that was filled to the brim with clothes. Her hands rested in fists on her hips, a frown etched on her face. She appeared deep in thought for a moment. Finally, she sighed in defeat, falling back on her neatly made bed.

Winter Formal was quickly approaching and it was just now dawning on her that she had nothing to wear. Sure, she had dresses. She had dresses worthy of a (homecoming) queen. But to wear the same dress to two different dances? Eliza just couldn't stoop that low. If her friends at home got word of that? Please. She could buy one, but.. she was hesitant. Buying a formal dress was always something she'd do with her best friends. They'd try them on and twirl around and imagine what it was like to be a movie star for just a minute. She thought back wistfully, realizing how rare genuine moments like that were in her life. Shaking that thought, Eliza moved on to a bigger problem - she didn't even have friends to go with. The fact that she hadn't made any friends yet made her feel absolutely pitiful. She was supposed to be better than this. Still... Beata was a completely foreign world to her. Not only had she been flipped to the bottom of the food chain, but she'd been thrown into a world of magic on top of it. And taming hormone, super-powered teenagers was apparently just as hard as it seems. It made sense that she was struggling to find her bearings, right?

Suddenly, she shot up in bed, causing two of her accent pillows to roll off. (She has a plethora of them sitting artfully on her bed, because she's Eliza and everything has to be perfect, duh.) The young woman grabbed her wallet and bursts out of the dorm, startling her new roommates as she rushed past them. After 15 minutes, she stood outside of a dorm much like her own, knocking politely but insistently until someone opened.

Oliver opened the door, surprised to see Eliza standing there, almost vibrating with excitement (or anticipation? He couldn't tell). "Heyy, Eliza. What's up?" he said, failing to sound casual. He quickly straightened his hair, as he had just woken up and still suffered from Bed Head. He was honestly lucky he answered the door with a shirt on. After fixing his hair, Ollie tilted his head slightly. He was confused about what she was doing at his dorm. Was there a new development from the mission they were recently on? Oh God, did the crown get stolen again??

She was just about to knock again when the door opened. Eliza stood there with her fist in the air for just a moment, taking in Oliver's disheveled appearance with a raised eyebrow. "Hey, Ollie! Are you going to the Winter Formal? I never asked you earlier." She stopped, realizing how that might come across, her eyes widening a bit. "Not that I'm asking you as like, a date, but... I was assuming - hoping really, that you didn't have a suit yet. Are you free right now? Actually, I don't care." She didn't give him much room to protest. He looked presentable enough now, so she grabbed his arm and pulled him through the door, already on to the next room. "Come on!"

"Eliza! Hey hey!" he said as he was pulled out of his dorm. "I'm still in my pajamas! I don't have shoes!" he sighed. Hopefully, she'd let him go back to his dorm to throw on some clothes and fix his hair properly. Oliver realized that she had asked him a couple questions. "I.. uh. I haven't given Formal much thought honestly. But no, I don't have a tux yet. And I guess we could go together." he replied. "As friends! Of course." He blushed slightly as he was dragged down the hallway further. It's not like its a date or anything, b-baka.

Eliza froze midway through yanking Oliver out of the room, blinking as what he said processed. Flushing red, she let go of him, falling back slightly. "Right! I was just... emphasizing the urgency. All the good dresses are going to be gone soon, so you know. Hurry up." She leaned against the wall, inspecting her manicure with feigned casualness, her eyes flicking up as Oliver spoke. "Friends, yes." The girl breathed. Despite the awkwardness of the conversation, Eliza was distracted with the thought that maybe she had better luck making friends at Beata than she originally thought. Either way, nothing was as effective as forcing people to hang out with you, she knew that for sure.

Oliver quickly ran back into his dorm, throwing the door shut and dashing to his dresser. He quickly threw some clothes, just a simple t-shirt and some jeans, put his socks and shoes one, and put a sweatshirt on top. To complete the ensemble he put on a God-awful Lucio hat that he had found at a resale store a few months ago. He dashed back outside and caught up with Eliza. "Alright, ready to go," he said, adjusting his hat.

Danae-Alisse looked at the ceiling. Her bed was a cushioned coffin. Entombing the young teen into her mind and thoughts. So, that's it, is it? she thought, I mean, why isn't there more? Her mission only a short while behind her and, beyond a substantial credit bonus, simply had gotten a free meal, and then it was back to school life with a pat on the head. The school nurse had taken care of her injuries, her bullet wound, as if it were a simple scratch. No scar was left to mark its presence. It hadn't even needed stiches with the nurse's power. With how nonchalant yet quiet the debrief and follow-up of the mission was, the redhead felt as if they weren't supposed to chat about the mission. What they had done.

Danae-Alisse had completely misunderstood what missions would be. She had thought that retrieving the crown was meant as a sporting test. A volunteer duty that rewarded success with a cash prize. A way to try and make training entertaining by adding some mystery and challenge to it. And a way to meet other kids. Fun. Temporary help for those who either needed it or extra difficult hills for students to overcome who wanted to figure out the next step for their power. Not a mission with real consequences. Not a job where she and other students were to be deployed to save the day like some secret agent except, unlike the shows, Danae-Alisse couldn't turn off the TV when it became too horrifying. Not a quest where life and death rode on the line with men firing bullets without a semblance of hesitation at people who could be the same age as their children. Not where we'd kill, she thought.

Murderer.

The thought stemmed in her head before she could stop it. Fear gripped her and, before she could even raise the wall, they came in. Shadows danced in her mind, lashing out with darkened names as her mind twisted, writhed, and turned against her. Murdering freak who's a soulless, devil-born, damned child that fucks demons for the power to drown everyone around her. "No!" she cried, "I'm not!" But before her feeble defense could even mount to anything that pretended to be sufficient, a parade of broken water bottles to broken walls and shatters pipes that framed a road of riven asphalt and shattered concrete with shadows moaning in pain littered across the plain ending with a man who raised a gun at her. Reflexively, she lashed out and, snap, water whipped his head at a horrendous angle. He fell to a corpse with already glassy eyes and faded light that still managed to stare. To condemn.

"No! I didn't mean... she faltered, but the nightmares wouldn't leave her and drew upon her.

"Murderer! Freak! Witch! Soulless child of the devil who.."

"Shut up!" she screamed with words that were far more desperation than determination. But the water still responded to her emotions and rose in a smashing blast that sent the shadows into wailing agony. Danae-Alisse ran. Ran from the damning shadows that, despite her words, she couldn't fully deny as, deep down, Danae-Alisse knew she had done it. She had killed. Nothing could change that.

And as she ran, images, memories, came before her on a dark street she didn't want to imagine she recognized. Breaking all the facets in her home when she tried to only move the water in a glass. The redhead draining the local pool with her last cannonball there. Danae-Alisse blasting words and waters at tormentors whenever her rage broke free of the dam of apathy that she had become so pain could no longer reach her. The teen breaking the ceiling onto a horde of caged, mewling animals who had suffered more than enough without her help and hearing their last gargles before their cages sank forever.

To distracted by what was around her to remember where this dry, dusty road led, she ran head first into a wave of tendril gripping, yet still human, shadows that wrapped and entrapped her arms. Only then did Danae-Alisse remember where this dropless road end. And there it was. A dry wooden spike that stood as a monolith with bunches of branches bundled around it. She tried to stop, but, skidding along the dirt, the shadows dragged her screaming, desperate form forward as the chanting began. "Please!" she cried, "I didn't mean to! I didn't want to hurt anyone! Please! Please! NO NO NO!"


"Murderer! Freak! Witch! Soulless child of the devil! Murderer! Freak! Witch! Soulless child of the devil!"

And there! At the spike itself, along with another shadow that some semblance of pity allowed her mind to keep blank, stood the man with the gun and glassy eyes. Checking that each bunch was in its place while his twisted neck kept his glassy eyes on her. Sentencing her. "Please!" Danae-Alisse sobbed without tears, "I didn't mean to! I won't do it again! Please! I promise not to do it again! I won't do it again! I won't control water! One more chance! Please!"

The names of those she let her last desperate appeal to was almost upon her lips when a shattering series of knocks on her dorm door woke her from the nightmare that Danae-Alisse hadn't realized she'd fallen into. Daylight was streaming into her dorm window. Shaking, she breathed. Just breathed terrified breaths that drifted into a calm in and out. The knocks shot out again. "In a moment, she called out. Getting up, Danae-Alisse composed herself and checked the result in the mirror. Yes, her face looked natural and blank. Calm. No tear streaks lined them. Already in her school uniform for the day, Danae-Alisse turned and opened the door. "Yes?" she asked. The teen missed how the pipes in her bathroom softly groaned back into place upon her awakening.

Standing on the other side of the door, Eliza waited patiently with her hands behind her back. A polite smile rested on her face, but there was an excited energy brimming under the surface which only increased as Danae-Alisse opened the door. With an army green overall dress over a white shirt and matching beret, she resembled a Girl Scout ready to sell a box of cookies. (Eliza had been a Girl Scout in the past, and still held the record for the most boxes sold in her troop. Not that it had been hard for her, all things considered.) She wasn't offering cookies, however. Instead, she was waiting with a proposition - a demand, really. "Good morning Danae-Alisse. You're going to the formal, I'd hope. Do you have a dress yet? Because I'd really love it if you went with us to get one. It'll be fun!" She was careful to take a more reserved approach with Danae-Alisse than she had with Oliver. (As in, actually asking this time.) The girl always seemed so distant, like there was a wall between her and everyone else. And while Eliza's nature told her to push and push until she got through, she knew it would take a lot more finesse to break down those walls. For some inexplicable reason though, she wanted to try.

The redhead blinked a couple times. For a moment, she was quite surprised to see both Eliza and Oliver. Then, after a moment of thought, decided that there was at least some sense behind it. After all, they had worked on the mission together, the formal was fast approaching, and she supposed that they might also not have many friends so coming here was natural. Danae-Alisse vaguely wondered if she should be concerned about her own friend count. Pushing the matter aside, she said "Good morning Eliza, Oliver. I, er, no, I don't have a dress for the formal. In fact, I'm not sure I will be attending the formal." She had been entertaining the idea of attending if, for nothing else, being a part of the team that had returned the crown in the first place. Surely, they'd sacrificed enough to earn such a reprieve and, at least, a boon for doing such a duty.

But, on the whole, Danae-Alisse felt that her time would be better spent alone in her room. Plus, she didn't have a dress. Yet here Eliza was, offering to go dress hunting with her. Well, she supposed 'formal wear' hunting would be more accurate. Unless Oliver wore a dress too. Despite still having reservations to koing out, Danae-Alisse couldn't construct an argument that would deny the excited teen. Maybe she'll just let the matter drop with my hesitance, she thought.

As Danae-Alisse looked hesitant, voicing her doubts about the formal, Eliza's face slowly shifted into a pout - one partially real, partially exaggerated. As if she could hear the redhead's thoughts, Eliza nearly echoed them. "But this formal wouldn't be happening without us! We saved the crown, they owe us one night of fun." Pout still prominent, she crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Danae-Alisse expectantly, making it clear that convincing her to go away would be incredibly diffficult. Eliza Andrews was, above all else, stubborn.

Eliza's pouting facewashed over her like a tidal wave. That, combined with a stubborn air caused Danae-Alisse to waver. Looking at Oliver, it was clear he had been pulled into this as well. Although, he probably didn't need much convincing. Stalling for time, she avoided Eliza's gaze and bit her lower lip. In truth, the teen couldn't come up with much of a reason not to go. And it was true that they had gotten the crown back for the school in the first place. From all they had gone through, the team certainly earned a good party. And it was likely to take more effort to try and push Eliza away from this mad idea of going gown hunting than to simply go along with it. Sighing in defeat, she finally said "Alright, sure. Let's go shopping."

As soon as Danae-Alisse finally caved in, a grin spread across Eliza's face as she bounced up and clasped her hands together before her. "Perfect! It'll be fun, I promise." Making sure that the other girl was dressed appropriately for this kind of outing unlike some people, Eliza nodded approvingly and turned on her heel, beginning her trek to the mall. She didn't turn around, assuming the other two would follow in line.

Half an hour later, the trio made their way through the sliding glass doors of the malls entrance. Around them, people bustled about. Feeling perfectly at home in the organized chaos of a busy mall, Eliza grabbed hold of both Oliver's and Danae-Alisse's hand, pulling them towards a small boutique. Inside the lighting was bright and the decorations were simple, giving a minimalist and chic vibe to the store. Now, a focused look fell over Eliza's expression as she filtered through a clothes rack, pulling out a few dresses to examine the color and fabric more closely. Turning to her friends - who already looked out of place, she studied them as well. "See anything you like?"

True to her word, Danae-Alisse followed along in quiet obedience all the way to the mall. The hustle and bustle of the mall washed over her as a wave a white noise that droned in the background of her mind. However, upon entering the shop, it became clear that the redhead was certainly out of her element. While she had always liked to look of dresses, well, some dresses, she had always been a shorts and t-shirt kind of gal who dabbled into cargo pants and jackets when the weather turned cold. Any dress or skirt she wore generally reached to right above or stretched below her knees and certainly none of them hugged her form. In fact, the most revealing piece she had ever owned was a one-piece bathing suit that she wore whenever she fancied a swim. Which, by the by, wasn't that often.

But here, surrounded by the popular fashion of the day of dresses, Danae-Alisse was again confronted by how her own style horrendously clashed with the style of the age. Deep v-cuts, form hugging busts, spit hems to reveal the thigh, and some that reached even the hip. A growing blush splotched her cheeks as she fingered her way through the hanger, imagining herself in each dress and hurriedly brushing each one aside. Can't there at least be one that doesn't try to show off my breasts? she bemoned in her head, And why do size zeros still exist!

It took her a few moments to realize Eliza had asked a question. "Uh, no," she hurriedly replied, "nothing yet." Her own embarrassment prevented her from asking if Eliza knew of any places with dresses that didn't randomly or purposely reveal the wearer.

Oliver did indeed feel out of place at the mall crowded with people. He wasn't one to go shopping, he preferred to get most of his stuff (aside from groceries and other perishable items) from Amazon. He watched as Danae-Alisse sort through the dresses and he noticed that she seemed flustered or frustrated. All of these dresses seemed really small, and not in the size department. He picked a mint green dress off the rack and held it up to his chest. "I just don't know, do you think this is my color?" he said jokingly, mock rolling his eyes.

Looking over at Oliver and watching as he pulled the dress up in front of him, she rolled her eyes, biting her cheek to hold back a smile. "Oh, definitely not. This is much more you, don't you think?" She pulled out a dress that was a bit too scandalous, even for her. The entire thing was short, black and practically see through. It was practically lingerie. Although, the more she examined it, the more it grew on her. Perhaps not for this dance. Maybe next time.

Eliza watched as Danae-Alisse shifted through the dresses. She could feel the girl's discomfort, and taking into account her usual outfit and lack of style she figured all of the showy dresses Eliza was comfortable with were probably too much for this girl. Grabbing her hand once again (because Eliza really had zero respect for boundaries) she pulled Danae-Alisse to the corner of the store. These dresses were more elegant, more fit for a ball it seemed, and definitely more expensive. Still, she hoped the girl would have better luck in this section.

Danae-Alisse looked mildly relieved as Eliza took pity on her search through the dresses and guided her away from it. However, it did not prepare her for what she was lead to. Gowns bloomed into her vision as if she had entered a delightful garden, filled with an array of colors and flowers she had rarely seen. It was beautiful. Danae-Alisse lost herself in the colors, the feels, and the designs. The prices escaped her for a time as she wandered the racks, hardly daring yet entirely desiring to touch all of them. It was more than evident she would be awhile as they all seemed so wonderful to her.

"I'm still not sure, I'd feel trashy if I wore that in public." he quipped back. "Maybe in a more private setting, buuuuut.." He trailed off, realizing that the joke was worn out and Eliza had moved on to help Danae-Alisse find a dress. At least they were now in the more formal dress section, something that he would see at a normal high school prom. "I think the first step is finding the right color. That might narrow it down a bit. At least, that's how I like to choose clothing." But what would he know; formal dress (both suits and dresses) was a mystery to him. The last time he wore a suit was when he was like, 5.