With Sirona’s acceptance of her invitation for some new clothing, she and Serafina needed to leave the Second Circle. The tailor that worked for Serafina was the most well-to-do tailor in Vilpamolan, and ironically one of the best in Canelux. At first, Vilpamolan’s inhabitants had found it rather odd that such a fine artisan had taken up residence in their seedy little port town – until it became known that she had moved her tailoring business there at the request of Serafina Volkov. Even before Serafina’s ascension, even before Nemesis took his mantle, the Volkov name held quite a large amount of weight throughout Revaliir. After their ascensions, the name only became more powerful.

As the pair of goddesses made their way to the tailor’s shop, Serafina focused on making small talk with Sirona. Of course, there were many questions she wanted to ask her, but she did not want to bombard her with overtly personal questions right off the bat. After all, it was a miracle in and of itself that the two were now on speaking terms, and were somehow even forging a friendship of sorts. If Sirona had truly forgiven her for her transgressions (even if Serafina did not think they should have been an issue in the first place), pressing her too far too quickly would do nothing but damage any trust that was being built between the pair.

When they reached the entrance to the tailor shop, Serafina stopped Sirona. ”I just want you to know that Auremelia, the elven woman that runs this place, operates under the strictest of confidences,” she explained. ”Anything that is said in front of her will never be repeated, or she will forfeit her life. She signed a contract,” Serafina added simply. She knew that this particular caveat may not be one that Sirona would be a fan of, but she needed her to know that they would be essentially speaking in private as Auremelia worked her magic on constructing something for Sirona.

They passed through the doors into the establishment and were immediately greeted by Auremelia, who shut the door behind them and locked four separate deadbolts and chains attached to it, securing them. ”My lady, welcome! And you have brought, my goodness, it cannot be! The Lady Sirona, of course,” said Auremelia, bowing her head in deep respect for Sirona. ”Jasuin sent word you would be coming with her,” she added to Serafina with a broad grin. ”I do so love when that boy comes my way,” she added with a cheeky smirk. ”I’ll go ready the fitting station for you then, my lady,” she said to Sirona, before bowing out of the room.

Serafina offered a smile to Sirona. ”She’s rather eccentric, but by the gods she is talented,” she said. ”What she will have you do, is stand on a pedestal in the center of the room. She’s going to use a measuring spool to take your measurements. She will measure around your shoulders, the length of your arms, your neck, across your chest and bust, stomach, waist, inseam, and legs,” she said, gesturing to each part of her own body as she explained it. ”She will not touch you unless absolutely necessary and she will only be doing it out of necessity,” she said, hoping that Sirona would understand.

Shortly thereafter, Auremelia came back and led the two women into the fitting salon. Serafina took a seat on one of the settees that lined the room, while Auremelia showed Sirona how to stand on the fitting pedestal, beginning to get to work on measuring Sirona. Serafina could sense the angelic goddess’s discomfort with the measuring, so she decided that starting a conversation would be in the best interest of the both of them, and it would afford her an opportunity to ask a question of the goddess, one that would make sense with the situation at hand.

”So, Sirona,” she said softly, keeping a safe tone to her voice. ”I’ve got to ask, and I understand if it is a difficult question, but… why are you the way you are when it comes to your body?” she asked. Coming from anyone else it may have seemed lewd or completely vulgar, but it was rather timid for someone like Serafina. She just wanted to understand why it seemed like her fellow goddess was ashamed of her body. After all, Serafina had seen it – and it was nothing to be ashamed of! If not be ashamed, Sirona should have been celebrating her absolute beauty.

While Serafina awaited an answer – or a non-answer – Auremelia went to work measuring and jotting things down. After the measurements were taken, she would discuss what type of garment to make.

To say that Sirona was a bit nervous about all of this was an understatement, to say the least. Here she was with Serafina, who not too long ago wanted nothing to do with her, now walking through the streets of Vilpamolan together to a tailor. Serafina’s idea of getting Sirona some new clothing that would retain Sirona’s modesty but allow for a bit more… freedom, was intriguing to the angel. She wanted to break this way of thinking, now that she no longer had the Revolution Aspect toying with her thoughts, she realized how much she was holding herself back. Even at the Cathedral some had noticed a small change in her, she had relaxed some of the rules and that wasn’t something that hadn’t gone unnoticed, or unappreciated, by the Clergy. Obviously not all of them though the way that she did, or at least not to such extremes, so for her to calm down on the rules was welcoming.

Serafina stopped them just at the entrance to the shop and Sirona turned to look at her as she spoke. Sirona nodded as Serafina finished, she didn’t question the forfeiting of life part, resigning that to just be the way that Serafina operated. ”Ok.” Was all Sirona replied with as they walked inside and were greeted by Auremelia. Sirona managed a friendly smile to Auremelia and nodded her head as Auremelia bowed. ”Greetings, Auremelia.” As Auremelia left the room to get the fitting station ready.

Her attention turned to Serafina then as the other Goddess explained what was going to happen. Taking Sirona’s measurements would be the first time that happened to Sirona, as, if she had been asked, she would have to confess that she had no idea what her ‘sizes’ were. She just tried on clothing until she found something that was too small or too large and that was close enough. ”Ok, I understand, I’ll, uh, I’ll do my best not to squirm… or hit her with a wing.” Sirona replied, well, at least she was honest what her reaction might be.

Auremelia came back in and got them both to follow her into the fitting salon, and while Serafina took a seat Sirona was ushered to the pedestal and Auremelia showed her how to stand properly for the fitting. Sirona took a deep breath as Auremelia started to measure and while Sirona did twitch a couple of times at the start she calmed a bit as time went on, Serafina starting a conversation helped to.

However the question was a rather difficult one for Sirona to answer and it took her a moment before she started to reply to Serafina. ”I don’t know.” She started and sighed, even Auremelia paused for a moment before she got back to measuring. ”I’ve always thought like this, always viewed myself the way that I do, always have been sickened by the idea of any kind of sexuality.” Even saying the word it showed in how she had to almost force it out. ”Or at least I have been ever since I woke up in Onnen years ago now.” She confessed and sighed, well, might as well explain it all as she knew it then. ”Not sure if you know, but I’m not from this world originally, I was… banished here by my older ‘brother’, Gabriel. He is now in this world, along with my blood sister Artiya’il and our parents, and a few more from my extended and rather, uh, dysfunctional family. They’re all archangels while I’m a ‘regular’ angel, aside from now being a Goddess. Anyway, Gabriel banished me from Heaven because I had been asking too many questions as to where my father was, among other things. I pushed things too far one day and Gabriel, in in his rage, banished me, but he put so much extra power behind his spell that he knocked my memories loose. Honestly I can’t remember anything before I woke up in Onnen with my armour and my sword, that’s all I had. I only know as much as I do because Arti has told me about it because she became angry when she found out that I had been banished.” Sirona explained.

”Arti has said that she can get my memories back from when I was in Heaven, but so far I haven’t wanted them back. I know it would answer more than a few questions, not the least of which is why I have all those tattoos on my skin. But, I can’t bring myself to remember everything, even if it might help, I’m… terrified that if I remember everything I’ll get, well, worse, than I am now.” She stopped there, she had had opened a lot to Serafina in what she had told her, the only being that knew Sirona was scared of getting back her past memories was her own sister.

Serafina found herself rather impressed at the fact that Sirona wasn’t throwing punches at Auremelia. She did noticea few twitches here and there, or a quiver of discomfort when Auremelia accidentally brushed against her without warning. Of course, nothing the seamstress was doing was with ill intentions. When she asked her about her tendencies, she hadn’t put too much thought into the fact that it could make Sirona even more uncomfortable – she had asked as a means of giving her something to talk about, something to think about other than the stranger measuring her body.

When Sirona did begin to answer her, Serafina remained respectfully silent. It was clear she was listening intently, but she didn’t make a sound, only nodding in understanding as she spoke. She knew it would be rude enough to interrupt her, but it seemed that this was an incredibly uncomfortable topic for Sirona to talk about. Interrupting her would give her a reason to not continue, and Serafina was truly interested in why her behavior had transpired as such.

She has surmised as much that Sirona wasn’t from Revaliir originally. She could not remember if she had been told that, or if it was just an assumption she had come to on her own – but how she knew was irrelevant. Listening intently, Serafina sat back, watching Auremelia take Sirona’s measurements. She knew that Auremelia was a professional, but she was going to give her a bonus when she paid her this time. With the things Sirona was talking about, Auremelia had barely even flinched, as though she were completely tuning out the entire conversation. Perhaps she was, but Serafina didn’t care. What she did care about was the fact that she was remaining professional. That was why she continued to work with her over and over again.

After Sirona had finished, Serafina gave her a moment in case there had been something else she had wanted to add before she chose to speak. She picked her words very carefully, not wanting to say the wrong thing and forgo the progress it seemed Sirona had made in speaking to her. ”That certainly sounds like a difficult past to come from,” she finally said, her voice soft and with a tone of caring and understanding. ”I think your choice not to immediately take them back shows great courage. Many of us would be chomping at the bit to get back what we had lost, but you took the initiative to know that there could be additional consequences,” she said.

Before Serafina could say anything else, Auremelia stood from where she had been measuring Sirona. ”M’lady Sirona, you may step down from the pedestal. I have the measurements I need for the time being. I will go back to my office and bring out a few patterns for you to look at, along with some fabric samples. The Lady Serafina has told me you are looking for something much more modest than what she wears, but still a bit… fun.” The look on Auremelia’s face gave way to the fact that she was not entirely sure what Serafina had meant by modest and fun. The two seemed to be mutually exclusive, but she was going to try her hardest to please her most wealthy buyer. Auremelia then bowed deeply and left the two alone.

Serafina patted the cushion next to her. ”Come, Sirona, sit, you’ve been standing up there spilling your guts for a long time. Relax a moment,” she said. Just then, another woman they had not yet seen came in pushing a cart filled with different beverages both alcoholic and not and a few assorted food items.

Serafina poured herself a glass of wine and looked at the non-alcoholic offerings. ”They’ve brought some water, and some fruit juices… what do you care for?” she asked Sirona, politely. She then poured whichever it was she decided on.

”You know, that can’t have been easy for you to share with me, Sirona. Thank you. You didn’t have to, but I am truly appreciative that you did,” she said. ”I wish that I had something as revealing to share with you, but I’m afraid I mostly have already,” she said, indicating when she told Sirona of her human past. ”The finer details involve things that would most likely make you rather uncomfortable, which is why I left them out. If you wish to hear about them some day, I will certainly share, but until then, they will remain kept away.” She took pause in order to sip at her wine.

”You know,” she said, a thoughtful look on her face. ”In Inferos there exists a place in which one is forced to face their deepest, darkest fear,” she said. ”I could manipulate that part of the realm to help, I think,” she said, though she was not entirely sure how to manipulate it or in what manner just yet, but she wanted to bring the idea to the table. ”And if you did not like what you found out, I could help you find a way to wipe it from your memory again,” she added, in the most friendly manner she could.

Sirona was about to reply to Serafina when Auremlia stood up, finished with her measurements. Sirona stepped down from the pedestal as Auremlia spoke, saying she would be back with samples of patterns and fabrics. But the way she ended the last sentence even Sirona had to give a sideways glance. ”Yes, that is correct…” There was under lying apology in her tone as Auremlia headed into the back of the shop.

The angel took a seat next to Serafina and breathed in that was one part of this over. ”Juice, please.” Sirona replied as Serafina poured it and Sirona accepted with a nod of thanks as she sipped it. As Serafina spoke, Sirona was listening, but she was also thinking at the same time, on what had been happening in the last few months, what was happening now. Here she was, in a tailor’s shop, sitting next to Serafina, having a new dress, or some other kind of clothing, made that would be far different than anything she had worn before. Even the fact that she was out of her Cathedral without wearing her armour was one large step forward for Sirona. In the back of her mind she kind of wanted to have brought Lume with her. Having the little owl griffon around helped ease Sirona’s tensions, a support animal of her own, keeping him close in her arms to pet.

”Perhaps one day, yes.” Sirona replied, she would like to get to know Serafina better as a friend, but knew at this moment hearing about those kinds of details would be too difficult. Better to leave them for later when Sirona could handle them without getting sick at the thought of… whatever horrible things might Serafina lived through.

Sirona sipped the juice as she leaned back and looked at thoughtful expression on Serafina’s face. A place in Infernos that could make Sirona face her deepest, darkest fear? Her wings shifted a bit as Sirona stared into the middle distance as she thought on that. What was her greatest fear? Her worst memory? Would that place only draw from what she currently remembered or would it dredge up something from before Sirona’s time in Onnen? Sirona knew what she was currently afraid of and had a good idea what her worst memory could be, at least two options anyway. One of them was the first time she and Serafina had met, or at least the morning after, and the other was when she had found out how her mother had lost her wings.

But could there be something else buried in her mind that she wasn’t aware of?

Taking a deep breath Sirona nodded. ”Ok, let’s do that.” She stated simply and looked to Serafina. ”If I’m going to try and get over whatever it is that causes me to think like this, that might just be the key. Do I like the idea of it? Not at all, but, is it the right choice? I believe that it is, no matter how difficult it might be, I need to know. Maybe then I can actually look at myself in a mirror.” That last part she hadn’t meant to say out loud, only think it, but it did not seem like she noticed she even said it in the first place as she sipped her drink again.

Serafina was a bit taken by surprise when Sirona accepted her offer to visit her darkest fears. She had assumed that she would at least think about it, but she had not been prepared for her to be on board with the idea so quickly, without so much as asking more questions about it. The last little bit of what she said, about not wanting to look at herself in the mirror, seemed offhanded, almost as though she did not mean to say it. Serafina, however, chose to make light of the situation and the comment, as Auremelia had reentered the room with several kinds of fabric slung over her arm, along with a few scrolls containing different designs. ”Is this an alright time?”” Auremelia asked, to which Serafina nodded.

”Absolutely – in fact, Sirona, once you’ve got a garment made by this woman’s hands, you won’t be able to stop looking at yourself in the mirror!” she exclaimed.

Auremelia set to work in showing Sirona the different fabrics. They were made of different materials, some closer to leather and some closer to lace, but all incredibly soft, even if they didn’t appear as such. Some of them were more sheer, to create panels that created the illusion that the garment would be more revealing than it actually was. Serafina joined them, offering her commentary on what she thought about each piece.

”This is the one, if you ask me,” she interjected, pulling a piece of parchment out of Auremelia’s hands and brandishing it at Sirona. It was an elegant, floor length dress. It would be more fitting on Sirona’s form, until just a bit above her knees, where it would then flare out into a bit more of a skirt. It was a long sleeve dress with a higher neckline, but from right above what would have been a strapless deep v-cut in a normal dress, the fabric would transition to something sheer that covered her chest and arms, to offer her more modesty. The dress would have been backless down to the very small of her back as well, but that was also covered in the sheer fabric. ”What do you think?’ she asked her, hoping that Sirona would agree with her. ”I think it gives you the appearance of a more daring wardrobe, but allows you to still feel fully dressed. What do you say? We can have Auremelia whip it up for you, it won’t take her long at all… the woman is a genius,” she added, giving Auremelia a warm grin.

”If she makes it for you and you don’t like it, she can always make something else. And you can try it on in private, so you will be the only one to see it first,” she added, knowing that would most likely be important to her. ”Come, then,” she said, standing up and offering her arm out to Sirona so they could leave arm in arm, much as friends would. She didn’t really give her fellow goddess a chance to protest, but she also didn’t think she would. ”We’ll head back to the Second Circle and we can talk about that other thing a bit more, I’m sure Auremelia won’t mind delivering the dress when it is done.” Auremelia indicated agreement with nodding. Serafina obviously meant they could discuss manipulating a particular section of Inferos to offer more insight into Sirona’s missing memories, since it was going to take quite a bit of effort and there were many details to discuss. With that, the pair took their leave from the seamstress’s shop, headed back to the Second Circle.

When Serafina said about looking at herself in the mirror Sirona flushed, she had not realized that she said that aloud it seemed. But she did not comment on it instead just went to looking at the fabric samples that Auremlia had brought out for them to look at. As Sirona went through them she knew she didn’t want leather, it was too stiff sometimes and heavy and she didn’t like the feel of it, but the lace was too transparent for her tastes to.

But then Serafina interjected and held up a dress for Sirona to look at. It was floor length and flared out just above the knees. Long sleeve and a higher neckline and backless down to the small of her back, though Auremlia would have to account for Sirona’s wings to. After a few moments to thinking Sirona nodded. ”Ok, let’s go with that.” She said with a nod as Serafina stood up.

Sirona did to as she saw Serafina offer her arm and all Sirona did was look at her arm and then back to Serafina and then back to the arm again. But Serafina did not give Sirona a chance to comment or protest as she hooked their arms together and started dragging Sirona towards the door. A spark of magic popped from Sirona and Serafina looked to her, asking if the angel had just put a magic barrier between them so that their skin was not actually coming into contact. Sirona looked sideways for a second. ”N, no.” She removed the barrier and accepted that this was happening, besides, it was not like this was uncomfortable either.

So, the two Goddesses headed back to the Second Circle to see if they could dive into Sirona’s forgotten memories and see what might have happened in her past to make her the way she was today.