— Unknown Seamstress —

*dakata dkata dakata*

The rhythmic hum of the sewing machine filled the room. I finished my stitching and held the fabric up observing my work. “So many pockets. What the blight are these even good for?”

I held up a white mid-length formal trench coat and trimmed up the last of the threads. I had been commissioned to create custom uniforms for a bunch of new recruits. Everyone had the same basic clothes with individual customizations. There was the coat, a formal white shirt with feather-like frills on the shoulder, a feather esq ascot tie, a plain white vest with many many layers of fabric that appears as down feathers, and pants... were just normal white pants. The shoes though kinda looked like fuzzy slippers with black trim. Good thing they already had those made, I’m not a cobbler. The shoes were just entrusted with the enchantments.

They had come to me to help design the uniforms for their class. Every year each class got their own uniforms created. Something to do with distinguishing their specific class. This year the class had latched onto the owl theme. I love designing clothes, it was even fun for some of the customizations but some were just odd.

I went to double-check the fit on my special mannequin. After placing the uniform on the mannequin I pushed mana into it. Its shape changed and shrank slightly to the exact dimensions of the customer. I had to do this twenty times in a row. This was the last one, I still had some more pockets to add, but that shouldn't take much longer. Then I can finally take more orders. I had to push off some pretty good contracts to complete this commission. If I didn't owe them a favor I wouldn't have to push everything else off to complete their rush order.

I started with a base for all of them, which didn't take too much of my time. Once I had the base I was able to use a special technique to add or remove fabric with mana. It became almost like sculpting at that point. I kept a couple of extra bolts of the fabric to do this. That was not a quick process. Then each and every one of them had their own custom requests. The built-in weapon holds hidden pockets, custom embroidery, and magic enchantments.

The pockets were taking the longest, my partner Lila would handle the enchantment portion. I just needed to get everything else done. But this one request… Never had someone request so many pockets, everywhere, in the legs sleeves, some inside some outside. only a couple were to be lined with mana. When enchanted they would glow all along the seams giving them an ethereal glow.

‘Back to work.’

*dakata dkata dakata.* The hum of the sewing machine filled the room and faded to nothing.

— Aster—

I awoke from the dream to find myself in the same room I fell asleep in. “That was odd. Why was it a dream of a seamstress?” I put the dream behind me looking around the room. It had a few additions. A tailor’s mannequin sat across the room looming over a pile of random sowing supplies.

The dummy looked suspiciously familiar. “The dream.” I was drawn over to the figure from the dream. Once I made it to the mannequin I could see the difference. This one was much more worn and patched up. This one may not even hold mana. Next to it on a desk was a set of sewing supplies; a couple of bolts of cloth piled to the side and a note. Confused, I went over to the desk only to find a note with the title ‘Rogues Ball Rules’.

Rogues Ball Rules

Rule No. 1

No violence or harming the others in any way.

Rule No. 2

Don't reveal your name.

Rule No. 3

No removing of yours or any other mask.

Rule No. 4

You must make your own clothes.

Rule No. 5

When stealing, you must be subtle. Any blatantly overt stealing will result in a fine. (Fine depends on how overt to be determined after the ball.)

Rule No. 6

You must steal as many objects as possible. Each object is worth 2 points. You will also be given a Target object worth 10 points. If your object is taken and you are unable to recover it by the end of the time limit loss of 10 points.

Rule No. 7

You are only allowed to carry one object into the ball. No fake items or anything else, the clothes are allowed into the ball.

Lastly, prizes will be given depending on the number of points you have by the end of the night. There is no penalty if you go into the negatives, but you will not receive anything. One point is worth ten Silver's and the prizes are worth ten times the amount of the points. The ball will begin promptly at 9 p.m. and end at midnight. You have the time till then to create appropriate attire and to come up with your own plan.

“This is different...” I looked over the materials they provided me. I didn't know how to sow...or do I?’

Looking down at the desk I grabbed one of the cloth bolts as images flashed in my head. “Huh?” The knowledge of how to sow flashed through my mind. I guess I do.

I needed to make something for a ball. Without any better ideas, I began to sow a beautiful suit. My hands felt clumsy, I would miss a stitch or two, or would under or over judge where my hands were. Why do I always have an out-of-body experience the day after?

It took a few hours of sewing before I had gained full control once again. Although from time to time I would have trouble with the task, I eventually finished the suit.

The suit was passable, although it was patchy, almost a parody of a suit. The suit contained mismatched colors with visible stitching everywhere. It looked like a suit that had been worn a few too many times and repaired way too much.

I had sown a lot of hidden pockets and other useful things into the suit. I had some cloth left and a little time so I wore them like a scarf instead of a tie. It was a simple black fabric rough around the edges just like the suit. I placed the scarf around my neck, feeling the fabric covering my neck something about it felt right. I felt something I hadn't felt since this all began...safe. I reveled in the feeling until I heard a knock. Bringing me back to the moment I asked aloud. “Hello?”

“Hey, it's time.” Jane was in the hall. “Here is your mask. I will lead you to the ball so put on your clothes.” Jane handed over a plane white half-mask that covered the top part of my face.

“Okay.” Jane looked amused as I put on the patchwork suit without taking off the scarf. “Ready?”

I un-tucked the scarf pulling it to the top layer and was fully clothed. “Ready!” We made our way to the ball.

Jane led me to a normal door. “Go one through.”

“You're not coming?”

“This is your test. Good luck.” Jane smiled and walked away.