It was easier and more practical to get Rosaria in her dress before Solae tackled her own. The handmaiden-in-training did not have experience with courtly finery for formal affairs. As a result, the duchess helped her step into the glimmering soft grey ensemble that Ten had provided tailored for the teenager's use. Protocol dictated that a handmaiden was to look refined and elegant, but their adornments should not steal attention from those they served, and thus the design was more plain than it would have been if she was of higher station. The criminal mastermind had also been careful to select something with sleeves to conceal healing injuries and scars. Draped silk was more snug around her torso and upper arms, flowing from her elbows to her wrists, and from her waist to the floor. Fabric was gathered around the right shoulder and crossed to the opposite side's hip for visual interest. A noble familiar with the subtleties of fashion would know that this was meant to be a nod to the fact a handmaiden was the 'right hand' of her mistress.

The newly appointed duchess wore the Falia family colors, a deep, cerulean blue, that edged on the color of a night sky or the depths of the ocean, and a glimmering, pale gold, which mimicked the treasured unnatural hair color they had cultivated through genetic manipulation. Her gown was a jeweled dark sapphire with a fitted bodice and modest neckline, the sleeves of which were semi-sheer. All of the edges of the garment were decorated with aureate crystals that glittered when they were under any form of illumination. There was a great deal more latitude given to women than men when they were trying to passively assert their title in an appropriate setting. So long as they were faithful to the two tones appointed to them they could take liberties, but it was a faux pas to expose cleavage or scandalous amounts of skin. The skirt of the gown swept the floor with a short train that could be carried if need. Personally Solae preferred a more adventurous style, and specifically sought out dresses that were at the knee in the front and to the ankle in the back, as it was a dramatic effect she admired, but she wanted to be conservative with the Kalderi until she knew their levels of tolerance.

Upon her breast she pinned the emblem of the Falia family line, a fox-like creature who sat turned towards its observer, its tail a bursting star behind it, all of which was on the deep blue background she now honored. The points on the star used to correlate to the number of generations back their ancestry could be traced, but modern technology had shed so much light on history that it was no longer pragmatically possible to do so. One of Solae's great grandfathers had settled on the number ten arbitrarily since it was used as a base for units of measurement. There had been some in-fighting centuries ago to make additional changes, but tradition had won out against aesthetic innovation, and so the crest remained untouched. As she stared at her reflection after affixing the pin to her chest she realized that she had the power now to revise it completely if she wished. Her cousins could object, of course, but the moment she was elevated to duchess she was conveyed an unalienable right to rule over her relatives with every whim. The empress might have already passed this news to them down the proper channels. How they would react to her newfound prestige she did not know.

"Let's go," Solae told Rosaria with a smile as she slipped into her shoes and started towards the door.

"What about the jewelry?" Rosaria inquired, pointing to a locked metallic box of necklaces and a comb tiara that had been packed with her things. At first she opened her mouth to reply that she only wore the tiara with Rene in the evenings, with a sort of playful role-play, but she remembered her audience before a single word fell from her lips. Even if she and the youth had been close companions and of similar ages, she did not think she would ever want to share what she enjoyed in the privacy of the bedroom with her fiance.

"I don't want to appear to imperious," she said as she regained her mental composure. "We are asking them for favor, for understanding, for help. If I adorn myself with too many trinkets I might undermine my asserted humility and they get the wrong impression, turning us away because they think I seek riches. This should be enough, but not too much," Solae murmured, trying to convince herself more than the adolescent. "Let's see how Rene, Yarue, and Dasin are doing. The Kalderi will be here soon."

As she strode out to the hold she was still brushing her hair. Much as she would like to do an elaborate up-do, her hair had grown long enough that this would take more time than they had at present before their 'guests' arrived, and there was no one who could assist her well enough to execute the tight braids and bindings required. The best she could manage was to tie it back above the neck, twisting it upon itself once before securing it with a lacquered clip painted with an iridescent glaze design portraying a nebula. It was not as exact a match to her gown as she had hoped, but it did not clash nor look terribly out of place.

"Are you ready?" she asked, giving Rene a chaste kiss before withdrawing to take in his regalia. "Did I ever tell you how fond I am of a man in uniform?" Solae teased albeit not insincerely.