"Of course, mistress." Chen curtsies in her rags and immediately hops off the dais. "This way, mistress, if you please, we'll all need to change and I um...know a good place." 

She does of course, Chen knows the city well and has been through the streets many a time despite Ysel's strict training regimen. It was the very nature of being a growing teen in a city of wonders that one had to partake of them, and it would not be the first time that Chen had gone to seek maid costuming in Ys, though it would be the most open she'd ever been about it. But nothing to be done there, she blushed and she led because that was how a proper servant had to be for someone new in town. She couldn't possibly let her mistress wander about by herself. Or her dear sweet girlfriend and helpless handmaiden. No, that's why she first offers her hand to the Pyre of Meaning to help her down properly and then to Rose in turn, who's still a little stunned.

How are you doing, sweet Rosepetal? For Chen this is a perfect combination of her own fantasies and Keron's training. But have you reverted to a silly ditz or are you managing a modicum of cute elegance from all that time in the Sky Castle? You probably trip and nearly fall right onto the Pyre of Meaning and Chen has to dig you both out, but be sure to tell us all about it!

Meanwhile lets get to the costumes. Ys is a city of wonders! It's full of all sorts of places, new and old all mixed together in a big hodgepodge, so of course you're going to find a tailor's shop with automated sewing machines and lace embroidery being done by hand all together. That's what puts the love into it! 

Chen picks out for herself a short-sleeved maid dress with layers of wide poofy skirts. First there's the white underskirt and white leggings going down to her shiny high heels (the tallet she's looked to date, coming up nearly to match the Pyre's chest!). Then atop that she's got the main maid dress in its classic black with lots of ruffles going down her thighs to just above the knees and flaring out because of the underskirt. Then atop that she's got her white ruffled apron with lace edging that's only a few inches shorter than the black skirt and has some stitching to give it body. It gives the impression that her skirt is constantly billowing up because of the layers of fabric and she has to gather and smooth it down constantly, and it makes her look wide and fluffy. Above that she's got the dress gathering in around the waist and coming up over the breasts and shoulders but leaving her upper chest bare-skinned. There's a layer of frilly white lace going across the top of the breasts to join with the puffy lace shoulders of her apron which flare up on both sides both going to her black short sleeves which cut off well above the elbow. To complement, she wears a lace choker with a black ribbon holding it in place around her neck and of course a proper white headpiece with ruffled folds in her hair. And because she's a Princess, her one affectation is to set a single diamond in her headpiece, adding just a little sparkle. Lastly, after a moment's thought, she gets a set of dark gray kitty ears like the snow leopards she's been imagining and adds that to the ensemble as well. It's not quite the same as a sunshard, but it gets the effect across.

For sweet Rosepetal, well, Chen lets her pick out her own clothes because a good maid should be able to dress herself, but when they get in, she insists on adding a diaphanous white silk scarf over the top of the Pyre's handkerchief, tying it about Rose's face and behind her neck just so, tight enough to give her a nice feeling of constant pressure but not so much that it hurts. And through the translucent material you can still make out the purple of the Pyre's handkerchief stuffed into her mouth behind it. Chen gives her a pat and tells her sweet little Rosepetal to go and pick out the rest of her outfit now that she's properly shut up by her Princess. 

Only then, when they're done does Chen pose for the Pyre, offering a proper curtsy and then a cute nyan with her hands up together by her neck making little pawsies with her fingers. Then she pulls Rosepetal into a pose (the silly thing!) and they both twirl together and giggle, or as much as Petal can manage through her gags. 

But that's not all, they can't be done just because they got dressed, oh no no no. There's still a battle going on in the city and the Pyre asked them to help repair things. A good maid always carries out her mistress' will! And a better maid does it before her mistress even fully comprehends it. Which is why once dressed, Chen turns to the Pyre (who by the by ought to have picked out her own outfit, a proper servant hardly left her mistress wanting for dress!). "This way please, mistress. We must hasten!" and somehow she's still got her sword slung across her back, no harm done to the dress as she smoothes it out almost to the knees and then guides them outwards. There was a whole hoard of demons here after all and they need to be properly rounded up. 

Chen darts expertly in and among the shops, stalls, street vendors, and bustling crowds. Now that the Pyre isn't in her procession they're amidst the crowd and the whole thing has become rather a spectacle of Ys for the day, no less awesome for its small scale than the vast beasts that had been fighting in the street just prior. After all, how often does a vast beast turn into a regular-sized demon with two elite maids waiting on her and rounding up all her various demon servants? Oh and they are everywhere. Chen has to bend down with all her thick skirts and pull them out from under carts and reach up on her little tippy toes to grab some that are trying to crawl up the rain gutters and the advertising banners. And poor sweet Rosepetal just keeps falling into them everywhere she goes, isn't that right?

But then there's still one last thing (and many more things still after that, but one last thing for now). After they've made their way down the street and back towards the gates, it's imperative, in fact utterly mission critical that they stop at a small izakaya and Chen duck into the back (poor Rosepetal, left to entertain the Pyre all by yourself, you'll have to manage for a few minutes) where she informs the owner that she'll need to assist with the cooking. 

Now, Chen is not a baker on the same tier as Yue when it comes to amazing flavors and weird fish-eclairs. But she [i]does[/i] know how to make pancakes and she [i]did[/i] purchase some lovely chocolate chips in one of the shops while pulling out a strange little demon who kept talking about chefs made of some kind of metal. And so she's going to quickly and carefully take over the Izakaya kitchen and make a batch of the most lovely chocolate chip pancakes with cinnamon and just a hint of nutmeg. And of course, they're providing maid service here, so there needs to be a full and proper treat with this. That is why Chen serves them and draws a happy smiling face with the whipped cream, and then daintily places a cherry nose and, with a smile on her face to match the pancakes, presents the whole stack to the Pyre. "For your strength mistress" she adds, holding a deep curtsey once she's no longer holding the platter. 

Because, well, she had to. She [i]had[/i] to, and now they could get to all the radiant knights and princess Yin with no regrets!