I'm starting to get into Bethany/Isabela. They're an adorable couple and they contrast so well!
Isabela liked to take Bethany to Northern Silks.
Frequently.
Northern Silks sold lingerie - for the inexperienced all the way to the very top. The Blooming Rose wouldn't buy from any other store. Isabela was such a frequent customer that she had a tab with the store mistress. And now that Isabela knew Bethany a bit better, she was determined to outfit her in the best that money could buy. Garrett lamented the money that was spent, but Isabela waved it aside, frequently buying things out of her own purse.
Which was how Bethany found herself there on a day where she should probably have been in the Chantry, because she liked to go to worship every once in a while. She found it reassuring - a bit like home. Isabela was an incorrigible heathen.
"I like this one," Bethany offered up feebly, holding out a full-length silk nightgown.
Isabela wrinkled her nose. "Oh, Sunshine, you can't be serious. That's just so…long, and prudish. Old ladies wear that. And the polka dots? So last Wintermarch. Anybody who's anyone wears solid colors now."
"I'm not anyone," Bethany pointed out.
"So? You will be someone soon. As soon as your mother gets back the estate, right? You got to look the part." Isabela's deft fingers darted through a rack of lingerie in shades of rich deep blue. "Aha. This is ravishing."
Bethany blushed. Isabela had selected a garment that left nothing to the imagination. It was cut so high that Bethany figured it probably wouldn't cover all her butt, and the bodice was made of nothing but lace.
"Oh, I couldn't. I just…it's so impractical."
"Exactly. Rule of lingerie - the more impractical it is, the sexier it is. But maybe…maybe you're a purple kinda girl. I like white myself, but you're far too pale. Yes, purple!"
In purple, Isabela found a lace slip that just barely tied up in front, and a garter. Bethany didn't know how to wear a garter. It looked like something you'd tie up a dog to the front porch with. At least the slip, even if it could be ripped apart with a breeze, was something she could figure out how to put on. Isabela found a white silk and lace confection for herself, and they both went into the changing room.
As she surveyed herself in the mirror, Bethany was appalled. She looked completely different - this wasn't the Bethany she knew, the girl who stayed in the shadows and ducked her head as she passed people, the Bethany that lived in fear. This Bethany was bold, daring. This Bethany wouldn't need to fear the templars, wouldn't hate and fear her magic.
"Sunshine? Let's see." Isabela came out with a whisper of silk. "Oh, you look beautiful!"
"I look…different."
"Of course you do. The first time you wear lingerie for someone, you'll never forget. Lingerie is good like that."
"I don't have anyone to wear it for," Bethany admitted.
"Oh, sweet thing. You could wear it for me."
Isabela watched, amused, as Bethany flushed a deep, bright red.