Out of the bubbles a single dainty foot emerged, glistening with suds reluctant to depart. Slowly the gentle arch circled one way, and then the other, as five shapely pedicured toes flexed back and forth. For a foot connoisseur it was the equivalent of a Château Lafyte or a Farrari California - to its owner it was simply her foot. Diana plunged her perfect appendage back into the warm water and let her eyelids slowly close.

The sounds of Hannah and Barbara drifted through the open door to the bedroom. Diana listened contentedly to their excited discussion of the seemingly limitless permutations of outfits and accessories for the evening. They both eschewed magic at times like this, preferring to prepare by hand all that went in to looking beautiful for a soirée. The only thing they enjoyed more than their own preparations was dressing their room-mate.

This arrangement suited Diana, because beyond looking suitably respectable, she had little interest in fashion. She was perfectly happy to give free rein to her friends for every aspect of her outfit and appearance for the night. During her first year at Luna Nova they had informed her of the latest trends in grooming and clothing that otherwise would have passed her by. She was well aware that many people put stock in these things and their help meant the world saw Diana Cavendish in a way that befitted her station in life. Soon their current efforts would be seen by the great and the good gathered in the Luna Nova ballroom, all eager to see the representative of the Cavendish family and ambassador of the venerable school.

Submerging herself further and instinctively blowing the foamy froth away from her face, Diana reminisced at similar events. The women would praise with an undercurrent of jealousy. The men would cast discreet yet lascivious glances, or if they were brave enough attempt their witty little compliments. The laurels of beauty others insisted on crowning her with were, to her, devoid of meaning. Unlike scholastic and magical achievement won through effort, her face, her body were unearned, simply a gift of nature and an advantage and power over others she was unwilling to exploit.

The reverie was broken by a gentle knock on the door frame. Diana turned to see Barbara walking over to her dressed in her expensive lace underwear chosen for the event.

"You looked relaxed in there" Barbara said playfully.

Diana raised herself up to rest on the edge of the bath, "I feel relaxed, the new bath salts are fantastic".

Barbara grinned and said, "I'm glad you like them, do you have a minute?"

A nod of agreement meant Barbara perched herself on the side of the bath, leaving Diana to slide down to re-cover herself with bubbles.

"I don't want to make you rush, but it is only two hours until the fundraiser starts"

From under a quizzical eyebrow came the reply, "It takes that long to make me look respectable?"

Barbara laughed, "Two hours to get you ready, not sure about respectable". Diana joined in the laughter and flicked a few drops of water at her friend who retaliated in kind.

"Okay, just give me five more minutes, was there something else?"

"We checked with the others and Lotte's dress is a pastel Maya blue and we picked out a azure dress for you"

"...and you think we may clash?"

"Not really, we thought we'd check though"

"I have complete faith in you and Hannah, complete."

With that Barbara started to leave before Diana asked "Is that lingerie new?"

"It's not really lingerie, but yes it's new...do you like it?"

"I do, five more minutes I promise", and with that Diana submerged under the water and returned to her thoughts.

It was a big night for Luna Nova, exactly three months after the missile. So much had happened. Overnight, along with Akko, Diana became one of the most famous people in the world. A whole different scale to the degree of fame already acquired. During the first couple of weeks Diana's focus was her friend. Fortunately Ursula had the same concerns and together they had stepped in to guide Akko and dissuade her from prematurely taking up offers to start a show based around her transformation magic. The isolation of the school from the outside world helped diminish the attention they felt, as did the Headmistress' protectiveness of her pupils. In the end they gave interviews to a local newspaper and one from Akko's home country. All the publicity and interest in witches was however an opportunity to bring attention to Luna Nova and raise some long needed funds.

And her time was up. Diana pulled herself out the bath, towelled down and headed into the bedroom. The complete outfit for the evening would be laid out on her bed, first though she would need to report to her room-mates for hair, make-up and two hours of gossiping.