Author's Note: Hiya! This chapter's a bit…weird…I actually modified Jea's outfit from another fanfiction I read a long time ago. Sorry I've been away so long…Life's been…Hectic…*bows low in apology* Enjoy!

Chapter Fifty Six

Jea shrugged at her daughter, unconcerned by the thief's behavior. As they reached the door, Jea twisted the knob. It was stuck. "Hmm…" The ranger gave the door some sharp tugs, trying to pop it open. "I guess the water and steam's made the door swell…"

Phalyssa gestured. "I'll get it." As her mother moved, Phalyssa twisted the knob and tugged sharply with all her strength. The door popped free with an odd noise and an outpouring of magic. A slender, handsome youth shoved his way passed Phalyssa and disappeared out the door. The two women took in his dusky skin and pale hair with some confusion, as Ambermist exited the room and slammed the door.

The thief looked older, and her body was once again lean and lithe. "Whew! I thought I would never get outta there! Thanks guys!"

Jea scratched one pointed ear. "Um…What's going on…and who was that? He seemed a might…short tempered…"

"I'm not quite sure about what happened…some sort of pocket dimension type time warp thing…That was my…er…son…Karrea Ambermist. I've been gone a while…like thirty years, a while…I didn't think you would still be here… I wasn't sure how much time had really gone by…"

Jea blinked in surprise. "Oh…Um…It's only been like a minute…" She opened the door and saw that it opened now to the baths for the women again. "Hmm…Whatever it was, it's gone now…"

Phalyssa shrugged. "Well, shall we go take our baths?"

The other two women shrugged and walked into the room. Jea tossed her cloak and Bag down on a bench. Her weapons followed, and her boots and belt. "All of us need to get super clean." Without another word, she stripped and jumped into the heated pool.

Sighing, Phalyssa removed her shirt, wincing at the stitches and bandages that pulled on her wounded flesh. "Mom? Can I get rid of the bandages yet? They're starting to pull."

Jea set the soap down and climbed out of the pool. "Here. Lemme see your back." Gently, the half elf undid the cloth, inspecting the healing injuries. They were healing nicely—and rapidly. "Nothing wrong with your constitution, lass." She hit her daughter with a light regeneration spell. "Give it five minutes and you'll be as good as new. You'll have to scrub good though."

Phalyssa followed the two women into the pool and spent the next hour or so soaking and scrubbing in the steaming water that never seemed to get dirty. She wasn't alone though. Her mother and Ambermist took the same time to relax and let the hot water work out tense and stiff muscles.

When they finally stepped out, Jea passed out large fluffy towels. Settling on a bench, the ranger dried her hair thoroughly before combing it out. Phalyssa found her well used, favorite comb to use on her hair, listening to it squeak as she worked out the tangles in the shining silver locks. Ambermist was searching through her bags for clean clothes, but Jea stopped her.

"We're not dressing normal for tonight, Ambermist. We're gonna be dressed to kill." Smirking, the half elf walked to her Bag of Holding. Rummaging through it, she pulled out something. "Happy Midwinter, Ba~reau Ambermist."

It was a red dress, made of the finest silks. Low cut, the dress was held up by almost invisible straps. The back was open and revealing; it would show as much as possible without breaking propriety. It was designed to hug the thin elven curves of a body, form fitting but still allowing for freedom of movement. The whole thing seemed to shimmer and sparkle in the light.

Ambermist smiled broadly. "Oooo…Where'd you get this? It's really expensive…"

Jea shrugged. "I don't remember. I think I wore it to a ball once. It's yours if you want it."

The dark skinned thief's smile got even wider. "That would be great. Thanks, Jea!" Ambermist darted off gleefully to dress.

Jea was still rummaging through the small red pouch. Soon she made a noise of triumph and revealed another dress—which she handed to Phalyssa. It was an intricate yet elegant blue dress trimmed in silver and white.

Phalyssa cocked her head. "You're gonna let me where this?" she squeaked incredulously, pointing to the thin spaghetti straps and daring neckline.

Jea nodded. "Sure. You've got a certain red head to impress, right? This'll make him drool."

Phalyssa blushed. "Thanks, Mom. This means a lot," she murmured as her thoughts whirled. What game was Jea playing? Phalyssa's mother seemed to be aware of something the teen wasn't, and she was maneuvering everyone around her like pawns in a chess game. In some ways it made the girl uneasy, but at the same time, the fact that her mother noticed things and tried to come to compromise with them was a nice thing.

Jea winked. "No problem, sweetie." The mahogany haired woman pulled something else out. "What do you think? Is it me?"

The girl's jaw dropped. "Mom, it's gorgeous. Where'd you get it?"

"I had it special ordered years ago. Cost me a small fortune. Do me a favor and hand this to Wolf. He's out side. It's clothes for the boys."

* * * * * *

Two hours later, Laguna exited to the main sitting room. Washed and groomed, the knight was wearing a black silk tunic, and a pair of extremely soft, supple buckskin breeches. Around his waist was an exquisitely made belt of panther fur, and to complete the look, his wedding band and a simple silver necklace with the emblem of his Order were worn.

Dumbugg twitched irritably from a nearby sofa. He too had been washed and his matted brown hair redone into a neater topknot. Like Laguna he was wearing a silk tunic, although his was a dark maroon. "I not like this much," he grumbled, fiddling with the itchy collar.

"I dunno…It's not that bad…" Aruka commented, inspecting himself. For once, the teenage Shapeshifter was wearing a shirt. It was, like others, made of very expensive silk, and a very deep shade of royal purple, so dark it was almost black. His breeches were worth at least as much as the shirt, made from a leather softer than anything anyone in the group had ever seen, and dyed a dark blue. His fur was neat and combed, and his mane had been tied into its customary tribal ponytails with small silk ribbons. Aruka's small fangs gleamed white as he smiled.

Wolf piped up from his seat on the floor. *Yep. Ya'll look mighty snazzy. And so does the pipsqueak.* Wolf's coat had been brushed by a servant until it was sleek, fluffy, and shiny. He held tiny Lupin by the scruff while the puppy tried to rid himself of the large blue bow tie he was wearing—he didn't like the accessory one bit. *Easy, squeaky,* Wolf said, adjusting his own forest green bow tie. *Leave it. It'll be off, soon enough.* Lupin fell silent, though he still whined once in a while.

A door opened and Ambermist strode in. "The others are almost done." The men stared at the clinging scarlet dress she was wearing. It left her shoulders and arms bare, as well as most of her back. The thin straps holding it up were almost invisible and a slit in the side that went up to just past her knee allowed freedom of movement. Matching gloves went to her elbows, and a rich necklace adorned her gray skinned throat.

She smirked at all of the men and their slack jawed looks. "What's the matter, boys?"

Laguna blinked in bewilderment, then replied in a pleasant tone. "You look nice, Ambermist. The dress suits you. But, um…what happened to…um, what I meant to ask was…um…"

Ambermist shrugged, chuckling at the knight's embarrassment. "Long story. Made real short: problem solved, no babysitting." She smiled and did a little twirl to show off the dress. "Does this look good?"

"Ambermist, stop hitting on my dad. Mom really wouldn't appreciate it…besides, his head might explode."

All heads turned as Phalyssa moved into the siting room. "Wow," Aruka breathed, his voice filled with awe. The rufus maned youth took an unconscious step towards her, eyes gleaming. "Phalyssa, you look absolutely gorgeous," he told her, utterly entranced.

"Do you really think so?" she replied with a alight blush, twirling for her audience. "Daddy?" the girl asked, looking shyly at her father, seeking his approval.

Laguna gave his sliver haired daughter a broad smile. "You look beautiful, Phalyssa."

Phalyssa beamed under her father's praise for a long moment before her smile turned wicked. "Heh…Wait 'til you see Mom…"

Aruka had approached Phalyssa as if she were a glass doll. With gentle fingers, he touched her cheek and leaned closer for a soft, sweet kiss. "You look very pwetty," he told her. Then his voice deepened to the tone she had come to know was the teenaged personality. "And, my dear, sweet friend and belovéd savior," he whispered hesitantly in her ear, "if I was enamored with you before, I am utterly captivated now…"

Phalyssa blushed again. "I…um…wow… You certainly are full of surprises, Aruka."

He winked at her mischievously. "Yep, sure am! Can I…" he paused nervously. "Can I escort you to dinner?"

Laguna sighed patiently, stifling the fatherly urge to kill the youngster that his daughter was so taken with. As long as they weren't doing anymore sneaking off to out of the way places, he decided that there was no harm in it all.

"Cute together, aren't they, Love?"

Laguna turned around at his wife's voice. She had snuck in while they were distracted, delightedly coming up behind her husband completely unnoticed.

The knight's body went rigid of its own accord. A rush of warmth to his loins made Laguna thank his god once again that his pants were loose. His breath and pulse quickened, bringing a flush to his cheeks.

The blonde paladin felt as awkward and bumbling as a young teen going out on his first date. "…Jea…You're…" —Heavenly!— he thought. With a gallant bow, Laguna stared up into her familiar mismatched eyes. "You are a Heaven sent angel, here to lead me to paradise by your beauty alone…"

Jea quirked her eyebrows. "Okay, Laguna, no more romantic poetry books for you—Oh, who am I kiddin'?" She hugged the knight tightly. "Thanks, Laguna. That was a sweet thing to say."

"It was deserved by someone as sweet as you, Jea."

Love shone in her eyes as she backed up to let everyone get a good look at what she was wearing. She wore golden-brown breeches made out of a leather even softer than Aruka's were. Her tunic was mostly white, reaching down to mid-thigh with slits that reached up to her hips on the outside of her legs. The bottom hem, including the slits, had been trimmed with an inch of gold cloth. The collar was made entirely of the same golden material, as well as the lining in the V shaped neckline.

A brown leather belt with small, round, evenly spaced gold discs fit snugly, pulling the tunic to hug her elven curves. The buckle of the belt was a gold wolf's head with gleaming sapphire gemstone eyes. Another belt, this one matching the golden brown of her breeches hung right below the first. Hooked right below the brown belt on her right side, it left the other side to fall at a slight angle on her hip. This angled belt was meant to give easy access to a small, decorative, gold hilted dagger encrusted with more sapphires.

Her favorite, well worn boots were gone, replaced by an masterfully made pair made of the same dark brown leather as her wolf buckle belt, and reached to just below the woman's knees. The unique heel gave her legs a longer, even leaner appearance, and the top of the boots had a thin gold trim line that matched her tunic. Larger round pieces of gold than on her belt had been placed directly underneath the gold lining following the curved design, with a blue crystal surrounded by gold on the center front piece.

On top of all this was a deep rich hunter green coat made of thicker cotton reaching down to just above her knees. A collar of the same color as her boots had been attached and had a thin gold line less than an inch from the border. It was cut to blend with the gold collar on her tunic. The coat collar reached almost the end of her shoulders. The sleeves, which reached down to her wrist, where folded back once to create slightly lighter cuffs. The very end was again lined with a thin gold band. Four brown buttons where set on the edge of the coat with matching gold rimmed slits on the other side, and two thin lines of gold ran across the bottom of the coat.

Her wild, mahogany hair had been brushed until it shone. With it's natural tendency to curl, the styling of it was easy. Most of it fell and curled on her shoulders, like some sort of wild an animal. Part of it had been pulled back with a tie, to pull it out of her eyes, and revealing her pointed ears. Make up had been applied very sparingly to her elfin face, accenting her attractive features.

Laguna, captivated by her, considered abandoning the dinner to take his wife back to their room in order to lavish all of his love on her person. Taking a deep breath, the paladin forcibly restrained himself, and calmed his body and mind down.

Phalyssa smirked as everyone stared at awe in her mother. The outfit was perfect for the woman. The colors not only went with her complexion, they were rather appropriate for her profession.

Jea looked around at her companions. "Shall we go?"

Laguna grinned boyishly and offered his arm. "May I have the honor of escorting you, Jea?" The ranger woman glanced shyly at her husband, eyes shining with emotion, before nodding in affirmation.

Aruka watched them, and copying Laguna, offered his arm to Phalyssa. The silver haired girl laid her hand on his elbow affectionately, and grinned up at him, her eyes twinkling merrily.

Ambermist glared at Dumbugg. "Don't get any ideas," the elf muttered, stalking after the others alone. Dumbugg gave a curious blatt! of puzzlement and trotted behind Ambermist. Wolf rolled his yellow eyes, and carried Lupin to the dining hall.