"Remind me again why I'm here?" The tactician was used to being consulted for advice, but this was new. The marketplace was bustling, the midday weather pleasantly cool, and shoppers going about their business. Robin had agreed to visit the town with Lucina, simply assuming that she was out to but supplies or scope out any weapons that they might procure. However, her objective went on a completely different tangent. Dress shopping.
"Have you seen the way father dresses? I doubt he'd be of any help here." Holding up a blinding green dress with orange spirals, Lucina eyed the garment thoughtfully.
Robin didn't have the heart to tell the princess that she didn't have much of an eye for fashion either. It must run in the family.
As if she'd heard his thought, Lucina looked at the tactician before holding up the dress, tilting her head to one side to ask what he thought.
Robin gave a strained smile and cleared his throat. "Might clash with your hair." He trailed off, finding that his answer was the closest he could get without telling her that it looked terrible.
Lucina gave a thoughtful nod. "I suppose." She hung the dress back on the rack before flipping through the other garments, unphased by the growing pile of rejected gowns. Each time she held up a dress for the tactician to rate, he tactfully told her to put them back.
Robin had been certain that Lucina would have looked fine in anything, but the princess continued to pull one tasteless dress after another. Prints that he didn't think anyone with half a sense would make were laid out, each begging to be burned so that no one would be blinded by their tackiness. He had half a mind to do it himself, but the way that Lucina seemed so determined to complete a successful shopping trip kept him at bay.
Sighing, he decided to help the princess sort through the dresses that the shop offered. He started by ignoring every piece that was an obtrusive shade, figuring that the more muted colors would hold more promise. His fingers skimmed over the rack, stopping at one made of white fabric. Plucking the dress, he found that it had a deep v-neck, the form draping elegantly from top to bottom.
"This isn't bad." He turned to Lucina, holding up the dress. "How's this?"
The princess looked over eagerly, taking the piece and holding it against herself. She looked down, seemingly pleased with what Robin had picked. But a thought occurred to her, and with a mischievous smile she held the dress out towards Robin, using her free hand to cover the top half of Robin's face. "Not bad at all. Have you considered growing your hair out?"
Peeking back into Lucina's line of sight, the tactician gave a quizzical smile. "Not in my recent memory, no." Rolling his eyes, he called out to the shopkeeper, asking for the price of the dress and pulling out his gold pouch.
Lucina started to protest, insisting that she would pay for it.
"Relax princess. You're father's the one paying me anyways." Grinning, he passed the money to the clerk and waved off the last of her protesting. "Consider it a gift."