Swathes of fine satiny fabric fill the room. At the centre of their folds, a young woman attempts to hold a pose, but the tiniest movement on her part sends the fuchsia silks billowing in huge clouds. The seamstress, her skin illuminating the dark fabric, ties off a thread and releases the hem she was adjusting, moving back to inspect her work.
"Can I look yet?" Feferi asks, the strange acoustics of her underwater palace stretching the final vowel. Kanaya shakes her head silently, as mute in the salt water as she is weightless, and gestures a lazy circle: turn, slowly.
Feferi does so, kicking gently against the floor. The motion makes the entire dress swirl and undulate in the current, and Feferi wishes she could see the final result.
When she finishes her turn, Kanaya is smiling, and she motions towards the mirror. Feferi can't help but glub in excitement as she positions herself in front of the looking glass, and Kanaya turns it to face her.
"Wow..." Feferi sighs, momentarily lost for words. That gentle release of bubbles from her gills sends the fabric streaming out in all directions, and it takes her breath away all over again.
She looks like a princess.
"Thank you so much, Kanaya, it's wonderful! I don't know what to say!"
Kanaya glances shyly down at the floor.
"I do believe it is one of my better creations," she says quietly, a stream of air bubbling from her mouth.
"It's the best thing ever!" Feferi insists. "And you worked so hard on it!"
Kanaya swims towards her, wrapping her arms gently around Feferi's waist. She presses her lips to Feferi's neck, and while Feferi knows she is only searching for enough air to breathe, the brush of a fang on the sensitive skin of her gills makes her vascular system race.
It doesn't help that Kanaya does not release her, but instead places her lips carefully close to Feferi's ear.
"I must admit, I had an ulterior motive for designing it."
"Really?" Feferi asks breathlessly, far too distracted to slip in a fish pun.
"This way, at the ball tonight –" Kanaya pauses for air again, sending a shiver up Feferi's spine. "Pity will be the last thing on anyone's mind."
Feferi laughs, and wraps her arms around Kanaya's neck until they are facing each other.
"As if I'd ever look at anyone else," Feferi says, pulling her matesprit in for a real kiss.