Chapter Two: Anchor
"What's wrong with my outfit?" Erza asked, looking down at herself. Lucy raised an eyebrow and simply hooked arms with her.
"It's perfectly fine for battle, but we're going to have fun. You should be cute and comfortable. Not preparing for a sneak attack."
Erza blinked dazedly as she was dragged by her female friends out the guild doors and into the warm evening air.
"What about this?" Levy asked a few minutes later as the group of girls came to a stop outside a clothing shop. In the window display, a mannequin proudly wore a pretty pink summer dress. Lucy gasped at the sight of it.
"It's perfect! Come on!"
Erza was pushed and shoved into a small changing stall and forced out of her armor and skirt and squeezed into the summer dress.
When the girls stepped back from their work, Lucy's eyes were sparkling with pride.
"You look so pretty!" Levy exclaimed. Erza frowned and tugged at the bodice of the dress, as it was a tad snug around her chest, but forced herself to turn and look at her reflection in the mirror. The sweetheart neckline displayed her ample chest, but wasn't unseemly. The material clinched at her waist before fluttering to tease her knees.
At her reflection, Erza smiled. She wasn't very used to being out of her armor. She had been wearing it since she had come to the guild, it was her anchor, and something that had kept her grounded, made her feel safe. But she had to admit, the dress was very pretty and showed off her figure.
Grinning, she turned back to her eager friends.
"It's great. I love it."
Words: 279
Prompt: Anchor