95. Aunt Ra-Ra - Liona

When Liona withdrew from hugging her great-aunt, she smiled at her despite the worry she felt it had suddenly dawned on her that her aunt would not be around as long as her grandparents were because of her being beta.

"Aunt Ra-Ra, why are you here?" Liona grinned, hardly containing the excitement of what was sure to be to her prom dress fitting.

"Well, I guess if you have to ask, then I should pretend not to know?" Her Aunt's honey brown eyes sparkled with mischief.

"Auntie!"

"Yes, my favorite niece?"

Sighing with a slight exasperation to her voice, Liona glanced up at her parents. They were just smiling at her with the same mischief that her aunt was displaying. Not seeing any sign of help from them, she turned her attention to her siblings. They were off in their own world, ignoring the interaction, mostly, they didn't have as much of a relationship with their Great-Aunt as she did.

Although they loved her, they much preferred their Great-Uncle Shane, Aunt Ra-Ra's husband. He was a retired Epsilon Enforcement Agency officer and always had fun stories from his days working under their Grandfather Kaito, when he was still running the company.

"Fine, I'm going to take a wild guess and say that you are here with my prom dress?" Liona grinned hopefully.

"Right-o! Are you ready to see it? It's my finest creation yet!"

"Yes! I want to see it!" Although she had seen nothing having to do with her dress this year, she trusted her aunt's creative vision. She didn't own and operate a successful high-couture boutique for nothing. 

Raylina Edevane was a known fashion designer all over the world for her creative take on affordable, as well as comfortable, high couture designs. You didn't have to be uber-wealthy to get one of her designs, but if money was no object, then you could own some of the most beautiful and intriguing clothing that was sure to be the talk of your social circles.

"Alright, it's over there." Her aunt pointed out a garment bag that was draped carefully over the back stair railing. "I'll be up in a minute to pin and adjust anything that needs it."

Wasting no time, Liona gave her aunt one last excited hug before rushing over to the stairs. Picking up the bag, she noticed it was fairly light this year, compared to her dress last year. Last year's dress was heavy because of the zillion tiny crystals embedded on it, making it shimmer and shine with every step.

Once upstairs, she carefully removed the dress from the bag and gasped in delight. Her aunt had taken this year's prom theme of fantasy garden to a whole new level. It was a primarily teal dress with a high-low skirt. It had a royal purple and teal ombre gossamer cape that was so sheer it resembled a dragonfly's wings. This really was as fantastic a design as her aunt had said it would be. She couldn't imagine where her aunt got her design ideas from, but they always suited her taste to perfection.

Quickly shedding her uniform, Liona stepped into the dress that had one of her aunt's famous hidden zippers. As usual with her designs, it was easy to put on with no help. Zipping it up, the first thing that she noticed was that the bodice was a bit too big and gaped at the cleavage, exposing a bit too much of it. It also didn't meet the school's dress code with how low cut it was currently. The dress gathered into a halter style behind her neck, but left each shoulder bare before tapering into a tight sleeve that ended at her wrist in a V shape.

There was a sheen to the sleeves that matched the gossamer cape, but still kept the iridescent shimmer between purple and teal if the light caught it at the right angle. Trying to reach behind her to adjust the cape's fall, she caught the edge up before noticing that there was a tiny hook and eye that lined up with the sleeves. Hooking it into place, she spread the cape out into what could only be described as wings. It was a split so that it really resembled the wings of a dragonfly.

Stunned, Liona twirled around as the layers of the skirt fell just below her knee and cascaded down to her ankles. Without heels, the dress was almost too long, but if she had them on, it would sit just right without interfering with her movement. Gleefully, she stepped up to her wardrobe and opened the doors. Inside was a mirror that folded out into a full length, three-way mirror. As she was admiring her aunt's handiwork and making a note of places that needed a bit of adjusting, there was a notice from her AI assistant that there was someone at her door.

Turning at the notification, she bid it to play the audio snippet of who wanted entry to her private space. With the soundproof rooms, the inter house intercoms had been overhauled to work with their house AI and that was how you asked for entry into the private bedrooms in the house. Each room had an intercom that you used to announce your presence, otherwise a simple knock wouldn't be heard through the doors. It was similar to the one at the gate to their house, but rang a specific room, rather than the house AI itself.

Liona headed to the door and opened it for her aunt with a big smile on her face. "Auntie! I absolutely love it!" This was the first thing out of her mouth as she stepped aside to let her in. Her aunt laughed as the smile lines on her face crinkled with joy at Liona's animated expression of delight.

"I'm glad you love it. I put my heart into this design for you. This is your last formal school event, after all. The next thing I know, I'll be designing your wedding outfit, just as I did for your grandfathers and mother."

Blushing as her aunt fussed with her dress, Liona thought for just a moment what it would be like to walk down the aisle with Erik waiting for her at the end. However, she quickly squashed that thought; now wasn't the time to be fantasizing about something that was many years down the road.

"Come on, Auntie, that's ages away!"

Missing the slight smile that her aunt was giving her, as she stood behind her, Liona stood still as her dress was pinned and tucked in all the places it needed.

"That day will come sooner than you realize. I distinctly recall your grandfather's both denying that they would get married as soon as they did. Before either of them realized it, they had found their mates and fallen madly in love. I saw each of them as they transformed into their complete and best selves with the help of their mates. Neither of them expected to find their mates and were not looking for love when it found them. So don't be so quick to dismiss fate."

Taking in the words of her aunt, it gave Liona a lot to think about. She had already found her mate, but that didn't mean that she was rushing to get married to him. Erik and she were still learning about each other. Erik especially was slow and reluctant to open up to her. Besides, they were both still young and had their whole lives ahead of them. Rushing into marriage right after high school seemed silly to her. Plus she hadn't even revealed that she had found her mate and introduced him to her family. Family was hugely important to her and it felt wrong to keep this news from them, but she also felt protective of Erik and his reluctance to be put in the spotlight, regardless of her assurance that her family would accept him.

"Alright, I've got all the places pinned that need taking in. Is there anything else you want changed or unhappy with?"

Looking at her reflection and noting how much more form fitting the dress was now that it had been pinned to fit her better, it looked and felt like the neck of the dress was all wrong, especially with how much cleavage it was showing.

"Auntie, can you do something about the neck? I don't think this will pass the dress code with how low cut it is currently. Also, the halter looks a bit odd with the sleeves and bare shoulders."

"Alright, let me think what I can do to change it…" Aunt Ra-Ra pursed her lips as she studied the fit and design of the dress. "Alright, I think I know what I can do. I'll have it fixed in a jiff! Change out of the dress and I'll bring it by when I'm done."

"Thanks, Auntie, you're the best!" Liona gave her aunt a hug and hurried to step out of the dress and change into her preferred loungewear, not bothering to wait until her aunt left her. She wasn't shy about changing in front of her. It didn't bother her since she was family.