I awoke to a gentle tugging on my arm. I yawned and opened my eyes to see one of the maids looking down at me with a nervous expression.
"Ermm, your majesty, it's half an hour before midnight," she said. "You informed us to wake you at this time."
I nodded, and despite wanting to fall back into bed, I shoved the covers off myself, and got out of bed, stretching and moving my neck left and right, enjoying the satisfying feeling.
"I need something to wear," I said, turning to the maid who had her eyes down. I frowned then realized I was completely naked. I blushed slightly but coughed and tried to play it off. "I need something that's fine, but easy to take off. I would prefer it to be at least part silver."
The maid nodded and hurried off to get things prepared while I headed into the bathing room to get a quick wash in before I left. I didn't spend much time in the bath. I soaped myself up, scrubbed until my skin was red then rinsed everything off before heading into the attached dressing room where half a dozen maids were waiting with different pieces of clothing.
The oldest stepped forward and motioned to the clothes the others held.
"We have four sets for your to try on," She said. "These are the ones we think best, but if none are to your liking we can bring others or have a rush job done."
"A rush job?" I asked. "There's a tailor that can make something like these in less than half an hour?"
"Oh yes," The maid replied. "He utilizes a unique form of magic to do so, alongside a few artificer tools."
"I see," I said. "Well then let me try on the first set. I'll go through all of them then decide at the end."
She nodded and the first maid stepped forward while the others placed their clothes down so they could also approach and help dress me. I could just as easily have dressed myself, but this was their job and who was I to deny them that. It would probably just cause problems and they would misunderstand if I denied them. It was just another thing I was going to have to get used to.
Once they'd finished dressing me, they stepped back and I turned to one of the mirrors in the room. I examined myself and shook my head. It was a simple pair of dark green pants with silver embroidery and a brown vest, with silver buttons. It looked ok, but I didn't like it much. It didn't help that the pants were too tight and the top felt far too loose.
I turned to the oldest maid and shook my head. "I know I said I'd decide at the end, but definitely not this one."
She nodded and I was quickly undressed before they brought the next set of clothes.
I turned to examine myself once again and nodded in appreciation. It was similar to a modern suit, though far more bright. It was black with silver embroidery and fit just right. It made me look like a CEO of a company.
The next two sets of clothing were a pair of shorts, and a t-shirt, which fit far better than they looked, though I disliked the orange and silver color scheme, which just didn't look right to me. The other looked far more in line with what I'd seen some for the nobles wearing. A pair of trousers and a shirt with silver cuffs. Both had silver embroidery and the fit was ok.
After I was done with the last set, I thought over which to wear. I wanted to be presentable to the talon riders and show up looking like I'd actually made an effort. The ceremony was clearly something important to them and I would seem like an asshole if I didn't put in any effort.
In the end, I decided to go with the second outfit. The maids agreed that it looked best on me, and after styling my hair and making are sure I looked as good as I could, they all bowed.
"Thank you," I said, giving them a smile and nod in return.
They seemed shocked at my response but quickly returned smiles before bowing once again then leaving the room.
After they left I spent another minute looking at myself in the mirror before I left.
"Well then, time to go," I said, turning and heading out of the dressing room.