Some time later Ranma admired herself in the mirror. She had had less to work with for a disguise for her girlside, but the results were certainly impressive.
Ranma had decided on a servant's outfit fashioned from some parts of an old apron and some very thin red cloth. The results looked like a French Maid costume by way of the Arabian Nights. A black dye-job and a veil covering most of her face would hide her identity.
In fact the veil was almost the least transparent part of her outfit. A quick shave that Ranma really hoped would not carry over to her male side had been necessary to keep from giving away the dye-job. Had Ranma been trying to fool a boy the veil wouldn't even have been necessary. No male would actually look at her face in an outfit like this.
All in all this was an outfit that only a complete and utter pervert of the sort that Akane really despised would make a girl wear.
"Please, Mistress," Ranma begged as she carefully opened the cell door, "don't throw anything at me. It is just me. I bring you your food."
Keeping her head bowed she came in and set down the tray she had been carrying in front of Akane and then wordlessly began to gather up the shards of Akane's erstwhile chamber pot.
Akane eyed her and the food warily. "Who are you?"
"I am just me — Little Ashes the kitchen drudge — nobody of importance, Mistress." Ranma replied submissively.
Seeing Akane eyeing the door Ranma hastened to add: "Please don't try to run, Mistress. The prince would recapture you very quickly and punish me terribly for letting you escape."
Just as Ranma had expected this caused Akane to deflate. Had Ranma made any boasts or threats to stop her, Akane would have been sure to try something, but with a seemingly harmless opponent she did not know what to do. And Akane would not want the servant girl to suffer for her escape attempt. The Tomboy was just too sentimental at times.
After poking at her food for a bit Akane finally began to eat. Ranma stayed with her head bowed watching her eat.
Obviously uncomfortable with the attention Akane tried to make some small talk: "So you are a follower of this Wildpferd guy?"
"I am just a lowly servant of His Royal Highness." Ranma answered meekly. "I am to serve the mistress. I bring her food and help her with anything she needs."
"Can you tell me more about this prince of yours?" Akane asked between bites. "Why does he wear the mask? Is he hideously scarred or ugly or something?"
"No scars and the prince is said to be quiet handsome." Ranma assured her. "There has been a doppelgänger of the prince and some argument about the royal succession. Imprisonment, iron mask, you know — the usual. Happens all the time back home."
This did not really explain anything, but Akane believed it or at least did not ask any further.
"And you do you wear a veil because you have a doppelganger, too?" she wanted to know instead.
"Oh no, The veil is part of traditional Lichtenburger women's clothing." Ranma explained. "All the women keep their face covered back home. It is only proper."
This little bit of set up would come in handy if Ranma wanted to introduce further characters.
Akane gave no indication as to what she thought about this piece of information. She had not spend much time trying to look at Ranma's face anyway. Most of her attention had been on Ranma's breasts, which were only hidden by some very thin cloth.
Had Ranma been Ranma in her eyes, Akane would have been sure to mallet her for this perverted getup, but now with Ranma being a stranger Akane had only been trying unsuccessfully not to stare too obviously.
Finally she asked: "And your get up is that traditional clothing too?" The 'or are you an exhibitionistic pervert'-part of the question remained unspoken.
"This," Ranma gestured to herself, "is what the Prince likes his servants to wear."
"He sounds like a pervert," Akane opinioned her gaze unwavering on Ranma's assets.
This was exactly the opening Ranma had been waiting for!
"The Prince," she told her, "is a very manly man. It is only his right to be delighted by the bodies of his female servants."
Akane did not seem so sure about this and was obviously wondering if the delighting stopped at just looking.
"Of course," Ranma continued, "Your dress will be far finer and more elegant than mine. Befitting a prince's consort. It will be much less covering."
"Huh?" Akane seemed to have problems switching from seeing the servant girl in revealing clothes to imagining herself in them.
"As a future Prince's consort you must be far more beautiful than little old me, so he would want to see much more of you." Ranma reasoned. "He might even keep you totally naked."
On the inside Ranma was laughing. Akane's weakness was her loathing of perverts and fear of perverts she could not beat. This guy was the greatest pervert that Ranma could make him out to be. When Ranma was through with Akane she would think twice about risking loosing to him. And as an added bonus once this whole mess was over Akane would also think twice of accusing her fiancé of being a pervert now that she had something to compare his behavior with.
"Oh yes," Ranma mused further, "you're so beautiful, you're sure to become the favorite wife out all the wives in his entire harem."
Two-timing and having a harem was another thing that Akane usually accused him of. Ranma would make sure to give the Prince all the worst traits of Ranma that Akane usually got angry about and malleted him about.
"Wives? Harem?" Akane wanted to know, big eyes staring in shock.
"That's what the prince is here in Japan for." Ranma explained. "To collect an entire harem of strong fighting girls. The girls back home are far to meek and weak for him, he says."
"He only wants strong warrior women. You are a warrior, right?" Ranma came to the point. "Because if you wasn't, I'm sure the prince would let you go."
"I am a martial-artist and I will not deny who I am to get out of this!" Akane screamed.
Ranma could have smacked her. Why did this stupid tomboy refuse to take this easy way out? All she had to admit was the truth: that she could not handle herself in a real fight.
Akane mistook her reaction. "I am sorry I screamed at you, but me being a martial-artist is something very important to me."
Ranma gathered up the remains of Akane's meal. This had been a failure.
It was time for Plan B then:
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(Posted Sat, 30 Oct 2004 13:19)
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