"Decent?" She snapped, sitting up and frowning at him. Well, Aud could certainly show him ugly, if the need arose. Rolling her eyes, she added, "That's why you brought me? You couldn't, I don't know, have explained this earlier? I can't believe you want me to go on to a party with you to play lookout. This is ridiculous."
Her words froze as her hands lifted the top of the box and she stared inside. It wasn't often that Audriana was speechless, but this was one of those rare cases. How insane Robin must be, Aud decided, to think that she wanted to wear something so entirely flashy. "Yes, Ivanov. Because this is an excellently subtle dress. I definitely won't stand out, now."
Standing, she flicked the dress lightly so it lifted out of the box and hung from her hands in front of her. "I don't even want to know how this is the right size." She muttered, shooting Robin an annoyed glance before heading to the bathroom to change.
The dress was completely bananas, but when it was on, Aud couldn't help but think that the man had good taste. The only problem would be what on earth he thought she was supposed to do with her hair. Sure, she rather liked it, and sometimes was complimented on it, but it truly was a monster when it came to her trying to make it look fancy. She opened the door and lifted an eyebrow at him. "What am I supposed to do? Change what I look like? C'mon, Ivanov. I daresay you could have picked something else. Something that wouldn't look so weird next to my hair."
She moved to stand next to the bed, picking up her wand from the bag she had stashed it in. Frowning at him, she closed her eyes and carefully lifted her wand to cast a disillusionment spell on her hair. Opening one eye and then the other, she pouted slightly at the sight of her hair in the mirror on the wall nearby. She missed her old hair, in a way, but actually rather liked it short.
"Will anyone even recognize me? I doubt I would know anyone there." Huffing, Aud lowered herself onto the bed again and looked over at Robin. "When we get there, just tell me what to do. No backing out now."
- - -
The doors opened in front of them, revealing the sights, sounds and general grandeur of the party Robin had dragged her into. Her hand flew up to her shoulder to play with her hair before she remembered - again - that it was short. She let it rest on her shoulder like the motion had been on purpose and tried to relax the hand that was resting in the crook of Robin's elbow. As if he could just feel how annoyed she would be with his suggestion, he had required that they pose as a couple. Otherwise she would have had her arms crossed as she narrowed her eyes at those around her. These people probably understood the amount of money Audriana had been given by her grandmother, if not more. Yet they wasted it on such senseless things. Aud wasn't sure she had spent money in the past year on anything but her regular clothes (and that wonderful cloak. She loved the cloak) and food.
They moved into the main room, her eyes floating around to pick up all of the hallways that branched off - there weren't many, so at least the possibilities were limited. Hopefully Robin knew where they were headed. Otherwise, they'd be caught so fast she wouldn't be able to get him out. She owed him, so this couldn't go wrong, pride be damned.
People were milling about, and some were dancing or eating. One man looked like he was coming over to greet them so she turned towards Robin to block his view. The hand that wasn't on his arm fell from her shoulder to his chest, Audriana pretending it didn't feel strange or awkward.
"This is absurd." She muttered, leaning towards Robin as someone glanced their way. She faked a smile, turning her head so her mouth was next to his ear when she stretched onto her toes. From her spot in front of him, she could see over his shoulder where more people were filing in. "What makes you think this will work? What are we supposed to do? Dance until you figure where the safe is?" She asked, then added even more quietly, "Smile like I've said something endearing."