Special talent? She's just a maid, and competent enough not to shame me. But she did burn my toast once.

Maybe her special talent was meeting Lunetta's standards.

And how do I call her?

Ring the calling bell.

She could have guessed that without contacting Lunetta's memories. Is this what Abyssal corruption feels like? Lac rings the bell.

A severe woman with silver hair enters at a measured gait, and stands ready.

Whoa.

She's so cool. "Elisa, please help me prepare for a meeting with Marius in a half hour." Is the context relevant. Maybe. "I expect an unhappy conversation... and I want his trust." Is it immoral to manipulate someone through fashion choices. Lunetta has never considered this in depth, but when she was a male bookworm (oh Gods, all her magical knowledge is useless now, aaaah) she reasoned out that Eagle's Splendor was immoral to use in negotiations unless she was in a context where it was expected, which could sometimes be ambiguous, such as when-

Is that nervousness on her lady's face? Guilt? Lunetta, what did you do??

None of this shows on her face, because Elisa is a professional. "My lady, give me twenty minutes to prepare your garb and I'll have him apologizing to you. When do you leave?" She thinks the last time Lunetta said please to her, was almost certainly during an etiquette lesson more than two years ago.

What? Oh, probably the original Lunetta would have appreciated that framing. How to course correct... "I want to secure his fully informed cooperation for a difficult joint venture, and in the process of explaining this, I will break some dire news to him." Can Elisa really make an outfit for something that specific?

Almost definitely the cute blue dress, and there's no time to second-guess. She's already moving to the cabinet and selecting three different combs, hair sticks... Should she create a subtle impression of tears, or emphasize the size and shape of her lady's eyes? "My lady, how is Marius likely to react to the news?" There's no time for anything truly complicated, but she can fix up her hair a little, which she does on autopilot while she waits for a response.

"Shock, sorrow, and skepticism." She considers the boy who reads too much into the word 'intimate.' "Deep uncertainty. Maybe grief."

That's a lot, but she has her answer even if she doesn't understand. The grey eyeshadow, then. Why is Lunetta so tense? She flinches from her touch on multiple occasions, and Elisa forces herself to slow. It's fine, she has safety margin.

Because there are needles flying around her head, that's why! But she relaxes as a few minutes pass, then remembers Elisa's mysterious special talent. 

A minute passes. Can she just ask?

"Elisa, I've come to understand that the success of my plans may eventually rest on some particular talent of yours, a talent currently unknown to me. Is there anything at which you are especially gifted?"

Elisa knows when her charge is lying, which helps when her lady plays jokes on the help. Elisa plays along even though she's never once been fooled. 

This is not what her lady looks like when she jokes. It's not at all how her lady usually acts, even though the bizarre question sounds like one of Lunetta's games. But whether she's serious or joking, Elisa's response is the same: answer the question in full and take the punchline with grace.

"My lady, I may have some small talent at the art of picking dresses, but I am not blessed with any great abilities befitting your attention." She'll think about this later, but right now this gray eyeshadow needs her attention. Lunetta talking while she works barely slows Elisa down, but every second counts.

"This, at least, isn't urgent. But please keep it in mind over the next day or two, and inform me if you find yourself doing anything with extraordinary skill, even if it is seemingly unimportant."

"Yes, my lady." And then they are done, with five minutes to spare. "I believe you are ready. Would you like to see?" I have every confidence in you, she thinks but does not say. It's the same message she tried to convey with her own gait and uniform this morning, through modifications too subtle to notice.

At Lunetta's nod, Elisa's illusion spell produces a mirror. Her lady looks at it with rapt attention, eyes lingering on... the frame? And the reflected chandelier? before she gives a small nod.

"Extraordinary. Thank you, Elisa," says Lunetta absently.

what in the gods-cursed blithering fuck

"It is an honor to serve."

As Elisa retreats from the room with identical measured grace to when she entered it, Lunetta imagines that Elisa's feet might have fallen in the same exact places on their way out. Her maid is someone she can learn a lot from, special talent or no.

"Your Highness."  

Abelard, the Prince's butler, executes a punctuously correct bow to Prince Marius.

"It is a day before classes, a day away from the palace, a day free from responsibilities..."  He gives a knowing look to the thick book sitting on the bed next to his young charge, and smiles.  "A day to lounge in bed reading?"

Marius isn't looking at his book, though.   He shakes his head at Abelard's joke, and taps his message bracelet.  "I need to go see Lunetta.  As soon as possible."