Zero no Tsukaima Parachute Dress Story

The clock in Henrietta's bed chambers chimed, signalling it had now reached 8 o'clock exactly. The young princess of Tristain was due for a gala ball with the nobility in another 30 minutes. Rumor had it that the sovereign of Gallia was there as well, ostensibly to negotiate a new trade agreement. For this purpose, Henrietta was dressed much fancier than usual, even for a princess. Gone was her usual white gown and royal purple cape in favor of an ornate long-sleeved maroon dress with a pale violet capelet draped over her shoulders. The cuffs of her sleeves were frilled with pink piping, as was the hem of her dress. Only a small hint of her petticcoats was visible, primly white in color. Atop her head indigo hair sat a gold tiara with a rare diamond mined from the coast in the center, and a golden chain was strung around her thin neck. The most notable (and slightly irritable) trait of her new wardrobe was the skirt of her dress, which was rather wide, considering she wore no crinolines and only two sets of petticoats underneath. In fact, the skirt was so wide Henrietta was barely able to squeeze through the doorway. When this ball was over, Henrietta thought to herself, she would make a point to complain to the dressmaker.

Now she was outside her chambers and made her way for the spiral staircase. At the bottom, and outside the palace awaited the coach that would take Henrietta to the gala ball. She hoped that her tight squeeze out of her chambers would be the extent of her wardrobe related escapades, but little did she know that she was about to discover something truly astounding. In fact, she discovered it by accident...literally. The palace was undergoing some renovation, and one of the things in need of replacement was the railing of the spiral staircase. Henrietta thought nothing of it at the time, seeing it as a temporary condition. However, she did not foresee it becoming a hazard. For as she turned to the right to make her way for the stairs, the hem of her red dress slipped under her silver dance shoes. She had not a moment to realize what had happened as she was caught in a trap and sent careening over the edge of the banister, to the bottom floor and the front hall of the palace below. Worse still, her chambers were on the third story! Henrietta's heart leaped into her throat as her vision of staircase soon changed to a view of the marble floor, with a red velvet carpet, a little over a hundred feet below. 

Henrietta barely even had a chance to scream as she somersaulted her way off the third floor, as something unexpected happened. Whatever thoughts of terror she had were erased from her mind by a single sound, sounding like bed pillows being slapped together. The rapid, terrifying fall had become a slow, relaxing float as the princess drifted past the second floor of the palace. In confusion, Henrietta looked around, wondering what on earth had saved her from a violent death. She looked down, expecting to see the bottom floor awaiting her below, but her view was blocked by something large. Large and red...her dress?

The princess gently ran her hands over the fabric of her long skirt. It felt stretched and taut, like a balloon. What's more, the hem of her dress was splayed out around her past the width of her arm span. Somehow, impossible as it seemed, her large dress had opened up, and caught the air underneath her like a parachute. Henrietta felt her legs rock gently from side to side, dangling helplessly as if on a swingset. It was amazing to her as she fixed the rat's nest her hair had become in the short time of her fall. How was this even possible? And how did she not know about such a thing before? Well, she thought to herself as she came upon the first floor, I haven't had many opportunities to fall very far...

"Well!" Henrietta breathed, "after this, I'll think nothing of falling down stairs."

Unfortunately, she barely had any time to enjoy this newly discovered feeling as her feet gently touched the carpet on the bottom floor. As she came to rest on solid ground, the air slowly exited out from under her skirt and came back to rest at its normal width. It felt like watching a balloon slowly deflate as one of the maidservants came by.

"Oh, good, you made it, Your Highness. And a little earlier than I anticipated, too. Your carriage is waiting outside."
"Thank you."

Henrietta made her way to the front doors and the horse-drawn carriage that would take her to the gala ball. However, she was no longer thinking about the ball, or who she would meet therein. Rather, she was thinking about how this dress could be such a reliable parachute...and in what other venues she could try it out. Tonight, she determined, she would see if she wasn't dreaming and see if this could work out after all.

Some time later...

Henrietta was constantly looking over her shoulder, making sure no one saw her as she sneaked out of the palace. She had wanted to escape via the balcony outside her chambers, but there was a guard standing right below. So instead, she took the long way through the royal gardens, and tried her best not to have her dress snagged by the rose bushes. The gala ball had been uneventful, and rather boring, if she was to be honest. Talking politics with ministers and fellow royalty was tiring and unbelievably dull. Mostly, it was due to one thought occupying her consciousness: the idea of her "parachute dress." Ever since her stumble, she spent the rest of the night wondering, fancying, how such a thing was possible, and how she could use it in the future. Clearly, this was no ordinary dress, else it would not have saved her from a fateful fall. 

She disappeared into the woods, trotting as quickly as she could. Henrietta did not want to stay out too long, just long enough to find out that she wasn't dreaming in that moment. It was not long before she reached where she wanted to do her testing: a precipice, towering over a lake in the valley below. It was a far enough drop to see if this dress was capable of acting as a parachute.

"Perfect," she whispered. 

Spreading out her arms like an eagle would spread its wings, Henrietta fell forward and let gravity do the rest. The wind whistled by her ears as she careened over the side of the precipice and into the lake below. She was now upside down, her clothes flapping in the wind, and she looked up to see the precipice fade further and further away. Reasoning now was the right moment, Henrietta somersaulted, righting herself so she was falling feet first. As she did so, she silently prayed that what happened at the staircase wasn't a delusion. Otherwise, she would face a hard splash in the lake below. Thankfully, her fears were banished when the sound of a clothy "SNAP!" reached her ears. As before, the skirt ballooned to well past the span of her arms, forming a large maroon dome around her waist. The princess almost bounced in the air as her fast plummet transformed into a gentle drift, allowing Henrietta to fully examine her dress. Clearly, something was special about her wardrobe if it was able to support her weight; parachutes were large for a reason, and in any other instance, her body would have fallen straight through her dress. Yet here she was, floating like a feather, almost feeling weightless. 

As she slowly fell, Henrietta looked up and saw that the edge of the precipice was now far away, and there was no place on the side of the cliffs for her to climb up again. Peering over the hem of her inflated dress, she saw that the surface of water slowly came closer and closer as her feet hung helplessly in the foreground. This was amazing! Extraordinary! How had she never known about this power of hers before? And did anyone else have this power as well? For a brief moment, Henrietta imagined her friend Louise attempting the same trick if she had learnt it, but since she hardly ever wore long, elegant gowns, her fall would not be as leisurely. Henrietta had to bite back a laugh at the mental image of Louise fighting with her short skirt to prevent exposure as she fell fast off the precipice. 

A gentle breeze swept under her and swirled around her legs as the fall continued. Henrietta let out a contented sigh as she relaxed, knowing there was not much she could do to control her descent. The feeling of being in midair made her lightheaded, almost as if gravity had no effect on her. It was a rather strange, inexplicable pleasure as the water of the lake came closer and closer beneath her. Henrietta couldn't help but wonder if what else her dress could do if it was capable of supporting her own weight. Maybe she could float on the water as her dress inflated like a lily pad. 

No sooner had she thought of that when a chilling, wet sensation ran up her spine and the feeling of weightlessness soon dissipated. Henrietta's feet dipped into the water of the lake with hardly a sound, and her dress, rather than deflate, actually spread out around her with the air from her fall trapped inside as it made contact with the water. She still felt like she was floating in midair as she had moments before. The dress, blown up like a balloon, almost consumed her as Henrietta's weight pulled her more and more into the water. She couldn't help but lightly laugh at the sensation; she was so glad she had found out about this special ability! The only thing she had to be concerned about was finding opportunities to use this dress of hers. Admittedly, it would only be in situations when she suffered a tumble; maybe going through falls wasn't such a horrible thing.

Henrietta slowly waded to the shore of the lake through the careful paddles of her feet in the water, much like how a duck would while feeding or lounging. Such a relaxing and lightheaded feeling! However, this came at a cost because the princess had to be careful not to paddle too hard or too fast; one false move and she would tip over into the water. She kept her eyes on the shore, the waves lapping gently and quietly. How had no one found out she had left the palace? When could she use this "parachute dress" of hers again? Would anyone believe her if she told of it to Louise, her maidservants, or anyone else?

These questions and a million more buzzed in her head as she finally made contact with the sand, signalling to her she was safe and ready to move onto dry land. As she emerged from the lake, drying the hem of her dress, Henrietta had a choice; either go back to the palace and wait another time to try out the parachute dress, or go back to the top of the precipice and indulge herself again. As late as the hour was, and despite the fact she was due to be up early the next morning, the choice was not hard for her to make. She had to experience this one more time.

She immediately ran back for the precipice.