Instructor Robin guided her through her home up into her personal office, whiatalie couldn't help but find ironic, because why had they taken a trip through the city if she was going to be sitting in a chair and talking like they could've at Tehough she was sure Instructor Robin had more poday.

  After settling into her chair, and Instructor Robin doing the same behind her desk, she wasted no further time getting to the point.

  "You were assigned a mentor because of yregious ck of judgment during your previous quest," Instructor Robin bluntly said. "While showing exceptional performan bat, yht the city baron's daughter into an alleyway and engaged in sexual activity with her—not just breaking public decy ws, but threatening the reputation of the local ruling family. And iension, and perhaps more importantly, endae's reputation."

  She hadn't been kidding, then; no more friendly small talk aing to know each other. A flush crawled up Natalie's neck, and she gnced away.

  "That's the gist of it, yeah."

  Holy, she hadn't been all that chastised by the Dean, merely intimidated and frightened for unishment might e. The disapproval in Instructor Robin's voice hit much harder.

  "I would like to hear your side of the story."

  "I'm not sure that'd paint me in a better light."

  "Eborate."

  Natalie shifted around in her chair. She really didn't o make things worse for herself by expining—but her sentence had already been passed by the Dean, and she'd outed herself with her initial statement.

  "I'm sure whatever report you were given was accurate," Natalie said. "There's not much more to say, not anything that would excuse my behavior, make it less bad. If anything, my teammates were repeatedly warnio not get carried away with Aina, and I ighem." She shrugged. "So, like I said, 'my side of the story' just makes things worse."

  Instructor Robin sidered her.

  "What made you disregard your teammates' advice?"

  "A pretty girl climbed into my p," Natalie said. "And all but begged me to—" she coughed. Her cheeks tinuing to darken, she shrugged awkwardly. "I didn't actively choose to ighem. I was just, uh. You know. promised, I guess you'd say."

  Did she really have to expin this to her primary bat Instructor? How mortifying.

  "Mm," Robin said. "I don't believe there's a single man or woman accepted into Te who is g in willpower. The training regimen and quality of petition precludes it. You, as all other students, are clearly dedicated, determined, and driven. So why are you so easy to sway in this particur regard?"

  "Pretty girl," Natalie repeated. "Sitting in my p. I don't know what you wao say."

  "Yhe problems your libido creates for you?" Instructor Robin asked, the word 'libido' nearly making Natalie flinch. Seriously—this was so embarrassing. "Not only have I caught you ing my csses with other students of mine, but you're also willing to put your team's reputation in danger. You admit these are problems, stemming from your attitude?"

  "Yeah," Natalie said. "Yeah, I know."

  Instructor Robin nodded, approving. "The important part of making a mistake is learning from it. Analyzing what caused the pse of judgment aermining how to prevent simir pses iure."

  "And you have a pn to fix that?" Natalie asked, uo not sound at least somewhat sarcastic.

  Instructor Robin raised an unimpressed eyebrow. Without answering, she stood and walked over to a et. As she swung the door open, an outfit was revealed to be hanging on a hook. Nont as ever, Instructor Robin grabbed it by the hanger and closed the et.

  "Uh," Natalie said.

  The other shoe, it seemed, had dropped.

  "For you," Instructor Robin said. "Your uniform, to be worn during these mentorship sessions."

  "I'm sorry?" she stammered in sheer disbelief.

  Instructor Robin was holding a maid's uniform, bd white frills in traditional style. Except not traditional—because the skirt was tiny. It would barely reach past mid-thigh. The top had a deep cutout, and undergarments came included.

  She expected Natalie to ge into those?

  "I believe I sized them correctly," Instructor Robin ented, as if nothing was strange about this. "I have a good eye for such things."

  Natalie's mouth opened and closed, not f words.

  "Your first task will be to my office," the Instructor tinued. "Supplies are in the et. Please be thh." She hahe clothing to Natalie, who mutely took it. "I have more paperwork to finish in the meantime. You should be finished before I am."

  Without further expnation, she returo her seat, grabbed a pen, and pulled a short stack of papers from a drawer in her desk.

  Earlier, Natalie had mao vince herself she had misinterpreted her enter with Instructor Robin post-Camille-i, mostly thanks to her professional attitude throughout the past half-hour, and the obvious fondness she showed for her long-time wife.

  But this. This couldn't be misinterpreted. Maybe, somehow, if the maid uniform had been a normal maid uniform, it could be. But this slutty thing? It was a fetish outfit. No matter how uurbed and ued Instructor Robin had delivered the and, telling Natalie, her student, the one she was supposed to be ment, to dress up in a revealing maid uniform only had one implication.

  Right?

  Right?? The woman had such a damn perfect straight face that Natalie somehow doubted herself.

  She supposed the topic of this 'mentorship' was Natalie's sexual proclivity and ck of trol, and subsequently the problems it created for her, so … was this a test? Though what the hell kind of test? Surely it broke some sort of Te guidelines, regardless, for a teacher to be suggesting such a thing.

  Instructor Robin gnced up from her desk, seeing Natalie frozen there, uniform in hand. She raised an eyebrow.

  "Is there a problem, Natalie?"

  "N-No," she found herself replying instinctively. "Uh, just …" Words didn't e out for a few seds. "Where do I get ged?"

  Instructor Robin tilted her head.

  "Here, of course."

  "Here?" In front of her?

  "And don't he undergarments," Instructor Robin said. "They plete the outfit nicely." She waved a hand in a mild show of impatience. "Our time together is limited. Please do as I've asked."

  Natalie swallowed.

  It was definitely a test. She looked at the uniform one more time—the cy pahe deep-cut blouse, the miniskirt.

  Well.

  Frankly, Natalie had no idea where this was leading, but … she also couldn't say she didn't want to find out.

  She just had to tread very, very carefully. This was her Instructor, after all, and she was already on thih Te.

  A test, she reminded herself. Definitely a test.