Sky of Wind by Emily Deady

Chapter 31

Dressed in her second finest gown, Meena waited for Laila to come help with her hair. The maid never arrived, so Meena did it herself. It was not quite fancy enough for the evening’s festivities, but perhaps she could get Laila to redo it before then.

She didn’t have time to wait around now, there was too much to be done.

She sailed out of her room, pinching her face in concentration.

“Ezra!” she called as her host entered the front door of the manse. “Exactly whom I wanted to see!”

“Princess?” Ezra froze for a moment, still holding the door latch. “I did not expect to see you looking, so, put together.”

“I have cried all my tears, my dear friend,” Meena said dramatically. “I was hoping you could help to cheer me up before the festivities this evening.”

“Oh, you do not have to attend the feast tonight,” Ezra replied, stepping inside and seemingly recovered from her reticence a moment earlier.

“Not you, too!” Meena wailed. “What do you expect me to do all evening? Stay in my room, our room . . . alone?” She stifled a sob. “No. I am going to the feast tonight to distract myself.”

“Of course you are, Princess.” Ezra’s voice dripped with condescension. She reached out and patted Meena on the shoulder like a child.

“I knew you would understand.” Meena dried her tears and held up a silk slipper. A large rip ran along the heel of it. “Can we go to the seamstress to get this fixed? It’s my best pair for dancing.”

“Oh, no.” Ezra’s sympathy was as fake as Sol’s forced smile. “One of my maids can surely sew it up for you, there is no need to go out.”

Meena turned the slipper over in her hand, fingering the rip. “Please?” Meena blinked up at Ezra, forcing tears to her eyes. “I don’t trust just anyone. It must be done by the best. This is my favorite pair.”

“Alright.” Ezra sighed.

“Thank you,” Meena dashed to the door and threw it open.

“Oh, right now?” Ezra asked.

Meena walked out into the street without looking back.

“I forgot something,”Meena said to Ezra a short while later. “I’ll be right back.”

“You can’t just leave me here!” Ezra protested. She was standing in front of a floor-length mirror at the seamstress’s shop. The seamstress in question was kneeling on the floor at her feet, meticulously pinning up the hem of the extravagant yellow gown Ezra now wore.

“I’m not leaving you,” Meena protested, backing away slowly. “I’ll be right back.”

Ezra sent Meena a sharp glare through the mirror.

Meena frowned. Yellow was not Ezra’s color.

“I thought we were here for your slipper?” Ezra said, her voice dangerously flat.

“We are, and the dear seamstress will take care of it in time for tonight. But I just had to see you in that yellow dress. It suits you.”

It had taken some convincing to get Ezra to slip into the large evening dress the seamstress had on display.

After that, Meena simply had to ask the dressmaker to measure out the necessary fittings. If Meena had learned anything from Ashlin, it was that a seamstress held complete power over her client while making adjustments to garments.

“In fact, I’ll even purchase it for you as a gift of gratitude for your hospitality,” Meena said. She turned and ran from the shop before Ezra could respond.

Purchasing the bright yellow dress for Ezra, who clearly hated it, would make an excellent jest. And it would be a delightful payback for the woman’s annoying coldheartedness.

Free from the sewing shop and her keeper for a few moments, Meena dashed across the street into a familiar open courtyard. “Mistress Sophie?” Meena whispered, not bothering to knock as she slipped inside the sunken door to the wise woman’s home.

“My dear princess,” the older woman held a hand over her heart. Her eyes were wide with shock. “You frightened me.”

“I’m so sorry,” Meena said quietly, flinching just a little in apology.

The wall covering behind Sophie fluttered closed, as though she had just stepped out of it.

“What can I do for you, my dear?” Sophie asked, adjusting her head covering, which was tilted to the side.

Meena took a step further into the room, glancing to ensure no one else could hear her. “I came to ask for your help,” she whispered.

“I presumed as much,” Sophie replied blandly. “That is usually why people seek me out.”

Meena was confused. She expected Sophie to know exactly why she was here. Sophie had given Sol the letter in front of Meena, and mentioned harmony.

Meena’s eyes went wide, glancing back to the wall covering which hid the door Sophie had used previously.

Perhaps Sophie had not just exited the room, perhaps she had just pushed someone into it. “Is it safe to speak?” Meena asked, whispering as quietly as she could.

Sophie’s face relaxed. “You can come out now, Neven, it’s safe.”

Meena smiled in double satisfaction when an older man pushed back the curtain and stepped into the room. “You are exactly who I was looking for.” She smiled.