Chương 130: Chapter 127: A Duchess’s Gown.

"Violet, I told you to close the blinds. We're keeping them down for a reason."

"Come on, I wanna see. Just a few tiny peeks can't hurt." She had one finger hooked through the gap, her red eye pressed to the slit of light.

"Ooh! That looks good. Come on we can make a quick stop for-""Violet. Please." She grumbled something I chose not to hear, and let the blind fall. The carriage rocked gently beneath us as it turned a corner.

"The whole point of coming out here like this is to not attract attention remember?" I said.

"We can come back later if you want to that badly." We had left Indri Manor through a secret passage that Mari had shown us that morning. It was a narrow stone corridor behind the kitchens which opened onto a side street two blocks into the District. I had not asked what the passage had originally been built for. I suspected the answer involved the same man whose study I now used as my own, and I did not want to think about him today. There were now reporters outside Violet's gates.

There were dozens of them, armed with Scrylens and what I assumed was an endless number of questions. Someone had leaked that I was staying at Violet's estate. Who, I did not know. One of the maids, maybe. Or maybe one of the guards. Maybe my bad luck had just drawn them like flies. Either way, we'd had to sneak out.

"My Lady," Estovan said from the seat across from us. He sat with his hands resting on his knees.

"While I understand the need for what we set out to do today, might you not simply have invited the Madam to the manor instead? It would achieve the same effect."

"Maybe," I said. My fingers were working through Sere's hair. She lay curled against my side with her notepad balanced on one knee. Her tangles were particularly stubborn today.

"But if we called her to the manor, there's a decent chance somebody would find out. Then it would be in the papers, and then there would be speculation about why House Indri needs a seamstress, and a famous one at that. I'd rather the news go out on our terms, and not some random reporter's." I tugged gently at a knot. Estovan considered this.

"That is wise. Assuming of course that this madam can be trusted."

"Well…there is another reason," I said.

"The other reason is that I just wanted to get some fresh air. And we might as well do things that need doing if we're leaving." Estovan nodded very slowly. That was good, because it had been embarrassing to say out loud.

"Hah!" Violet pointed at me.

"I knew it!" I looked away, feeling heat climb my cheeks. Through the window, I could hear the muffled sounds of the Indri District waking up around us. I had spent the better part of three days reading the same infuriating charter, and if I didn't take some kind of break, I was definitely going to do something I regretted. That or just go insane. It was no wonder Duke Thalos always looked so tired.

"We aren't being followed," Estovan added, staring at the drawn blinds.

"I have not felt anyone for some time." I nodded, though how Estovan knew this I did not have the faintest idea. The carriage slowed, and then stopped. Estovan peered through the blinds.

"We have arrived, My Lady." He stepped out first. Violet followed, and then turned and held out her hand. I took it and let her help me down. Sere hopped out after me before I could offer mine, landing lightly on the cobblestones with her notepad already tucked under one arm. The building was large. It was two stories of pale stone, with wide windows framed in dark wood. A carved sign hung above the entrance in letters so elegant they were almost difficult to read. Madam Verner's Boutique.

"Still can't believe I'm in a place like this," Violet murmured.

"It'll be fun," I said. I paused. This was Violet we were talking about after all.

"Probably." Violet sighed. I pulled my hood low, and we went inside. The interior was about what I'd expected, and somehow different at the same time. Large bolts of silk lined the walls in ordered rows, arranged by color and shade so that one end of the room bled from deep navy into pink and out into something so pale it was nearly white. Six headless mannequins stood near a long counter. The air smelled of something faintly floral that I could not place. The place was cozy. Smaller than I had expected.

Probably because all of the bolts everywhere and the mannequins made it feel more cramped than it otherwise would be. A woman stepped out from the back before we had taken three steps. She was tall, with jet-black hair so long it nearly brushed the floor behind her. She wore a gown of deep blue, cut so low I almost reached out to shield Sere's eyes before I realized how silly that would be. Her features were sharp, and her brown eyes were sharper still.

"And who might I have the pleasure of-" She stopped. Her gaze found me, moved past the hood to whatever she could see beneath it. Then she bowed.

"Now this is a surprise. I didn't think I would see a Hero in my establishment today." She straightened and looked at us. Her eyes went over my black cloak, buttoned to the throat. At Violet's red coat with its armored sleeves. She opened her mouth, and then she closed it. I suspected she had been about to comment on our clothing. It seemed she had decided against it. A wise woman.

"Now, to what do I owe the pleasure, my Lady Hero?"

"We are not here for me," I said. I gestured toward Violet.

"We are here for her, and we need something on short order." I looked around the room.

"I am told that this is the most premium boutique in the city, run by a seamstress so talented that larger establishments in the capital have repeatedly tried to recruit her." I looked back at the woman.

"I take it that is you." The woman inclined her head and somehow made a bow look immodest.

"Indeed it is, Esra Veyne. My name is Madam Verner." She turned to Violet.

"And you are Violet Indri." She glanced at Sere, and smiled. Then she looked back at Violet and I.

"What, if I might ask, is the occasion? A dress must be picked for the event, of course."

"I'm going to become a damn Duchess," Violet said, folding her arms.

"And apparently I need something new." Madam Verner's eyes widened by a fraction.

"Oh. You are here for a coronation." She nodded to herself. Her gaze went to Estovan, who stood at our side. It went out the window, where there was just a single unmarked carriage.

"And I take it you are making these arrangements in some secrecy." She was sharp then. I decided that was a good thing.

"Indeed," I said.

"And so I hope you can understand that our visit here should not leave these walls."

"Of course." She said it as if the question were an insult. She turned back to Violet.

"What beautiful red hair you have. I am certain we can find something that will make you shine." She paused.

"When, if I might ask, do you require this gown?" You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Within the week," I said.

"As early as possible." The woman blinked.

"That," she said carefully, "will be difficult. A coronation gown is not something one rushes." She gestured around the room.

"It would be simpler if we altered something from my existing collection. Easier to fit a gown to a Lady than to build one from nothing, especially in so little time." I looked at Violet.

"Well? What do you think?"

"Doesn't matter to me," Violet muttered. I turned to Estovan.

"Wait by the entrance. Let me know if anything comes up." He tipped his head and withdrew. Madam Verner was already moving, leading Violet toward the back of the shop. I followed with Sere at my side. The fitting room was a long, mirrored space with a raised platform at its center and racks lining three walls. Madam Verner pulled gowns from them one by one. Violet barely looked at them. I sat on a chair a little ways away. Sere sat next to me, sketching as always. I supposed this was a place worth drawing.

The first was a rose-gold gown with embroidery so fine it caught the light and sparkled. It was by any reasonable standard, beautiful. The silk fell in layers that shimmered when Violet moved, and the bodice was fitted so perfectly it might not have needed adjusting at all. Violet stood on the platform. She looked at herself in the mirror and scowled.

"I look like a damn sunflower."

"Sunflowers aren't pink," I said from my chair.

"Then I look like a pink damn sunflower." Madam Verner's smile didn't so much as flicker. She was already pulling the next.

"Perhaps something bolder then?" she murmured. The second gown was red. A deep crimson with a lower neckline and clean lines that was as far apart from the last dress as anything could be. Violet studied her reflection. She tilted her head.

"It's not the right shade of red," she muttered. She glanced at me as she said it. Then she turned back to the Madam.

"I don't like it. Get me something else."

"Can you be more…specific?" Madam Verner asked.

"It's just not right." Violet said. The Madam almost sighed. Then she turned and picked out a third. This one was a gown of black so deep it seemed to drink in the light. Violet put it on. It was much too long around the arms. She stood on the platform, arms slightly raised. Then her face went a distinct shade of pink.

"The damn thing is so thin I can feel air in places nobody should feel air."

"That," Madam Verner said slowly, "is the point, my Lady. I assure you it looks exquisite."

"Still don't bloody like it." I looked up from my chair and noticed that Sere had stopped her sketching. She had drifted away from my side at some point and was standing near a rack on the far wall. A rack full of gowns.

"Do you want to try one Sere?" I asked. Sere flinched as she looked at me, as if I had caught her doing something she hadn't wanted me to see. She shyly nodded. I turned towards Madam Verner, but she was faster.

"Hmm. Let's see, child," she assessed Sere for a long moment. Then she crossed to the rack without a word, and pulled out a white gown with a high, covered back and sleeves that fell just past the wrist. She held it out.

"Try this. Your name is Sere, I believe? It should be almost the right size. Enough to see if you like it." How she had known, only the Gods could say. I decided at that moment that I liked her. Sere took the dress and disappeared behind a screen. When she emerged, she stood in front of the nearest mirror and went very still. The white fabric fell to just below her knees. When she moved, the cloth moved with her. She looked at herself, and her eyes were wide.

"You look lovely," I said. Sere spun toward me. She blushed, reached for her notepad, and held it out to me after writing. Can I keep it?

"Of course." I smiled.

"I thought you only wanted to wear those tunics." Sere frowned and her head tilted. She wrote again, slower this time. Sometimes this too.

"Of course," I smiled brightly at her. Well, if this was one of Sere's new interests, then I would make sure she had more dresses than she knew what to do with.

"Hey!" Violet's voice cut across the room.

"What the hell is the deal with these feathers?!" Apparently the tenth gown had feathers. Violet did not explain her objection to feathers, not that she needed to. Madam Verner's right eye twitched. For a moment I almost thought she was about to drop the eleventh dress still in her hand. Then she smiled.

"Of course, My Lady. What was I thinking?" It seemed we would all be here for a while yet.

"My Lady." Madam Verner set down another gown, which had not made it off the hanger. She folded her hands in front of her.

"I do not think anything here will fit your taste."

"Sounds like a problem with this place, then," Violet said. The woman rubbed her forehead. This time she did sigh.

"My Lady, I'm not sure I could stitch you something you would like either. Even some of my finest work didn't make you so much as bat an eye." We had been here for two hours now. Long enough that the morning had bled into the afternoon. Every time Madam Verner had asked what Violet wanted, the answers had been very Violet. Something cool. Something that makes me look scary. Something with more red. Madam Verner had tried her best, but I couldn't blame the woman for not matching requirements nobody could understand.

"Violet," I said.

"What do you want?" She looked at me. Her gaze went to her coat on the hook and fell away. She shrugged.

"I don't know." I didn't think she was being difficult just for the sake of being difficult. I sighed. Maybe this had been a mistake. Maybe I should have just let Anias handle all of this, and accepted whatever gown she chose on Violet's behalf-"I want something my mother would have worn." She finally said. The room went quiet. Madam Verner was very still.

"Your mother," she said carefully.

"You mean Scarlet Indri."

"Yes." Violet's jaw was set.

"Bring me something like that. She'd wear something cool." The woman glanced at me and then back at Violet.

"Lady Violet, I'm afraid I cannot do that."

"And why is that?"

"Your mother had a reputation for being…irregular." She chose the word with visible care.

"Lady Scarlet Indri wore gowns cut from the skins of monsters she had slain. They were quite the talk of the Kingdom, when she was alive. All I have, or all anyone really has in this city, is silk and wool and cotton." Violet deflated. Her shoulders dropped and the fire went out of her. She let out a deep sigh. It seemed she had known what she had wanted all along, but had only just found it in her to say it.

"Fine," she muttered.

"Just give me whatever, then. Doesn't matter." The woman nodded slowly. She was already reaching for another gown. No doubt Violet would say it was fine without so much as looking at it, and for what I wanted, that was good enough. It should have been good enough.

"Madam Verner," I said.

"Is the difficulty of making such a gown in acquiring the materials, or in working them?" The woman turned to me.

"Both," she said.

"It would have to come from a fine beast to be worth tailoring at all, and even then, not all materials are the same. The talent required for that alone is…" She shook her head.

"It is not a simple thing."

"Are you saying you do not have that talent?" It was bait. I felt a little bad for putting it out. Madam Verner's chin lifted. Her black hair swayed behind her as she straightened to her full height. When she spoke, her voice was sharp.

"I am the best seamstress in this city. I come from a line of seamstresses that were famous the Western Provinces over." Her gaze fixed on me.

"I will not take insult, even from a Hero." I smiled. I looked at Violet. She was looking back at me, and she did not yet understand.

"So," I said.

"Don't suppose you would want to take on a real challenge, then?" Madam Verner's eyes widened. Then they narrowed.

"And where, precisely, do you propose to acquire such a material? In a week?" I answered with a smile. I did hope the people of Iron Hollow would forgive me making use of their Farstep Arches for this. After a few seconds, the Madam's eyes widened.

"…You're serious," she said.

"I did say a real challenge, didn't I?" I met Violet's eyes, and she was grinning. The street outside was busier than when we had gone in. Late afternoon light spilled onto the streets. I kept my hood low. Sere walked at my left, the wrapped parcel of her white dress tucked under one arm.

"Seriously, Violet." I sighed.

"You should have just told me that's what you wanted. I would have said it to her an hour ago."

"It was embarrassing, okay?" Violet was walking close to my right, close enough that our arms kept bumping.

"Besides, I thought you'd, you know, want to do something else with that." I shook my head.

"What am I going to do with you." I looked down at Sere.

"Did you have fun?" She grinned up at me and nodded, holding the parcel a little tighter. Estovan fell into step behind us.

"My Lady, now we just have the other matter left, yes?"

"Indeed," I said.

"Let's go and pick up Damian from my home. It's about damned time we register for this tournament." We reached the carriage. It had been moved out of the direct path of the store. I started to climb in first, still talking over my shoulder.

"And we should probably see about getting Damian something to wear too. Remind me later to-" I stopped. Everyone was staring past me.

"What?" I said.

"Hey! It's rude to ignore a Princess, you know? Do you have any idea how long I've been sitting here?" I turned my head, very slowly. Katarina was sprawled across the seat with one leg folded beneath her. She grinned at me with all of her teeth. On the opposite seat, Aziah Storm sat perfectly still.

"How-" I started.

"Hi!" Katarina said.

"So! The King's Tournament, you said?" My stomach dropped.