A Filling of Fables and Firelight (Enchanting Confections #11)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

RANA

If she had known the Sultan was going to die, Rana would have invested in black thread.

She kept the irreverent thought to herself as she tied off the hem to yet another black shirt.

It seemed everyone in El-Huram had taken the Sultan’s death to heart and required a new set of clothes to console them, though Rana wasn’t exactly sure what the point was.

The Sultan’s passing was unfortunate but not unexpected, and it wasn’t as if wearing black from head to toe was going to bring him back.

She glanced past the reams of rich, colorful fabrics that lined the small workroom in the back of the tailor shop and through the narrow door that opened to the counter where the till was kept.

Aida, her employer’s wife, perched on a tall, three-legged stool and absently twirled a length of purple ribbon round her fingers.

Her red-rimmed eyes were glossy and distant as she wound and unwound the ribbon, and she pressed her lips together into a firm line.

Rana’s heart ached for her. Though she herself had known the Sultan only in passing, Aida had shared a much closer relationship with the old man, seeming to look up to him as a father.

Unlike many of their customers, who seemed to be adopting mourning clothes as the latest fashion craze, her grief was real.

It’s been nearly two weeks. She needs something else to take her mind off things…

Her thoughts were rudely interrupted as the front door to the shop burst open, hitting the wall beside it with a bang and knocking down the little bell that hung over it. Rana jumped, yelping when the needle she had been holding pricked her finger instead of the fabric.

“Rana! Aida!” The lanky blonde whirlwind who had come barreling through the door gasped as he bent forward, resting his hands on his knees and taking deep, heaving breaths. “Did you hear?”

“Everyone on the street heard you come in,” Rana answered drily as she reached for a scrap of cloth to press against the blooming bead of red on her finger.

She squeezed her hand into a fist, keeping the cloth in place, and left her work behind to stand in the doorway of the workroom. “What are you doing here, Jasper?”

“Where’s Spot?” Aida straightened her shoulders and looked at their sixteen-year-old visitor with the first spark of interest that Rana had seen in her eyes all day.

Jasper looked over his shoulder to the busy street. “He was right behind me.”

Rana sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “You can’t just misplace a tiger, Jasper.”

“It’s not like he’s going to hurt anyone,” he argued with the unwavering confidence of an adolescent. “Besides, everyone around here knows him. They would make sure he got back.”

As if on cue, a tiger appeared beside him in the doorway, sauntering into the room on massive, silent paws. He approached Aida and rubbed his head against her side with a deep, throaty purr before curling up at her feet.

“See?” Jasper’s smile was smug as he tilted to lean one shoulder against the doorframe.

Rana sighed. “You’re just lucky that he seems to think he’s a housecat. Now what was so important that had you bursting in here like a camel in a monsoon?”

“Oh!” The adolescent straightened, throwing his shoulders back and puffing out his chest with importance, causing the dark blue vest he wore as part of his uniform to pull open. “I have news: the Sultan is getting married!”

“Already?” Aida frowned. “His father just died. Kamaran might be impulsive and capricious, but he did love his father. I find it hard to believe that he would be planning a wedding already—not to mention the fact that it would require him to be serious enough to actually commit to a woman.”

Jasper shook his head. “He hasn’t chosen a bride yet.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Council of Viziers announced this afternoon that they were bringing back the tradition of the Queen’s Contest. His Majesty will marry whoever wins the competition.”

Rana’s brows nearly touched the top of her forehead. “The Sultan agreed to this?”

“He really didn’t have much of a choice.” Jasper shrugged. “He needs to find a wife and the Council decided this was the way to do it. If you ask me, he doesn’t exactly seem thrilled at the prospect.”

Aida gave him a pointed look. “We didn’t ask you. You shouldn’t be so quick to share such personal opinions about Kamaran outside the palace walls. It could cost you your position.”

Jasper crossed his arms, offended. “It’s not like I’m going around gossiping on the streets. I just thought you might want to know about it, or, I don’t know, offer some words of advice to whoever ends up participating.”

Rana glanced back and forth between them, certain she was missing something. “Advice about their wardrobes?”

“More like how to deal with His Majesty when he parades them around like a trophy rather than a person.” Jasper’s expression darkened, his frown turning real. “They won’t have Dan around to show them how a princess really should be treated.”

Aida sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes for a moment at Rana’s questioning look. “Kamaran and I courted for a brief period of time.”

Rana’s jaw dropped. “How did I not know this?”

“It was several years ago—well before you started working here.”

“But still.” She set her hands on hips and shook her head, secretly delighted to see a bit of Aida’s spark coming back.

“That seems like something that would come up in conversation. If not from you, then Teta at the very least.” Her grandmother seemed to have a finger on the pulse of nearly everything that happened in El-Huram, and the crown prince being rejected in favor of a tailor was exactly the kind of story that she would have loved.

“Why? It was over almost as soon as it started.”

“And good riddance,” Jasper interjected.

“I’m not surprised. His Majesty is a notorious flirt, and his work ethic is questionable at best.” Rana cocked her head thoughtfully. “You probably would have been good for him.”

“So I was told.” Aida’s face softened with a sad, fond smile. “But I found I much preferred tailors to princes.”

Jasper snorted. “Of course you do. Dan is the best person in all of Adhavi, maybe even in the whole of Nomescia. And I’m his brother, so I would know.

” He pushed away from the door. “Anyway, I only came here to tell you about the competition. You can do whatever you want with that information, but I just wanted you to know it was happening.”

“Thanks for letting me know, Jas,” Aida answered softly. “You should probably get back to your post now, though. I’m sure that for an event of this proportion, they’re going to need their best page more than ever.”

He responded by throwing his shoulders back with confidence and bidding them both farewell before rushing back out into the hot afternoon with Spot right on his heels. Rana breathed a laugh as she watched him go, then shook her head and returned to her work. “That boy.”

“He’s certainly a character.”

She picked up her traitorous needle and the long black skirt that was next on her list of alterations.

Thankfully, this particular customer only needed the waistband let out, and she would be done with it within a quarter of an hour.

“We should probably make sure that we’re stocked up on silk and thread in colors other than black.

Oh, and likely ribbons and other trimmings as well. ”

“Why do you say that?” Aida shifted on her stool so that she faced the workroom where Rana had settled.

“I don’t know how much you’ve learned about Adhavian traditions, but the Queen’s Contest is open to any eligible, well-born woman of marriageable age.

There’s a preliminary round to narrow it down to ten, but anyone can add their name to the list for consideration.

” Rana smiled sardonically. “I can almost guarantee that the moment it’s announced, we’re going to get a rush of orders from eager young misses who are certain they will be the one to steady our Sultan’s fickle, irresponsible ways. ”

A thoughtful expression settled on Aida’s face. “I suppose if Kamaran were able to secure a marriage alliance, the contest wouldn’t be necessary.”

“Precisely. The fact that he’s likely offended or broken the heart of every eligible princess in Nomescia is doubtless what prompted the Viziers to act in the first place.

We just have to hope that they’ll be able to find a woman in Adhavi who’s both strong enough to keep His Majesty in line and sensible and compassionate enough to be worthy of being queen. ”

A tiny smirk played at the corner of Aida’s mouth. “Maybe you should put your name in. I think you could handle Kamaran.”

Rana dropped the skirt on her lap and threw up her hands to wave the idea away.

“Absolutely not. I’m very happy where I am, thank you.

I love my job here, and as long as I’m able to take care of Teta and afford the occasional box of Adhavian Delight, I am perfectly content.

I don’t need to complicate my life by adding the care and keeping of a Sultan. ”

“I doubt he would be much more demanding than that fox of yours.”

“See? Zade’s already royalty. Too many of those in a room and there could be a diplomatic disaster.”

Aida laughed. “We wouldn’t want that.”

“Exactly.” Rana nodded in agreement. “There is one good thing about all of this, at least.”

“What’s that?”

She picked up her needle. “No more black.”