Chapter 3
The heels of our boots click-clack against the stone as Vasia and I make our way down the corridor to where the seamstresses work.
She doesn't technically need to come with me to this appointment, but I know she's got a lot of questions about the mission we're being sent on, and I want to spend time with her before I go away for a couple of weeks.
"Are you excited?" she asks.
"Yes. But I'm nervous again. You know I haven't done a mission as big as this one before."
"True, but you'll do great," she promises with a reassuring smile. "And you're going to be fitted for a proper ballgown." There's genuine excitement in her voice as she says that.
"I know. No more maid dresses," I say. "At least until the second day I'm going to be at the castle."
"Do you think you'll be pretending to be a maid?"
I nod. "Apparently, they've already managed to bribe the castle's steward to let me have a job. I'm supposed to start the day after we arrive."
"That's a shame. Think of all the beautiful clothing you could have worn as a lady," she says wistfully. "I know that's not the point, but it is a little fun."
I laugh. "If you're going to rescue someone, why not look fabulous while doing it?"
"Exactly."
"It's a lot harder to disappear if you are someone though," I point out. "As a maid, I can just vanish and no one will think anything of it."
"I'll have to take your word for it," she says. "Mother won't even let me go on a mission as a maid. The most I've done is be part of the extraction team." She balls her hand into a fist and her eyes dark, almost looking indigo, but it's a trick of the light.
"I'm sure she's just waiting for the right mission," I respond. "This is the biggest one I've ever done. And even Fen hasn't done that many, and we only have three dragons at the castle."
"We'll have four at some point, there'll be baby Yun too."
"Ah, yes." Somehow, I'd forgotten about Fen's baby sister.
We arrive at our destination, and I push open the door so we can step inside.
The head seamstress looks relieved when she sees that it's me, until she looks past to Vasia and freezes. Her thoughts break through and she bows. "Lady Vasia."
My friend looks a little uncomfortable as she murmurs an acknowledgement.
I know she hates not knowing anything about her past. In theory, we know that her mother is nobility, but we don't know more than that, and only really have Lady Cassandra's word for it.
I don't have any reason to think she's lying about her status in life, but I can understand why Vasia finds it uncomfortable to be reminded of that.
"Your ball gown is nearly ready, Miss Ingrid," she says. "Juni will help you into it." She gestures to a young woman hovering behind her.
I follow her behind a screen and strip down to my shift, glad that I had a chance to take a bath between my meeting with Lady Cassandra and now, I don't think it would have been pleasant to try on a new gown while still caked in sweat.
There are more layers than I care to think about to the dress, and it's heavier than I anticipated. It's only when I step out from behind the screen that I realise all of the dance lessons I've taken in extra skirts have been for a reason.
The seamstress instructs me to stand on a raised platform and circles me. She adds a couple of pins and mutters things to Juni, who writes them down.
It's only when they're standing in front of me again that I notice the concerned expression on Juni's face.
"What is it?" I ask.
She startles and looks up at me, as if not having expected me to speak. She clears her throat. "The style is wrong."
The seamstress turns to her, a concerned expression on her face. "What do you mean?"
"The cut of the bodice went out of fashion three years ago. It needs to have more of a taper here." She puts her hand on my stomach, though I can barely feel it through the amount of fabric I'm wearing. Perhaps ballgowns are overrated after all.
"How do you know?" I ask.
She looks up at me and smiles weakly. "I'm from Drakaron. The Damsels got me out after I asked for help about half a year ago. I left everything behind to come here."
"Do you regret it?" I ask.
Vasia sits forward in her seat, clearly interested to hear what Juni has to say. I don't blame her, I'm anxious to hear Juni's answer myself.
"No. It's hard to be out in the world with no way to support myself, but at least I'm not still married to a man who used to beat me." She frowns. "I suppose we are still married. He just has no access to me."
My heart aches for her. It seems like an impossible choice to have to choose between leaving everything you've ever known behind, and staying to endure pain and suffering. It's not something I've ever had to contemplate for myself, and I dread to think what must have brought her to it.
"But now I'm here, and I'm learning a skill," she says, looking over to the head seamstress. "I'm grateful for a chance at a new life."
Tears prick the corners of my eyes. It's easy to forget why we're doing this, especially when I'm faced with the practical parts of a mission.
Getting my dresses, organising transport, and going over the plan.
But the reason we're doing this is a young woman who is choosing her probable freedom over a life of comfort.
"Show me the design changes," the head seamstress says, holding out a board and a piece of paper to Juni.
To my surprise, she smiles and takes it from the older woman, heading over to the bench where Vasia is sitting so that she can sketch. My friend leans over her shoulder, watching while she works with a curious expression on her face.
Juni holds the sketch further away from herself and gives it an appraising look before nodding. She gets to her feet and hands it over to the seamstress, who looks it over.
"This is the style in Drakaron at the moment?"
"It was half a year ago," Juni responds. "It might have changed since then, but it's more in style than what Miss Ingrid has on."
The seamstress nods. "Very well. We'll make the adjustments. They shouldn't be too hard."
"This is the style that came after the one that Miss Ingrid is wearing," Juni says. "I think most of the women at court will have had their existing gowns adjusted, rather than having something new made."
The seamstress nods and gestures for me to step down.
"Get the dress off and come back the day after tomorrow for another fitting," she says to me.
"Then switch into your maid's uniform. We got it from the steward of the castle anyway, so it should look right.
We'll just need to make adjustments so it fits you properly. "
I nod and go to do as instructed, hoping that I'm going to have someone with me to help me get the dress off after the masquerade ball, or I'm going to have to ask Fen to help me, and somehow, I don't think that's going to be a good idea.