"Guess who didn't need our help after all." Madame Lufoncia's voice carried down to the awaiting gaggle of professionals who suddenly became a gossiping bunch of birds until the pair of women came fully into view. The eruption of compliments and exclamations was thunderous.
"Oh my Gods!"
"So gorgeous!"
"She looks like a noble!"
"Like a queen more like!"
"Yes! Look at her!"
"I'm so jealous. I could never look that good, even in a gorgeous dress like that."
"Oh shush."
Wynessa was blushing as she tried to hide her face in her hands and moved to sit on a stool away from the table before three different pairs of hands pulled her to the main table and sat her down with a cup of tea, a cup of purple frothy liquid, and a bowl of grain porridge. The near constant happy voices surrounding her was enjoyable and made her smile as she ate her breakfast.
"Wynnie, will you let me do your hair?" One of the elvish women begged from beside her right as Wynessa put a spoonful of food into her mouth, eliciting a jovial laugh from a few people telling the girl to "give her some space to eat!" After swallowing the food and nodding, the woman bounded excitedly up the stairs. "I'll be right back! I have a ribbon I think would go perfectly with your dress!"
Wynessa kept smiling all through breakfast and as the elvish woman, who's name turned out to be Nessa, braided and wrapped her hair into a wreath around the crown of her head. Sure enough, the red satin ribbon worked perfectly with the dress Wynessa wore and kept her hair out of her face.
All that remained, everyone agreed, was a necklace. Madame Lufoncia tapped a finger to her lips a few times as she looked over Wynessa's nearly finalized outfit before speaking, causing the rest of the group to hush.
"Mardie, bring me a white chiffon and the dark blue oval brooch from the second drawer in the large cabinet." One of the thinnest people Wynessa had ever seen stood quickly and jogged up the stairs only to return a moment later with the triangular white bandanna-like fabric and beautiful silver and blue brooch. "Wrap the chiffon around your neck to cover your shoulders long side to your neck to the short point in going down your back, then tuck the long corners in the front of the dress and pin them there with the brooch."
The finished outfit was stunning and perfect for the two women as they made their way down the street. Lufoncia insisted they both wrap up in shawls to cover their hair and shoulders from the wind, but also to cover her own face from the nose down. Wynessa did not catch herself staring in time before the Madame clarified.
"Not everyone in the city takes kindly to a bearded woman, darling. It's alright. Where we're going will be inside, so we won't have to wear them for long."
They strode quickly through the streets towards Hightown, the pair of surly looking men nodding the pair through the gates as was apparently regular. The Madame led her inexperienced ward through the winding gardens and uniformly huge manor houses towards the back of perhaps the largest and most grand of the lot. As they rounded the garden gate, Lufoncia pulled Wynessa aside and motioned for her to stay near.
"Once we get inside, do not speak unless spoken to. We are meeting a contact, but his employer is a major supporter of the invading regime. You are here to listen and learn, but if you have something to add, whisper it to me rather than blurting out." Her words were clear and precise, but not unkind and once Wynessa nodded her understanding they moved to knock on the back door.
A young woman in plain servant's clothes opened the door and ushered them inside politely before checking to make sure they were not followed and shutting the door. Just inside was a hallway that led right into the kitchen, which was busy readying for luncheon. The same young woman led them into a parlor which already had a fire keeping the room comfortable, and she asked if either woman would like some tea. They both respectfully declined and sat delicately on the sofa in the middle of the room.
Wynessa tried to mimic the Madame's movements as best she could, learning how to properly sit like a lady with her ankles crossed, not her knees, and sitting up straight. The posture was torturous after a few minutes, but Lufoncia smiled seeing Wynessa trying to act the part of the lady she appeared to be.
After a few minutes, a young man whose ears looked like they would have been pointed had they not been mangled and cut some time ago stepped through another door and silently closed it behind him before moving towards the pair. As he reached for Madame Lufoncia's hand, he smiled wide and graciously.
"Madame, it is always a pleasure to have you visit." He stooped down to kiss the back of her hand after she stood and offered it to him, causing Wynessa to stand as well with her hands clasped together before her.
"Caito. It has been far too long. What has kept you so preoccupied?" Lufoncia's tone suggested more than a passing acquaintanceship with the young man who held her hand a moment longer before nodding quietly.
"Yes, I am terribly sorry for not contacting you sooner, and more so I must apologize for not coming to see you. My mistress and the new Lord of the house are in a complete tizzy since the young master returned." Caito spoke quickly before turning to the young woman he did not know. "And now I must apologize once again for my rudeness. Caito Fenrue, second butler to the house of Le Muur, my lady."
"Wynessa Lyrdottir, and did you say house of Le Muur?" Wynessa offered her hand to the man expecting to shake it politely as equals but much as he had done with Lufoncia, he gently took her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles respectfully.
"Yes, my lady." Caito turned his attentions back to the Madame intending to further explain but pausing as she held a finger to his lips for a moment, her eyes focussed on the door. She jutted her chin slightly towards the shadows of a pair of feet near the center of the main double doorway before turning to Caito and nodding slowly. Wynessa watched silently as the young man stepped towards the door as quietly as he reasonably could, Lufoncia stretching an arm out protectively towards her ward as Caito held the door handles and looked back to the pair. As soon as he was given the signal, he pulled the doors open and stood silently for a moment staring at the short man on the other side.
"Timias?"