In less time than it took to eat a meal, Judice and Mahet had found and fitted a beautiful gown for Talia. The Princess glanced at herself in the mirror for what seemed like the hundredth time since they began fitting her.
She had never before considered the clothing she wore in Vezda as 'fashion'. It was functional. White cloth reflected the heat of the sun. The slits that ran up either side of the skirt allowed her full freedom of movement- to run, jump and climb. The light weight of the thin material meant that it was quick to dry if she went swimming or was caught in one of the many summer rains.
However, Judice had taken the traditional gown and fit it with layers of silver underskirts and long loose sleeves. She had embroidered the hemlines with silver thread and small jewels, so that when Talia walked, the skirt seemed to sparkle. With her hair braided in Vezdan style, she looked more like Vezdan royalty than she ever had before.
When the sisters had finished with her hair and make-up, Talia gave one last glance at her reflection and nodded approvingly.
"I think it will make the right impression. Thank you," she nodded.
"We're not done yet!" Judice insisted. "Mahet, run down to the corner and see if Prelsi and her girls are up and about. Tell them we've got to round up a full Vezdan escort to go to the palace in less than an hour."
"Should I see if we can borrow the carriage from the Inn?" Mahet called, heading for the door.
"That's good thinking, yes!" Judice agreed.
"You are very kind, truly, but there is a chance that I am walking into a dangerous situation, and I wouldn't want to bring harm or misfortune to any other daughters of Vezda," Talia insisted, watching as Mahet ran out the door and down the steps of the shop.
"A fine gown won't gain you access to the palace here in Torobirk," Judice warned. "Besides, as you said before, the Emperor's men took your maid and left you alone in the forest. To me, that suggests a betrayal of some sort. If you go alone, you might simply disappear. We will make sure that everyone will see you and know who the Princess of Vezda truly is!"
Talia swallowed the nervous lump in her throat and nodded. It made sense. She had assumed that someone in the palace would have realized the mistake that was made, but all the same, it wasn't as if she could simply walk up the front doors of the palace and knock.
"And besides, I've seen the damage done to your hands and fingers, and the bruises that are healing all over your body. You were tortured by the demon prince! Not anymore, my princess! With Vezda gaining a strong ally and the Emperor needing your testimony, you can demand to be freed from him, and if he shows his face at court, we'll all stand between you. He won't lay a hand on you ever-"
"He hasn't!" Talia interjected quickly. "He hasn't laid a hand on me. I was in the north where I suffered frost bite, and I was... abducted and beaten by a gang of men. He... Prince Mikhail... he didn't... he's not..."
Talia paused, noticing the look of concern on the shopkeeper's face as she tried to find the right words. She could not say that the man was kind. That he was even gentle at times. That his presence often made her feel less afraid. He could be all those things, but he could also be cold, cruel, and threatening. He was a man without a moral foundation, surely, and also... a man who apparently spent his nights being entertained by brothel girls!
She had not forgotten that fact!
"He is a heartless man, but I have not been made to suffer unduly under his roof," Talia said.
"To say only that he is heartless is too kind!" Judice scoffed. "The man is a butcher! A living, breathing nightmare! I wouldn't trust him to care for a dog, let alone the last daughter of House Eosin. When he arrives, we should-"
"He is not likely to arrive any time soon. He has gone to the far north on the Emperor's command, and from what I heard on my journey here, he has not been in contact with his men for more than a week. He likely does not even know that I have traveled to the capitol or even that the Emperor has summoned me," Talia assured her with a gentle smile. "I expect no trouble from the Prince or his men."
"Hmph!" Judice replied, as though she were disappointed at not being able to challenge the Prince to single-handed combat.
Talia could understand her feelings. Had she a sword and the Prince standing before her, she might have been tempted to run him through herself.
Every time she thought of him, she thought first of the warmth in his arms and of the way he looked at her. She could feel his touch and remembered what it did to her body, and then, in the next instant, she would recall the moment he turned away from her in the tavern, and then the expression of shock or perhaps panic on his face when she spoke of love. She remembered that he was soon to be married to a noble lady who waited for him in Torobirk, and now... she could add the realization that he had probably learned to kiss from all the time he spent with brothel girls.
Talia cleared her throat and raised her chin. She had made a mistake in being vulnerable to him. She had let her armor slip before the enemy and his arrow had been so swift and sharp that she did not realize she'd been hit until it was too late.
Well, she was a healer, and she knew how to remove an arrow and heal a wound. Vezda needed her now, and what was Prince Mikhail compared to Vezda? Her Kingdom would always come first.
"Prince Mikhail is the least of our worries," she assured both Judice and herself.
It was amazing what the two sisters had accomplished in just over an hour's time. Talia descended the steps of the dress shop to find a highly polished carriage waiting for her. Behind the carriage, a line of women in plain, Vezdan-style white dresses stood silently watching her. As she approached, the women bowed low all at once... as if they had been trained.
Judice and Mahet had both dressed themselves in Vezdan attire as well, and followed behind her with their heads held high. Mahet had even found a thigh band for Talia to keep her dagger in, and she could feel it as she walked- the cold steel against her bare thigh.
The procession moved slowly through the East River District, headed for the palace. Judice and Mahet walked before the carriage and called out for those in the street to clear the way for the Princess of Vezda.
It was certainly a spectacle, and the citizens of Torobirk poured out of the stores and taverns to line the streets and watch as she passed by.
By the time they reached the palace gates, they had amassed quite a following, and the guards that rushed forward appeared confused and flustered.
"Open the gates for Princess Talia of Vezda, daughter of House Eosin!" Mahet called out. "She comes to answer the summons of the Emperor!"
Talia sat rigidly on the carriage seat, and when the guards approached the window, she did her best to appear regal and glared down at then with disdain.
"Open the gates, I say!" Mahet shouted from somewhere Talia couldn't see.
"If the Princess could offer a token of her identity or, perhaps the Emperor's written summons..." one of the guards replied.
"Our Princess was attacked on her journey to Torobirk. She was fortunate to escape with her life and carries none of these things!" came Mahet's harsh reply.
Just as Talia noticed that beads of sweat were beginning to form on her forehead, another soldier came running down from the palace. He conversed briefly with the guards, and then, the gates swung open, and she was entering the palace with a line of Vezdan servants following stoically behind her.
The carriage stopped before the entrance to the Great Courtyard, and Talia could not help but remember the first time she had walked across it.
She had still been weak from posion and garbed in filth, her dress reeking of vomit. Now she was beautifully dressed and attended to by almost a dozen Vezdan girls posing as servants. This time, when the courtiers stopped to stare, it wasn't to whisper and laugh at a filthy prisoner, but to gawk at the noble lady in the sparkling dress and her line of white-robed attendants.
This time, she would speak and the Emperor would listen.