Deceiver

Chapter 3

Maeia

Saeya must have had quite a shock when she woke up to me sitting at the foot of her bed, waiting for her to wake up.

"Saeya!" I beamed as she opened her eyes. "Boy, do I have a story for you." She groaned at me.

"Oh, how the tables have turned. Do share this pressing information, please, I'm begging you," she grumbled back.

I told her about the pen, and where I'd found the pen, and then where it led me to. I told Saeya about the warrior lady, and how I absolutely planned to go back, but only to steal some things, and certainly not to find the warrior lady again. I conveniently left out the circumstances under which I'd found the pen, the fear in the warrior lady's eyes, and the fact that I had no plan for when we actually got to the court. We'd get to that later, or not at all.

Saeya looked baffled and simultaneously very afraid.

"You're positive this wasn't a dream?", she asked, her face unreadable. She almost sounded... convinced already.

"I'm absolutely positive," I responded.

"Maeia, I hate to say it, but I'm not entirely sure I believe you." I could hear in her voice that she was lying but I did not mention it, as I had no idea what she could possibly be lying about.

"But I believe me! How could you not believe me, when I believe me?", I whined back. She rolled her eyes at me in typical older sibling fashion. I watched her sarcasm in amusement, realizing that I had never really felt closer to another person.

"Fine, I'll humor you. You are not, however, going to a tailor when I have all of these, and I am not coming with you." There was defeat in her voice as she pulled open her closet door to reveal rows upon rows of ballgowns, all of them much taller than me or her, surprisingly. I gaped at the dresses, before looking up at her. She was slightly pink in the face.

"Saeya, where did you get all these?", I asked, baffled. Her face became stony in a way I hadn't seen it before, even more unreadable than it was previously. I wondered if she'd brought these from home with her, or if she'd gotten them here. Part of me was quietly annoyed at the possibility of the latter. Why must we struggle, when she had the money to buy all of these? I kept my mouth shut.

"I guess we both have our secrets, don't we?", she responded quietly. "Anyways, go ahead and pick one out. I never wear them, so you can try on as many as you'd like to go and visit your dear palace, Madame!" Gone was the sudden stony demeanor, and she was back to the usual giggling, older-sister-adjacent Saeya. Maybe one day I would pry this secret out of her, but I'd probably have to give one in return.

Saeya did not wait for my choice of dress as she nodded and mumbled something to herself before drawing a floor-length green ballgown out of the closet.

"I think this one would suit you well, but I'd need to shorten it," she said, almost to herself. "Look, it's even got thigh holsters. I have a feeling you'll need those." Immediate regret crossed her face as she uttered the last words, and she quietly took a pair of scissors off of her desk and began to shorten the flowing green fabric, her strokes neat and measured.

"How would you know that? We'll be just fine." I was probably overconfident at this point, but I wasn't sure why Saeya seemed like she was almost speaking from experience. I shrugged it off, and Saeya dropped the topic altogether. I would push the topic later; right now, she was doing me a massive favor.

She watched me as I pulled the dress on and gave her a twirl, staring for just a minute too long. For a moment, I thought I saw a hint of the same fear on the warrior's face in her eyes. It was gone before I had even blinked, and I was left to question if I was just imagining it all along. She murmured something about getting a glass of water and wandered down the stairs.