The True Confessions of a Nine-Tailed Fox

Chapter 21: Aurelia

Bureau of the Sky, two moons ago:

Through the rosewood latticework that framed her door, Aurelia could hear the clerks' voices. She knew that if she glanced up, she'd see the backs of her crane maiden lieutenants seated on either side of her office just outside the door and, beyond them, the row upon row of desks that filled the great hall. Even though it was well past suppertime, everyone was still hard at work.

"The gardeners report that the chrysanthemums have passed their peak, as we are halfway through the Chrysanthemum Moon. They ask permission to pull them up next week – "

"Approved. Tell them to prepare the evergreens – "

"Here's the report from the Sunset Weavers, ma'am. They apologize that the sky today was less inspired than usual and request funds to replenish their dyes – "

"The Seventh Weaver Maiden begs special dispensation to send a missive to her husband, the Cowherd – "

"Sir, the Somersault Cloud Weavers report that the latest batch is ready for their test flights – "

Half-monitoring the chatter, Aurelia looked over her checklist. Now that the chrysanthemum viewings of the ninth moon were past, she'd received formal orders from the Queen Mother of the West to start planning the New Year festivities. Those would begin in two and a half moons, spanning the entirety of the Bitter Moon and extending into the Holiday Moon. Needless to say, they required significant preparation.

Most urgent on her list: The Bureau of the Sky needed to hold a calligraphy competition to identify the clerks with the finest handwriting, who would then have the honor of penning this year's invitations. She'd have Lady Grus, the lieutenant in charge of organizing that, check in with her tomorrow morning. Aurelia made a note on her calendar, then moved on to the next task. Her other lieutenant, Lady Dan, needed to delegate one clerk to coordinate with the kitchens on the banquet menus, and a second to speak to the gardeners and housekeepers about their cleaning schedule. Oh, and Aurelia had to remind Lady Dan to draw up a list of proposed committee meeting dates and send it around before all the Stars' schedules filled up. Last year, it had been nigh-impossible to get them into the same room at the same time, which meant that she'd been late submitting the budget estimate to Accounting –

A familiar voice outside her office jerked her back to the present. Her heart started to pound.

At the same time, two brisk raps came on her door, and Lady Dan called, "My lady, pardon the interruption, but you have a visitor."

Years of engrained habit made Aurelia drop her brush, straighten her back, and start to rise, but she forced herself to sit back down. "Please send him in," she called back.

The door opened, held by Lady Dan. "The Star of Heavenly Joy," she announced.

In strode Cassius, brushing a little too close to the crane maiden for propriety, with a smile and a touch on her arm that definitely violated office protocol. Lady Dan's eyes followed him across the room, and she hesitated too long before dipping her head to Aurelia and shutting the door again.

Pretending she hadn't noticed, Aurelia pasted a polite smile on her lips and willed herself not to stand. Even after centuries as equals in Heaven, it still felt wrong to sit without permission in the former emperor's presence. "My lord. Please, have a seat. What business brings you to the Bureau of the Sky today?"

Cassius dropped into a chair and studied her face. If he were inspecting it for wrinkles, he wasn't going to find any.

"What business brings you to the office of the Star of Reflected Brightness today?" Aurelia repeated, in the pleasant, neutral tone she used on colleagues she detested.