Internal: Viperpath (volume 1)

(19) Girls' Walk

Arriving at the shop in a breezy mood, and having argued her case to the proprietor of the shop in question, Isfir, Zal waited, hands on hips, for his response.

"Poor Mina had related to me what had passed the other day, excellency," Isfir began, "as well as giving the caution that you might grace this establishment again in the near future... for redress."

"For redress, yeah," the princess affirmed snarkily. "Been told I might've owed ya three hundred risnas. Close 'nough?"

"A letter had been sent to my abode entitling me to receive seventeen dresses' worth of payment, indeed," came Isfir's smiling reply, "and according to my calculations they shall amount to two hundred and eighty-five risnas; which, I might add, I should like to have received before the end of this month if the losses were to be properly recouped."

Zal visibly relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief. Still got fifteen risnas' worth of balance! Lei's offer of contribution might not be needed, after all; more for her! "Ya can have 'em in eight days at the quickest. I'll hand 'em over myself."

"Be that as it may," the proprietor went on, "while I am grateful to be thus recompensed--as any trader in his right senses should--do allow me to inquire of your feelings, Princess Azalea: how did you feel about bringing ruin to so many deliverables?"

"And why should whatever might have crossed my mind back then bother you, who weren't even there anyhow?" Zal shot back. "Not like you've been too altruistic in yer transactions, either."

Isfir blinked. "That's quite the claim, excellency."

With few reasons to back such a 'claim' that she could immediately come up with at such short notice, Zal's mental attention turned just as quickly to the most tangible item in her first true friend's imagined list of plights.

"See here," the Little Viper snarled, "'round this pigsty ya call a shop, there are still so darn-many unclothed urchins squallin' in back-alleys. How could you just let that happen, day in n' out? Ain't charity a virtue, now?"

"Ah--you seem to be wondering why we aren't distributing these kinds of garments, so that those cheerless folks might in turn sleep a bit happier? I respect that, but do recall that our guild does not cater to such, er... customers, but rather to people of mid-upper rung such as your excellencies. Our going against that now would inevitably ruin the balance."

Zal flared up.

"Who freakin' cares 'bout the balance! You know darn-well those folks deserve better; I see you can provide it, so why the heck don't you?!"

At this display of altruism, characteristically-coarse though it was, Lei was pleasantly surprised. Most of the time, she had believed Azalea to be little more than a lout who had gotten almost the whole of her ill graces from her mother; herself the somewhat-unhinged last surviving daughter of a fallen despot. But here, for almost the first time, the Amir's eldest daughter began to think that perhaps there might be some hope yet for her fiery sibling.

The ways of delivery, now...

The proprietor's response, however, was no less daunting.

"Morally, my lady," Isfir related, "I would arguably have taken your side and be happy about it; charity really is, to use your terms, a virtue. But in such other fields as these, I humbly apologize: we are going to have to make trade-offs. Just like how the garments with the exact same patterns that you had so gracelessly torn up might not reappear soon, no matter how many risnas you shall be pouring to fix them, so we cannot upset the balance of trade--especially within the capital--without ourselves being heavily sanctioned by the Amir, your father. Best I can do is plead for your prudence for next time."