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"Well, we are going to look glorious," Zoya said.
They had just received their new silk keftas, specially tailored for the winter fete next week, and they'd spent the whole morning strutting around in front of the mirror.
Now, they sat in the clearing near the Grand Palace, where an old, mossy fountain still stood. Katya had discovered it years ago, and now she had brought her friend there, too. Not that Zoya was too happy; it had snowed lightly overnight, and she was shivering through her fur lined kefta.
"We always look good," argued Katya. She was leaning onto the edge of the fountain. The snow had melted underneath her and her kefta was wet, but it didn't bother her.
Zoya summoned a light breeze, upturning the snow and blowing it softly on Katya's face. "You should put your hair up, that's a sure way to catch the eye of the tsarevitch."
"The tsarevitch is a drunk and a fool."
"So he is, but wouldn't you like to be queen?"
Katya rolled her eyes at her friend's antics, and took advantage of the best thing about being a Squaller during winter: the ability to throw snowballs at Zoya with little to no effort. She deflected it, of course, but just imagining her best friend taking a snowball to her face made Katya smile to herself.
She turned her head, watching Zoya cross her arms in an attempt to keep herself warm. "A little birdie tells me that you return to Kribirsk after the fete."
Zoya sighed, "I thought he might never let me go back, Kat." Her pensiveness lasted for all but a second. "But now, I've got presents to bring with me."
Surely, Katya had seen the boxes piled up at the back of Zoya's closet; teas, almond candy, and even some hard to find chocolate. "I don't doubt your ability to carry those presents to Novokribirsk on your back if you had to."
A snowball was launched towards Katya's own face, narrowly missing. "Lighten up, princess, and maybe I'll lend you one of my necklaces."
On the day of the fete, Katya had barely managed to run her brush through her hair, when her door slammed and a flurry of black hair and midnight blue silk stormed in. Zoya looked as if she'd seen a ghost.
"Genya just commandeered my room," she seethed, falling backwards on Katya's bed. "For her little acolyte!"
Katya understood that to be Alina, whom Zoya was still adamant in hating. "And you left without bringing me one of your necklaces?"
It was like Genya to try and fix the balance by playing a little prank on Zoya, and it was clear this one had worked, because she was seething.
"You don't understand," she whined, throwing her hands up. "She was wearing a black kefta!"
