Runesight

23 - Please dress like a person

"Eliax!"

I felt the magical effect fizzle out as my door burst open. I hastily examined my desk just to be sure there was nothing incriminating laying around, but besides the Geneseri spell there wasn't anything that might give me away. I stared at it for a moment and simply set my notebook on top, glancing back at Illila.

"I gave your thing to Niun if that's what this is-"

"No! Eliax, you have to come with me right now." She took my arm roughly, tugging me toward the door.

I blinked at her but held my ground, "What? Why?"

Illila started vibrating, "Didn't you hear? The Queen herself announced that she's going to be here next week! A team just arrived to tidy up the palace and all sorts of important people are going to be coming back early from their summer estates."

I felt my mouth open, but for a long moment nothing came out. It had WORKED, sparks above I couldn't believe it. She had to be here because of Foralen, right? Because she needed to see the Hero and gauge her allegiance. I stood up straighter and berated myself for having been unable to keep composed. "Really? That's amazing? But that's next week then, where are we going right now?"

Illila gave me the most dumbfounded look I'd ever seen, "Sparks, you're serious. You have no idea. Eliax, This means there's going to be a party. The queen always hosts parties when she visits and I am not going to be caught without a suitable dress again. I came to get you because I figured you needed help dressing like a person."

I glanced at my simple coat and trousers, tilting my head at Illila, "I look like a person from what I can tell."

"Eliax. We all know that you would be mistaken for a man if your antennae weren't so big."

"But my hair is-"

"I don't know what it's like where you're from, but I've seen plenty of guys with longer hair."

"Illila I wear dresses all the time." If only to keep my legs warm, but she didn't need to know that, "I just wear this more." Ever since I'd read somewhere that most dimensionalists could use their feet too for binding and that was impractical to figure out in a dress.

"Well, if you wear that to the party I'm not talking to you again."

I finally conceded, letting her drag me from the room. I was curious though, "So when was the last time she visited?"

Illila sighed in a dreamy way, "Six years ago. I still remember the fireworks and the lights..."

"And...did you hear why she's visiting?"

Illila rolled her eyes, "The Hero is here, it's a given that she wants to publicly thank her or give her a title or something. Or maybe she wants to tell her to knock it off with the public displays, who knows."

I nodded slowly, getting my arm out of her grip when she realized I wasn't going to struggle.

Eventually Illila spoke softly, "Did I tell you that the Hero talked to me?"

I shook my head, but I knew what she was talking about, "No, you didn't tell me."

"She asked me to project her voice to a crowd, which is baby stuff and I was happy to help, really. She was so rude about it though. She said thanks after but it didn't feel sincere." Illila sighed, "It's fine and I never really looked up to her like some folks, but it's still so strange."

I examined her for a moment, "So would you say you hate her then?"

"Sparks Eliax, that's a bit of a hasty decision. No, I don't hate her, it's just that the way she acted didn't sit right with me."