All's Fair in Revenge

Chapter 13: Wait

The next day before dawn even crept in through the window, I woke Liv, begging for her to dress me in our newly acquired attire. It'd been days since I had a proper sleep and that night had been no exception. The quicker we dressed the sooner we could leave.

"It's so light and airy." I spun in the beige chemise with sleeves that ended at my elbows and a neckline that exposed my shoulders. "And surprisingly comfortable."

"Not for long," said Liv, holding up thick panels of matching fabric with gold embossing. Strong silk strings cinched the back. When pulled tight the contraption reminded me of a suffocating tree trunk. Liv, who wore a forest green dress to match, did her best to wrangle me into it.

"How do they breathe in these?"

"They don't."

I had preferred a midnight blue gown with black beading in the shop, but it had been too small and there was no time to tailor it. "The other one in the window would've been more comfortable," I said. It had no corset because the fabric dipped to the navel.

"Dorsi brides wear white," she insisted. "Don't forget, we're trying to show them we aren't as barbaric as they believe us to be." She went on to explain that white also suggested a woman's innocent which we both had a good laugh about.

The final touch was a flimsy cape draped over my shoulders and clasped to my corset's straps with gold fastenings. For a Dorsi design, it was actually quite beautiful. But when I asked where I'd hide my ax Liv had simply slid the slit away from my thigh, strapped my favored silver dagger around it, and told me it was all she'd allow me to carry. But once she left the room to inform Thorne we were ready, I concealed several other smaller blades I'd swiped from the man on the road and other's I'd bumped into in the tavern the night before.

At a small mirror teetering upon a table by the door, I licked my thumb, its jagged edges nicking my tongue, and wiped a stray strand back into place. We'd been in Owin little more than a night and I was already exhausted of playing princess.

How am I going to pull this off?

You will.

I hope you're right.

Along the stairs to the lobby Lord Thorne looked up from under his loose waves, freshly rinsed yet messier than ever. They framed surprise upon his forehead as I paused on the bottom stair. There he bowed ever so slightly at the waist. He then offered me his hand and said, "Perhaps you may be a queen worthy of the title after-all."

"I'd thank you, but I'm not convinced that was a compliment."

"Then allow me to offer another." Thorne kissed my palm in the tradition of the Druvix. "You clean up well, Your Highness." But his smirk brushed past my fingers as he added, "Still plenty feral, though."

I should've known. "Are you always so annoying?"

"Are you always so insolent?"

"At least I have a personality."

"At least I have manners."

Irritation pricked my nerves, but I bit my lip, took a deep breath, and made to leave. Yet as I pivoted, Thorne reached out and grabbed my wrist. "Wait."

"Let go." I hissed. A passing barmaid readying for breakfast cast a sideways glance our way but didn't intervene. Had someone tried that in Kelvia, well, Thorne would've met the floor.