New Wings

Chapter 18

Cinder-

It was official: Dresses were the bane of Cinder's existence. If she had known this was a requirement for their strike to go according to plan, she would've volunteered someone else. Sometimes she really hated the instinct to fix things herself, it tended to put her in awkward situations.

Such as right now, standing behind a thin screen in Iko's dressing room, attempting to figure out a different type of corset. How could she have known there was more than one type? Isn't one form of torture enough for these prissy---

She paused, sucking in a breath. They weren't all prissy. They weren't all bad. That was vital to remember throughout all of this, because the only thing separating her from Levana right now was cruelty. The second Cress began to take out her anger on civilians was the second she became the witch she was trying to eliminate.

That was out of the question.

"Iko? Ise is havin some trouble ova hea." She whispered through the screen. A suppressed giggle resounded behind it and Cinder scowled. "Please? I jus can't figure dis thing out."

Iko moved the screen aside, holding a hand over her mouth as she smiled.

"Everyone has trouble with these things the first time, love. I'll get you looking beautiful in no time!"

Cinder stepped back, eyes wide.

"Uh, that wasn't part of da deal lady. I'm supposed ta blend in, not stand out. I don't stand out, it ain't what Ise do." Iko giggled again, moving behind her to tie the strings an inch tighter. This action was not appreciated.

"Deary, you might not like me saying so, but you stand out enough as it is. I only meant to find something that compliments your beauty instead of trying to drown it."

"Ise isn't beautiful." She cut off anything Iko was going to say by turning around. Her look was enough to show Iko she wasn't searching for compliments or feeling self-conscious. She was mad.

"I don't got time for lies ora pity, so give me da check for da dress and I'll leave ya be." She threw the final layer of cloth over her, a white blouse and skirt with tiny green leaves embroidered along the skirt's edge. Cinder hoped it would pass for something a factory worker would wear.

"It wasn't pity, Cinder. I don't have much time for that either." Iko let out a tight smile, but it became genuine was she moved to greet another customer. Right before she turned, she glanced back at Cinder. "Just know I'm praying for you and your boys. We all are. It's about time someone put her in her place."

Cinder loved that in that moment neither of them needed to mention who that "her" was. Everyone had something against Levana. It made Cinder feel like she had to live up to their expectations of what was supposed to happen tonight.

Outside, the streets were filled with families headed off to separate workplaces for the day. Children were waving goodbye to their parents as they headed off to the factories, burnt potatoes or slices of bread tucked away in their lunch pails for later. The older kids, teenagers and older, headed off to the factories that used machines for their work. Too many young children had been killed trying to run the equipment, so a few years back the mayor was forced to release a law on age limit. Cinder leaned against the side of Iko's shop casually, watching the passersby groups for one she could slip in with. As she waited, she twisted her hips a bit, letting the skirt swish back and forth in the muddy snow. Cinder even added a bit of mud smears along the waist, anything to make it look worn. This was necessary for survival.

A group to her right caught her eye. It was a large huddle of girls about her age, all tightening their scarves or thin layers of fabric closer around their bony shoulders. Most of them looked like they'd been working all throughout the night already, with wisps of hair hanging down the sides of sweaty faces, even though it was freezing outside.