The WindFlyer

Chapter 15

Draen's PoV

The set up work gets done around lunch and we have built a large stage that is raised off the ground by several feet. Amma tosses me an apple from across the square before munching on her own. I catch it and gladly bite into it. It is sweet and the juice runs down my chin. Amma laughs at me when I try and keep it from dripping all over myself.

"You'll come to Festival tonight, won't you?" She asks me sweetly. I scratch the back of my head and shrug, it doesn't seem like my place to come to a celebration in this city.

"I wasn't aware I was invited..." I say, trailing off and look away from her. Amma gives me a quizzical look before she starts laughing. This girl, I conclude, laughs so easily. I wonder how it is possible for anyone who has seen such horrors as a slave has to readily open her heart again.

"Of course you are invited! Everyone in the city is invited to Festival! You have to come. I insist," she says before tugging on my arm. "Come on, you need to get ready. You smell like you just rolled around in mud for several hours," I laugh slightly and let her pull me along until we come to a clothing shop.

"What, exactly, happens at Festival?" I ask Amma. She looks at me with amusement dancing in her eyes before she places a finger to her lips and shushes me.

"It's a surprise!" She chides me as we enter the store. A bell chimes overhead and I take everything in. There are several racks of finery, both male and female, made of what appears to be the finest silk. Dresses, skirts, tuxedos, and suits all in colors ranging from dark to vibrant flash across my vision. Amma is speaking again as I tune back in from my observations. "...naturally you'll need finery tonight. Ah! Here comes Marcus, he can help you find something to wear. I know literally nothing about men's clothing." She seems to be rambling and talking with her hands in a wild manner. The man, Marcus as Amma called him, approaches with a brilliant white smile. He is tall and rather thin with dark skin. He wears a black suit and undershirt.

"Last minute shopping, Amma? I could have sworn you came in two weeks ago for your dress," he teases her. Amma taps her foot in mock annoyance before cracking a smile and hugging the man.

"No, not for me, my friend here needs something for tonight," Amma says with a wink at me. The man raises his eyebrows and looks over to me, assessing how I look with a quick sweep of his eyes over my body. He smirks and I feel slightly uncomfortable being appraised like a sheep.

"You, I can definitely work with you. Come," he says, motioning with his arm as he walks into the depths of the store. I trail after him in a slight daze, wondering how Amma just managed to pawn me off to be dressed up like a doll. I glance over my shoulder at her and see her pick up the skirts of a dress and smile at them like a devil.

Marcus picks out several suits for me to try on, many of them bright in color. I try and evade putting those on. I have no desire to be a peacock. I'd rather not draw unnecessary attention to myself. After what seems like an eternity of trying on clothing, I finally settle on a suit of black with a red silk undershirt. I option to forgo the tie. When we walk back out to the front of the store, Amma jumps up and smiles when she sees us.

"Took you long enough," she pauses when she looks at the suit choice, with a roll of her eyes and a sigh she mutters "you're worse than Astoria." She walks to the front of the store and Marcus rings up the clothing. I am about to mention that I have no way of paying for it when Amma puts it on her tab. She grabs the suit and struts out of the store with a little smirk on her face.

"You didn't have to do that, pay for my clothing, I mean," I say. She scoffs at me and picks up her pace so we are walking briskly back to the house.

"Of course I did, you have no money and I won't be embarrassed by your appearance tonight. Besides," she says with a little smirk, "Astoria payed for it, technically. She pays me and I do what I want." My eyes widen to the size of saucers as she says that.

"She won't like that... she won't like that one bit," I mutter under my breathe.

"Oh please, Astoria won't care in the slightest. She won't be mad at me for buying you something nice, it's not like she hates you," Amma says flippantly. I am somewhat shocked to hear that, I am pretty sure the pirate does actually hate me. I nearly say as much but stop when the house comes into view.

"Where is the pirate, by the way?" I ask instead.

"Hmm? Oh, likely getting ready," she says with something odd dancing in her eyes, something almost mischievous. "I actually have to her help her, so you go on up to your room and wash up and put on this suit like a good little prince and we will meet you in the main room once we are ready," she orders me before opening the front door. She hands me my suit and disappears up the stairs.

Glancing out the window again, I notice there are a few hours before the sun sets. I wander up the stairs and into my room. Throwing the suit on the bed, I stalk into the bathroom and sink into the tub. The steam billows about and soothes my aching muscles. I wash the sweat off from the day, though I really didn't do any of the heavy lifting, that was mostly the pirate which I found a little strange. But, if she wants to lift beams and do hard labor, that's not my business even if I do find it slightly amusing.

Once I finishing cleaning myself, I quickly dry off, trying to avoid the cool air as the sun dips lower in the sky. I dress myself in the new suit and look into the mirror. I crease my brow a little. There is no doubt I look good but there is something else too. I don't really look like... me. Or I do but different. Maybe I don't look different at all, maybe I'm just seeing differently and maybe that's not a bad thing after all.

I run my hands through my semi-long hair, slicking it back, before I exit my room and descend into the living room area where I sit in a chair and wait for Amma and the pirate.