For her part, Chesa was running to the laundry.
She had hoped to find Aditi there, but the room was empty—hardly a surprise, in the circumstances. It was just as well. Her maid's clothes came off in a heartbeat, all but her clout; she rebound her breasts tightly, as flat as she could, then cast about for her costume. It was easy enough to find: A set of dress greens, still damp, with some sort of brown or red stain across the chest and on one wrist. Fabric shears took care of her hair, and nearly of her fingers—cutting one's own hair without a mirror is a dangerous business—and, around her newly lightened head, one of the ridiculous-looking bands that the Green Morning brothers used to soak up sweat at sparring.
She sprinted off barefoot, her shoes and clothes scattered over the floor of the laundry, back to the courtyard.
YOU ARE READING
The Sack of the Summer Palace
FantasyThe King of Uä and his retinue make their annual pilgrimage to the Summer Palace. En route, a scullion and a fighting man meet over a campfire story, and something blooms between them. But strange things are transpiring in the palace corridors, and...
