The Dresses Three

Chapter 1: A Letter

The chamber was lit by candlelight, each flame steadfast and unwavering in its duty. The ceiling was vaulted so high that the light didn't reach it fully. Around the edges of the hand-carved cave were enormous amethyst geodes broken open by some unseen force, laying expectantly for some passerby to climb in. As the twins and Mercy made their careful way across the tile floor, one shaft of light shined down from places unknown to accent an ancient book resting on the podium. The great tome opened and the pages turned as if moved by some invisible hand.

They approached the tome with caution. It seemed suspicious that their passage through the ancient tree, then underground labyrinth was devoid of conflict. Everyone knew that an epic journey such as theirs was fraught with monsters, magic, and mayhem, especially when the quest was of such a serious nature: Mercy wished to break her betrothal as assigned by the Marriage Council.

To undo the marriage agreement, she was sent to this place to read the ancient book that would task her with her personal adventure. Once said undertaking was complete, the marriage would be dissolved. No one could predict what the undertaking would be only that it would be suited to Mercy alone.

The twins turned to Mercy expectantly, waiting for her to climb the podium and read the sacred text. She was nervous, and so she paused, recalling the day she had learned of her predicament...

~~~

"Mercy!" Zephyr called, "you have a letter! And it looks important!"

"A letter?" Mercy asked, stopping her work on the loom. The shuttle carrying the weft of spun wool stilled as she caught it emerging from the warp tensioned to the piece of equipment that was three times her size. The clacking of the treadles her feet operated quieted and all that was left was the sound of the crackling fire built to ward off the early spring day's chill.

"That's what I said! A letter," Zephyr repeated, handing her the item in question.

As soon as Mercy saw it in her sister's hands, her stomach somersaulted. She knew without even opening it, it was a marriage decree simply by the richness of the document. She was to be betrothed. She worked hard to keep her breath steady and her hands from shaking as she reached to take it from her much younger sibling.

The vellum was heavy as it was made from the finest of animal skins rather than ordinary paper. It was folded immaculately, then sealed with wax, into which the marriage sigil was stamped. The insignia was brushed with a golden dust, most likely the pollen of the Marriage Tree.

Mercy knew that, despite all her wishes otherwise, she had been chosen for the burden, and personal horror, of wedlock.

She had hoped, being almost out of the acceptable age range at seventeen, that she might have been overlooked. Had she been, she could have lived her life in peace. She understood the need for marriage, for there was always a demand for Citizens and their potentially magical children, but she had no desire to be joined to a man for the rest of her life in order to produce such.

Not that she had anything against men. It was only that she did not prefer them.

"So, are you going to open it or not?" Zephyr asked, her eyes wide and curious as only those of a seven-year-old could be.

Mercy let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding and, with her thumbs and forefingers, cracked the seal open. She hadn't exactly known what to expect to happen when she did, but she expected more than... nothing. Opening such a life-altering decree seemed to be such an ominous task, surely it would have had some magic attached to it, but no, it was as ordinary as the market list she carried to town each week.

She carefully unfolded the delicate looking, but strong calfskin and stared at the writing she found within. At first, she couldn't make out the meaning of the script beautifully applied to it. It was only after she realized that it was upside down did she read, once she turned it.