Sly

Chapter Twenty Eight

I borrowed the deep blue dress from Orchid again. She owned half a dozen dresses but this was one of only two that fit me very well. The morning was spent getting me clean and my hair tamed. The muses seemed to enjoy this task, or at least they all wanted to help when I asked. Maybe it was from enjoyment, from their shared rituals of hair and companionship that ran through Panther House, or maybe they just liked seeing me up and moving.

I hid Davery's dagger under the skirts of the dress, tying a sheath around my leg with a spare ribbon I'd pocketed from Orchid's huge collection. I vowed to buy her two to replace it. Panther gave surprised me by quietly giving me two thin knives that would tuck into the waistband. They were well made Lolathian steel, similar but less ornamental to her dancing swords. If anyone in that house knew blades, it would be Panther.

I didn't tell the Muses why I was dressing up. I wasn't sure they'd try to stop me, but there was no point in risking it either. And if they told Jexa? He'd make sure he had eyes on me, which I didn't want. No, not for this. Because I could be going to the castle for a number of reasons. Maybe to look into Lord Girault some more, maybe to find the link between the map and Grethan. But not now, right now I needed into that castle to see Rorik.

Soon enough, I was staring at my reflection in the mirror. Borrowed hairpins, a gown that wasn't mine, lips painted and cheeks rosy. I didn't look like a girl from Swamp. I didn't look like me. Maybe, for tonight, that would be a good thing.

"Thank you," I told the muses who had made me presentable. Fussing done with, the muses went back to more typical tasks for their day. Keeping the house tidy, making lunch, practicing their arts. It was the quietest muse, River, who took me aside.

"I don't know what you're getting ready for," she said, a knowing look in those watery blue eyes that nodded to her namesake, "but I'd like to help you."

"I don't know what you mean," I protested.

River was older than me. Quiet, with a childish face, but older. Wiser. She had a familiar look to her that told a long story with plenty of life lessons, and she clearly didn't believe me.

"I won't ask," she said, "but, I will teach you some etiquette. If you're going to dress like that, you need to act the part."

Surprisingly, the shy muse was from a higher merchant family when she renounced her name for Bliss. I never knew that, not all the muses had the same carefree feelings about sharing their past, and River had always been quiet about hers. But it put her in a position to teach me several things that afternoon. A bit about table etiquette, a bit about greetings and posture. Dancing, blessedly, I'd been exposed to quite enough thanks to Panther House and my friendship with Orchid.

The muses were some of the oddest worshipers of the gods. They lived simply, helped the least fortunate in the city, and renounced their family to join in lifelong service. Yet, they focused on grace and beauty, each muse would own up to six or eight dresses at the most. More was seen as excessive but less than say four was seen as too few to honor Bliss. I shook my head at the thought, most in the city didn't own so much but then again the dresses were the most lavish thing they had. The rest of the house was furnished simply and they did their own work. They didn't even keep much money for themselves other than what they needed to live.

By mid-afternoon I found myself thanking the house again, River in particular, and I went on my way. Painted in finery that I would call excessive luxury but would barely slip me into the castle tonight, I had a long walk ahead of me to contemplate my plans.

#

I walked to the castle alone. Alone only in the sense that I didn't know any of the people around me. There was a great number of the nobilty invited to the feast and they were all traveling generally in the same direction now towards the castle. None were coming from Swamp, of course, but as I climbed one of the stairs to High Road, it was blatantly obvious that something was happening in the direction of the castle. Some had horses, many had servants, some walked in groups. I trailed just behind a group of youths as the climb to the castle drew near.