Underwater

Chapter 7: The Capital

Reina looked out the window of the carriage, taking in the architecture around them with fascination.

"Isn't Virtrie beautiful, my lady?" Leth asked, enjoying the same views Reina was.

"Yes. Unbelievably so."

The buildings were made out of a mixture of stone, minerals and corals. Many walls were decorated with shells or magic engravings. As height didn't matter in this ocean kingdom, there were many contrasting heights. Towers that never seemed to end, as well as squat little residential huts. Many buildings were connected by bridges, but these were either structural or ornamental – Reina couldn't tell.

As Reina cast her gaze out on the spectacular scenery, she thought on her situation. Several things had changed for Reina recently. It was more subtle, to the point that she could have been forgiven for not noticing them.

For one, the royal tailor Delwyn had mentioned briefly had paid her a visit. Shelina, the tailor, had no interest in Reina at first.

"So, you're the consort who refused to wear my dress to the wedding," the tailor, Countess Shelina Pavati said coldly.

Reina had forgotten all about that.

"I meant no offense. It was beautiful, but it didn't suit me."

Shelina's violet eyes narrowed.

"It felt like a dress designed for someone else," Reina added.

Shelina leaned back in her seat, one of the two-seater shell-sofas in the corner of Reina's room. The mermaid crossed her arms over her chest. "Hmph. You're not as stupid as I expected."

Reina made no comment to that.

"I presume you have a catalogue of designs you can show me." Shelina held Reina's gaze for a long time, then held up her hand and gestured for her assistant to drop the books she had been holding onto the coffee table in between the two couches. Reina reached for them and flicked through the pages.

Leth squirmed. The atmosphere in the silent room felt charged with tension, like a war was about to break out.

Reina was done with the book in about two minutes. She placed it back on the coffee table, then reached for the next one. This continued until she had browsed through all of them. Shelina's vibrant eyes flickered to the book Reina placed neatly on top of the rest.

She was unsure what to make of the consort's silence. Her usual customers would usually have asked for several commissions of the designs by that point. Lady Sylvia in particular loved her designs. Shelina, who rather liked the pink-haired Siren, had designed the wedding dress with Lady Sylvia in mind out of spite. She just hadn't expected Reina to have been bold enough to ignore it completely.

The silence persisted as Reina lifted a bubble of liquid to her lips.

"You're wasting my time, consort. Will you commission some dresses from me or not?" Shelina broke the silence first, driven by her impatience.

"That depends. Are you willing to make changes to your designs?"

"Of course. I'm a professional." Shelina looked offended at what Reina was insinuating.

"Leth, could you fetch me my clothes from the closet? The ones I was wearing when I entered Aquina." Leth retrieved the sweater, camisole, skirt, panties and tights. Shelina appraised the clothing and scoffed. The consort wanted her to make dirt-walker clothing?