Chapter 7 : Visiting the Capitol

*Amaya*

Jessa walked me back to the large room that Wren had given me. We were followed by an army of attendants and maids who were carrying into the room the large assortment of shimmery dresses that Jessa left in the starry room for me. She squealed with joy and clapped her hands.

I awkwardly sat on the foot of the bed and watched as Jessa ordered the maids to file into the room in a single line. She stopped each maid to go over the details of each dress; the fabric of one, the embroidery of another, the cut of a bodice, the length of a skirt. I tried my best to follow along. I smiled and nodded when she paused but I had very little idea about what she was talking about.

To be honest, fashion was never my thing. I only ever wore what I was told to wear either by Imelda or what the dressmaker said was trendy. As I got older, it was what Caine preferred. I wore the color palette that someone once casually said suited me.

For the first time, Jessa was asking me what my opinion was. Not only of the dresses but of everything. No one ever asked me what I thought of something, I didn’t know how to answer. She wanted to be my friend, I could sense it but I didn’t know how to connect with her. And I really wanted to. At twenty years old, it was about time I had my very first friend.

“Ahh, yes,” Jessa said in deep contemplation. “This one is my favorite.” She held a long black dress up for me to examine. I wasn’t sure if it was a dress, to me it looked more like a long tube. The nightgown that I was currently wearing had more yards of fabric than it did.

“Oh, come on,” she said in a skeptical tone. My face must’ve given me away. “Do you all dress like nuns back home?”

“I’m sorry,” I apologized. “It’s a great dress.”

Jessa sighed, “You don’t really think that.” She gave me a warm smile as she sat beside me on the bed. “It’s okay. You don’t have to like it. You don’t have to say anything just because you think it’s what I want to hear.” She playfully nudged me.

“You know,” she continued, “that’s what’s so great about Shadowguard. Your opinion matters here, you have freedom here as a woman.”

Jessa did carry herself with a certain air of freedom. Was that what I was missing back home? A week ago, I did think I had freedom. Nothing felt unusual to me. But I was beginning to see how little freedom I had. I was more of a plaything, a doll, than a human. And I was okay with it. I never questioned it.

I felt so stupid, so embarrassed. I’d gone my entire life believing we were better than Shadowguard. If that was a lie, what else was?

“Fuck it,” Jessa said under her breath snapping me out of my silent contemplation. “Fuck what Wren said,” she said louder with a smile. “He’s not the boss of me.”

“I think he kind of is?” I replied confused.

She cocked her head to the side in a similar state of confusion. “Wait, what?”

“I mean, he’s the king of all of this,” I said as I waved my hand around in a circle.

Jessa playfully groaned as she stood up from the bed. She placed her hands on my shoulders and gently shook me. “That’s what I’m talking about!” she laughed. She stopped shaking me and placed one hand on her hip brushing her long thick hair over her shoulder.

“Yes, he is king,” she said in a mocking tone. “But I’m still my own person, as are you. And he doesn’t get to tell me what to do.”

I began to object because it was undoubtedly the most ludicrous thing I’d ever heard. But before I could speak, Jessa held up her hand to stop me. She quickly turned and disappeared into the large closet. She returned with a simple dark gray tunic and matching leggings that she threw on my lap.

“Get dressed, we’re going to town,” she said gleefully.

***

I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was overwhelming from the terrace of the castle. I never could’ve imagined the flood of smells and sounds once I stood in the middle of the main street.

There was a large park in the middle of the city dedicated to the farmers who lived south of the city, that acted like an open market to sell their crops. Jessa explained that the city was then split into districts like spokes of a wagon wheel with the park being the center.

She quickly brushed through the districts, as we stood in the middle of the busy market, before she stopped at the shopping district. She held her hands and wiggled her fingers in the direction of the shops. She laughed as she laced her arm in mine and began to walk away from the open market.

I wanted to stay. I wanted to see everything. I wanted to go to every stall, and then I wanted to go to every district. I didn’t know how much time I had in Shadowguard as Wren’s guest.

It was so weird to just call him Wren.

Emerald Mountain had nothing like this. The buildings were tall with multiple stories. Jessa explained that the shop owners also own the buildings and rented the apartments above. The streets were lined with cobblestone making it easier for the city to remain clean. The rain drained into pipes that ran deep under the ground.

“Over there,” Jessa pointed to a large blue building with a huge maroon door. A large sign hung above the door that read “Smithson’s Books and Treasures” in gold script. “They have all the good books, the bodice-rippers.”

I had no idea what she was referring to but I nodded my head knowingly. I desperately wanted Jessa to like me and not think of me as a stupid country bumpkin even if it was the truth.

“And there,” she pointed across the street to a small shop with a large bay window in the front. From the window, I could see rows of small tables with multiple people sitting around them conversing. “They have the in from Sunfall Coast, the best tea in town. Hands down. We’ll head over after we go to my favorite store,” she said as she stopped abruptly.

I’d been too busy trying to take in all of the sights to see that Jessa was on a mission. She began to go into the large shop but I remained frozen in place. The shop belonged to one of the bigger buildings on the street and the first two stories were covered in windows that proudly displayed mannequins in various styles of clothing.

As she opened the door, a little bell rang. She smiled and waved into the shop, “Suzette!”

A tiny, stout woman with wispy, mousy-brown hair and large brown eyes that were extenuated by a pair of thick round glasses ran toward her. “Ms. Jessa,” the woman squealed. She spoke in an accent I was unfamiliar with.

The two women embraced as Jessa towered over her. They both then turned and brought their attention to me. Suzette smiled as she held the door open for us.

“You coming?” Jessa asked. “You need a coat, at the very least. I felt you shivering this entire time. And those boots are too big.”

She wasn’t wrong but I didn’t want to say anything or complain. Yes, I was freezing. The ground was covered in at least a foot of snow. It never snowed back home. And the boots were about two sizes too big, my feet slid back and forth with each step, but they were fur-lined and came to my knees keeping my legs warm.

“Oh, it’s okay. I’m okay,” I said sheepishly. I realized that I had no money on me. Even though I’d never gone shopping like this I knew well enough that you needed money to do so.

“Pish,” Jessa said dismissively. “Don’t be silly.” She walked toward me and began to gently push me to the door.

In a panic, I whispered to her, “I have no money, Jessa. I can’t pay for any of this.”

She laughed as she pushed me through the door. “The big guy’s got it.” She turned her attention back to Suzette, “Make sure this is on the King’s account.”

Suzette nodded her head and then turned toward a younger woman at the counter who was wearing a similar outfit as Suzette. She snapped her fingers and the younger woman nodded her head.

The young woman disappeared behind a curtain and then quickly returned with two more similarly dressed women of varying ages. They immediately circled me and led me up the stairs with Suzette and Jessa quickly trailing behind.

“She needs everything,” I overheard Jessa tell Suzette.

Once upstairs, I was encouraged to stand on a little platform that stood before three large mirrors. I didn’t dare turn around to take a good look at myself. I knew I looked terrible, I felt awful. I didn’t need to know how bad it was.

Jessa causally flopped onto a velvet chaise lounge that was seated near the platform. An attendant handed her a flute of champagne that she immediately began to sip.

Suzette paused before me as she scanned my body up and down. She snapped her fingers and another attendant handed her a measuring tape. She quickly threw it around my body and began to take my measurements. She barked the numbers in a language I didn’t understand to an almost identical-looking woman who appeared to be at least twenty years younger. I wondered if that was her daughter.

I wanted to ask but I also didn’t want to interrupt. I immediately thought of breakfast and my stomach turned as I braced myself.

Back home, this would be the point where the seamstress would show Imelda my numbers and they’d both shake their heads if the number increased from the previous fitting. I hated it.

But Suzette said nothing. Once she was finished, she looked up at me and gave me a warm smile. She handed the measuring tape back and then helped me off the platform.

“You aren’t from around here?” she asked. I wasn’t sure how she could tell. As we walked around, I saw people of multiple backgrounds. No one looked a certain way. Even Asher looked different than Saunder, who looked differently than Wren. How did I stick out?

“How do you know that?” I inquired.

Suzette smiled again, her eyes full of concern. “You’re too skinny. Where you come from, there must not be any food.” I was taken aback, it was written all over my face. “Tragic. But you’re here now! Shadowguard will take good care of you. It has blessed my family in many ways.”

I returned the smile. I missed home, I missed Caine. I missed the familiar faces of my maids and attendants. I even missed the chill of my father. I couldn’t imagine that Shadowguard would be good for me.

I didn’t know how long I was staying. Tomorrow Wren could awake and be done with me and kill me himself.

I was ushered to a small dressing room and two shop attendants quickly undressed and then redressed me in various types of clothing. In each new outfit, I was presented to Suzette and Jessa.

Neither moved on to a new article of clothing before I gave them my opinion. Whenever it sounded like I was being false, Jessa held up her hand. I quickly found my voice and before I knew it, I was walking through the store grabbing and trying things that I actually liked.

It felt as if we’d spent the entire afternoon in Suzette’s shop but the sun was still high overhead. We gleefully left the shop each struggling to carry copious amounts of bags of clothing.

“I promised you tea,” Jessa said as she walked ahead of me, crossing the busy street. “You’ve earned it!”

I followed behind her like a hyperactive puppy dog, excited to see what other wonders this street had in store for me. Jessa motioned toward an empty table near the back of the tea shop, I pushed my way through the tiny shop and set my bags on an empty chair. I sat in a chair that was facing away from the rest of the shop. Exhausted and overwhelmed, I felt, as weird as it sounded, free. I closed my eyes for a second.

“So, this is her?” The voice was melodic like an otherworldly birdsong.

I jumped and quickly turned in the direction of the voice. Jessa slid into a chair next to me with two cups of tea in her hands.

Beside her was a woman whose beauty was inconceivable, looking at her felt like staring at the sun. Her height and build were very similar to Jessa’s but her skin looked like she was glowing. Her long silver hair was split down the middle and hung to her waist. She tucked her hair behind her long pointed ears. Her nose was long and pointed. Her eyes were so light blue, it was like they were translucent. I’d never seen anyone like her but I knew what she was. An elf.

I wanted to dart from the table but there were none as fast as an elf. She could catch me.

“Now, be nice,” Jessa scolded as she gave the elf a stern look. I was almost impressed by how bold Jessa was with everyone. I would have never looked at an elf like that.

She sat across from me and extended her hand for me to shake. “I’m Katriss, and you must be Amaya. I’ve heard so much about you.”