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“Even better. I’m gonna hop in the shower, then, so all these shifters won’t be able to smell just how many times Oren and I, uh, came to an agreement.”
“Oh, is that what we’re calling it nowadays?”
“It’s what I’m calling it now. Now, shoosh, I’m going to make myself presentable.”
“Do what you gotta do.”
Darla did while I munched on some of the spread sitting on the table. It was better than all of it going to waste.
We ended up having only a couple of minutes before the escort knocked at the door and the two of us headed out. As usual, we didn’t talk much while walking through the halls, and our mutual compunction only increased when we headed deeper into the fanciest sections of the palace.
I thought Kai’s wing was relatively opulent, but apparently his was downright subdued compared to his sisters’. By the time we arrived at her quarters, I wanted to steal whatever I could and sell it to supply Fort Canid for the next few years.
But I kept my hands to myself. We were led then into her room, where a middle-aged man and a young woman stood with all the trappings one might expect a tailor to have. Including a rack of truly beautiful dresses waiting in the corner of the room.
Whoa, are those for us?
“Ah, good, you are here,” the man said, his tone clipped but not rude. I got the impression he was a ruthlessly efficient fellow, which honestly boded well for me. I wasn’t sure I’d have been able to tolerate a court gossip harpy all up in my space.“Come, step forward. We’ll get some general measurements to see which dresses are in your range, then go from there.”
But Princess Seraphina cleared her throat. “Don’t you think introductions are in order?”
“Ah, right. I am Sirus, official tailor to the crown.”
“I’m Sergeant Khan.”
“Healer Everton,” I said shortly. The man seemed like he appreciated my brevity, and then it was onto the fitting.
It was fairly invasive, but Sirus was not just talented, he wasquick.From the moment he was touching me with a tape measure, he was gone, moving onto the next thing he needed. His assistant was able to keep up as well, dutifully writing everything he said down onto little charts for us.
The whole process took less than twenty minutes for the both of us, and I got the impression this was pretty quick. From there, he and his assistant huddled over the clipboards, conferring with each other for a bit before he addressed us again.
“You,” he said, pointing to me. “You are a winter, or the world’s coolest spring.” I’d no idea what this meant, but all I could do was nod blankly. I was a winter. Why not? “I have four dresses available up to Her Highness’s standards and am able to accommodate your size with minor tailoring.”
“I wanted you to lookextraspecial, so I asked for only the best,” the princess said somewhat smugly.
“I give only the best,” Sirus said resolutely. “You, Sergeant Khan, are an autumn. A warm one at that. Given some of your more… generous measurements, I only have three dresses.”
“Did you just call my breasts big?” the psychic shot back without even missing a beat.
“No, it’s your hips, actually,” Sirus said, like he was discussing the weather and not Darla’s physical attributes. “And on a marginal level, your ass.”
“Huh, my ass has never been called marginal before.”
“I don’t find that surprising.”
The two exchanged looks. I thought I was about to watch a fight until Darla let out a loud, raucous laugh. “Oh, I like you. Three dresses it is to the lady with the pear shape, defying capital fashion.”
“Hmph, I suppose the two of you have been a breath of fresh air as well. Now, enough idle chit chat. I wish to see you in each of the options so we can decide.”
Yeah, he was efficient.
It was fun, though, trying on different opulent dresses we’d otherwise never have access to, even if it was strangely physically exhausting. No one ever told me fashion was a workout, especially with a taskmaster like Sirus.
Needless to say, it was going swimmingly, at least right until the assistant stepped behind the modesty partition with Darla to help her unlace the back of her dress.
“Well, if you’re going to see me in my skivvies, you might as well tell me your name.”
“Hah, you don’t have to worry, this is just a part of my job. It’s Katherine Hayes, but most people call me Katie.”
