by Imogen Elvis
The streets weren’t completely deserted yet as Briar and her friends passed through, but they would be soon. They slipped past an inn, the only building they’d seen so far that was still open, its windows blazing with light. Through the open door, Briar caught the sound of laughter, and the whine of some kind of stringed instrument, slightly off-key. A couple of men staggered out into the street, their raucous voices too loud for the time of night. They had an arm around each other’s shoulders, propping themselves up as they staggered homeward.
Away from the inn, however, most normal folk seemed to have retired to their beds. The darkness filled the streets, and all the windows were shuttered against the night. In a place as large as Mizra, the utter stillness was more than a little eerie. Briar’s skin crawled, and she walked a little closer to her friends, her wide eyes darting around the street. The night was cool, and her wet habit stuck to her skin. Hopefully, Lara’s house wasn’t too far away. Right now, the idea of clean, dry clothes sounded like heaven. Her poor bedraggled habit had definitely seen better days.
The road they’d followed from the dock finally let out at a wide cross-street. It was so large that six carriages could easily have travelled side by side and still left space for people to pass by on foot. It was also very open and very empty. Briar glanced around, her nerves tingling, even though there was no one in sight. The closeness of the side streets felt so much safer than this vast empty space.
“This is the central road.” Lara sounded relieved. “So far, so good.”
“Is it far to your house from here?” Briar asked. Her voice sounded a little more forlorn than she would have liked.
“We’ll be there soon.”
“The central road is part of the city guards’ regular night patrol,” Kade said. “There’ll be more soldiers, the closer we get to the castle.”
“I know,” Lara said. “Trust me. I can get us there safely.”
Kade tugged on his hood, though it was dark, and his hood must be absolutely soaked from their swim in the river. The shadows around his face deepened until Briar couldn’t make out the way his mouth twisted, though he didn’t protest further. It must be difficult for him, being back here, especially when they were so open and vulnerable should they run into any patrols.
“You’ve never been to Lara’s house?” Briar asked Kade, more to break the silence than anything else.
“The crown prince doesn’t make house calls.” It was Lara who answered.
“Not even to visit you?”
“Certainly not. The crown prince’s friends come to him.”
That was something Briar had never considered before. It was hard to picture what Kade’s life would have been as Crown Prince Levi. It probably couldn’t have been further from their lives now. She doubted she’d get any answers if she asked him about it right now though, not with his hood down and his shoulders hunched as if that made him invisible.
They followed the central road for much longer than Briar expected to. Distances seemed so different in a place as large as this. Her fingers curled around her medallion, and her eyes darted around the huge, empty street. No one should be watching them now. Every sensible person would be in bed. They were safe. She repeated it to herself, over and over, even as her eyes strained to pierce the darkness.
“Is it much further?” Kade’s voice was tight.
“We’re almost there. Turn here.” Lara crossed the wide road and made for one of the smaller side streets, though even these were as large as the main road through Osman.
The houses in this part of the city were enormous. They towered above Briar, four storeys high in some places, or even more. Their windows, gleaming with glass, were curtained rather than shuttered. Lush gardens surrounded every house, bounded by high stone walls or fences made of ornate iron, twisted into fancy curls and decorative shapes. Briar ran her fingers over a fence as she passed. The swirls were silky smooth and identical. Magician made, without a doubt.
“We’re almost there.” Lara’s voice held a note of forced cheerfulness, but her shoulders were set and tense, and her fingers curled at her sides. Maybe she too was having second thoughts about how good an idea going to her house was. Or perhaps she wasn’t quite as unaffected by the idea of returning home for the first time after Rowen’s death as she liked to pretend.
It was strange to think of Lara living in a place like this, in a huge house, surrounded by the rich and powerful who could afford to commission work from the magicians just to make their homes a little more luxurious. It sat at odds with the girl Briar knew, the one who carried a heavy travel pack like it weighed nothing, wielded a sword as well as any soldier, and who could travel a whole day without complaint or rest. The very idea of tough, fierce Lara living here, in the lap of luxury was strange.
“Here it is.” Lara crossed the road and started up a set of steps leading to a magnificent building, taking them two at a time. “This is my house.”
Kade and Briar waited at the bottom of the steps while Lara grabbed the large brass knocker and rapped on the front door. The sound echoed through the silent street. Briar glanced around. No lights shone in any of the windows around them. Not even a curtain twitched. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone unseen could be watching them. A chill wind blew down the road, raising a shiver over Briar’s skin. Hopefully, someone would let them in quickly. If the night did have eyes, then they were all too visible.
No one answered Lara’s knock. She waited for a good few moments before knocking again, even more firmly this time, her lips pressed into a thin line. All the servants must be in bed. If they were even still here. The whole household might have left after Rowen and Lara were denounced as traitors, seeking better employment elsewhere.
“I’m not sure anyone’s coming,” Briar said after a moment.
“They’ll come.” Lara’s voice held an edge to it. “Be patient.” She shifted from foot to foot, her fingers flexing at her sides as if she wasn’t quite sure what to do with her hands.
Briar and Kade exchanged an anxious glance. “Knock again,” Kade said finally. “And if no one answers, we’ll find somewhere else to stay and work out a new plan.”
Lara knocked a third time. Almost immediately, while she was still holding the large brass knocker, the door swung inwards. Lara took a step back, her hands falling to her belt where her weapons should have been, had the sailors not taken them all back on the boat. Then she caught herself and straightened.
“Yes?” a sleepy-looking older man asked in a polite but monotone voice as he peered out at Lara, his heavy eyebrows shadowing his eyes. He was dressed in a long grey nightshirt and held a lamp in one hand, which he lifted as he peered out at them.
“Good evening, Grendeth.” Lara’s voice switched from her usual sharp, no-nonsense tone to one a little more formal, more in line with being the lady of the house. “I’d like to come inside.”
Grendeth started and straightened, one hand moving to smooth the creases from his rumbled nightshirt. A brief look of horror passed over his face as if he were ashamed at being caught in such unsuitable clothing, before he managed to rearrange his face into an expression that was both respectful and welcoming. He swept Lara a low bow. “My lady. Welcome home. We weren’t expecting you at such an hour.”
Lara waved to Kade and Briar to follow her. Side by side, they hurried after her into the house. Grendeth shut the door as soon as they were inside, locking it firmly behind them.
“I shall wake the household,” Grendeth said. “Inform them of your arrival. Shall we prepare a meal and hot baths for you and your guests, perhaps?”
“There’s no need to wake everyone,” Lara said quickly. “Just Marta perhaps. Baths we can do without for the moment, but a hot meal would be welcome. Some fresh clothes would also be appreciated.”
“Yes, my lady.” Grendeth’s eyes flicked from Lara to the door and back, his lips pursing, as he wanted to say something but couldn’t find the right way to approach it
.
“Is there something wrong?” Lara asked.
“Not at all.” Grendeth fiddled with the button on his nightshirt. “It’s just, well, we weren’t expecting you to come here at all.” His eyes met Lara’s. “There’s a price on your head, my lady.”
“Indeed,” Lara said with barely a pause. “That is precisely why I am here.” It was at least partly the truth. If they exposed Master Sachio and his plans, then the charges he had laid against Lara would have to be dropped. So, it wasn’t technically a lie.
“There were soldiers here earlier today, asking about you, whether you’d sent word,” Grendeth said. “Naturally, we told them that you had not.”
“Do you expect them to come back?” Briar asked. Finbar, it seemed, had indeed passed on his information to the soldiers and probably been paid handsomely for it.
“It’s hard to say, miss.”
“But there’s no one watching the house?” Lara asked.
“Not to my knowledge, my lady.”
“Excellent. Then none of you will be troubled for my being here,” Lara said. “We won’t be staying long. Now, if you could wake Marta and get her to prepare us some food that would be appreciated. And also, my friend here needs fresh clothes. See if you can find something of Rowen’s that will fit him. I will see to Briar myself. If you could have some water brought up to my rooms, that would be much appreciated.”
“Of course, my lady.” Grendeth turned a small but polite bow onto Kade next. “If you would follow me, sir.”
Grendeth led Kade up the wide staircase, which stood directly opposite the front door. Briar took a step after them, only to find that Lara hadn’t moved. Instead, she stood in the middle of the entrance hall, casting her eyes around the room with a sad and somewhat wistful expression on her face.
“I miss Rowen,” Lara said quietly. “You were right, Briar. It’s harder coming back here without him.”
“The memories are so heavy,” Briar added, almost in a whisper. “It makes you almost forget that they’re not here and you think of something you’re going to tell them when you see them next. And then you remember all over again that they’re dead and it hurts so much.” A stab of pain caught in her chest. There were so many things she wanted to say to her own family if only she could.
Lara nodded. “He’s just so… present here.” There was a pause. Then, as if pushing back her grief with a huge effort, she turned abruptly towards the stairs. “Well, we’re not going to get anything done by just standing here. There is sure to be something in my wardrobe that will fit you.”
She set off up the stairs, and Briar followed close behind. The staircase was broad and sweeping at the base but gradually narrowed as they went up, though it always stayed wide enough that two people could pass each other without so much as brushing elbows. Thick carpet covered the steps, woven in twisting blue and gold patterns, like intricate vines. It seemed wrong to walk over something so lovely with wet, dirty boots, but Lara forged ahead seemingly without a second thought for the carpet, and Briar had to hurry to keep up.
The stairs led up to a landing bounded by a carved wooden handrail. Here, Lara turned left and passed two doors, before finally stopping at the third, pushing it open. “This is my room.”
Briar took two steps inside the room before coming to a dead stop, her eyes widening. Lara’s bedroom was as big as one of the dorm rooms she’d slept in back at the Order house in Osman. Only, she’d had to share the dorm with five other girls, and Lara had all this space to herself. On the left side of the room stood a large, four-poster bed. A canopy of blue curtains hung around it, screening it from the rest of the room. Near the bed, a mirror reached from the floor almost up to the lofty ceiling. It was perfectly smooth, reflecting the entire room so perfectly it had to have been made by an earth singer.
On the right side of the room was a large wardrobe, built from dark wood, and polished so highly it was almost as reflective as the enormous mirror. It was large enough that Briar could easily have sat inside it and still had space for Lara to climb in beside her. Beyond the wardrobe, a screen partitioned off one corner of the room. And past that, there was a large window, curtains drawn against the night.
Lara brushed past Briar without giving the room so much as a glance, though it was the first time she had been home in many months. She threw open the doors of the wardrobe and rummaged through the multitude of clothing it contained. “There must be something in here that would fit you,” Lara muttered, more to herself than to Briar. “Let me see…”
Briar stood by awkwardly, fiddling with her medallion. Did it really matter whether the dress fitted her perfectly? Her magician’s habit was stained with mud, torn and then mended, ragged around the edges, and now dripping with water, creating a little puddle around her boots where she stood. Anything would be better than that.
A knock sounded at the door, and at Lara’s call to enter, Grendeth stepped inside, a jug of water in his hands and a towel draped over one arm. He gave the two girls a half bow and disappeared behind the screen in the corner. A moment later, he reappeared, empty-handed, bowed again and left, closing the door gently behind him. Lara didn’t so much as look up from her search.
Briar shifted awkwardly. “It doesn’t really matter-”
“Aha. Here it is.” Lara pulled a dress out of the wardrobe and turned to Briar. “Try this on. I used to wear it when I was younger. It should be perfect for you.” She pressed a smoky blue-grey dress into Briar’s hands and gave her a push towards the screen at the far end of the room. “Go and change. You’ll find a comb for your hair on the dresser. Leave your habit on the edge of the bath. Marta will collect it later.”
“Thank you.” Briar held the dress carefully. It would be a shame to get it all wet and muddy before she’d even put it on.
“When you’re changed, come downstairs to the kitchen. Marta will prepare us a meal of some sort. I don’t know about you, but I could do with some proper food in my stomach before we head out again.” Lara was incredibly matter of fact now, all trace of her grief locked away again. “Take all the time you need.” And with that, Lara grabbed something out of the wardrobe for herself and left, leaving Briar alone in this vast, unfamiliar room, clutching a dress that wasn’t hers.
She stood in the middle of the room, hesitating for far longer than she probably should have, before finally stepping behind the painted screen. It hid a large, empty bath, as well as a washbasin and the pitcher of water Grendeth had delivered. How much hot water would it take to fill the bath? She couldn’t imagine relaxing in a bath of that size, filled with piping hot water. This was luxury, indeed.
Briar skirted around the bath and poured some water into the basin, washing as quickly and carefully as she could. The water in the pitcher was pleasantly warm, chasing away some of the chill that clung to Briar’s skin after their swim in the river. By the time Briar was finished, the water was a murky grey. It would have been nice to wash her hair too, but she doubted they had that much time. Feeling a little fresher, Briar changed quickly into the smoky blue dress, leaving her filthy habit folded over the edge of the bathtub. Once she had combed and braided her hair, she might actually be human again, instead of the wild thing she’d become.
There must have been some extra magic woven into the large mirror because the girl who stepped out from behind the screen bore hardly a resemblance the one who had slunk behind it a little time before. Briar stood before the full-length mirror, twisting from side to side as she took in her reflection. She’d never had such a beautiful dress to wear. It clung to her figure, making her look a little slenderer and more feminine, floating out from her waist and reaching almost to the floor. It was probably one of the simplest things in Lara’s wardrobe, but it was the prettiest dress Briar had ever worn. She smiled shyly at her reflection. Apart from the huge purple bruise that surrounded her right eye, she looked almost… pretty.
Clean at last, Briar let herself out of the bedroom and retraced her step
s across the landing and down the stairs. In the entranceway, she stopped. Lara had said to go to the kitchen, but she hadn’t said where the kitchen was. Briar presumed it would be at the back of the house and away from the family’s living spaces, but how to get there?
“You’re dressed quickly.” Kade stepped down the last few stairs and joined Briar in the hall. Instead of his travel-stained shirt and pants, he wore a whole new outfit, the shirt crisp and white, covered in a simple brown jacket that, by the cut of it, would have cost more money than Briar would ever see in her life. The outfit transformed Kade from wandering rogue to respectable man, except for the fading bruises that lingered on his skin.
“You look nice,” Briar said.
Kade stepped down the last stair and ran a hand through his hair. “Thank you. Rowen has-had good taste in clothes.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so fancy.” Briar cocked her head to one side. “It suits you.” She smiled, a little shyly.
“It’s surprising what a change of clothes will do.” Kade gave a self-deprecating kind of shrug. “You look lovely.”
Now it was Briar’s turn to turn her eyes down, a hot flush covering her cheeks. “Well, apart from the black eye. It feels so strange not to be wearing my habit, though.”
“You still have your medallion at least,” Kade said. “And blue suits you.” He cleared his throat a little awkwardly. “Shall we go to the kitchen then?”
“If I can ever find it,” Briar said. “I have no idea which way to go.”
“Me neither,” Kade said. “Let’s go and open some doors, shall we?” He offered her his arm in a mock formal way.
Briar smiled and took his arm. Side by side, they made their way down the hall to the right. For a while, they wandered through the darkened house before finally stumbling on a green door that seemed to separate the front of the house from the back.