Daughter Of The Wind --Western Wind

by Sandra Elsa

  #

  A good number of the younger off-duty Guardsmen accompanied Conall whenever he ventured out. They were enamored of his tale.

  Besides swordsmanship, Conall started teaching his students to move with stealth.

  At the end of the second week Bella received a summons from the seamstress and she reported to find the first of her dresses was ready for fitting. A few minor alterations and she took it home with her.

  The following day, Captain Torel met her on her return from breakfast and told her to put the dress on and wait for Tessa. Her lessons in etiquette were about to begin.

  “I do not want you in well populated areas of the palace. Tessa has orders on where to take you. You will spend time each day with her. The time will vary depending on the lesson she has in mind. You will find your schedule shifting about. It is your task to maintain your general military skills.”

  When he left, she put the dress on and Conall said enthusiastically, “I don’t know why they call it a wolf whistle because I’m telling you wolves can’t whistle, at times like this I wish I could. You’re beautiful, Bellana.”

  Bella’s response was a deep flush of color starting at the roots of her hair. His comment flattered and embarrassed her. She had never wanted more to believe she was beautiful.

  “You should not find the truth embarrassing,” he said.

  She was saved by a knock on the door. Conall hid beside the bed. Whether Captain Torel trusted this woman or not, she was not Guard and so far he had steadfastly refused to meet anybody who was not.

  Tessa stood, framed by the doorway. She appeared to be about the same age as Bella, but her poise and confidence made it obvious she had grown up within the Courts. Beside her, Bella felt like a country cousin. In keeping with the bright colors the Courts were wearing these days Tessa’s dress was a brilliant sapphire, only outshone by her flame red hair, most of which had been captured in a bun, with small pieces artfully left out, softening her face.

  “Now there is beautiful for you,” Bella thought at Conall.

  “For all the flame in her hair, she doesn’t hold a candle to you Bella.”

  “You’re prejudiced,” she thought to him, but his sentiment pleased her.

  Bella was about to leave when Tessa pushed her way in and said, “First things first. You can’t go out in that beautiful dress with your hair looking like you’ve just come from the practice field. Sit on the bed and I’ll fix it.”

  Bella heard Conall's claws scrape the floor as he dragged himself under the bed. She went to her chest of drawers and got her hairbrush. “I’m afraid I don’t have much to put hair up with,” she told Tessa. “A simple braid has always served my purposes very well.”

  “Not to worry,” Tessa said. “Uncle Torel told me I might need to bring some things so I stopped at the shop on the way out. He said your hair was copper but I wasn’t prepared for it to be that bright. These things will do for now.”

  Uncle Torel? Bella was taken aback. She tried to remember the lessons Johann had given her, but that seemed so long ago. She thought he mentioned King Lorth had four sons. One illegitimate. Whose daughter was this? She asked Conall but he remained silent, overwhelmed by the overbearing personality, he didn’t even want to try to get inside Tessa’s head. “Not even surface thoughts,” he darkly answered Bella’s request for information.

  Unaware of Bella’s inattentiveness, Tessa laughed, “Won’t we be a pair in the Court?” Nobody else has hair quite as bright red as mine and I’ve never seen any as brilliant as yours, not even on the heads of the women who dye their hair peacock bright. It almost looks like real polished copper. Good thing for us bright colors are in. As usual Mistress Senta did a stellar job matching that dress’s color with your natural skin and hair coloration.”

  Tessa continued to chatter as she brushed out Bella’s hair until it glowed. Then she put it up in a style much the same as her own, with a golden barrette across the bun. Bella was trying to decide if she was always this talkative or if she was going out of her way to make Bella feel comfortable. Whichever it was she had a difficult time imagining Tessa as any relation to Captain Torel with his quiet air of authority. She found she liked Tessa, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to spend a great amount of time with her.

  “Follow her example, you will fit in perfectly at Court. Please hurry and get her out of here. This is a tight fit and I don’t know how much chatter I can take without going mad and biting her in the foot,” Conall thought sourly.

  Bella couldn’t help but smile. If Tessa noticed, she put it down to something she had just said. Which Bella had completely missed so it was a good thing that apparently the only response required was a smile.

  Once her hair was up, Tessa took her hand and led her towards the Palace. They entered by the same door she had used to visit the seamstress, and that was the very first place they went.

  Tessa dragged her in the door and bubbled to Mistress Senta, “Brilliant work as usual, Mistress.

  The seamstress beamed with pride as she denied that the work was hers. “Sellene created that one all by herself. That girl’s got twice the talent I had at that age. She’ll be looking to take over the business in a couple years, and with her talent I may just let her have it. Days like this, with the weather turning, I feel the cold in my hands and can hardly hold a needle.”

  “This dress is, without a doubt, the most beautiful thing I’ve ever worn,” Bella said. And that was the absolute truth. But she felt like a fish out of water. She was used to being invisible, like any servant. Even standing Guard in the Palace it was her job to be a visible presence, representing the King’s safety, but essentially faceless. In this get up she would never be invisible.

  The girl under discussion, appeared from the back room and positively beamed. “I’m so glad you like it.” Sellene said. “Grandmamma picked the color, but the design is mine.”

  Bella didn’t know what to say. The style was flattering but she would have been much more comfortable with more of her flesh covered. As a slave at Mistress Henna’s her dresses had all been high necked in front dropping off the left shoulder to reveal the brand. But other than that, completely covering her. This one not only didn’t come up to her chin but had a scooped neckline revealing more of her than had ever been seen in public. Compared to Tessa’s dress it was conservative, but she was still uncomfortable. The young girl was waiting for reassurance so she said, “It’s absolutely beautiful,” and she meant it. The dress was beautiful it was just her being a prude that found anything wrong with it.

  “While you’re here, Miss, we need to discuss the two dresses you’ll be getting at the end of winter. Has the Captain mentioned them to you?” Mistress Senta rejoined the conversation.

  “Not a word,” Bella said with a sinking feeling.

  “Isn’t that just like a man, leave somebody else to do his dirty work. Well Miss there’s good news and bad news. The good news is, the reports he’s gotten from Telgar claim the dresses are much more conservative in color. We can go with that burgundy I wanted for you.”

  When she paused, Bella prompted, “But…”

  “Well Miss, the bad news is, I wouldn’t let my worst enemy’s daughter dress the way he says their dresses are cut.”

  “What exactly does that mean, Mistress Senta?”

  The seamstress could not conceal her anguish, but she held up a rough drawing of a gown with the woman’s bosom nearly popping out the top. Both shoulders and everything down to just above the nipples were exposed and the skirt was slit on both sides nearly up to the hips.

  “Tell me this is a joke. I feel exposed in what I’m wearing now. No decent woman would wear that. Where did he get this information? It can’t be accurate.” Bella lived up to her old nickname as she contemplated being seen in something like these dresses. She knew from the heat rising from her cheeks that her face would be a good match to Tessa’s hair.

  “Thought you might be feeling that way so I thought
I’d better warn you in case he didn’t.”

  “Thank you Mistress. Please don’t waste material on those because I’ll not wear them,” the idea of exposing so much flesh distressed her.

  “Yes you will,” Conall said. “Haven’t you been learning anything these past two weeks, Bellana? You signed your name to the enlistment orders. If Captain Torel orders you to wear just that dress, you will do so.” He did not sound eager or hopeful. It was not being male that prompted his statement, although she knew he could see the design as she did. He was simply stating the facts of military life. She had known what she’d signed up for, but she’d been coddled along to this point.

  She knew what Conall was telling her without his saying it. It was time to grow up. Captain Torel had spelled out the job before she accepted it, not many got that kind of choice. He had not omitted details purposely. Properly chastised she looked again at the sketches and said, “I guess if this is the style, I must wear it.”

  Mistress Senta snapped her head around to look at Bella as though she‘d grown horns. Nobody else of course knew of the conversation with Conall, and Bella had switched her tone from one sentence to the next.

  Tessa had been quiet during this exchange. She stared at the crude drawing and everybody in the room could see her mind working. She wasn’t at all shocked by these dresses she seemed rather intrigued.

  Mistress Senta noted her reaction. “Don’t you be getting any ideas little Miss. Your Uncle would kick me back out into the regular marketplace if I even thought about making something like that for you. Not that I could be coerced into making it for anybody, except as in this case it’s on orders. So you just give it up Miss.”

  Tessa grabbed a charcoal stick. “I wasn’t thinking about it for me. I’m afraid I’m still too young to set a trend like this around here. But I was thinking if we put some lace here,” and she pointed to the bosom, “and filled the slit with a thin nearly transparent silk, it might be a happy medium between their style and what makes my friend comfortable.”

  “Maybe,” Mistress Senta hummed thoughtfully. “Well Sellene, why don’t you see if you can draw up a design that’s revealing but not? There’s your first real challenge as a designer.”

  “Yes, Grandmamma, thank you. I know I can make something you’ll like Miss.” Her eyes glowed with the challenge that had been given to her.

  Bella thanked Sellene and Mistress Senta. Then Tessa whisked her out of the seamstress’s shop. They went up the stairs and Tessa returned to her random thread of constant chatter. Bella found she had to concentrate on the words because it was very easy to tune it out, but as soon as that would happen Tessa would be looking at her, expecting a response to something she’d just said. The information Bella was supposed to be learning was hidden in the layers of chatter.

  “All of the people you will meet today are somehow related to each other. Torel doesn’t want you seen around open Court, but if you can handle yourself among the scions of the royal family you’ll do well anywhere.”

  They spent an hour in Tessa’s room in front of the largest mirror Bella had ever seen, perfecting her curtsey. Then Tessa dragged her around the hallways telling her who it was appropriate to curtsey to and who it was not required for.

  Essentially in the halls she was in, she would be curtseying to everybody except the servants. Tessa instructed her on the proper way to give orders to the servants and what she was and wasn’t allowed, or expected, to do for herself. Lunchtime came none too soon for Bella.

  They took their places at a long table and stood behind the chairs until the King and Queen were in attendance. As soon as they seated themselves, the rest of the table took their seats with very little fuss or scraping of chairs. There was more silverware at each place setting than Bella ever remembered having had to place for Mistress Henna. Tessa told her what each piece was used for as the proper course arrived. (And this was only lunch).

  When the meal finished she became very self-conscious as she noticed more and more eyes settling on her. “What’ve I done wrong?” she whispered to Tessa desperate not to be the center of attention.

  The King stood and looked straight at her and said, “My son has told us about your mission and everyone at this table will be praying for your success. We have not dared to hope for the last two years. The information brought by Farren‘s soldiers, should it prove true, will bring great joy to everyone here. Torel seems to think if it is possible for anyone, you will be able to accomplish this mission. We extend our appreciation to you and your companions. If there’s anything we can give you to make this a success we will see to it that you get it.”

  He stopped and Bella squirmed under his thoughtful gaze. “You would not be my first choice given your youth and inexperience,” he continued. “But my son, who is an excellent judge of character, assures me you are up to this challenge.” He raised his glass and said, “To a quick journey, success, and a safe return.”

  Chapter 37