“I’ll be careful with the dust.”
“Very important, you see.”
“Yes,” Lucy assured him.
Ted returned to the back room still intoning the importance of dust. Lucy bent to her task. She was so absorbed, she lost track of time and would have been late for dinner had her stomach not rumbled to remind her.
Dinner was a quick affair as Maya was excited to go dress shopping and didn’t want to overeat and feel bloated. They left Justin and Gavin stripping chicken legs and made their way to the clothing shop. It was bustling with girls who had also left dinner early in an attempt to find or order the perfect dress. Maya had the advantage of working there. Not only did she know where to find anything they could possibly need, she had already set aside five different dresses for Lucy to try on and picked out her own two favorites to get Lucy’s opinion on. Maya had Lucy try on her dresses first.
The first one was strapless, red, high waisted, and the rest fell in rich drapes almost to her feet, with a small train in the back. It also had an odd arm band shawl type thing that took Lucy a minute to figure out. A band of fabric about two inches wide went around each upper arm. The bands were joined together by a long piece of fabric that draped down her back to her knees. Lucy put in on and had to admit it looked good on her. She came out to show Maya.
“I like it,” said Maya. “However, I want to see them all before we make a decision. What do you think?”
“It’s beautiful, but I’m not a fan of strapless.”
“Understandable, not everyone is. The color is fabulous though. Try on the next one.”
Dress number two was black, high necked, with sleeves that ended a quarter of the way down the arm. It had a floor length full bottom. There were tiny gold leaves embroidered on the hem. Lucy looked terrible. She walked out with a grimace.
“No,” she said.
“Definitely not,” agreed Maya. “It was worth a shot though. I liked the leaf embroidery.”
The third dress was a simple peach sheath dress that ended mid-calf with a chiffon overlay that was covered in embroidery and fell to the floor. It looked ok. Not great but ok.
“This feels old,” she told Maya.
“It designed for the court women of Impera. They can wear the sheath during the day and put on the fancy chiffon for court or an informal dinner. It is a touch stuffy, but you never know what is going to look the best.”
Lucy went to try on the fourth dress. She started to try to put it on and got tangled. It seemed to be more strips of green fabric than an actual dress. Looking more like a half wrapped mummy than someone going to a formal occasion, she stuck her head our of the dressing room door.
“What in the name of all that is holy is this thing?”
“Green?” questioned Maya.
“Green,” Lucy confirmed.
“Here, let me,” Maya squeezed into the dressing room and began to lift, wrap, tie, and pull. She managed to cover all the important parts and still show off a fair amount of skin. “It’s the latest fashion of young unmarried ladies in Kennemt. It’s meant to be form fitting and revealing, and just on the border of being indecent.”
“On the border?” Lucy looked at herself in the mirror knowing she would never even leave the dressing room like that.
“The Kennemtites live in a warm climate and appreciate the form of the body. Every year there is a new style to try to show off the body and still be allowed at dinner. I can give you fashion and custom lessons later. The point is, you’re not going to feel comfortable in this one.”
“Not even a little. Much less since I’m going with Darren.”
“Darren?”
“Yes, we’re going supposedly as friends. I think this dress might imply something quite different.”
“Quite,” she agreed. “You’re not going with Justin?”
Lucy shrugged. “He hasn’t asked.”
“You think Darren wants to go just as friends?”
“No, but it could be fun, and I’m hoping he’ll behave himself.”
“Be careful not to encourage him.”
“I’ll try, but that means I certainly can’t wear this.”
“True.” Maya helped undo enough that Lucy could get the rest off on her own and left the dressing room.
“I’m glad you saved the blue till last. It’s my favorite,” Maya said through the door.
The fifth dress was deep blue, simple, and elegant. It was bare on one shoulder; the other shoulder had a long, drapey, sleeve that ended at Lucy’s elbow. The top was form fitting, and shortly after the waist it flowed down to two inches above the ground. It was just short enough to avoid being tripped on. There was silver embroidery around the neckline and the sleeve. Lucy breathed a sigh of relief. They had found a dress she could wear and be comfortable.
“Perfect,” said Maya as she came out. “I was sure it would be, but I wanted to have you try on the others just in case. Besides, the red might have been more to your taste. I wasn’t sure. It’s popular in Salmatina. The women there wear tattoos on their shoulders and arms. There are different colors and designs to show rank, age, marital status, children, if you’ve killed anyone in battle, or won any major contests, that sort of thing. The dress is designed to show that off. Also, it leaves one arm unhindered in case there is some need or reason to fight in the gown. I can help you with some temporary tattoos, if you’d like. “
“I would like that a lot,” acknowledged Lucy.
Lucy put her clothes back on and gave the room to Maya as she discussed the different ways she could fix up Lucy’s hair. Lucy was glad to have a friend who could do and enjoy that kind of thing. She could handle simple things, like French braids, but a fancy hairdo was beyond her desire or comprehension. Both of the dresses Maya selected for herself looked stunning. Lucy helped her choose the brown one with peach embroidery. Maya folded and packaged both dresses and walked with Lucy until they split to go to their separate bedrooms.
Just before Lucy started to climb the stairs, she met up with Justin. He didn’t appear to have been waiting for her, but Lucy did not necessarily think it was a coincidence.
“Is that the dress?”
“Yes.”
“Did you have fun?”
“I’m not sure fun is the right term, but it was less painful than it could have been. There was a green dress that was beyond indecent.”
“Kennemtian?”
“How did you guess?”
“They have a tendency to do that when it comes to fashion among other things,” Justin replied. “What did you end up picking?”
“It’s Salmatinian in style.”
“That should suit you. They are usually elegant with a tendency towards practicality.”
They walked in silence for awhile.
“Darren ask you to go yet?”
“Yes, this morning. Why?” she asked suspiciously. She was not in the mood for teasing.
“I figured he would,” Justin said with a shrug. “I’ve said before that he likes you.”
“I know, but we are going as friends.”
Justin snorted then straightened his face as she glared at him. He seemed to be assessing her.
“You said yes then.”
“Yes. You didn’t think I would?”
“I wondered. You know he doesn’t want to go as just friends. I wasn’t sure if you would tell him no because you didn’t want to deal with it, or tell him yes because you didn’t want to believe you would have to deal with it sooner or later.”
“I don’t feel like having this discussion,” Lucy said. “Who are you going with?” she asked trying to change the subject.
“No one. These things get messy. I prefer to go and watch the drama rather than be a part or a cause of it. Besides,” he added offhandedly, “the only person worth asking is already going with someone else.”
“Why didn’t you ask her sooner?” Lucy couldn’t help but be intrigued.
“I didn’t ask her at all.”
“Why not?”
“Well, there are many ways of looking at an event like this. I’d rather not get involved with a messy relationship, and these events tend to produce messiness. Asking to go as friends gets even worse because almost always, one of the people involved wants more. If said female did want to go with me, I assume she would not have said yes to someone else before I had a chance to ask her. I’m not sure she wants a relationship either right now. Frankly I’d rather not deal with the whole issue.”
“That sounds rather sad and almost cowardly in the guise of practicality.”
“Perhaps,” he said with a smile. “I’d almost be willing to agree if I planned to hide in my room crying into my pillow. However, I intend to go. Dance with a few women. I’m sure the one I didn’t ask would be willing to dance one dance with me. Then I’ll watch as drama ensues in every quadrant as it’s bound to and go to bed not having to worry about having a woman mad at me for something I did or did not do.”
“Actually that doesn’t sound like too bad of a plan though potentially problematic.”
“How so?”
“Well, suppose the date of the one you claim will dance with you isn’t so happy about you dancing with her.”
“Then, I get the pleasure of dancing with a beautiful woman, without any pressure or expectations, and he’s the one going to bed upset. One dance shouldn’t make her mad at me, and making him mad won’t make me upset.”
“I follow, but I’m still not convinced you aren’t the catalyst of the situation.”
“Would it be better to ask her now?” he looked at Lucy intensely. “After she has already agreed to go with someone else? Make her have to choose? Let her know I’m interested? Have her go to a dance worrying about two guys instead of one? Have her feel badly about telling one of us no and wondering if she would have enjoyed the dance more had she gone with the other one?”
“When you put it that way, no, but it somehow seems dishonest.”
“It is,” Justin replied with a smile. “This way, the only one who could possibly get hurt is the poor idiot who asked her. She won’t get hurt, I won’t get hurt, and she may never know if I dance with multiple women.”
“That would be the cowardly part I referred to earlier.”
“Yes, but I prefer to think of it as safe. There are more important things going on to worry about than disrupting my personal dynamics with said female. Even if it proceeded favorably, I’m not sure it would be a good thing right now. I’d rather be safe.”
“You make safe sound good. Too bad it’s too late for me to enjoy that option.”
“You didn’t have to say yes.”
“I know, but it was kind of flattering to be asked. At least we have enough in common that we’ll be able to chat throughout the night. Also, if someone I didn’t know very well asked me, I wouldn’t really know if he was interested or not or what we’d talk about, and that would be awkward. I know Darren, and I can try to plan accordingly.”
“The poison you know, in other words?”
“I’d rather not think of it like that. I know we’ll have a good time provided he doesn’t do anything stupid.”
“What are the odds of that?”
“I’m being optimistic.”
“Delusional, I’d call it.”
“Must we get offensive? It’s been a long day, I’m tired, and I don’t want to fight,” said Lucy with a sigh.
Justin nodded. He thought about saying he wasn’t trying to start a fight, but he felt that might lead to one or at least get him a dirty look.
“Goodnight,” Lucy said with a tired smile as she opened her door.
“Goodnight, Lucy” replied Justin.
Chapter 27
Again, Lucy kept very busy and did not have much time to worry about things as silly as a formal occasion. Her dress was picked out, she had a date, and Maya was going to take care of her the day of the event. Thus, Lucy had nothing to worry about. Lucy and her friends were much more concerned about the group challenges. Gavin seemed relieved that there were no more frivolous female things to deal with and they could get down to business.
Lucy noticed that the general feeling of the school had shifted slightly. As always happens with large groups of people, people make friends and form groups of friends. Often there are some people that move fluidly from group to group. Now, there were specific groups of four spending every free minute together. None of the groups were exactly hostile towards each other, but there was general curiosity in what groups were doing to try to prepare for the challenge which led to a general sense of paranoia about being watched by other groups. The change in dynamics didn’t really bother Lucy so much as the change in the feel of the school.
Gavin was completely unperturbed by the idea of other groups spying on them.
“We’re the best,” he said simply. “Of course other groups are going to watch to see what we are doing. I’m not going to let it bother me.”
“Besides,” added Maya, “We’ve been helping each other out and practicing whatever needed to be worked on for months now. Whether it was intentional or not, we’ve had practice at working together. A few weeks of cramming is no replacement for the months we’ve had, nor is it a substitute for natural ability.”
“A person may copy the motion, but without understanding the reasons behind the motions, success on their part would rely on luck at best,” said Justin cryptically.
It was a sunny Saturday so Gavin had decided weapons practice was in order. This time, though, instead of concentrating on personal improvement, they were working on group strategy. Justin and Lucy stood back to back as Maya and Gavin attacked them. They switched around so everyone had a chance to fight with everyone else and they switched off weapons with every rotation to try to find the best pairing of fighters and weapons.
Staffs worked really well if the person wielding them had plenty of room. The way they could spin and their length gave the wielder the ability to attack or defend the full area around them. However, having a partner behind you was limiting and potentially dangerous.
They worked on communication. Gavin assured them that good communication was very important. Gavin and Maya did not know that Lucy and Justin could talk with their minds. Lucy wanted to tell them and try to work out something between the four of them. Justin was adamantly against this idea. There was no need for them to know what they could do, and the information would not help. Trying to talk to someone without the ability was very difficult and took concentration and energy. The same was true with trying to read someone’s mind. Justin convinced Lucy it was not worth the effort to try to work on that when there were other things to work on and they could communicate just fine verbally, but he added that there was no reason why they could not do everything they could to use it to their advantage. So, Gavin took charge of that part of the training.
They worked out simple, agreed upon, one-word responses to different kinds of scenarios. The main thing was to let your teammates know what was going on. If you were blinded by a magical spell, call out blind. This let your teammates know what was wrong with you if you started to behave oddly.
It made sense that in a fight, Lucy and Justin cover all things magical. Gavin was the best fighter, and they decided that it was best to let him do what he was good at and not make him have to worry about magic at the same time. Gavin and Maya could perform some basic spells while fighting, but that was about it. Gavin was the first to admit that when it came to magic, he barely had the right to be at school. Although, Maya could certainly multitask, it was uncertain if she could repel spells of a certain magnitude. Lucy and Justin were by far, the strongest when it came to magic.
Justin and Lucy also worked out which one of them was better at certain things. Obviously if someone was hurt, Justin would cover that. For other things, they worked out training ideas and tests. By delegating, it assured that they wouldn’t both exert energy on the same thing. For one idea, they paired off. Maya and G
avin would be training like normal. Justin and Lucy would also be training, but at a slower pace. They needed to see how well they could multitask, without wearing each other out too badly. Justin was going to attack them with different things magically, they would verbally shout out what was going on thus working on communication, and Lucy was supposed to combat what ever Justin did.
Once they agreed upon the rules, the sparring began. Lucy had only parried a couple of Justin’s strokes when the fun started.
“Projectiles!” shouted Maya.
Lucy swung at Justin and put a barrier around Gavin and Maya so the rocks that Justin had thrown hit the barrier and fell to the ground. Then she brought up her sword to parry.
“Blind!” called out Gavin.
Lucy immediately tried to undo Justin’s spell. It was hard, because Lucy wanted to lash out at the attacker, in this case Justin, rather than try to neutralize the spell. Neutralizing was something Lucy hadn’t worked on much.
“Frozen,” called out Gavin again.
Lucy knew he had to mean that Maya was frozen because one couldn’t talk if one was frozen. They continued this way for some time and then switched so that Lucy was attacking and Justin was defending. Lucy preferred this. Since they were sparring, it was much easier for her to put her emotions into more attacking than trying to find what someone else did and try to neutralize it.
When they were all panting with exhaustion, they sat down, stretched out, and discussed the results. They all agreed that the practice had gone favorably.
“I think, the main thing to do before each event is be clear on the rules,” said Maya. “You know, find out if magic is or is not going to be used or allowed.”
“I agree,” said Justin.
“Yes,” said Gavin, “because that might determine our fighting stance. If we pair up non-magically, I think that it should be Maya and I together and Lucy and Justin together. Lucy and Justin seemed to move the best together. However, if magic is involved, I think that I should be with Lucy and Maya with Justin. That way if using magic is tiring or distracting, you are paired with someone fully concentrating on battle.”
The Eye of Elicion: The Kinowenn Chronicles Vol 1 Page 19