by RS McCoy
Except she didn’t know anyone else in Pyrona.
Ignoring Valenta’s protests about the state of her hair, Blossom walked down the hallway and found, to her surprise, a blonde young woman standing in the entry way. Her features were delicate and her skin was as smooth as fresh milk. Her light-yellow hair cascaded down her shoulders to the small of her back, and she had the loveliest bright-blue eyes Blossom had ever seen.
An intense jealousy surged within her. “Can I help you?” Blossom asked with arms crossed.
“Are you Blossom? Of course you are, what am I saying? Look at you. He was perfectly right about you.” The girl spoke too fast, and Blossom could only stare in wide-eyed surprise.
“Oh, no. I’ve woken you. I’m so sorry. He asked me to come over and spend the day with you, and here I’m awfully early. Don’t you worry about me at all. Just go right on back to bed and come back out when you’re ready.”
Blossom’s mouth fell open in shock and horror and disbelief. How dare this pretty little thing tell her to go to bed. She was Kaide’s—well, she lived here, and that should earn her more than getting bossed around by attractive strangers.
“Didn’t he tell you I was coming?” The girl tilted her head to the side, her brow furrowed in confusion, but of course, even that looked lovely on her. For the first time, Blossom noticed a long, faded scar that ran from her temple to her chin, following the curve of her jaw.
“No. He didn’t tell me anything.” Blossom rankled yet again.
“Oh, well in that case. I’m Raene Randal. A pleasure to meet you.” She held out the side of her skirt and bowed her head low.
It took Blossom a full ten seconds for the name to register in her memory. “You’re his niece!” A bolt of relief flew straight through of her. “I thought—I don’t know what I thought.” Blossom shook her head to clear it. “Did he tell you when he’d be back?”
“Sometime tomorrow. That doesn’t give us much time. Let me know as soon as you’re ready.” Raene stepped to the side and peeked into the sitting room.
“For what?”
“To go into town.” She giggled as if it were obvious. “Go on and get dressed. I’ll go find Olin.”
“I’m ready,” Blossom admitted. It wasn’t as if she’d done more than lay across the floor.
Instead of the bristling frown Norsa and Valenta would have given her, Raene only smiled with delight. “Of course you are. He said you would be. Come on.” Raene linked her elbow around Blossom’s and pulled her all the way to the kitchen.
“You talked to him?” Blossom asked as they hurried down the carpeted hallway, past door after door of guest bedrooms.
“He sent me a transmission last night.”
Blossom had no idea what that meant, and she didn’t get a chance to ask before they entered the kitchen.
“My little Rain Drop!” Norsa bellowed as she waddled over to squeeze Raene like she was her own daughter. “We weren’t expecting you until the week’s end. How did you fare with your father?”
Blossom stood back and watched the interaction as if she were a bug on the wall. She felt more out of place than ever. It was Raene who belonged here with people who loved her, not Blossom.
And despite how she thought she was adapting to her new life, she couldn’t help but think of the family she’d left behind—how they would embrace her tightly, pull her from the ground and spin her around the moment she returned to camp.
But instead, she was here, watching it happen to someone else.
And Kaide had chosen to contact Raene and keep Blossom in silence. It hurt worse than a knife.
Blossom snuck back to her bedroom. Under her pillow, she found Hale’s coin and held it to her chest, tempted to flip it in the air again. Last time, it had convinced her to run. She wondered if it would say the same again.
“Ready?” Raene stood in the doorway, as if she materialized from thin air, with her cheery smile still fixed to her perfect features.
“I just needed my shoes,” Blossom lied. She slid the coin back under her pillow and pulled on the thin slippers Valenta had brought her the day before. Then, Raene led her to the out the door.
In front of the manor, blocking the paved path down the hill, sat the hulking metal transport.
As she took stock of the massive vehicle, Blossom said, “I’d rather walk, if that’s all right with you.” She tried not to whine, but she really wasn’t in the mood to be trapped with Raene in a box in the sky.
Of course, the ever-pleasant Raene took the request in stride. “Sure, but we should get going. A lot to do today!”
Olin crawled out of the transport and fell in behind them as they started down the hill.
“What are we doing?” Blossom inquired, since apparently Raene was her new source of information.
“He asked me to get you ready for a formal event. He didn’t say what exactly, but you’ll need a dress. And then an afternoon at Stride’s. Not to mention shoes. We’ll have to hurry to get it all done before sundown.”
Blossom tried to concentrate on her footing as they traveled down the slope. She didn’t know if she even wanted to participate in a formal event, much less with a certain someone who had left her alone without so much as a goodbye or an explanation.
Raene moved them through the market with obvious familiarity, pulling Blossom away from rolling carts and men she claimed to be ‘unsavory’. At last, they arrived at the first destination, a humble black stone building without so much as a sign over the door.
“Paloma?” Raene shouted once they were inside.
A moment later, a woman emerged from one of the back rooms, her body as thin as a twig. She looked like she might fall over at any moment, but she managed to clasp her arms around Raene and started in on a string of loving greetings.
“I know it’s been months, but we have an emergency,” Raene interjected. “Blossom needs a gown by tomorrow.”
The woman turned to Blossom, as if just noticing her presence, and looked her up and down for several long seconds before frowning and shaking her head with certainty. “Too soon. I need more time.”
“No one can do better than you, Paloma. Please?” Raene clasped her hands together in plea. “It’s for him. He’ll never forgive me if I don’t get her ready.”
Paloma’s beady eyes looked Blossom over once more and let out a long sigh. “I’ll see what I can do. Let’s get started before I change my mind.”
Raene squealed with excitement while Blossom choked back the urge to dart outside and run until her legs gave out.
Paloma skulked into the next room like a spider, one skinny leg after another, and led them to a curtained room with a narrow platform in the middle.
“Get up there,” Raene pointed.
Blossom did as instructed and stood in wait for whatever it was they were about to do.
“Now, tell me everything you know,” Paloma demanded, her tone as dry as bone. In her mouth, she collected dozens of slim metal pins and, with one hand she held the end of a seemingly-endless bolt of white fabric.
Raene sat against the wall and started in on the details. “Well, she’s an Alderwood princess from a Bear Clan, so the Terra colors might be nice. But she’s engaged to Vice Syndicate Landel, so of course Pyro colors would be fitting as well. She doesn’t like to have too much skin showing, so she needs something a little more modest, more covered than usual. And she doesn’t like anything too fancy. Something simple and elegant and not too over-the-top. ”
Blossom spun and stared at the girl who spoke about her as if they were good friends, except they’d only met this morning.
Paloma hissed. “Be still!”
Blossom groaned and faced forward as the woman began to pin fabric around her body. She wasn’t sure if Paloma ever actually touched her, but pin by pin, it began to take shape, though it was like nothing Blossom had seen before.
Every few minutes, Raene would approach the pedestal and ask about the kind of seam or point out that a
different motion might produce a more appealing shape, and Paloma would hiss and unpin an area only to re-pin it again. To Blossom, it looked largely the same, but the two went round and round discussing it as if it were the most important thing in the world.
Blossom tried not to yawn. She didn’t want to tell them she had no intention of wearing a dress—formal or otherwise—to this mysterious event. They were too caught up in it.
At last, the two agreed they were finished. Hours after they began, Paloma and Raene carefully lifted the pinned fabric monstrosity over her head and let Blossom free.
“Thank you, Paloma!” Raene shouted behind her as she pulled Blossom back out into the busy street. Olin pushed off the exterior wall of the building and followed after them.
“Where are we going now?” Blossom asked, unsure if she even wanted to know the answer.
“We had to see Paloma first since she’ll need the most time to sew the dress. Stride’s is next. You’ll love it.” Raene offered her signature bright smile as she dragged Blossom two blocks away.
Unlike the last building, this one was little more than an alder wood house, an island of wood surrounded by a block of porous black stone. Above the door hung a carved wooden sign that read ‘Stride’.
“Do I want to know what a Stride is?”
“Yes, you do,” Raene answered with a laugh as they entered. “And Stride is a him, not a what.”
“Is that you Ms. Randal?” A man asked as he approached. “I was expecting you two hours ago!”
“I’m so sorry. We got held up at Paloma’s. Can you fit her in?” Raene bit her lip in anticipation.
“We’ll have to, won’t we? Come along.” The man named Stride looked at Blossom like a piece of meat. Based on the size of his enormous, protruding belly, he looked at everyone that way.
Stride led Blossom and Raene to the first of many instruments of torture. This one, a pit of steaming mud, was supposed to add luster to her skin, though she was pretty sure it was just a pit of mud. It was uncomfortably hot, and if she wasn’t careful, the tips of her curls fell into the thick mess, but she soaked for a half hour, as instructed.
Next, a shower of authentic volcanic rain water, whatever that was. Blossom thought it might have been nice if it weren’t for the trio of elderly women, armed with rough river stones, attempting to rub her flesh from her body. She would never, ever fuss about a hot bath at the manor again.
After that, Stride and Raene led her to a straight-backed chair. Wrapped in a thick towel, Blossom endured the two women touching her feet while Stride himself pulled at her hair. He wasn’t nearly as gentle as Valenta, tugging so hard she cried out in pain several times, but at the end, she had a full head of mostly-tamed curls.
She managed to get into her Pyro clothes all on her own, though it wasn’t all quite right. She was just too frustrated to bother with it.
“We’re done?” Blossom was almost afraid to ask.
“Done here. Just a few more stops.”
Blossom huffed. She didn’t know how much more of this she could take. Was this what Kaide meant when he said playing a part and doing things she didn’t want? Because if this was a requirement to marry him, she definitely had more to think about.
They hadn’t even gone a full block before Raene said, “All right, Olin. We’re ready to go home.”
Blossom looked at her with eyes wide. “What about the other stops?”
“You’re tired of this. I can do the rest in the morning. I don’t want you to be too tired for tomorrow. Come on, we have lots to talk about.” Raene linked Blossom’s elbow once more as they started back toward the manor.
Already she felt better. She was sure she couldn’t take any more stops around the city. Her body was beaten and bruised as if she’d fallen out of a tree and she had nothing to show for it. In fact, she looked mostly the same as when she’d left that morning.
At least at the manor she could relax without being forced to get ready for some nameless event.
“So now that we’re done for the day, will you tell me what happened?” For the first time, Raene wasn’t wearing her permanent smile. Instead, her eyes searched Blossom’s features with decided interest.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been telling him he needs to pick a bride for years. You know, Vice Syndicates are supposed to marry within a year of their appointment. To prevent them from being swayed or something like that. But it’s been three years and he always resisted. Then all of a sudden, he comes home with you. So what happened?” Raene wiggled her eyebrows mischievously.
Blossom shrugged. “That’s it, really. He traded for me and brought me back here.”
Raene tossed her golden hair over her shoulder. “Oh, come on. He doesn’t do anything without planning it for months. Did he know your father?”
“I don’t think so.” Blossom’s pulse hitched at the idea she was part of some plan he’d concocted, another calculated piece in his puzzle, though she couldn’t begin to guess what it might be.
The level streets of the market gave way to an incline as they started up the paved roads toward the manor. Quiet, looming trees replaced the noise of the shop patrons. The afternoon sun dipped behind the distant mountains, cloaking them in long shadows.
“Did I say something wrong?” Raene looked over with her bright eyes tinged in worry.
“No, it’s fine.” Blossom shook her head so hard her curls swayed.
“I know you don’t know me very well, and I understand if you don’t want to talk to me. But he’s like my older brother, and I would really like if we could be friends.” Raene patted Blossom’s elbow where it crossed hers.
Blossom felt worse than ever. It wasn’t Raene’s fault she’d gotten mixed up in all this mess. It was Blossom who had chosen to stay at the manor with Kaide, not realizing he would flee a moment after she agreed. And now she’d gone and upset this girl who’d been nothing but kind—a little pushy about the whole dress thing, but still—Blossom knew it came from a good place.
“I didn’t expect him to leave,” she heard herself say. “He didn’t say goodbye.”
“That’s what you’re worried about?” There was laugher in Raene’s voice. “Come on, I’ll show you.”
“Show me what?” Blossom asked, but Raene was already off and running up the hill.
Thankfully the manor came into view before Blossom ran out of steam. She was a good runner, but the incline was entirely foreign. Her breath became labored far faster than usual.
She arrived at the steps of the house to find the door already open. “Up here!” Raene shouted from the second floor.
Blossom trotted up the steps and tried to calm her heaving breaths. She found Raene sitting at Kaide’s desk, dwarfed by the enormous wooden piece.
“If this was anyone else, I’d look the other way and pretend I didn’t know a thing about it,” she began. “But if we’re going to be sisters, then I think you deserve to see.”
Raene stopped whatever she was doing with her hands behind the desk and looked Blossom straight in the eye, her eyebrow raised. “And if you tell him a word about this, I’ll never forgive you. We were never here. You never saw this. Agreed?”
Blossom nodded her head, more desperate than ever to see whatever it was that Raene had to show her.
Raene made a few more movements under the desk, and a black square emerged from the ceiling on the far side of the room. A moment later it illuminated, and there on it, an image of Kaide sitting at a desk that wasn’t his.
“What is that?” Blossom asked, never taking her eyes from the image.
“The transmission he sent me last night. You won’t tell him?”
“Never.”
The image of Kaide set into motion, his hand pushing through his hair at first. Then he leaned forward and said, “Hi Rain Drop. I know I owe you a visit, and I promise I will, but I need you to do something for me. I wouldn’t trust anyone else.”
He paused long enough to s
igh before he continued. “While I was traveling back from Terrana, I traded for a young woman from a Bear Clan. Her name is Blossom, and she’s at the manor. She’s amazing and wonderful, and I know you’ll love her.”
A shy smile crept across his cheeks that ignited her nerves, as if he could somehow see her from wherever he was, smiling just for her.
“I have an event to attend in two days’ time, and I need her there. Formal dress. The works. She loves the markets, so make a day of it and take her out. Make sure she has a good time. I’m counting on you. She’s important to me. Love you.”
Kaide kissed a fingertip and touched it to the screen before it went black.
Blossom gaped at the screen for several seconds while her mind raced. She’d never seen such a thing. A screen with the image of a person on it seemed impossible, but it was so undeniably him, she couldn’t doubt it.
Even when he didn’t speak to her, he managed to say something that stole the air right out of her lungs.
Raene beamed up at Blossom from the chair. “See?” Her tone lilted, gloating over her victory. “Did you hear that? She’s important to me. Or should we play it again? I think we should play it again.” Raene’s laughter rang through the office.
Before Blossom could protest, Kaide’s form reappeared on the screen and raked his hand through his hair. “Hi Rain Drop. I know I owe you a visit, and I promise I will, but I need you to do something for me. I wouldn’t trust anyone else. While I was traveling back from Terrana, I traded for a young woman from a Bear Clan. Her name is Blossom, and she’s at the manor. She’s amazing and wonderful, and I know you’ll love her.”
And then, once more, that smile. A warm sunny smile that brightened his whole face. Because of her. Because he was thinking about her, wherever he was. Heat rose up in her cheeks and Blossom knew, had he been there, he would have laughed at her.
By the time her thoughts had settled, Blossom only caught the end. “Make sure she has a good time. I’m counting on you. She’s important to me. Love you.”
It sounded as impossible as it had the first time. She was important to him. She’d been important to her brothers and Da, but they were her family. They loved her because they shared the same blood.