Moon Blessed

Chapter 23 ~ Merging With Society

    Nastasia winced as Josephine tugged on her short locks and pinned them to the back of her head. "Is this really necessary?" She asked.

    "Of course. The scarf needs to lay flat against your head or people will realize your hair is much longer than the average man's. It's best if you don't attract any unusual attention at all, as you've repeatedly said yourself."

    Nastasia closed her mouth against another protest and held still. On the other side of the tent, Elise was sorting through a number of men's tunics that she'd smuggled in.

    "Where did Elise find those tunics?" Nastasia asked, keeping her voice quiet. Something in Elise's demeanor told her that the woman didn't wish to be disturbed. She lifted each tunic delicately and smoothed the wrinkles from them with gentle fingers.

    Josephine glanced at Elise from the corner of her eye. "They were her older brother's."

    "Won't he notice they're gone and recognize me in one of them?"

    Josephine's lips pressed into a thin line and she shook her head. "He's had no need for those tunics for many years. In fact, few people would recognize them now, it's been so long."

    Nastasia hesitated, still watching Elise. "He's dead, isn't he?"

    Josephine inclined her head. "But please don't ask what happened. It's not my story to tell, and Elise refuses to speak of it."

    "All right." Nastasia shifted her focus away from Elise despite her lingering curiosity. The two women barely knew her and they were respecting her secrets, so she could do the same for them.

    Josephine took a brown scarf and wrapped it around Nastasia's hair, then draped it across the lower half of her face and secured it. "There you go."

    Nastasia patted the scarf and smiled to herself. The corners of her eyes crinkled. For a moment, Nastasia just watched her reflection. She still wasn't used to seeing the normal ice blue eyes with black pupils that had replaced her own. She almost missed seeing her reflection, though she didn't miss the unease it inflicted upon others.

    "I think this will fit you well enough," Elise said, interrupting her thoughts. She held up a plain beige tunic, embellished only by laces. "Emil rarely wore this one so not even our parents will recognize it." She carried it over to Nastasia, who took it with a timid smile.

    Nastasia turned around and shrugged out of her servant's dress. She slid the tunic over her head and stepped into one of her own pairs of trousers. "Your brother was rather small. This fits me almost perfectly."

    Sorrow flashed through Elise's warm brown eyes, but was soon gone. "Emil struggled with an illness that left his growth stunted and his body malnourished."

    Nastasia blinked in surprise. "Oh. I'm...sorry to hear that."

    Elise waved a dismissive hand. "There is no need for apologies. Emil thrived in spite of his illness. He never accepted sympathy for it, and neither shall I."

    Nastasia simply bowed her chin, unsure of what else to say. She slipped on her boots and took the belt Josephine offered her. She buckled it around her waist and sheathed her sword at her hip. "How do I look?"

    "Like a very small Knight," Josephine giggled. "Come on. We'll be late for the banquet if we don't leave soon." She looped her arm through Nastasia's and led her out of the tent.

•༻᯽༺•

    Nikolai laughed as Mischa downed a tankard of ale and frowned. "If this is what their ale tastes like, maybe I don't want to try Blodian whiskey after all," he grumbled.