"What do you want now?" Anthea demanded of me and Lodia.
Well, mostly of me, but I nudged Lodia's neck with my wing, prompting her to speak up. Wonder of wonders, she actually did.
"Um, Lady Anthea, Your Ladyship, might I – would you – might Your Ladyship have a moment...?"
Ask to speak in private, I whispered. Anthea wasn't going to want to bargain with one member of her staff in front of the others.
"In – in private, if it pleases Your Ladyship...?"
For some reason, Lodia phrased the simple request as if it were the final imposition that would convince the raccoon dog to turn her out of the mansion.
But of course Anthea didn't. Her eyes moved from me to Lodia's trembling form and then down to the bundle of fabric in the girl's arms. With a curt nod, she headed for a side parlor, where she arranged herself in a cushioned rosewood chair. Like the rest of her furniture, it had been carved in imitation of the style of the City of Dawn Song, five centuries earlier.
"All right, speak," she commanded. Then, since Lodia was too overcome to utter a word, Anthea nodded at the bundle of fabric. "Is that a mock-up for a new dress?"
"Yes, Your Ladyship." Before I could remind her not to get distracted from the purpose of this meeting, Lodia was shaking out the gown. She swished it to show Anthea how the layers of embroidered silk gauze drifted over one another and created an impression of a princess-of-the-night garden.
At the sight, Anthea's eyes lit up. "Is that why you asked for the dress? Because you wanted to try out that?"
"Yes, Your Ladyship. I thought – I thought it might work with other designs too. Um, to go with the seasons. Like maple leaves in the fall, and – "
"I love it."
Although Lodia twitched with shock at the praise, Anthea took no notice. Her eyes were tracking the sway of the embroidered leaves and flowers.
"Yes. Maple leaves will do nicely, if you can finish by the middle of fall at the latest. Otherwise, a winter theme would be best," Anthea told her, proving that she knew how fast – or, rather, slowly – her Junior Wardrobe Mistress worked.
"Yes, Your Ladyship. I was thinking, for winter, maybe plum blossoms and bamboo? I can show you a design I've been sketching...?"
"No need for that. Do you have everything you need?"
This time, it was I who reared back in shock. Anthea was never so generous when it came to the Temple!
Before I could recollect myself, Lodia was bobbing her head. "Yes, Your Ladyship, I do."
No, she didn't!
"Very good, then." Assuming that approval for the new dress design was the purpose of this meeting, Anthea was on the verge of dismissing Lodia.
I poked the side of the girl's neck with my pointiest feathers. Ask her.
If Lodia could hear me, then of course Anthea could too. "What was that?" she asked sharply. "What are you getting my Junior Wardrobe Mistress to ask for this time?"
Nothing for the Temple, I retorted. If I needed something for the Temple, I'd tell you myself.
"No, you'd go out and order it and tell the tradespeople to send the bills to me."
YOU ARE READING
The True Confessions of a Nine-Tailed Fox
FantasyAfter Piri the nine-tailed fox follows an order from Heaven to destroy a dynasty, she finds herself on trial in Heaven for that very act. Executed by the gods for the "crime," she is cast into the cycle of reincarnation, starting at the very bottom...
