A World Apart

11. A Welcome Feast

True to Sedric's word, Sarai was released early from her duties and came traipsing up the stairs to Elena's room just as the sun began dissolving into the skyline. It had been a lazy afternoon since he left with Sarai following soon after to finish the rest of her chores. As much as Elena wanted to venture out and explore the palace and the city below she knew it would be better to secure permission first. No one had clearly enunciated her position here and after weeks of gaining trust, she was not about to take any steps backward.

Elena didn't have any idea what to expect from a feast other than copious amounts of food, and given her wardrobe selection was even smaller here than at home, her options for preparing for one were very limited.

Sarai's shift in attitude continued to surprise her. When she arrived Elena saw yet another dress hung over her arm, as well as a basket with needles and thread, and a comb. Though the frostiness between them had melted, Sarai was not much of a talker yet, at least not to Elena, which suited her just fine. Her hair hadn't been washed in several days and she thought to ask for a bath but Sarai was already busy laying out the dress on Elena's bed and having her stand to try it on while she took it in where necessary.

This dress felt much fancier than the two she already had. The fabric was a golden yellow with an almost iridescent sheen to it, with sleeves that extended down to the elbow. The neckline was frocked in a crisscross pattern that went around her shoulders, leaving her neck bare as opposed to the other dresses she'd been given that laced all the way up to the top of her back. Once Sarai had Elena stripped down to her slip she pulled out a girdle and began to fasten it around Elena's waist.

The whole process was done with a minimum of speaking, but rather than tense Elena felt comfortable with it. Outside her open window, she heard the faint music from the city below beginning to tamper down in the advent of dusk. There was no breeze tonight, but as Sarai pulled the dress over Elena's head and began to lace her into it the cool air that wafted in settled on her skin and set her at ease somehow, as though this were something she was born to and not a life that had existed only in fairy tales until a few weeks ago. From the bottom of the basket Sarai had brought with her she produced a pair of satin slippers in the same color as the dress. She helped Elena slide them onto her feet since bending over while wearing a girdle was quite out of the question.

Once Sarai had finally finished constraining Elena into the thing she took a step back, gesturing with a wave of her hand for Elena to inspect her appearance. Still awestruck at the craftsmanship she could only manage to say, "It's beautiful," as she looked down admiring the skirt and the way it swished when she walked. They smiled at each other and Elena felt in that moment a camaraderie develop. It was faint and still very shaky, but it was there, and that was enough for today.

After that Sarai spoke a bit more often, directing Elena to sit at the vanity while she un-braided her hair and combed it out, taking care this time not to tug too hard as she re-braided it into something new. Once the sky outside had grown mostly dark with only a few tinges of daylight lingering Sarai examined her handiwork in the light that remained and pronounced Elena ready.

Her heart was in her throat and she touched her hair nervously to feel the pattern Sarai had shaped it into, impressed by the design even though she had no mirror to see it. At one point a servant boy came up bearing a box of candles and a few candlesticks with matches for her personal use when she returned from the feast. Once he left, Elena and Sarai followed after, Sarai carrying a lit torch left at the top of the stairs for them to find their way down.

If Elena thought it was easy to get lost in Clovis Castle, it was nothing compared to Emeris. The hallways were organized more like a grid here, but that just left them looking even more the same. She tried to remember the route they took once they reached the bottom of the stairs and Sarai holstered the torch in an empty sconce for their return.