Alvina and Quinn have never been further apart, but their connection to the spirits might be what reconnects them again.
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Quinn av Stál is slowly losing his mind. He's sure of that, and the only thing keeping him together is his fiancé Islo Charr...
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We had to be prepared for the empress. I didn't understand a thing they were saying and Dy was very confused by the whole ritual.
We were taken to the baths in our burrowed house. We had already been there several times, so I didn't get why they needed to watch us bathe. Two women helped us wash our hair properly, even brushing our feet with these white stones.
"What's the point of this?" I asked Dy as we sat in a couple of chairs, getting our feet done.
"The empress has high hygiene standards. Before we're to meet her, we need to be cleansed." Dy shrugged a little.
"I am clean..." I muttered under my breath and cringed as the lady doing my feet got a little rough.
"Just see this as a nice relaxing thing. Imagine how nice we'll feel after," Dy said softly and took my hand in hers.
"And they absolutely have to shave our legs too?" I cringed as the woman ran the stone between my toes.
"Just don't question it."
"But I don't like it."
"It'll grow out again. You'll have those cute hairy legs again in no time. Believe me on that one." Dy chuckled and kissed my hand.
I had never considered my body hair an issue. No one shaved at home. Men shaved their faces but that was it. Here the women shaved everything save for the hair on and in their faces. But they threaded their eyebrows to make them into thin lines. I had said a very loud no to that. They were not gonna touch my eyebrows. They were thick and I liked them thick. This all felt incredibly ridiculous and useless. I was going to wear those long loose trousers anyways. No one would see my naked legs.
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"When you meet the empress, remember to use her greeting," Dy instructed as we swiftly walked through the palace.
"Yes." I tried to fix the headscarf that was customary to wear in front of the empress. Only she could show her hair as hers was the most beautiful. Or something like that.
"And I've been told she does speak Andaheimsk. So you'll probably not need me once the greetings are over."
