Silver Blood

Chapter 1

If Lorana's god wasn't dead, she would drop the unfinished dress in her hands and march right down to the temple and ask to take her vow. Then she'd never sew another festival dress again and spend her life serving the temple and gods instead. It was as good an excuse as any to avoid actually doing so when she had other gods to pray to and worship. She'd come up with plenty of excuses over the last few years, telling herself she'd take her vow next week, next month, whenever her brother came home. Anything to hold off disappointing her father when she left the shop behind and forcing her sister to take up the shop's mantle. But both were inevitable.

The worst part about the latest festival dress was the fitted bodice. It kept wrinkling and bunching in places where it wasn't meant to bunch. She adjusted the fabric and then pulled a pin out from between her lips. She shoved the pin into place, making sure she got the fabric to lay just right. Personally she preferred looser gowns where the bodices weren't so stiff, but the wealthy liked sticking to the latest fashions, no matter how uncomfortable they may be.

She paused to admire her work. The rose silk would be worn by the magistrate's youngest daughter at the spring festival and the fall of the skirts would make her look like a spring flower. Something about the spring festival in particular made every girl and woman long for a new dress. No doubt the girl's her parents hoped the dress would help her catch the eye of someone wealthy. Lorana wasn't convinced. The dress would be perfect when it was finished, she wouldn't stand for anything less, but the wealthy didn't care about magistrates from a town as small as Solen or their daughters.

This year she felt the urge too. Spring made her want to fall for the fantasy that a shiny new dress would catch a certain man's eye. Lorana didn't want a nobleman though, just a certain red-headed watchman she couldn't stop staring at.

She held up the dress and turned to the full-length mirror. Instead of picturing herself twirling in a crowded meadow or town center with a handsome dance partner, her mind focused on the measurements. The dress was a touch too long for her and the bodice would be loose on her chest. The waist too. She'd have to take it in a size. And while the dress would look fine with her skin tone, the color would clash with Roan's red hair. A deep green would be more flattering. The biggest problem would be the price of the fabric. Unless she could find a way to repurpose the dress, she wouldn't be able to justify the cost to herself. Not when she could get two sensible dresses instead.

The bell over the shop door tinkled, the walls muffling the sound in the back of the shop. Her sister Roisin's cheery voice called out a greeting, drawing her hello out in a way that let Lorana know a potential problem had walked in the door. A moment later Roisin's head poked into the back room.

It was a good thing their parents hadn't decided to join them in the shop today or both would have had a fit over Roisin's low bodice even if it was the current fashion with the wealthy. Lorana held her tongue, remembering how badly she'd wanted to be desired at sixteen and how she'd loathed her parents fussing over her clothes. That did nothing but make her want to wear her scandalous dresses more. As far as she was concerned Roisin was old enough to make her own decisions. Besides, her beau was already eager to marry her.

"Gianna is here for her altered gowns," Roisin said, her plastered on smile looking more like a grimace. Gianna was one of their more infamous customers, but also one of the best paying. Her husband's wealth had treated her well, causing her to go up a dress size every year since the wedding, a fact she remained deep in denial about and blamed on the clothing.

Town gossip claimed she came from a small family of disgraced nobility and her attitude fueled the rumors. Luckily the town only had to deal with her during the spring and summer when Gianna's husband visited his rural retreat to hunt. "She wants to try the green one on." Roisin widened her eyes, giving her sister her best puppy dog look. "Can you do the fitting?"