“Where are my things?” I asked the owner, knife out and ready.
“This isn’t a storage chest. You can’t come and go as you please without paying for the room.” He looked down at my knife, snorted and turned away.
They never took me seriously. I threw the knife in my hand, letting it embed in the wall inches from his face. “I asked where my fucking things are.”
“Y-your friend came and got your things.”
“I don’t have friends,” I sneered.
“Yes,” he shook. “The pretty one with the red hair. H-her mom is the seamstress.”
I hopped over the counter, jerked my knife from the wall, and walked out. I would have paid him had he not added fuel to my growing internal fire.
I had barely thought of Nadra during my isolated time at the castle. I never claimed to be a good friend though. She was probably still mad at me, but at least she had come to get my things. I wasn’t sure I would have thought to do the same for her.
I entered her mother’s small shop and the glass door squeaked as I walked in. I didn’t recognize the place at all. The last time I had come, there were bolts of discarded cloth covering every inch of the floor and rhinestones and beads everywhere. Buttons laid spread out on the counter, and the shelves were unorganized and crammed to the brim with different materials.
Now, the entire place was perfect. The fabrics were organized by color and texture along the walls, a dedicated shelf of jars for all the small trinkets held no dust, and it smelled like wildflowers.
“What happened here?” I asked Nadra’s mom. I should probably have known her name, but I didn’t. And I wasn’t about to ask her now.
She spun at my voice. “Mother above, Ara. Where in the gods’ names have you been?”
“Oh, just lounging around the castle,” I answered.
“You could have sent a message that you wouldn’t be coming right back. Nadra’s been worried sick.”
“She has?” I asked, twisting my face.
“Of course she has. She’s your friend. She hasn’t even been sleeping. She cleaned the whole shop to pass the time.” She swept her hand through the tidy room.
“I mean, it does look beautiful.”
“It’s atrocious,” she snapped. “I can’t find a thing in here.”
I smiled. Some people just thrived in chaos. “I’m sorry you were worried. I didn’t have a chance to send a message, I was stuck in a room for a couple days.”
“Good heavens. The dungeons?”
“No,” I said. “The prince’s room.”
She dropped the scissors she was holding and they clanged to the floor.
“It’s not like that,” I assured her. “He had some information for me and I had to wait to get it, that’s all.”
“Oh,” she said, her shoulders drooping as the disappointment crushed her. What was it with this female and coupling people?
I handed her the gown she had let me borrow. “Where’s Nadra?”
“She’s in her room. I doubt she’s asleep up there.”
I started to walk up the stairs but she stopped me, resting her hand on the railing. “I’ve completed the second outfit you asked for.”
“Perfect. I’ll be down to try it on in a minute.”
She smirked and I knew she was excited.
“Nadra?” I called, knocking on her bedroom door.
