Leira was having a lovely time. She’d gotten her massage, and it’d been glorious. That woman had the hands of an angel. She’d stayed the night in an adorable, rustic inn and slept in what had to be the fluffiest bed in all the World.

When she realized Gwil had cooked up a disaster, she’d picked out a stupid-looking and well-dressed man from the crowd, feigned that she was a panicked little lady, and swooned into his arms. Then she’d relieved the man of his hefty purse and gone straight to the nearest shop.

She might’ve been a freak in that bumfuck village—what was it called? Whatever. Here in the real world, she was exotic. Everyone loves flowers.

Leira had picked a good mark—the fool had been carrying three thousand doubloons as pocket change. Bastard wouldn’t even miss it.

She’d bought herself a sunhat, which she loved, and a hot pink dress which she thought she’d love, but now hated. Too big, too floofy, too frilly. She could barely walk. Fortunately, she had plenty of money to buy a new one, or two.

Presently, she enjoyed a late breakfast in a posh little restaurant. She sat by the window, basking in the gentle sunlight. On the table, a platter full of delectable pastries. She picked a strawberry one and popped it into her mouth.

It was one of those places with white tablecloths and waiters that acted as if her presence was a blessing. The prices were appalling, but she wasn’t the one paying, so.

Next, a lemon tartlet. She moaned. Even tastier. This was exactly the sort of thing Leira loved to do most. If only everything weren’t so rotten.

She sighed, lamenting the World and her diminishing pile of pastries. It took a special kind of idiot to get hit by a skimmer on a road with no actual traffic. For fuck’s sake, an alarm had blared to warn everyone.

That silly little bumpkin. She’d give him an earful once she rescued him from his predicament.

These sorts of rural, industrial settlements could be tricky, though. No two were ever quite the same. With one wealthy, iron-fisted mogul ruling over everything, they were always dictated by whatever idiosyncrasies ensnared their ruler.

She wished she’d put her foot down. They shouldn’t have come here. Poor Gwil. He must have been heartbroken. Years of waiting, and they’d walked right into this horrid place.

Not everywhere was so bad. Most places, yes, but not everywhere. And that made those little pockets of goodness even more precious. She hoped this wouldn’t forever soil the World in his eyes.

Dainty as a princess, Leira wiped off the crumbs and jelly that were smeared across her mouth with a silk napkin that was so smooth it didn’t even work well as a napkin. She reached across the table, took the clean one from the empty seat, and stuffed it into her new purse. So elegant.

Leira stood, dropped a handful of coins on the table, and strode across the dining hall. She curtsied to the cute waitress and then stepped outside.

This street was nice and calm—just little shops and residences for the Podexian aristocrats. She could’ve slept right on one of the benches, but… Time to get to work. She needed information. Clever as she was, Leira had already gleaned that there was some sort of soiree happening tonight at the Burgermeister’s manor.

She needed to find a gossipy person and hoped to kill two birds with one stone. She moseyed on down the street. Flowering ivy covered the brick storefronts.

Leira breathed deep the sweet scents as she perused the window displays, searching for something that would suit her. This place would be so lovely if it wasn’t a thin veil draped over a disgusting pile of shit. She kicked over a flowerpot as she passed, grinned at the satisfying crack of the ceramic.

“Ooo!” There was a mannequin wearing a dress that caught her eye. Knee-length, form-fitting, white and trimmed with a red that perfectly matched the hue of her eyeflower. Leira despised the thing more than anything else in the World, but she looked so good in that color that she didn’t care.

She opened the door and stepped inside. A bell rang at her entering.

“Hello, my lady,” the middle-aged woman behind the counter said. “How may I help you?”

This woman was no slave. Her fancy jewelry made that clear. The owner, then; probably a wealthy hobbyist. Her false nails didn’t look suitable for seamstress work.

“Good evening, my lady,” Leira said, pitching her voice and smiling. “I already know exactly what I want. That dress in the window is splendid. I must have it.”

The shopkeeper smiled. “I knew that’s what you’d say. You will look stunning.”

“I know, right?” Leira said. She pinched one of the many frills on her bright pink dress and held it up. “I bought this on a whim, and I’ve decided I don’t care for it.”

The woman snorted. “Of course you don’t. That’s one of Wanda’s. She has awful taste, so garish. And she’s a complete bitch to boot. Her girls are bumbling fools, too.”

Leira mustered up her most obnoxious laugh.

“Would you like to go right to a fitting then, lady?” the shopkeeper’s voice hung on the last syllable.

“Leira.”

“Lady Leira. A pleasure. I am Lady Adeline.” She turned and shouted, “Bethany! Get in here!”

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A younger woman came out of the back room, giving Leira a small bow as she shuffled around the counter. She wore a plain, ragged dress. Bethany looked to be a teenager, but her hands were so beaten-up and scarred that they could’ve belonged to an eighty-year-old.

Ah, there it is.

Bethany smiled, tilting her head as she looked Leira over. She clasped her hands. “Oh! It must be the red and white Atai, right, my lady?” She looked between both Leira and her owner.

“Correct, dear,” Adeline said. Bethany went over to retrieve the dress from the mannequin.

“She does brilliant work,” Adeline said, nodding toward Bethany. “Absolutely exquisite. I’ve been training her since before she could walk.”

“You’re too kind, mistress,” Bethany called over her shoulder.

Leira resisted the urge to tear her hair out. At the same time, she thanked herself for thinking to buy new underwear yesterday. The threadbare things she’d been wearing would’ve poked a nasty hole in her wealthy guise.

Adeline led Leira over to a stool and had her take off the frilly dress. The shopkeeper laughed. “Shall we just throw that one in the garbage?”

“Oh, yes,” Leira said. “Ah, but actually—might I give it to Bethany? Perhaps she can turn it into something wearable.”

“Oh, I like that idea,” Adeline said, rubbing her hands together like a mischievous fly. “I like it very much. What do you think, Bethany?”

“Whatever the mistress desires.”

With a scoff, Adeline tossed the pink bundle into the corner.

Bethany helped Leira into the new dress and then tied up the laces in the back and helped her up onto the stool.

“Oh, it hardly needs much adjusting at all!” Bethany said as she circled around, tugging at random bits. “It’s perfect for you, my lady.”

The girl set to work, wielding her sewing needle as deftly as a master swordswoman.

Leira cleared her throat, softly of course, and said, “My lady, I wondered if you might help me with a little problem. It’s… a trifle embarrassing.”

Adeline’s eyes lit up at that. She leaned forward.

“This is my first time visiting Chateau Podexia,” Leira began. “And… oh, I’m so ashamed. One of our idiot servants—not mine, my brother’s—got himself arrested by the Burgermeister’s guards. Acting belligerent at the casino, the fool. I’m sure someone as esteemed as you are privy to all of Lord Jaqlov’s designs. Do—do you have any idea what this imbecilic slave’s fate might be?”

“Of course I do,” Adeline said. “We only do one thing with criminals in Podexia. Your slave will have been sent straight to the mines.”

“Of course,” Leira said. “Beyond the wall? Is it very awful there?”

Adeline raised an eyebrow. “In the Kaia mines?”

Leira’s heart skipped several beats.

“I can scarcely imagine something more awful,” Adeline continued. “It’s not even suitable for insects.”

“Mhm,” Leira said. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck. Idiot! Fuck!

Things were much worse than she’d thought. If Podexia housed Kaia veins, then Jaqlov was powerful and important. He would answer directly to a Leviathan Monarch.

Leira shook her head, forgetting herself. It’ll be fine. It’ll be fine. She was pretty sure there weren’t any Leviathan forces here. Nothing had changed. She just needed to get Gwil and get the hell out as soon as possible, and that’s what she had intended to do, anyway.

A shiver ran down Leira’s spine. It’s not her. It can’t be her. Please. Her twitch had made Bethany yelp.

“You aren’t hoping to get this slave back, are you?” Adeline said, peering over her spectacles. “Lord Jaqlov would never relinquish a prisoner to someone of your station. Your slave violated the Burgermeister’s law and acted as a blight upon Podexia.”

“Mm?” Leira waved her hands. “No, no. I only hoped I could execute the animal myself. But if he will suffer in the mines, it’s all the same.”

Adeline laughed. “Oh, in that case, you certainly wouldn’t want to execute the wretch yourself. A slow, agonizing death will come to him in the mines. It’s best he stays there.”

Leira laughed too. “Very good, very good. Thank you, my lady.” Dammit! Gwil, you absolute, utter moron.

“I must say, Lady Leira,” Adeline said. “The splice of your eye is spectacular! Can you still see out of it?”

Leira smiled. “Not really.”

“And whereabouts did you get such exquisite work done?”

Leira fluttered her normal eyelashes whilst conjuring up some bullshit. “There’s a doctor in Veirga who calls himself a botanical cosmetologist. A friend of mine got her breasts turned into cantaloupes. They even grow if you can believe that.”

“Oh my!” Adeline said, covering her mouth. “How fascinating. Veirga? My sweetheart has spent time working there. It sounds marvelous. Very advanced. It’s quite far away, is it not?”

“Yes, quite,” Leira said. “I’ve been cruising the World on my father’s yacht and…” She laughed. “I’m afraid I’ve lost track of my whereabouts.”

“All done!” Bethany said, stepping away.

“Tha-”

“Ugh, bring her the mirror, girl. Honestly!” Adeline snapped. She looked at Leira and rolled her eyes.

Leira hopped down from the stool and looked in the mirror that Bethany had rolled over.

She saw herself and smiled. That didn’t happen often. The dress fit like a glove, without being so tight that it would impede her ability to move. Even the lotus looked less detestable.

Her time in the sun had put some color back into her skin. And her veins were less visible, so she looked less like a gelatinous corpse. A fresh body always made her feel like a naked rodent for the first few days.

“Thank you, Bethany,” Leira said, still beaming. “It’s wonderful. Oh, and you too, Lady Adeline.”

The woman’s sneer was fleeting. “Will you wear it to the Silver Gala tonight? You simply must.”

“Oh, I wasn’t-” Leira clasped her hands and looked down at her feet. These idiots were too easy. “I only arrived two days ago, and I’ve yet to make many acquaintances. The journey was very tiring, you see? I’m afraid I’ve not been invited.”

Adeline swatted at the air. “Nonsense, consider this your invitation. Not that such a beautiful lady needs an invitation.”

“It will be held up at the Burgermeister’s manor.” She did a stupid little dance with her fingers. “So, we won’t have to deal with the rabble from the resort.”

“Oh, that sounds delightful,” Leira said. “What an honor. Thank you, my lady.”

“My pleasure, dear,” Adeline said. “It’s perfect, actually. My sweetheart won’t be able to accompany me—drowning in his work, as always—so I was going to be alone.”

“It’s a date,” Leira said.

“I’ll meet you at the cable car depot atop the plateau. Ten o’clock sharp. Don’t make me wait.”

“I wouldn’t dare.” Leira gathered her old dress from the floor, and, while bundling it up, stuffed three hundred doubloons into the folds. She handed it to Bethany and tried to wink, but that wasn’t really something she could do.

“How much do I owe you, my lady?” Leira asked.

“For you, dear, nine hundred doubloons.”

“Fuck me sideways,” Leira muttered under her breath.

“Pardon?”

“Nothing. I was just saying it’s so beautiful.”

Leira counted out the coins from her purse. “Now, Lady Adeline, if I give a tip to Bethany, you won’t keep it for yourself, will you?” She chortled obnoxiously. “Good help is priceless, after all.”

Adeline opened her mouth as if to speak but settled on a nod.

Leira placed nine hundred doubloons on the counter, and then grabbed Bethany’s wrist, put a hundred piece in her palm, and closed her fingers around it.

The girl glanced at the coin and Leira thought she might faint.

“That’s far too much! Mistress!”

“I insist,” Leira said. “I feel like a brand-new woman, thanks to you.”

“You’re far too generous, Lady Leira,” Adeline said.

“See you tonight,” Leira said, fluttering her fingers as she strode out of the shop. Fucking hell.