I picked out one of the capes when she indicated which pile they were in, and found a perfect replica of the deep green garment with silver trim that Birt had shown me only a short while ago. Across the front were the three thin horizontal bands that denoted a sergeant’s rank, with a downward pointing sword insignia above, both of which were stitched in white. But unlike all the other capes, the insignia was duplicated on the back of the cape as well, where the downward pointing blade graced the center of the cape’s rich fabric.
“The sword represents your willingness to fight for what you believe in,” Nentai explained her choice. “But its blade is not raised up in aggression—instead, it points away, signifying your preference for peace. The green background symbolizes all of Arrika, or at least its potential should you succeed. It was… fortuitous that you chose that color for yourself.”
“It’s perfect! This is all so considerate of you,” I replied as I continued to look over the piles of cloth. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’ve done for me.”
“Well,” Nentai winked at me as she began to shimmer. “Next time I see you, perhaps you’ll at least try.”
With that final almost playful jab, Nentai vanished from my room and returned to wherever it was that the Goddess went when she wasn’t showering me with gifts. I took a moment to look through the piles to see just what she had brought, but it was simply too much, and I gave up the search.
The one thing I did have sorted out were the capes for my personal guard. So, after a quick search through them, I stuffed the two large bundles into the pockets of my cloak and stepped back inside my office.
“The four of you are with me,” I commanded the guards on duty.
“But, Dreya Sintári, Commander Tási ordered us to remain here,” one of them protested.
“I’m sorry, sergeant Rhia,” I replied to the human woman with feigned indignation. “Did Tási get a promotion that I wasn’t aware of? Because the last time I checked, I outranked the Commander. Significantly.”
The four of them cringed and then quickly fell in line beside me as I marched out of my quarters and gathered up every guard I came across on my way back to the barracks once more. It was my third trip to the guard’s domain that day, more than I had ever had to visit them before, but every time it had been for a matter of some importance, and this was no exception. The entire room turned to face me as I walked in on them yet again.
“I just had a visit from an old friend,” I started to explain as I pulled out the first bundle and placed it on one of their tables. “She’s graced you with a gift to honor your station.”
“Step forward, Commander Tási,” I called out as I out pulled the first of the capes I had sorted through.
“Your Robes serve well enough to identify you, so I’m not sure how often you’ll be wearing this,” I said as I draped the green mantle across her shoulders. “But it’s yours, nonetheless.”
She looked over the fine cape I had placed on her and brushed her fingers over the Commander’s rank and insignia that decorated the front of it as I called out to Ella next.
One by one I called my guards forward by rank and placed their capes on them. When I had finally bestowed the last of them, there was still a small pile left for any future recruits to wear. Once those were distributed, we would need to rely on more traditional means for our needs, but Nentai’s gift would serve us well for some time.
“Sergeant Rhia,” I turned to her once my task was complete. “You seem to have no problem speaking up; please go let Birt know that we won’t be needing any capes for your unit for some time. And while your dashing about, see if you can locate the chamberlain. I need to deliver a few packages to him as well.”
Rhia flushed with embarrassment as she snapped a quick salute and promptly marched off, and I followed close on her heels as I returned to my quarters once more to await Lelan’s arrival.
As soon as the guards made sure my rooms were clear, I took a seat behind my desk and shuffled through the pile of reports while I waited. I had barely gotten through a quarter of the stack when Rhia returned with Lelan by her side, and while the sergeant resumed her post, Lelan offered me his greeting.
“Dreya Sintári,” Lelan began as he inclined his head slightly. “The sergeant informs me that you have something to deliver to me.”
“Somethings, to be precise,” I replied as I gestured to the many bundles of green cloth that I had the guards bring out into the office. “These are banners and pennants that bear my sigil, designed for me by Nentai herself. They will also serve as the mark of our Realm. I need you to see that they are distributed and displayed accordingly.”
“I... I will attend to it immediately,” Lelan fumbled for the first time that I had ever noticed. Receiving the bounty of a Goddess’s gift was a rather auspicious occasion, so I let him off without one of my usual comments. But I wasn’t done with Rhia yet.
“Sergeant,” I said as I caught her eye again. “Why don’t you help the chamberlain with these heavy bundles?”
I heard her fellow guards chuckle softly as I continued to needle Rhia. But she had made the unfortunate mistake of singling herself out and would very likely be the target of my petty tormenting until someone else was either careless or stupid enough to take her place.
Rhia gripped a bundle in each hand as Lelan led her away, and I retreated to my private rooms, leaving the guards with strict instructions that Rhia was not to return to her post until all the packages had been delivered to the chamberlain. It was a bit petty of me, but sometimes I felt the need to have a little fun with the people around me so that they wouldn’t treat me like I wasn’t a real person anymore.
The fear that I would become some sort of detached ruler who lost touch with what it was like to just be a regular person haunted me at times. It was the reason why I still insisted on going on my tours of the Realm from time to time and talking to the people who made everything possible. After all, who is a soldier or even a King without the farmer who feeds him? I needed that connection, that tether to reality to keep myself grounded. Without it, I was afraid that I might lose Dreya the person and become only the mythical Sintári. I never wanted to turn into some disconnected figure like that, separated from reality, and one of the ways I sought to prevent that from happening was by making sure that I never stopped engaging with the people around me. Even if it was only to have a bit of fun with them at times.
Those were the last few moments of peace I had for the next four and a half days. The rest of my time was taken up by all the decisions that needed to be made and matters that required my personal attention for an occasion of such magnitude. It was a relief to finally hear Bane’s words echo inside my head in the afternoon of that final day.
The King’s escort approaches the Garrison, my Sintári.
While I wasn’t supposed to meet the dwarven King until later that evening when his Ambassador would make the formal introductions, I snuck into Evans’ Headquarters to observe his arrival. His soldiers would be the first representatives of my Realm that the King would see, and The First Marshal had taken great pains to make sure that his troops made a good impression.
The pennants and banners Nentai had given me fluttered in the breeze and draped down the garrison walls, and elven archers, human warriors, and stout dwarven fighters lined the parapets as the King’s men approached. The fighters were all clad in their Khelduin plate, and the gleaming metal shone brightly in the sunlight. Outside the exit to the tunnel that led into the Garrison, an honor guard of soldiers stood at attention in their shining armor and bright red capes. Wenda had worked like a demon to make sure we had enough of the garments, and their crimson accents lent a majestic air to the soldiers’ formation.
The dwarves from Dhel-Ar emerged from the passageway and into the Garrison in orderly rows, surrounding their King who walked calmly in the center of their ranks. But as he walked further along, and took in the soldiers that lined the road, I saw his jaw drop as
he finally recognized the metal of their armor.
To his credit, the King quickly recovered, and the rest of his furtive glances were far more discreet as he examined the Khelduin plates that my soldiers wore. But the damage had already been done, and I knew that our efforts to impress the dwarven monarch had succeeded. The only question that remained was, had our display made us an ally or an enemy?
The sight of so much of the rare metal could have inspired the King to support our cause. Or, just as easily, motivated him to try and take the precious metal from us. I would most likely have to wait until our meeting the next day to have any idea which direction that pendulum had swung, so all I could do was hope. We had put our best foot forward; the next step was up to him.
Once the King had passed, Bane landed as stealthily as possible behind the building, and I climbed on his back for a quick ride back to the Palace. We should have been able to get back well ahead of the King’s procession, and I wanted to see how his arrival went there as well. Once I wrapped my arms around his neck, Bane took off, and we headed for one of the Palace’s upper-level balconies.
Even though it was a short trip, I was petrified the entire time we flew back, and clung to Bane as if my life depended on it—which it actually did. Bane had only become comfortable even trying this a short while before, and we hadn’t had many opportunities to figure things out. In fact, my flight back to the Palace was only the third trip we had ever attempted. Luckily, we landed safely, and I practically leapt off his back the second his feet hit the ground.
That may be about as far as I can carry you, Sintári, Bane said as he shook out his tired wings.
‘Good! Because that may be about as far as I want to fly, Bane,’ I sent back to him while I peered over the edge at the approaching column of dwarves.
From our high vantage, I could see a group of white-caped soldiers standing at attention as the dwarves passed into the fortress itself. In order to project the right image, we had appropriated a few of the Garrison soldiers and assigned them to positions in the fortress and Palace for the duration of the King’s stay with us. My entire Cabinet, Evans included, felt it would be best to at least have a token force in place in both locations to impress our guests. So, as the King’s escort made their way from the fortress grounds and into the Palace itself, they were greeted by not only the blue-caped Palace forces and Ministry guards, but also several emerald-clad guards from my own personal retinue.
I knew from our planning sessions that Broda and the chamberlain would greet the King when he arrived inside, but he vanished from my view as soon as he passed under the large archway below, and I was unable to observe their meeting. It was well enough that I ended my observations there—I still needed to get ready for the grand reception and also prepare myself for Tási’s ire when she saw the dress that I had Birt make for her. So, once the dwarven King disappeared inside, I rushed back to my quarters to get ready for the evening’s festivities.
“You did this!” Tási glared at me as she made her accusation the second I entered the room.
As she scolded me, she held the blue fabric of the dress Birt had made for her in her hands and shook the folds of it at me in anger.
“I can’t wear this,” she declared. “It’s… its.”
“Beautiful? Amazing? Incredible?” I offered when she couldn’t come up with the words she wanted.
“It will look wonderful on you,” Wenda added as she stood by.
“You really have no choice but to wear it,” I added.
“You didn’t warn me that you told Birt to change the design,” Tási complained as she sunk down to sit on the bed in defeat.
“She’s not the only one,” Rhia muttered from her guard post.
Tási shot the sergeant a glare, and I looked at Rhia in confusion until Wenda gave up the game.
“I’m not only here to deliver the gown,” Wenda explained. “Tási’s asked me to do your makeup, and Rhia will be putting your hair together.”
“What?” I objected. “I don’t want any makeup, and why does Rhia need to do anything with my hair?”
“I promise it will look fantastic,” Rhia chimed in again. “My mother was a hairdresser, and she taught me her craft when I was growing up.”
“And I’ve often done the faces of the ladies who bought dresses from my husband,” Wenda assured me. “You’ll look fabulous.”
“If you let them do their work, I’ll put on this dress you’ve cornered me into,” Tási relented. “If you refuse, I’m going to go to your little reception in my uniform instead.”
“You’ll both get what you want,” Wenda coaxed.
“She gets made up too,” I countered as I glared at Tási.
“Of course,” Wenda consented.
“Wait,” Tási objected. “I didn’t agree to that!”
“You didn’t think that I was going to neglect you once I fixed her up, did you?” Wenda turned on Tási.
“I can get started on her hair while you do Dreya Sintári’s make up,” Rhia said as she stepped away from her post and grabbed a small case off one of the tables. Tási realized that she had been completely caught in her own trap and offered no resistance as Rhia began arranging her locks and pinning up her hair.
While Rhia set to work on Tási’s hair, Wenda started applying her shades to my face. She had a full kit of powders and bottles of various colors and more tinted lipsticks that I could have ever imagined. But Wenda seemed to be completely in her element as she effortlessly chose from among the many different pigments and applied them to my face. She started with my eyes, and then brushed some powder on my cheeks. I honestly had no idea what she was doing, I had never used any of the products before and simply sat and watched her work on me. When she finally finished, I tried to glance in the mirror to see what she had done, but Rhia immediately jumped in front of me and started fussing with my hair.
As she pinned my tresses in place, I could hear Tási fussing with Wenda, but the woman was having none of it and refused to let her back out of the deal we had made. It seemed to take forever, but when Rhia finally finished arranging my hair to her satisfaction, I tried once more to catch a glimpse of myself but was thwarted yet again.
“I had Tana pull the mirror out of here while I was finishing you up,” Rhia explained when I looked for the glass only to discover that it was missing. “Wenda’s taken Tási in the other room to get her gown on. The two of you can see each other once you’re completely done.”
“Really?” I replied to her in annoyance when she revealed their scheme.
“Let yourself have this little moment,” Rhia responded with a surprising amount of empathy. “You both look positively stunning.”
I realized that this was no accident, Rhia and my guards had conspired with Wenda to set this all up for Tási and me. They had taken the time and effort to arrange a special moment for us, and I would be a fool not to both appreciate and enjoy it.
“I’m sorry, Rhia,” I offered her sincerely. “Thank you for all you’ve done.”
“Don’t thank me now,” she teased. “You haven’t seen what I did to your hair yet.”
“Am I going to want to send you on a few more errands when I do?” I taunted her back.
“No,” Rhia replied more seriously. “You look amazing.”
“Now let’s get you into that dress,” she said as she pulled me to my feet.
It took only a short while for me to shed Melía’s Armor and wriggle into the emerald green gown, and I stuffed the Amulet of Unity into one of the dress’s discreet pockets. The gown fit me just as well as I remembered, and the patterned silk of its skirt flowed with me as Rhia led me out of my room and into the office to be reunited with Tási. I left my chambers and entered the office just a few steps behind Rhia and I almost stumbled the second Tási came into view.
The blue gown Birt had made for her was exquisite. The slightly lighter shade brought out the deep blue of her eyes and made them almost sparkle with life. The sha
de of the fabric wasn’t the only thing that accentuated her features, as the tight bodice flowed along the curves of her body, revealing the woman that almost always hid herself beneath layers of heavy cloth. Like my own gown, Tási’s gorgeous dress left her shoulders bare, and displayed only a trace of her cleavage. And while it was a bit more than she was usually comfortable with, it was nothing out of the ordinary. Although the dress was simply magnificent on her, it was her face that had caused me to nearly lose my step.
Wenda had done an incredible job accenting Tási’s delicate features. Just the barest hint of shadow highlighted her eyes, and the lightest shade of red darkened her lips. Wenda’s subtle technique managed to accentuate Tási’s natural beauty, without it being apparent that anything at all had been done to her.
“If you cry, you’ll ruin all of Wenda’s hard work,” Rhia whispered in my ear as I stood there dumbstruck staring at the beautiful woman in front of me.
Her words broke me from my stupor, and I quickly blinked away the mistiness that had begun to blur my vision. Once I had my wits about me, I immediately rushed over to Tási and took her hands in mine.
“You look… amazing,” I managed to say before I heard my voice crack.
“You too,” Tási choked back to me.
“Stop it, both of you,” Wenda abruptly demanded. “Your entire personal guard is about to burst out in tears, and we simply cannot have that.”
Wenda’s words made me take a quick glance around the room, and as I did, I saw that what she said was true. Rhia had just swiped her hand across her eyes, and Tana and the other pair of guards were blinking away tears as well.
“Sorry about that,” I replied sheepishly as I tried to recover from the emotional moment.
Second Skin: Unified: A litRPG Adventure (Second Skin Book 3) Page 51
