Nooma tried her best to keep flashing that endearing smile, but it cracked under the weight of Lucinda’s patronizing. “Of course, milady,” she said. The seamstress grasped the girl by the wrist and led her deeper into the store. When she stopped Adelia before one of the mannequins, the girl wasn’t quite sure what was happening.
“Well?” the seamstress asked. “What do you think?”
Adelia looked around before her eyes settled on the dress. “You’re joking. I can’t wear this.”
Finally, the seemingly indomitable mirth of the tailor was tested. She placed her fists on her hips and frowned at her would-be customer. “And why not?”
The young magi pinched the gorgeous blue fabric between her fingers, running her hand down the length of it. “This is far too beautiful for me.”
That smile sprung back into place upon Nooma’s face. “Your lady doesn’t seem to think so. Would you like to try it on?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I—”
A giggle escaped the tailor’s lips. “You misunderstand, miss. You must try it on. Asking was merely a formality. I can’t make the alterations without you standing in the thing.”
Adelia blushed and looked to the floor. “I’ve never had the opportunity…”
The seamstress was already waving her hand. “I’ll not hear it. Today, you’re a noble girl, as far as my eyes see.” She worked at lifting the dress off the mannequin, and dangling from her hands, the attire seemed longer.
When she handed it to Adelia, the girl grasped it with the gentlest touch.
“You don’t have to be so careful with it. I made it quite durable. So you’ll just head right in there and try it on. Do you need any help getting into it?”
Shaking her head, Adelia still couldn’t rid the warmth from her cheeks. She walked into the dressing chamber as though it was the gaping maw of some long-dead beast. When the seamstress pulled the burgundy curtains shut, Adelia let loose a deep sigh. After a few moments of fretful reflection, her cream and faded blue outfit lay in a heap on the floor, and she picked the lavish gown off the stand before her.
“You know, you need not suffer in silence,” the tailor insisted. “Is everything going all right in there?”
“It’s fine,” Adelia squeaked. She lifted her outfit over her head and squirmed into it. As the cobalt blue draped over her skin, she was surprised to see the slit that went up her left leg. She gasped, and when she sensed the tailor’s concern, she bowed her head in shame. “I think I’ve ripped it.”
Nooma pulled the curtain aside and scrutinized every fiber of the dress. When she didn’t immediately notice anything, she looked to the girl, whose eyes remained fixed on that slit. Adelia looked mortified, but when the seamstress followed that fretful gaze, she couldn’t halt herself from a fitful bout of laughter.
“What is it?” Adelia asked. “What have I done?”
“Nothing, dear girl,” the woman said after regaining her composure. “That slit is meant to be there. It’s supposed to make you look appealing. You look gorgeous in it, if I do say so myself. And it fits you wonderfully. It’s as though I made it just for you!”
They both heard the footsteps that drew near to them then. When Adelia noticed Lucinda, her cheeks felt flush again.
“Oh, marvelous,” the sorcerous cooed. “I couldn’t have imagined it any better. Amazing how well both outfits fit, don’t you think?” Lucinda looked to her side and rolled her eyes. She reached out and pulled at the lad, drawing him closer. “What do you think of Merlin?”
Adelia’s eyebrows raised as she beheld the former cat. Merlin wore an ensemble that also featured a fair amount of blue, but leather bracers, gloves, boots, and a belt offset that color nicely. It all came together with a white shirt and brown slacks beneath his tunic.
“It’s uncanny,” Nooma said. “I’m lucky if one of my outfits is a perfect match in a week. To have two perfectly fitting pieces in one day…this must be a sign of good fortune.”
“And what a time to have it,” Lucinda said. “I find we’ll be able to get to the celebration with plenty of time to spare. Miss Nooma, you’ve clearly outdone yourself.”
The seamstress offered up her becoming smile. “Perhaps too much. My prices are meant to include whatever alterations I make. I’ll make adjustments to—”
“Perish the thought,” Lucinda bade. “You’ve made a perfect dress—two perfect outfits. You should be commended for your efforts, not punished.” She dangled a pouch in front of Nooma and dropped it in her hands when she was ready. “You’ll find it’s all there, plus a little something extra.”
“Oh, thank you, Lady Maray. You don’t know how much this means to me. That one of my dresses will be in the palace tonight… it’s worth more than the gold, you see...”
“I understand completely,” the plump sorceress agreed. “Come along now, children. We have places to be.”
As Adelia stepped out of the dressing room, she passed a glance at the tailor, who wore an impossibly wide smile. “Thank you so much. I won’t forget you.”
“And I shall remember you. It looks beautiful on you. I hope it serves you well tonight.”
“While there’s still daylight, Adelia,” Lucinda called out.
The girl gave a polite curtsy and followed her companions. The sorceress was already out the door, her pace once again surprising. Adelia shut the door behind her and hurried to keep up.
“I thought we had plenty of time,” she said when she drew near.
Lucinda nodded. “Yes, of course. But we still need to collect our invitations and our new identities.”
“But we didn’t waste any time having the outfits altered.”
“Which makes up for the coin collecting mission you two went on,” she teased. “In truth, though, some alterations were needed.”
“These pants were a little snug,” Merlin confessed.
Adelia’s brow furrowed. “Does that mean my—”
“No, of course not,” Lucinda said. “Your dress truly is a flawless fit, although…” She stopped and looked over the girl, humming to herself. “It needs a little something extra. Perhaps this button…” The sorceress flicked her finger toward the girl, and the button that cinched the dress together above her left breast opened, revealing a vibrant pink flower. As it bloomed, some smaller purple flowers took shape around it, embellishing the statement. “Much better. That’ll do nicely.”
“I don’t know, Lucinda,” the aspiring arcanist said. “This all feels like too much.”
The sorceress arched an eyebrow and flashed a wry grin. “Oh, trust me, dear, you’ll fit in nicely. But you’re not the one we want them to look at anyway. After all, you need to bring our transformed friend here to find this Orson. I’ll handle distracting these rich folks as only I can.”
“Debauchery?” Adelia ventured in jest.
“Now you’re getting it!”
Several minutes later, they walked up the path to the apothecary. When Lucinda jiggled the doorknob, she found that it did not protest. As they made their way inside, they realized they were not alone. Reya sprung up from the counter, a scowl upon her face. She took three steps forward and whipped a thick, ornate card forward.
“You’re late,” she spat. “I should have been at the palace a half hour ago.”
“We had some unexpected delays along the way,” Lucinda said. She stepped aside, allowing her companions to enter the building as well. The sorceress looked at Reya’s invitation, noting every single nuance on the card.
The lieutenant watched Adelia and Merlin’s entrance, and her eyes flashed for a moment. “I’ll have to commend you. You all certainly look the part. But these two look as comfortable in their appearance as a horse in stripes. The other guards will make you right away.”
“You let me worry about the guard, Lieutenant,” the sorceress declared. “Now, about my pseudonym…”
“The guest from as far away as I could find is one Hortencia Lorell. I don’t think anyone wil
l know the difference between the two of you. I don’t think anyone’s ever seen her at all—not even the magistrate. He just hoped she’d send a ‘no’ and a gift for his precious daughter.”
“Well, he’ll be quite surprised indeed when she brings that gift in person.”
The lieutenant arched her eyebrow. “And how do you expect to get in without an invitation of your own?”
“Oh, I could show you, but it would involve magic. Are you sure you could be privy to such things?”
Even Adelia bore a mischievous smirk.
Reya shook her head and snatched her card back from the sorceress. “I suppose I should arrive at the palace before you lot show up. Wouldn’t want to be affiliated with you, after all.”
“We shall see you there,” Lucinda called out in a sing-song voice as the guard passed between her companions. She hummed a bit when they had been left alone and passed alternating glances at Adelia and Merlin. “Now then, do you want to see how a sorceress gets herself into an invitation-only event?” She reached into her sizable cleavage and pulled out a rolled piece of parchment. Unfurling it, she shook it for a few moments to help straighten it out. Then, in one final motion, she clapped her hands together around it. A flat, white card was left in its place, with all the frills and ornate trim upon it that was on Reya’s. She held it out before her, showing the aspiring arcanist her success. Sure enough, the name upon the card read Hortencia Lorell. “This should do nicely,” she said, before laying it down upon the counter. “Now, there’s just one more thing…”
A snap of Lucinda’s fingers filled the whole place with an intense white light. When it subsided, her companions noticed a few extra flourishes on the sorceress’ attire. Broad, tall plumage extended behind Lucinda’s collar, rising taller than her head. Her purple dress had far more embroidery on it as well, with threads of silver and gold accentuating every crease and curve. A frilly poof on her posterior completed the look, and she shook her rump for good measure to make certain she was content.
Lucinda bore a smile that only she was capable of when she looked at her companions. “Now then, who is ready for a celebration?”
Chapter Seven: Touch of the Wild
She walked with poise and purpose, her head held high. Adelia smiled, considering it was most definitely not Lucinda’s first time sneaking into a party, even of that magnitude.
The sage’s pupil and the transformed feline did not need to worry about duplicating that sense of importance. They had their own roles to play, leading a quartet of stunning white horses to the drawbridge that led to the place.
Fireworks routinely shot off the roof of the building, a rare commodity Adelia had only seen once before in her life. Those colorful explosions reflected off the water, catching her attention. She almost walked past the sorceress who presented the piece of stationery to the guards.
“Ah, Lady Lorell,” one of those ornately garbed officers said. “My apologies, but you don’t appear to be on the guest list.”
“I neglected to send back my reply,” she responded with a deep and pretentious air. “Why send one of my wards back and forth and risk a lame horse or a broken wheel? No, if I was on my way no matter what, two trips from such a distance would be torture on the poor lad.”
“I understand, my lady,” he enunciated. “But we’re under strict orders to—”
“Do you mean to tell me you do not have a complete list? I am to believe other folk who are beneath conversation by frilly cards have all been turned away?”
The guard swallowed away his unease and flipped through his parchments. “Well, I do have a list of people who declared they would not be attending, but I—”
“Make some room, dear boy.” She sidled up next to the man and leaned forward to look at the document, bending far enough to overtly demonstrate how well she filled her dress. Her lips moved imperceptibly, and she pointed to the parchment.
“Ah, there it is,” he said. “My mistake, my lady. I hope you can forgive me for an honest mistake.”
Lucinda nearly jumped back, for he hadn’t been distracted by her sizable assets, nor had she the time to enact a simple spell. “Water under this very bridge,” she offered.
“But…” he went on, “it doesn’t say anything about guests.” He pointed toward Adelia and Merlin.
The faux Hortencia rolled her eyes. “They are not guests; they are my attachés. Of course, they’re doing menial work by tugging along those fine horses, but you would expect me to travel alone? Even at events like these—especially at events like these—there are bound to be scoundrels about. If you are telling me I must forego my very safety, I regret to inform you you’ll have to deliver the news that you turned me away at the gates, along with the four beautiful horses to go to Ivan’s lovely daughter.”
“You’re right, madam,” he said. “I am sorry.” He took his quill and scribbled through Hortencia’s name, before flashing a smile at the woman. “Please, enjoy the festivities.”
“And you, handsome lad, I hope you will earn some respite inside as well. Seek me out for a dance, will you?”
He stammered for a bit, and Lucinda grasped his arm before proceeding onto the bridge. She snapped her fingers, urging on her companions.
Adelia and Merlin continued along, tugging on the bridles of those four “horses” as they went. Merlin was tasked with the unrulier pair, and as they crossed the drawbridge, the young lady stole a concerned glance. Merlin offered no complaints, but he caught that gaze and offered up a sincere smile.
Just then, a firework popped off, shimmering red in the night sky. The former cat’s features were illuminated: his dark hair, his eager eyes, those broad shoulders. The sage’s pupil returned a smile of her own that lasted until they reached the outer courtyard of the magistrate’s palace.
A wide stone road circled those tall fortifications, and guards in full armor patrolled them. Still more walked the walls themselves, every now and then leaning between the merlons to scrutinize the area below.
A guard that stood before the drawn portcullis called out to one of the patrols, who gathered up those faux horses. As they were taken away, Lucinda reiterated that they were gifts for the magistrate’s daughter.
After that, the way was open before them. They stepped beneath the portcullis and through the gate, where a concierge directed Merlin to his left and the women to their right. It was all for show, Adelia understood, for a moment later, they reconvened in the grand hall, which stretched on much farther than she anticipated. The sheer number of people overwhelmed the sage’s apprentice, and she cowered behind her chaperone.
“Are you all right?” Lucinda asked. “Dear girl, you’re shivering. It’s stifling in here, why are you—”
“There’s too many of them,” Adelia squeaked. “There are too many people here. One of them could see me. One of them could—”
It was Lucinda’s turn to interrupt the girl. “Listen to me, child. You are positively safe with me. No one knows who you are, and even if you looked the slightest bit familiar, no one would think twice of you being the same girl you were yesterday. Your secrets are safe here, my little sunflower.” The sorceress stood straighter as her words reverberated back to her. “I won’t let anything happen to you. This is a grand opportunity to enjoy yourself. I’d hate to see it go to waste.”
The sorceress reached over and grabbed Merlin by the arm and tugged him close. An awkward yowl, reminiscent of a noise he would make in his true form, was cut short by the click of Lucinda’s tongue. “There you are,” she said, pushing him closer to Adelia. “Now you have a worthy escort. Go forth and try to find out where our missing apothecary could be.”
Merlin offered up a nervous grin and lifted his arm to his friend. As the tension left her body, Adelia led her hand through the nook of his elbow. Both received a light shove toward the crowd, where they clutched each other tighter.
“So much for playing the part,” the sorceress heard.
She turned and saw the fa
miliar face of her accomplice. “Ah, Lieutenant Reya. How nice to see you here.”
The guard scoffed. “And you, Hortencia.”
“Have you found our friend yet?”
“No, and that’s not all, I’m afraid. It seems several other citizens of Sungarden have gone missing as well.”
“Arrested like Mister Blythe?”
Reya shook her head. “Not that I am aware. If they were taken away, it was without my knowledge.”
As soon as she finished speaking, a blare of trumpets echoed out in that vast ballroom. Lucinda looked ahead to her young companions, who ducked their heads as if they could avoid that noise.
Adelia grabbed hold of Merlin’s arm and didn’t let go once the brass silenced. From across the room, she watched as a dapper gentleman adorned with fine silks and rare furs pressed those in attendance back with his mere presence. He clasped his hands together before him and offered the crowd a lopsided grin.
“I know what you’ve all been waiting for,” he said. “Now, this wouldn’t be a proper celebration without the guest of honor, would it? Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of all of Sungarden, and at the great behest of our wonderful magistrate, Ivan Romsford himself, it is my honor—nay, my privilege—to introduce you to the exquisite young lady of the evening: Prudence Romsford!”
The trumpets began another tune and were quickly accompanied by several stringed instruments as well. As the song played, a petite girl emerged from the shadows of the adjoining room. She seemed to slide forward with as delicate a touch upon the floor as possible, yet she drew before that applauding crowd with poise and the utmost presence. She took the place of the herald and seemed intent to address everyone in attendance with her almost regal gaze.
As her orchestra continued to play, chandeliers were lowered from the ceiling, casting their light upon the lavish gown the magistrate’s daughter wore. She had a tiny frame, but that dress, a shimmering piece of greens and blues, clung tight to her body, accentuating every curve and contour. That fabric fanned out until just below her knees and landed upon the polished floor with a beautiful splayed ruffle. Her feet were hidden behind that turquoise. It also hid her dainty steps, adding to that illusion that she hovered, rather than walked.
Transformed (Ancestral Magic Book 2) Page 6
