Two

Anna tilted her head as the girl escorting her left her alone in a room with a narrow bed that had a long loose shift dress, what looked like a curly sort of butterfly with two very long thin strips of leather trailing off of it, and a long length of fabric that was probably intended to be a shawl like Ibrelle was wearing. 

“Let’s figure this out, shall we?” 

Anna made a face looking for undergarments under the dress. Not seeing any she looked at the other furniture and started opening small drawers and cabinets until she found what looked like short cotton shorts with a drawstring at the waist and a wide strip of cotton with some smocking as well as hook and eye fasteners. She sniffed at them to make sure they were clean and then tried them on. The underwear were slightly loose but worked well tied snugly, and the strip of cloth fit like a long line bandeau bra.

After turning the bra, or what passed for one, around so the fasteners were to the back, she put on the shift dress and worked on tying the belt. It took some time but she managed to loop the leather strips around the curly parts of the butterfly several times until it felt secure before tying the two strips so they dangled. The shawl was more of a challenge and she wished there was a mirror.

No matter how she draped it it kept slipping. “Oh! The belt!” Anna huffed a laugh and tucked one end of the long cloth into the belt, wrapping the cloth over one shoulder and then under her arm around her torso before going over the other arm crossing it over the other shoulder piece and tucking the end into the belt as well.

Playing with it until she felt like things were laying flat and were secure she considered what to do with her hair. Touching it, it was surprisingly no longer damp. One of the drawers had a comb in it and she pulled it out, combing hair before braiding it and then wrapping the end around itself in a bun. 

Someone knocked at the door and she tilted her head, “Who is it?”

It opened and Adphon gestured for her to come out. “Lady…”

“No one told me how you usually wear these here so I did my best. I put my hair up as best I could on my own too but it may not stay, I didn’t see any pins. If it’s not an imposition, are there any shoes I could borrow? I’m not used to walking around barefooted.”

“Of course.” He offered a shallow bow and shouted down the hall, “Has anyone found shoes for the Lady?”

There was some moving around and then he stepped back in with two identical grey canvas lace up shoes with leather on the soles. Looking at them for a moment she tried to figure out which was right and which was left.

“Lady?” Adphon smiled at her. “Are they not to your liking?”

“I was just trying to figure out which was for the right and which was for the left. I haven't seen shoes that weren’t curved with the foot.”

He gave a small laugh, “A wealthy family indeed. These are well made but inexpensive, they are not tailored to anyone’s feet.”

“Oh. So it doesn’t matter which foot they go on?”

“It does not.” He gave another small laugh as she slipped them on and tied them snuggly.

“They feel a little strange but they do fit.”

“Come.” He beckoned and Anna let him lead her through the house.

Several of the girls peeking at her gasped and stared, one or two bobbed curtsies.

At the large door he stopped and gestured to an annoyed looking man on the other side. “Can you walk through this door to greet Lord Wilzaphir Elmaris?”

Putting on a bright smile she walked through the door and the man’s eyes widened. “Lord Wilzaphir Elmaris? It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Anna offered her hand and he grasped her fingers briefly as he bowed.

“I will take you to a more suitable lodging at once, my Lady.” 

“This isn’t an ‘unsuitable’ place, it’s clean and the people were kind enough to lend me clothing.” She glanced back at Ibrelle whose chin had lifted slightly, “I’ll ask to have it all washed and returned. I know it’s an imposition-”

“Keep it, Lady.” Ibrelle smiled warmly. “It’s an honor to have been of service.”

“I appreciate it, deeply. Thank you.” She gave the woman a nod and received a curtsy in answer.

Anna allowed the now sweating man to lead her down to a small carriage and a servant helped her into it. Once she was inside he followed her and sat across from her staring as if she had two heads.

“Is something wrong?”

“You… I was told you bathed in pure water but I hadn’t believed it. Touching you is like touching a shaft of burning sun.”

“Oh! I didn’t realize that. There are a lot of things I don’t know or understand. As far as I know, I’ve always bathed in pure water and I’ve always had pure water to drink.”

“Do you drink anything else?” The man tilted his head.

“Of course. I like tea. Sweetened with honey is nice but I can drink it without-”

“Do you drink wine?”

“Only with food. I don’t like it on its own. I’ve had beer too, that was horrible-”

He barked a laugh and nodded. “Who gave you beer?”

“I had it at the party I wasn’t supposed to go to.” She made a face and he broke into a grin. “It was a kegger some people at the university were throwing and I had been told very clearly not to go to things like that but everyone else was going and it sounded like fun. I didn’t see the harm. My dad is going to ground me when I get home.”

Still grinning, he shook his head. “Why would he send you to be educated outside of his home?”

“Learning with other people has a lot of value. You get other points of view, see other ways of doing things, and some teachers don’t take students outside of the university to ensure they’re playing at a certain level.” She gave a small shrug. “As you improve, the number of people who have anything to teach you becomes smaller and smaller.”

“Understandable.” It was quiet for a moment until he asked, “How would you like to be addressed?”

“Please call me Anna, my family and friends do.”

“May I ask, what is the entirety of your name?” Elmaris smiled curiously.

“Annabella Isabeau Fitzroy-Grenfell. It’s entirely too long. Anna is much easier to manage.”

He chuckled. “Which part is your father's name?”

“My surname, Fitzroy-Grenfell.”

“Ah, here the tradition is that a man’s given name is added to his daughters’ names.”

“My father's name is Alexander Vincent Fitzroy-Grenfell. I’m very grateful our traditions are different. I would have never learned how to spell a name so long.”

Smiling, he nodded, “Mine is longer than yours,” he paused, “Mine holds meaning, does yours?”

“Of course, Annabella means ‘favored grace’ or ‘beloved’, depending on who you ask, Isabeau means ‘pledged to god’, Fitzroy means that one of my ancestors was an illegitimate but acknowledged son of a King who was given that surname by his father, I think it’s a shortening of Fitz-royal, or royal b*****d. That line married into the Grenfells. I had thought Grenfell meant ‘of green fields’ but it’s a derivation of ‘guardian’. I would love to hear about your name as well.” Anna studied his flushed face. “Is something-”

“An auspicious name. You’re certain you’re descended from b******s?”

“From one b*****d, yes.” She shook her head with a smile. “Because his royal lineage was acknowledged, even if he wasn’t in the line of succession, the titles and wealth he got from his father held equal weight to any other noble and he married into the very respectable Grenfells. His descendants carry the double name to show that they are part of the royal line but outside the line of succession.”

Nodding he smiled ruefully, “I understand. I am Orilen Ballanor Haverith Grecaryn Wilzaphir Elmaris.”

She blinked and gave him a wry smile, “An impressively long name. I’m hoping that there is a shortened version you prefer to go by among friends.”

He chuckled, “Orilen. My family and closest friends call me Orilen in private. I invite you to do so, Anna. Taken altogether my name means something like ‘Handsome, wealthy, wise, and devoted, of the generous nobility’. Like yours there is some variation of meaning in the individual names but-Mine may be longer but yours is more auspicious. I would take it altogether to mean ‘Beloved, pledged to the gods, of royal blooded guardians. If your father pledged you to the gods it explains why you’ve been given pure water and bathed in it all your life.” Orilen studied her and then asked, “You play an instrument?”

“I play several. Mainly the harp but I like other string instruments as well. I tend to do best with those for some reason. My mother could play any instrument you put in front of her even if she’d never seen it before. I think that’s why my father fell in love with her and married her. He was slightly disappointed that I didn’t inherit the same amount of talent.”

“I will have the instruments at home tuned for you to play privately. That tends to be something that servants do so you may not wish to volunteer that you play. Why would your father have you learn such an odd thing?”

“Oh, okay. Um,” Anna tilted her head, “I know it tends to be something considered frivolous but my father likes to say things like, ‘Music lends beauty to even the ugliest of moments.’ And ‘A world without music is a world without joy.’ He encourages me to play as well as I can just for the purpose of having the skill. I don’t need to do something useful like try to run a business, he’s put money away for me and I’m set for the rest of my life, but I think he’s hoping for a more business minded child from his second wife. She was trained as an opera singer but she’s very smart and very good with money.” 

Laughing, Orilen shook his head, “How old is he?” 

“Forty-five I think. He married my mother when he was nineteen and nearly got disowned for it. She died when I was ten and he waited almost ten years to remarry. His family is much happier with my stepmom despite how much younger she is.”

“He only had one child with your mother?”

“They had some difficulty even having me. Mom miscarried a few times before I was born and a few times after.”

“Ah. Your mother wasn’t of noble birth?”

“She was an orphan, I have no idea what class of people she came from. That was part of what upset my father's family so much. My stepmom is from a good family and very well educated.”

“Only part? My father would have cut me off until I divorced the woman.”

“The rest was how he did it. He met my mother, and after knowing her for about a month, not introducing her to anyone at all, he eloped with her and then brought her to a large party with nearly all of our family, their friends, business acquaintances, and other very important people, in attendance where he introduced her as his wife.” She paused as Orilen laughed and covered his face. “And they did cut him off. It wasn’t until I was born that they forgave him. I was the first grandchild. They were never more than coolly polite to my mother, though.”

Orilen sighed with a smile on his face. “I suspect I would like him if I met him. How did he survive until they took him back?”

“My mother kept them both fed, clothed, and sheltered with her talents. People paid very well to hear her play. He said he knew she loved him because instead of leaving when he had nothing to give her but affection she stayed and supported him. It took a long time for him to get over her death enough to date.”

The man across from her clapped a hand over his heart, “It’s like a fairytale.”

“If you ask my grandmother it’s a horror story.” Anna made a face and he grinned. “My father is still grilled about whether or not he has anything to announce before every party I’ve ever been to with him. And if he lifts his glass to make a toast you can feel the daggers being stared at him. It’s like the space around him gets physically colder from the disapproval being sent his way.”

Orilen laughed until he was wiping tears away. “I can imagine it. You’re a lovely girl, I imagine your mother was very beautiful?”

“I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as she was. When she entered a room it was like the sun was shining in it and when she left things seemed dimmer.”

He blinked.

“You think I’m exaggerating but I’m not. She was stunning and she had a presence to her that… I don’t know how to explain it. My father's family disliked her on principle but they were always polite to her, as far as I know, and they didn’t publicly snub her when she attended parties with my father. That’s practically miraculous if you know my family.”

“I’ve grown up with tales of gods walking among men, that sounds suspiciously like one of them.” 

“I’m almost certain gods don’t miscarry and die from blood loss.” Anna shook her head.

“Perhaps not.” Orilen gave her a small smile. “I would scold you for attending the party you were abducted from but I understand the desire to go to such things.”

“I have no intention of doing that again. I may not leave the house for a year when I get home.”

He chuckled, “If I were your father I would insist on it as punishment.”

“Then it would be two years, the first year is a reward, the second is punishment.”

Smiling, he leaned back, getting more comfortable, and she glanced out of the window at the dark and the few lighted windows.

“I should have brought the better carriage. Forgive me, but I was certain I was going to meet a charlatan of some kind.”

“I’m not complaining. Considering that I woke up naked in a cell, my circumstances have only been improving. I could still say the same if I were walking next to the carriage, too. I’ve never heard of Doshil and I’m not even certain I could find Lovaria on a map, but people have still been kind and respectful even though all I have is my name.” Anna made a face, “I’ve never thought of myself as ungrateful but I have never felt gratitude the way I do at the moment. I am grateful to be alive, and grateful for the kindness of strangers. I’ll find a way to repay it, I can promise that.”

Nodding, Orilen smiled warmly, “I don’t doubt it. Your father raised a charming daughter. You won’t be offended if some, ah, small tests are arranged? I don’t doubt you but…”

“Not at all, I understand completely. I did want to ask, it was suggested that there are some kind of monsters in a prison underground, the same place I woke up, and that I was kidnapped to feed them? Is this something that happens here? Are people being abducted and fed to monsters?”

Orilen winced and waved a hand. “I hope not. There will be an investigation, most assuredly. The prison is managed by the priesthood of Osros. If that is true, his Majesty will have to do something about it. It would be…”

“I know, unfortunately, I know where I’m from that scandals involving the church are often kept quiet until the point that they no longer can be. No one wants to upset the status quo.”

“What happened with the scandals in…” he gestured broadly.

“It wasn’t just in America, the scandal crossed international borders. I thought everyone was aware. It-”

“That is far, far from here. Even with…” He sighed and covered his face. “They must have decided to take from as far as the hand of Osros could reach.”

“The hand of-”

“It is a device created here in Doshil, it uses the power of those below. It is not to be used except by the Exarch and his council and then only in the most urgent of occasions. They have ceased taking women into the priesthood, there was a scandal about women vanishing.” Orilen covered his face and groaned. “Osros be merciful. They were feeding the sisters to the beasts and now that they cannot…” Sitting up he uncovered his face and studied her. “They will likely not be stopped as long as they only take women from far far away. You are fortunate in that you will almost certainly live and be treated in accordance with your station, but… you will not be sent home.”

Anna stared at him and felt ill. Somehow, even though she was certain that this was a dream and this was part of whatever unhinged plot her brain was cooking up, his words felt like a heavy certainty as if he’d just told her she’d never wake up.

“I will see to it you’re well treated, Anna, but if the alternative is taking girls from here in Lovaria they won’t risk you telling your royal kin in Irocia.”

“What-what if-” she stopped short, realizing he’d said Irocia and not America.

“You could swear on your life not to say a word about it but questions would be raised just by virtue of your disappearance and reappearance.”

Anna, bending and pressing her face to her knees, murmured, “I may be sick. I want to go home.”

“In your position I would want the same. I-I would offer an embrace to console you but even reaching out to touch your hair I can feel the heat coming off of it.”

She didn’t look up and he sighed, “I would be praying as well in your position. We’ll be arriving soon at my house. You’ll meet my wife and you’ll be put into a guest room for the night.”

Everything felt surreal and she stayed bent over, focusing on her breathing, her mind feeling like it was tuned into static, until the carriage stopped and he cleared his throat, “Anna?”

“I want to wake up in the morning and have this all have been a dream. I want to go home to my family.” Slowly she sat up and took a breath that hitched as someone opened the carriage door.

“Perhaps I’m wrong.” Orilen smiled wryly, “Perhaps something can be arranged. If it can’t be, I assure you, your life here won’t be a hardship. Come, I’ll introduce you to my wife.”

Moving slowly, all of her limbs feeling heavy, she followed him out, getting down without help as the servant who had helped her into the carriage kept his distance with a nervous look on his face.

“I would scold you but, I understand.” Orilen gave the man an amused look. “Is my wife-”

“Orilen Wilzaphir Elmaris! What is the meaning-”

“My dear Lady wife!” he beckoned to the red faced woman. “I would like you to meet Lady Annabella Isabeau Fitzroy-Grenfell. She is of a recognized royal lineage, though somewhat irregularly. Lady Annabella, I am pleased to introduce you to my wife, Lady Bririah Inalee Madrika Godrian Vadithas. Lady Annabella is from Irocia, and she has had, ah, a very difficult evening.” 

Anna huffed a laugh and then wiped a tear that had snuck up on her. “Sorry, I’m… the circumstances are awful. ‘A difficult evening’ is the understatement of the year.”

Orilen chuckled, “Come inside, you’ll be settled into a room and perhaps things will be better in the morning.” 

“Her hair is-” Bririah gasped in surprise, drawing her hand back.

“Lady Annabella has been given pure water to drink all her life and she has always bathed in pure water. I didn’t believe it either but touching her is not advisable. Would you humor me, my dear Lady Annabella, and enter my home through the large arch?”

“She-” Bririah’s eyes got impossibly wide as she turned to her husband, “Royalty? Truly?”

Anna moved at his gesture walking under the arch without difficulty and turning back to smile wryly at him. The pair of them came in through the smaller door next to it.

“You’re thinner than I would have expected of-” Bririah stopped herself and flushed.

“Irocia is reputed to favor plump women.” Orilen smiled ruefully.

“Plump in the right places. The ideal changes but currently it’s a large bust, a small waist, and a round rump.” She made a face. “My mother was slender and I did thankfully inherit a little more of a bust than she had from my father's side but I’m far from the ideal, it’s true.”

“You used the belt to emphasize your waist!” Orilen beamed as he looked at her closely.

“That’s what it’s for isn’t it? Wrapping the shawl this way helps to make it seem like I have broader shoulders as well, which helps my waist look smaller. Underclothing with padding in the right places is very common and corsets are coming into fashion to forcibly make the waist as small as possible. The ideal is a waist so small you can put your hands around it and have the fingers touch.” She gestured, touching her thumbs and middle fingers. “I have yet to see someone in person who has that small of a waist, but they say it can be done with the right corset.” 

Bririah’s mouth opened and closed and her eyes were wide. 

“Corsets aren’t as uncomfortable as you’d expect but it is a relief to take them off.” She felt her braid finally give up and fall down her back. “There were no pins for me to borrow so I apologize for my hair being so-”

“You do your own hair?” Orilen ushered her deeper into the house.

“Doesn’t everyone learn to do at least a basic braid? My nanny taught me to braid my dolls’ hair. I can’t do a four strand braid on myself but I can do it on a doll.”

Bririah gave a small laugh. “I did the same as a child. We have two boys and I haven't thought about dolls in… many years.”

“One of the girls at Broad River University brought some of hers. She’s sweet but a little odd. She plays the contrabass flute immaculately.”

Bririah opened her mouth but Orilen put a hand on her arm. “I will explain all of it to you, my dear. Lady Annabella needs her rest.”