the peddler. “Before I dress, I’d like to bathe. Would that be possible?”
The peddler clapped his hands. “We have a Mechani cleaning system!”
“That would be wonderful.” I followed the peddler around the back of the wagon and listened patiently to his instructions. When he left me alone, I hung my new clothes over the fold-out screen they wheeled flat. A bucket of rainwater attached to a hose and a spring of whirling gears. I undressed and wound the handle five times as instructed, until the water ran up the tube and through a spout, falling over my shoulders in a continuous downpour. A small store of ghostlight warmed the water. They were nearly out; perhaps Grigfen could sell them more.
Sell. I was becoming as pragmatic as Lady Dagney. These were my people, and they had a need. It was my duty to fulfill it.
The water was colder than I preferred, and I may have dumped in nearly all the contents of the little soap bottles so the bath was more slime than water, but it was a strongly pleasant scented slime, and for a moment the entire world was safe, and not intent on killing me.
What a novel experience.
“What news?” I could hear Dagney talking to the peddler on the other side of the screen.
“What will you trade me for it?”
She paused. I peered through the crease in the screen. But I couldn’t see her, so she couldn’t see me, which was good considering what I wore.
“Will this ring do?”
“Heartily. I’ve heard rumors of war, my lady. Falidin has been razed by fire, the royal family killed in the night; no survivors remained to tell the tale. Rumors speak of a Savak weapon. Some call it a beast. Some say mechanical. In the night you hear a whir of wings, and then when you wake, whole households have been killed. I saw a ship razed in the harbor with mine own eyes, but never saw the creature that slipped in and killed it. The Savak army has taken the Lacice harbor, and the throne of Talmour. There is hope, though. I hear the Kneult have offered great resistance. A brilliant general has arisen from their ranks, and they face the Savak queen now. We’re heading inland, toward the mountains. May the Undergod keep us safe.”
But the general who faced the Savak wasn’t from the Kneult, as this man believed. It was General Franciv and my parents, I’d bet my life on it.
The council was with the Kneult.
The water slowed to a dripping. Someone had hung a thick white cloth over the wood separator. It gathered shadows as I wiped away any dirt or blood the water did not cleanse.
Still I took my time getting dressed, running my fingers across the embroidery of my tunic, the shining jeweled buttons of the jerkin, and the supple leather boots. I reattached my sword to the new belt, and the gold handle matched perfectly. I’d missed the trappings of the court. I’d missed the civilization of a pressed collar.
The impact was immediate. I stepped outside, and the peddler families saw me differently. Even the children bowed.
But they were bowing to their own clothes. I was the same man in that itchy wool cloak.
“Oh, get up,” Dagney said. “He’s not a god.”
I gave her a silly grin. “You’ve not seen me play cards.”
“You’re ridiculous.” But she smiled. I’d learned to read her smile by now. Her words and her expression didn’t always match, but she saw me the same way, no matter what clothes I wore.
She didn’t see the crown. She saw me.
She raised an expressive eyebrow and her green eyes sparkled in the afternoon sun, and I wanted to giggle and be sick all at the same time.
Oh light. I was in trouble. I liked her. But how did you talk to a girl who you actually liked? And where did you put your hands? Like in general I had forgotten how a normal person held their hands. On your hip? No, that looked ridiculous. I’d fold my arms. That was fine. That was very natural.
Her nose crinkled. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Nothing. Excuse me. I’m going to see a man about a horse.”
“Good idea.”
She was following me. Why was she following me?
“Grigfen!” Dagney shouted.
I glanced back. The afternoon sun lit the ghostlight Grig had made for the Whirligig to pick up, much to the children’s delight. His eyes widened when he saw my expression. He joined us.