She was born Princess Gwenwyn Helena Anannet Egger, first-born child of the Great King Heralf, ruler of the Militant Kingdom of Rramnon. Shortly after her sixteenth birthday, Gwenwyn's father sent her to the Trade Kingdom, Terrafeuw, with a very spe...
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Chapter 26 - Dressed Up
Things were progressing well.
It felt odd to think of relaxing given the situation she currently found themselves in, however, Gwen couldn't help breath a sigh of relief.
Her hands grasped ahold of her morning tea as she stared out of the open window of the Olive room with content.
Mryah, on the other hand, fretted boisterously behind her. "What does one even wear when going to port?" She asked for the third time that morning. "What about this one?" She asked, but she rejected it as too frilly before Gwen even had a chance to turn around and offer advice.
"You seem anxious." Gwen deduced, smirking at her lady-in-waiting.
"Anxious, is entirely the wrong word for what I'm feeling right now." Mryah chastised, causing Gwen's smirk to morph into a grin. "What I'm feeling," the girl continued, "is frustration. I'm completely frustrated. After leaving me in dirt, literally, he has the gall to request my presence on a visit to the port. No, explanation, no apology, no rhyme or reason at all."
"Perhaps he just needs your advice on a purchase?" Gwen offered.
"And!" Mryah ranted not even hearing the remark, "he does this knowing fully well that I don't have a chaperone, nor do I have a proper gown for such an occasion. As if I wasn't already mad after he destroyed my hat. The nerve." She huffed and glared at Gwen's bed where an array of lovey summer dresses lay sprawled out with matching accessories.
"As I recall you rather hated that hat."
Mryah waved her off.
"I'd offer you one of mine," Gwen prompted slyly knowing how Mryah would react, "but I'm not sure there's enough time to let out the hem."
"I do not have the status to wear one of your dresses. Think of what the spies might say."
"Well one of us should," Gwen stated, glaring at her Rramnon wardrobe, "I absolutely detest most of them now." She played with the hem of the Terrafein dress that Frederick had commissioned for her. It was a soft yellow, with loose skirts that played on the late summer breeze. She adored the way the Terrafien silhouette hugged her, but she didn't need a full wardrobe of them Still, the plan had Frederick poised to play the doting courtier and the best way to get that message across was to lavish the princess with gifts.
Specifically, Terrafein gifts. Every gift she received from him was made within the borders of Terrafeuw, not acquired from one of the trade ports.
She hoped being a model for local Terrafein craftsmanship would soften original bias against her. The results from the common citizens and the local merchants were increasingly positive. The nobles were proving harder to sway.
Still, it felt like a waste of fabric to just leave the many layers of her Rramnon dresses in the closet, unused. Perhaps she could find a way to repurpose them.
Another loud sigh from her lady-in-waiting pulled Gwen's thoughts back to the present.
"If you don't hurry you'll be late." She warned.
Mryah was never a difficult person to read, but this morning was certain she could read the girl's thoughts. She was nervous.
"How did I let you talk me into this?"
"I did nothing of the sort. You're the reason we were able to identified the recipient of all those letters." Gwen reminded. "Surely you can handle a simple morning trip to the port."
"But I didn't do anything heroic." Mryah insisted. "My foot got caught in a vine. The fall bruised my elbow. It was just three days after I got that annoying plaster off. Plus, I ruined one of my favorite hats."
"You hated that hat." Gwen repeated.
"It's all that infuriating Creatin's fault."
And there it was. Gwen was wondering when she'd finally say his name.
"He just left me there, all alone, in the dirt."
"He unmasked a third informant."
But Mryah wasn't listening, "I was completely embarrassed, my hair was completely disheveled, my dress had to be patched, and my hat was beyond repair."
"Was it his leaving that infuriated you, or was it his lack of respect for that odious hat? Gwen inquired.
"I believe I liked it better when you only spoke a handful of words a day, Highness."
"Now you listen, to me?"
Mryah waved her off and went back to trying to find an appropriate dress for the outing that she definitely not nervous about.
At this Gwen, returned to her tea.
Mryah's fall had apparently occurred right when the formerly unidentified person was collecting Gwen's correspondence from the hole of a maple tree at the far edge of the East Garden. Creatin had set up eyes to watch the tree non-stop while he'd been on Patrol, but no one suspicious had been noted. That was because the informant had known the guard rotations.
Mryah's scene had taken Guard Bingham by surprise, and Creatin, just two days back in the Capital, witnessed him removing the letter from the tree.
Unfortunately he had completely ignored Mryah and went to report it, and she hadn't taken kindly to that.
Currently, no action was being taken against the aging guard of First. Creatin was having Bingham watched by rotating members of Two, since Nine went on Patrol.
"That's it," Mryah sighed in defeat. "This is the best I can offer."
Gwen turned in her chair and smiled at her friend. She was wearing the same pale blue dress she had started in, but she had added orange accents with her hat and parasol.
"You look lovely." She commented, "and appropriate for the location and season."
Mryah fluffed her skirt, sheepishly.
"Do you need a chaperone to the foyer?" Gwen wondered.
All nervousness disappeared from the lady-in-waiting. "No need to bother your breakfast, Highness. It's just a trip to port."
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