Snowblind {complete}

Solstice- Edict

The solstice arrived, but for Lanna, it was like any other day. She rose, breakfasted with Frez, and Epen came with the orders and deliveries.

The man looked gaunt. He had lost muscle and hardly spoke to either Lanna or Frez. His dark, intelligent eyes appeared emotionless and the pallor of his skin shone near grey under the electric lights. Lanna had at first thought Epen felt marginalised by the connection she and Frez shared. She had mentioned as much to Frez but his blue eyes turned distant.

'What Epen suffers from is for him to endure. If he chooses to share his pain with us, then we will do all we can to help, but if I'm honest, neither of us is qualified to provide much succour to him. We lack the experience required.'

Chowa showed herself briefly to check and prioritise orders, then left to visit clients and prepare for the solstice. The hall, from noble to slave, would celebrate the solstice. The throne room was being filled with flowers. There would be dancing and Lanna would lead her best pupils in a demonstration of their progress to the Emperor.

She felt no anxiety. Her performance couldn't possibly be more daunting than the disastrous dance she had performed for Ceseed. Ashioto would see something much more sanitised and sedate.

The workshop opened its doors and a flood of women entered. The Emperor would return to the women's palace after the ceremony in the Hall of Law. This would be a chance for the concubines to re-establish the order of power or for there to be a change.

Ceseed had sunk a whole platinum coin into a massive order of cosmetics and skin treatments, clearly determined to keep her hold on the Emperor. After all, Ceseed had become favourite after just such a period of absence and the boy emperor was notoriously fickle.

Lanna raced to keep up with the clamouring customers. The press of bodies in the small workshop soon had the Southerners sweating and uncomfortably hot. Lanna could smell her body odour and 'borrowed' a little scent to cover the smell.

The workshop store closed with some disappointed clients; Frez and Lanna hadn't the time to serve everyone. Chowa had anticipated as much.

'If the simpletons leave their preparations to the very night they see as so vital to their elevation, then they do not have the aptitude to move up within this hall.'

Lanna smiled as she scrubbed tables and cleaned the stone floor. Frez melted away to get ready and the shower was free by the time Lanna had banked the furnace for the night.

Frez was waiting when she emerged with only a scrap of towelling wrapped about herself. Chowa had insisted Lanna have new clothes for the event.

Lanna couldn't help but gasp at what she saw laid over her workbench: a dress of green silk. The garment was nowhere near as sophisticated or ornate as what the concubines wore, but that didn't matter. Lanna had never dared to hope she would wear anything of silk. Chowa was sending a message. If Lanna made the right decision, such things would be hers. Lanna knew a blatant temptation when she saw one, but it worked. Beautiful things would tempt anyone.

'Touch it,' Frez said with a chuckle. 'It's yours.'

Trembling fingers, scarred and calloused from a life of gutting fish and exposure to cold winds, picked up the material. Her fingers were never meant to touch such finery and yet they brushed over the garment with careful reverence. If water had a skin, this is what it would feel like. Soft, flowing, undulating.

'Now don't get too giddy when you put it on,' Frez said with a laugh. 'You have to dance and sweat in it.'

Lanna pulled a face and Frez barked another laugh. 'Now sit. If you're going to wear a noble's garb you need a noble's hair.'