Folding the Sky

-6-

The sun was barely up and Zuri was still somnolent; she could've been dreaming, for all she knew, truly back in her bed even as Celandine's gates glittered like stardust in front of her.

The difference was stark. Behind her was a mundane reality: unremarkable buildings in shades of brown and beige, weeds reaching up through the cracks in the cobblestone, beggars and vendors alike crowding the streets and filling the air with their dull conversations. Ahead of Zuri, on the other hand, was an entirely different universe. Through the bars of Celandine's gates she could see the massive stretch of the castle's lawn, the grass a lush, deep emerald, split down the middle by a brook so clear it could be glass. And up ahead, disappearing into a plume of perfectly fluffy white clouds, the immaculate white spires of Celandine stretched endlessly into the sky.

"You've never seen it?"

Zuri turned, facing Aldric. Once her father had left for work, she had freed Aldric from his hiding place in her wardrobe and lent him a smock and a pair of her father's breeches. The clothes were a little big on him, but if he stood up perfectly straight, they didn't look so awful. "Celandine?" Zuri asked, and Aldric nodded. "No, of course not. It's not made for people like me."

"People like you?"

"Not royal. Not a famous assassin. Not anything special," Zuri elaborated, plucking at her skirts. She'd picked one of her best day dresses—a jade green, to match the magnificent gardens so often rumored about. "You know. Ordinary."

Aldric, to Zuri's surprise, let out a small scoff. "You?" he said. "Ordinary? You plucked memories straight from my brain. I'm not sure there's anything ordinary about that."

Zuri exhaled, her eyes lowering towards the ground. "Well, you know what I mean."

"No," said Aldric. His voice was different now; the mirth was fainter. "I don't think I do."

Zuri gazed at him then, one careful eyebrow lifted. A light spring wind blew by, blowing Aldric's hair back from his face. Zuri had the strange, invasive thought that his hair rippled much like the sea.

"Zuri!" A voice called then, making both her and Aldric jump, and Zuri whirled to find Jem striding down the walk, Chike not far behind her.

"What a wonderful morning," said Jem. She, too, was in her best clothes, it seemed: black pants starched and without wrinkles, a blouse that narrowed at the waist, rubies glinting at her throat and dangling from her ears. "A good day to die, if I had to pick."

Chike blanched noticeably, tugging on his collar. "That joke's getting a little old, Jem."

Jem, however, ignored this. Her interest had shifted towards Aldric instead, who gave her a shy but respectful wave. "I suppose you were right then, Zuri," said Jem. "He did come back."

Aldric frowned at Zuri, but Zuri just shrugged. "I know," she said. "I know a lot about how the mind works, after all."

"You're the tailor, aren't you?" Aldric said, stepping forward, one hand extended towards Chike. Chike hesitated a beat before he shook it. "I guess you've heard by now why I needed that uniform."

"Unfortunately," said Chike, with a brief glimpse at Zuri. "I could've gotten arrested, you know."

"My apologies," Aldric said, inclining his head. "I'd just heard that you were the very best in town. I didn't want to trust anyone else with my request."

Chike raised an eyebrow at the assassin. "Are you actually telling the truth, or are you flattering me?"

Aldric considered it for a moment. "Both, technically?"