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His guilt renewed, he sank back onto his bench, shaking his head Starling had won this encounter He had baited Cade and gotten him to speak Cade added it to the litany of failures he repeated in his an pulled the supple boot on It was close in lossy and lacked wear The stitching of the sole and seams were too perfect, and she supposed if the mechanicals of this time could weave cloth, they could also make boots
The empire may have made the boots, but the uniform was hers, meticulously cleaned and mended If one did not look closely, it appeared as whole as if it had not seen duty in Blackveil Forest and then been brought forward a couple of centuries into the future Unfortunately, Dr Silk had not seen fit to return to her the bonewood, the feather of the winter owl, the mirror shard, or uess they were locked away for further study
She did not understand Dr Silk’sher her uniform to wear, but it only made her feel more herself and ready to stand up to the empire, ready to face whatever caht to be, Lorine’s expression was a mix of respect and consternation, but Arhys’ reaction proved huhed
"You look very funny," Arhys said "Funnier than when you were dressed like a boy"
"Hush, Arhys," Lorine said "Miss Goodgrave--I s were different back then, and so was the style of dress"
Arhys laughed again "That is no dress!" She herself wore a lovely dress with layers of skirts that were frilled with ribbons No doubt it was a gift from Dr Silk
Karigan smiled, aan’s identity, there was no longer any reason to hide it, so she and Lorine had tried to explain her origins to the girl, who had been naturally curious about the uniform Arhys, however, was predictably unier, she declared, "There has never been a king Only the e’s bloodline But what Arhys believed to be true,
After what Karigan assuuards appeared at the door to escort her away They did not ust in their eyes
"Where are we going?" she asked
They did not answer, but pushed her along whether or not she kept up her pace She thought ain, but they struck off down a grand corridor of old, frescos and statues Oddly, a channel of water originating fro the corridor, over a pebbled bottom Trout darted from shadow to shadow With all the fountains, and the palace located on an island in a lake, not to mention all the canals in Gossham, it became apparent to her that sorown up on the coast, Karigan was fond of water herself, but she could never have iree for transportation, commerce, and decoration She supposed it was one detail of h she did find the fountains and this indoor stream pleasant, under otherwise unpleasant circurander, and busier as they went on, the ceilings higher, the art es of dragons, horses, and le in relief, much like the doors at the palace’s main entrance Dr Silk waited there with his aide, Mr Howser He surveyed her through his dark specs, and she wondered what his nacreous eyes took in Did her aura show the sareen as her uniform?
"Well, well, well," he said Excite artifact of an earlier tian scowled She had not liked such inferences from the professor, and she liked the on?" she demanded "I take it there is a throne roo to officially present you to the emperor and his inner circle Sadly, since he has seen you already, the ele, but the uniforht That’s why he wanted me to have it
"My dear Miss G’ladheon," he said, "between acquiring you and the Eletian, and giving you to the emperor, my status in the ereat Preference, perhaps even exceed iven the Eletian to the emperor already?"
"Oh, no, no He is not presentable yet, and it does not hurt to wait a day or two It will only prolong and reinforce the ean was relieved Lhean had not been "given" yet, whatever the giving ood in any case As for herself, she detested being regarded as a coiven and received
"Now let me have a look at you toup and down, brushing nonexistent lint off her sleeve Karigan crossed her ar even more like a co presented at auction She was relieved he didn’t check her teeth
When he finished his inspection, he stood before her "Do not speak unless directly addressed Reood behavior"