White linen draped over every window and chair, stark against the dark wood of the building. Tree branches sprouted from the floor, and on them hung a displays of fabrics. Between the branches stood wooden dress forms. They were clothed in what must be the Autumn court fashions.

Just like Schula wore, there were many loose tunics that tied at the sides. Tight leggings that extended all the way to the ankle were displayed too, either buttoning or lacing against the leg. I looked down at my breeches. They stopped at the top of my calf, then I put on my tall wool stockings and the boots that came to my knees. Schula's boots were shorter. So were Thain's.

"Welcome. What brings you to my humble shop, Master Thain and company?" A tall fae with the nose of a deer and small budding antlers glided over to us. Her nose twitched, like an animal scenting the air around her.

"We're here for this one." Schula pulled me forward. "How soon could we have something ready to meet Baeleon? Nothing too formal, but we need it today."

The tailor's eyes narrowed to me. She seemed to be measuring me with her eyes. "I have many pieces that would fit her with little altering. Yes... I think I have options for you dear. MARIBELL!"A short, panicked fae with black down-feather hair rushed from behind a table of fabric in the back of the store.

"Yes mistress." She halted by the doe female's side.

"Settle this party in the large room. Oh, and bring me the smaller sized collection we recently finished."

"Which pieces ma'am?" The small fae squeaked at the sharp look from her mistress. "Right yes, the new collection. All of it. Right away. Please follow me."

"Hello, Maribell." Schula smiled at the assistant. "Do you remember me?"

"Of course Miss Schula." The petite tailor smiled once we were out of sight of her mistress. "You go through tunics like a growing young male. I'm glad to see you well."

"She is rough on clothes, isn't she?" Thain added, earning an icy glare.Maribell did what she could to contain her smirk, but it still slipped through the cracks. I liked her immediately.

"Here is the large room. Can I send in anything while I gather your clothes? Tea perhaps?" Maribel beamed up at Schula.

"No thank you." She said. "Good luck with Mistress Willow."

Maribell nodded and scurried away. Thain, Schula and I took a seat on the white chairs in the room. A section in the corner provided a spacious changing area behind a portable wall. Several mirrors hung at angles against one wall.

"The tailor seems... harsh." I mumbled.

"Mistress Rhisa has always been that way. But she makes the most comfortable things." Schula smoothed her tunic with a hand. "Maribell at least makes a very good wage here, even if she isn't treated well. Don't worry about Maribell, she could open up her own shop at any time, but she chooses to stay here to learn from the best."

"Are the shop workers here different kinds of fae from you two?" I asked.

"Yes." Answered Thain. "Well, we're all fae creatures. Eberon, Schula and I are technically what you would call high fae. It's taken centuries to get us all away from each other's throats. Now it's considered in bad taste to point out who is one kind of fae and who isn't."

"Not that it doesn't happen anyway." Schula snorted.

I wasn't given much time to think about the social structure of the fae races before Maribell burst back into the room with armfuls of clothing. She shifted her stack around until her hands were free enough to clap twice. My jaw dropped as branches sprouted from the walls and Maribell began hanging clothing up to see. Three times she made the trip and brought clothing to us. On her last trip in she was followed by the doe female.

"Mistress Rhisa will now guide you through the fitting." Maribell announced, but stayed in a nearby corner, ready to help.

Mistress Rhisa had gentle hands, despite her demeanor. Within minutes she had piled cloth across a branch by the portable wall and pulled me behind it. Much to my protest, she had stripped me and began dressing me in her clothes. Something I would much rather have done on my own. Luckily I was able to keep my exposed back to the wall, and my marks hidden.

What followed next was a masterful whirlwind of being posed, stripped, and dressed. Satins and silks draped my bony frame, all of them cinched to my waist with more ties like those on Schula's tunics.

Mistress Rhisa was a master of her craft. I may not know much about tailoring beyond repairing the breeches and tunics of the mountain people, but I could see her expert eye catch at every bit of her work that didn't sit precisely where she wanted it to. "Too short. Too loose. Wrong color. Not with those freckles, stars no. That color does you no favors. Perhaps buttons. Longer skirts. "

"She has a preference for pants over dresses I think, Mistress." Schula called from the other side of the wall.

"Noted." Was Rhisa's short reply as she practically ripped a shawl from me and slid a tunic over my head.

"Don't I need something, I don't know, formal? To meet a king?" I sputtered through the silk being shoved over me.

"Yes, a formal pant. That's what she said." Rhisa snapped at me. "Elbows in."

"But usually dresses are..." I closed my mouth as this new tunic was torn from me, and a pair of brown pants shoved over my feet.

"Is that a human trait? Dresses are formal?" Schula asked.

"What nonsense." Rhisa snorted.

"Um, I guess so?" I helped slip the high waist of the pants over my hips. "Women wear dresses for special occasions. Otherwise we wear breeches. More practical. I'd rarely worn a dress before yesterday, and never one so nice."

"The formality of what you wear is dictated by the cloth it is made of, and what embellishments adorn it. In Thanantholl, a silk tunic is more formal than a cotton dress." Schula explained. "Here you wear what makes you comfortable, what you like."

"There, that is presentable enough." Mistress Rhisa tugged my arm and pulled me from behind the privacy wall. "This one, I am happy with. I could have it ready within the hour."

I stumbled behind the graceful fae and was stopped abruptly. Schula and Thain still lounged on their seats, waiting for us. I stood up straight and Schula whistled. Thain leaned forward, nose twitching.

"Wren..." Thain started.

"Very well done Mistress." Schula gave a half smile and stalked over to me, walking around for a full view. "I would never have guessed it wasn't made for her."

"You should go to the wall of mirrors dear, though I'm sure this is exactly what you want." Rhisa's nose turned up as she took a spot on the wall. Maribell smiled as she gathered rejected garments and scurried away with them.

The mirrors showed me a new person. The cream colored satin held a sheen that made my skin glow. It bloused at my breasts, giving an illusion of fullness that I didn't quite have on my own. 

My waist, already narrow, was tied with a golden cords which wrapped around me twice. The full sleeves gathered at my wrists with more gold, and the shirt fell to the middle of my thighs. The black pants were of a fine leather, the thin belly skin of some creature I didn't know. The outer seam split at my knees and laced with a fine cream ribbon which glued the whole thing to my form. I stood in my bare feet, my stockings and boots removed from me.

"What do you think?" Schula asked.

"I love it." And I meant it, but I cringed at the price of specially tailored clothes. "How much?"

"Don't worry about it." Thain said. "Baeleon loves to spoil his guests. Don't take this from him."

"We'll take it." Schula announced. "And two more like it, in whatever colors you see fit Mistress. Cotton or linen or something more casual. We are in no hurry for those, a delivery at your earliest convenience. We'll pay the courier. "

"Very good." Rhisa seemed pleased with herself. "We will have them by the end of the week. To your address Master Thain?"

The dark fae nodded and stood. "Thank you. We'll be back to pick this one up after lunch."

I slipped behind the wall to put my own clothes back on, and left the new outfit on an empty branch.

"Maribell will have it at the front when you come back. Thank you for visiting Dancing Willow designs." Rhisa swept her limbs into a delicate bow and Maribell saw us onto the street.

"Thank you for your patronage!" Maribell called before gently shutting the door behind us.

"Well, that was something." Schula patted my back. "Why don't we look around for a while before midday?"

"Agreed." Thain stretched his right arm. "There are so many things to see. What sounds interesting to you, Wren?"

I looked around us. We were in a bustling square. Eyes raked across us as though I were something to be gawked at. A performer in a band of players. The shops around the Dancing Willow swept away my annoyance quickly though. Windows full of finely crafted items surrounded me. I let out a sigh and stepped forward. How could I be mad when I was as curious about Thanantholl as it was about me?

"What's that place?" I pointed to a low yellow building with a fat smoky chimney.

"A tea parlor. You can have a cup and sit down to enjoy it." Schula said. "Or browse the shelves and buy some to take home."

"Can we look in there?" I asked. The only tea I ever drank was made from native mountain plants. Usually ones I had gathered myself. Even our stores on the road were gathered from the mountains before we left the outpost, and I was eager to try more flavors of the fae city.

"Of course." Thain led us through the doors and into a world of scents. Fat jars lined the walls with dried leaves and flowers. I stopped to smell each one and Schula ordered us all a pot of tea sweetened with honey. Thain sat at a table and waited for Schula and I to finish browsing. We enjoyed our tea and Schula traded me a little bit of human money for a shiny silver fae coin. She said it was a new oddity to add to her collection of world travels. The tree sprite that worked the counter somehow completed every transaction without saying a word. We eventually walked out, me with a bag of teas I had never seen before.

Pearl Street continued to ensnare me. It showed me a side of the fae that would have enchanted anyone. Even the hardened people of the mountains. Delicacies and drinks to be discovered on every corner. The shops were full of mesmerizing goods, and the fae that crafted them were overjoyed to show me how they were made. There were spices to smell, and books in foreign 

tongues, and art to see.

We stopped into a narrow shop where Schula bought me a pair of sensible black boots like hers. They came only a hand width above my ankle, a completely different feel from my tall mountain boots. We watched a sculptor in his window as he traced the delicate lines of a swooping bird out of clay. A metalsmith displayed a silver set of woodcarving gouges and I clutched my tunic over my heart. I wish Bryn could have seen them, they were so beautiful and sharp and he could have carved wonders with them. Then out of nowhere the tears fell. It distressed Thain, Schula, 

the shopkeeper, and myself greatly until I could sort myself out and explain.

Finally Thain bought us all a round of bread, stuffed like a pocket with meat and sauce. We sat on the edge of a fountain to eat.

"Once we're done here we should pick up your new clothes and go." Thain said.

"I need to change too." Schula looked down at her linen tunic. "I don't suppose this is up to Baeleon's standards."

"No, you go on ahead. Wren and I can meet you and Eberon at the grotto." Thain took a large bite of his lunch, fangs easily tearing through the meat.

"Thank you both, for today." I said, licking sauce from a finger. "I promise to pay you back when I get settled."

"Enough of that for now." Schula stood and stretched. "I'll see you later. Don't let this big oaf get you riled up. There is no reason to be nervous, the court will be very surprised to meet you. Pleased, but surprised."

"That's an understatement." Thain mumbled. "Come on, let's get dressed."Wonderful. The center of attention. Just where I wanted to be.

"Alright." I sighed. "Let's go."