Return to Canifis

Perhaps you are afraid? Kara wondered. That suits me well enough.

“I haven’t even had time to change from my travelling clothes, Lady Anne. Nor have I had time to bathe or rest since my arrival in Varrock this morning. I haven’t even had a chance to speak to my friends since you whisked me away from the festival.”

“There will be time for that later,” Anne said. Kara thought she detected a note of anger in her voice. “And I am doing you a favour Kara-Meir. If you want to attend the dance tonight looking like a… a woodcutter’s daughter, then that will be to your disadvantage.”

Woodcutter’s daughter? An interesting phrase.

Kara stepped up and sat opposite her on the plush cushions. She saw how Anne’s face ran coldly over her mud-stained leggings.

I wonder if I have left a mark?

I do hope so.

A second young woman climbed inside and sat at a respectful distance. She still wore the same happy smile that she had when Anne had commanded her to come with them. Kara noted a prominent gap between the dark- haired girl’s front teeth, which made her smile far more pleasing.

“What do you think Thessalia will be able to do with her, Lady Caroline?” Anne asked their companion.

“I’m sure I don’t know,” Caroline replied, then she turned to Kara. “You have fine skin, Lady Kara. It is too tanned to be of fashionable tastes, but everyone knows you have been travelling in The Wilderness-”

“She is no lady!” Anne scolded sharply. Caroline bowed her head, and Anne turned to their companion, a practiced look of contrition on her face. “I mean no offence Kara, but here in Varrock tradition is what keeps our city in order. Everyone knows their place. You do understand?”

Yes I do. I most certainly do you spiteful-

The carriage shuddered violently as it jerked into motion, interrupting her thoughts.

Something in Kara’s eyes must have told Anne to calm her tongue, and instead she turned to Caroline, who sat nervously, looking out of the window as the carriage drove onto the square and through the crowds.

“Did I tell you that Lord de Adlard wishes to dance with you this evening, Caroline?” Anne asked lightly.

The younger woman-probably no more than seventeen- blushed and smiled involuntarily.

“No, you hadn’t mentioned it.” Suddenly she frowned slightly, and her voice wavered when she spoke. “What do you think people will say?”

“William de Adlard is not the most prestigious name in court, Caroline, that is true. But his is an old name, and although he may be a godless man, with no belief in Saradomin, and a man with no martial ambitions, you must remember that his grandfather was chancellor for a time, and an able one too, I believe.”

Kara saw Caroline’s dark eyes dip doubtfully.

“But is he not a little… dull?”

“That is to be commended, my dear sweet lamb,” Anne laughed.

Kara grimaced, hiding her eyes under her hand.

I am tired. I killed fourteen men today, and yet only now is it that I feel… unclean. It wasn’t like this before. Not in battle.

“How is that commendable?” Caroline asked.

“It means he’s a safe man. It means he would make an excellent husband.”

Kara dropped her hand in time to see Anne’s blue eyes widen in emphasis.

“Oh. Oh!” Caroline covered her mouth with embarrassment. “Oh…”

No one spoke again and the carriage continued its slow journey. Eventually it came to a stop at a two-storey grey-stone building at the south of the square. Green-tinted stained-glass windows gave the building an expensive look. Outside, guarding the door, stood a wide-shouldered man with a heavy wooden cudgel. On the lookout for thieves, Kara guessed.

Perhaps he will mistake me for Pia? That could be interesting.

“Come along, Kara. And stop grinning like that.” Anne looked at her with visible distress. “It’s… unnerving. The carriage and escort will wait for us.”

“It would have been quicker to walk,” Kara commented.

Caroline tittered behind her. Anne just stared for a moment, then spoke.

“That would not do,” she said icily. “You have much to learn if you wish to be a lady in court, Kara-Meir, very much.”

The door to Thessalia’s Fine Clothes led into a small passageway where a second door, stouter than the first, stood ajar. Inside stood a thin old woman with greying hair, and behind her waited a second woman-younger, with obvious similarities. Her hair was straight and blonde, her body thin and tall, her straight back and demeanour the sign of rigorous training.

Mother and daughter, Kara realised.

“Ah, the kind Thessalias,” Anne remarked as she led the way into the room. Kara stepped after her, her hand resting naturally upon her sword hilt. The chamber was large and square, with a multitude of dressed mannequins off to one side, and drawers filled with fabrics stacked all the way to the ceiling on the other.

“I hope you will be pleased with your gown for tonight, my lady,” the older Thessalia said, bowing quickly to Anne. Behind her, the daughter offered a curtsey which Anne acknowledged with a smile.

“I know it will be perfect, Madame Thessalia,” she said to the older woman. “Now, I need you both to turn your talents to this young woman. The King requires that she be well-presented at tonight’s dance.”

Madame Thessalia examined Kara with her piercing grey eyes, making her feel uneasy. She hummed to herself as she did so, taking her time. Every so often she would glance to one of the mannequins, and then back again. Sometimes she would shake her head and make a disappointed clucking sound with her tongue. Once she even wrinkled her face up, as if she had witnessed a dreadful accident.

“No, that won’t do,” she mused to herself. Kara caught sight of Anne’s face in one of the many full-length mirrors. She couldn’t be certain, but she believed the noblewoman was smirking. Then the older woman spoke.

“With such a short notice it will be a rather rushed job I am afraid, my lady,” Madame Thessalia warned. “Many of my best gowns have been sold already for tonight, of course.”

“Perhaps she should bathe first, mother?” the younger Thessalia said innocently. “I can ask Rupert to prepare the tub upstairs.”

Anything to get me away from those eyes, Kara thought. “I think that is an excellent idea,” she said aloud. “I haven’t had a chance to bathe, and I would like to do so. Now.”

The mother nodded and the daughter led Kara upstairs. The rest of the group followed.

Surely they are not going to watch me bathe, as well?

“I am sorry to have to inform you of some bad news, Lady Anne,” Kara heard Madame Thessalia say behind her.

Hopefully you’ll have left a pin in her gown.

Kara found herself smiling again. She turned to deliver the most unnerving grin she could summon. Her efforts were rewarded as Anne looked quickly away.

“Yes,” the dressmaker continued, “I am afraid that one of my suppliers-a tailor-passed away very suddenly.” She hummed uncomfortably. “It seems as if he and his family fell to the plague. I believe his wife has been isolated. It means that the mink gloves you ordered won’t be ready on time.”

Kara didn’t hear Anne’s response as she turned the corner in the stairs and emerged into the bathing room. Green light, filtered through the stained-glass windows, gave the room a natural ambience. Comfortable chairs were arrayed in the manner of a private lounge, and an unfamiliar yet attractive fragrance caused her to breathe in deeply. Upon each side of her, the room was broken up by two wooden screens. Behind the one to her left she heard the splash of water being emptied from a bucket into a bath.

“Rupert?” the younger Thessalia called. A young man appeared from behind the bathing screen. “The lady will take her bath now. Go and fuel the stove.”

Rupert bowed nervously and disappeared down the stairs as the daughter took Kara’s satchel from her shoulder and placed it carefully on a three-legged stool beneath the window.

“Remove your clothing and take your bath,” she instructed. “Go behind the screen if you wish to be