by her mother, Tazi had attempted to remove some of Ebeian's belongings from his room at the Lady's Thighs Inn. Her timing had been off slightly, and Ebeian had returned before Tazi had made her exit. A struggle had resulted, and Ebeian had discovered quite a bit about Tazi that night.
He sensed her discomfort and winked at her.
She didn't even need to look over to know Steorf was ready to explode after that. She knew how he hated the familiar way Ebeian spoke of their encounters. The last thing she wanted tonight was to cause a scene or alienate Steorf. She valued him too much to allow that to transpire.
Just the touch of her hand on his forearm caused his bunched muscles to relax. His black look, however, continued to fester. Ignoring the exchange, Ebeian blithely carried on.
'We must try that again sometime, my dear,' the elf chimed, 'when you feel you're ready for a rematch.'
'You're right,' Tazi bantered back. 'We can see if you are still up for a battle with me. But there will be time enough for that later.'
Ever since Ebeian discovered in such a pleasant way Tazi's many charms, they often traded exchanges like that in the company of others. He was cautious never to reveal too much; he had his own subterfuges to guard, and Tazi never betrayed those, either. However, they danced awfully close to the truth at times.
'What are you two talking about,' Steorf demanded, no longer able to contain his anger.
'You really haven't been around the city all that much, have you,' Ebeian said, laughing.
'Enough, you two,' Tazi hissed at them as she pushed them apart. 'I'd like to be able to slip out quietly, and you two starting a brawl would wreck my plans.'
Steorf reined in his temper. 'Being one of the few women wearing red this evening, I think you might have a hard time going unnoticed.' He nodded in the direction of Shamur.
Tazi thought for a moment before she announced, 'Then I will obviously have to be noticed by many. Gentlemen.' She curtsied a last time to the men and strode off to select a new partner. Steorf said nothing but left an amused Ebeian standing alone.
Tazi chose a domino-masked man from a pool of nearby suitors and let him lead her to the dance floor. She smiled at his banal conversation and laughed at the appropriate moments. When the tempo changed, she allowed another man to cut in. The rush of changing partners allowed Tazi to put the two men out of her mind. She had other plans for the evening and needed her wits about her.
When the time seemed right, Tazi thanked her most recent partner and discreetly slipped out of the ballroom. From opposite sides of the hall, two pairs of eyes spied her departure.
Tazi couldn't wait to get out of the dress she wore. While the style was chosen specifically to infuriate her mother, Tazi liked it only marginally more than her Sembian attire. All dresses, to her, simply slowed the wearer down and announced her presence to the world. She had yet to discover a discreet one.
As she made her way to her rooms, Tazi noticed Larajin, one of her family's servants, lingering near the end of the hallway. An idea blossomed in her fertile mind.
'Larajin,' she called out to the startled maid, 'I need your help.' She entered her chambers, a bewildered Larajin in her wake.
Tazi walked over to her wardrobe and flung open the doors. She deftly removed a small bundle that was nestled in the furthest recesses of the closet and tossed it onto a nearby settee. Then she turned to face her maid.
'Strip, please,' Tazi ordered. 'I need you to play a part for me tonight.' At her maid's puzzled expression, she burst into giggles.
'I thought you needed some assistance with your gown,' Larajin stammered. She slightly emphasized the word 'your.'
'You couldn't be more right,' Tazi confirmed, controlling her laughter as she began to peel the red dress from her body, 'I do need help with this thing. And you're just the one to assist me.' She brushed Larajin's helping hands aside and pulled her own arms free from the tight-fitted sleeves.
'You might as well start undressing,' Tazi said, almost tearing some of her buttons in her haste, 'because I don't have all night. I've already wasted enough time here this evening.' Larajin began to remove her white-and- gold servant's uniform, still not sure what her mistress had planned but secretly glad to be rid of her own costume.
Tazi slipped off her dancing shoes and stepped out of the pool of red velvet at her feet. Without missing a stride, she padded unselfconsciously over to the settee and began to undo the bundle of leather. When she had her change of clothing laid out, Tazi could see realization dawn across her maid's pretty features. It took only a few practiced motions for Tazi to re-outfit herself. Now she turned her attention to her near-nude servant.
'Come on over here.' Tazi pointed to the pile of evening clothes. 'Let me help you into this.' She could see hesitation in every step Larajin took.
'Oh, don't act so,' Tazi gently chided her. 'It's not like you never did this before.' Larajin looked at her with some surprise.
'What do you mean, mistress?' she asked softly.
'I've seen you in here before, trying on some of my-how shall I put it-less respectable garments. We are, after all, almost exactly the same size.' Seeing alarm spread across Larajin's smooth face, Tazi quickly added, 'I don't mind. In fact, you can help yourself to any gown you fancy any time. But I need you to do me a favor tonight because you're my size. I need you to be me for the rest of this evening.' She nudged Larajin into the center of her discarded evening wear and began to help her dress.
'Mistress Thazienne, this can't work,' Larajin implored, holding out her hands beseechingly.
Almost as though she were dressing a child, Tazi caught up her maid's arms and began to slide them into the snug sleeves. 'Don't worry about any of this,' she soothed. You only have to be me for a few hours.'
Tazi walked behind her maid and began to do up the back of the gown. Larajin tried to protest once more, but Tazi cinched up her corset a little roughly, and Larajin's complaints ended in a sharp gasp. Tazi spun her around to face her.
'This will work out just fine,' Tazi warned her. Smiling again, Tazi began to tie up Larajin's rust-colored hair into a style that gave the illusion of shorter locks. After a moment, Larajin gathered up her courage to question Tazi again even after that first, painful rebuke.
'Mistress, I only meant that it might be difficult to pass for you because of the difference in our hair and eyes.'
Tazi finished Larajin's hair and moved over to where she had carelessly tossed her feathery mask. She placed it on Larajin and took a step back to admire her handiwork.
'No one should look too closely at your yellow eyes with that on, but you are right about the hair,' she said after a moment, tapping one gloved finger against her chin. 'Yours looks like it was kissed by the sun and mine is like night.' She unconsciously twirled an onyx strand and thought for a moment. 'Black,' she spoke quietly, 'like coal… or soot.' With a quick laugh, Tazi ran over to the fireplace and plunged her hands into the cold ashes. She then beckoned Larajin closer with a dirty finger.
'I'm sure this will come out fairly easily,' Tazi reassured her maid as she powdered the woman's hair with coal dust and soot, 'and it does solve the problem of color very nicely.' Tazi finished her job and then gave Larajin a pat on the head to have her look up.
'Now,' she admonished, 'stop biting your lip, stand up straight, and put a smile on your face.' Tazi walked around to stand behind her. She placed her hands on Larajin's shoulders and leaned toward her right ear.
'You can do this,' she whispered encouragingly. 'And you might even have some fun.' Stepping around to once again face her, Tazi added a few last instructions. 'All you have to do is dance with a half dozen or so of my current suitors. It shouldn't take more than a few hours. Don't look them in the eye too much,' she continued her list as she paced around the unmoving Larajin like a drill instructor, 'and don't answer any of their questions. I never do. My mother is now too angry to speak to me for the rest of the evening, and Father will be engrossed in business. He won't have time to trade words with you. I mean me,' she smiled. 'You should be all set.'
Some of Larajin's unease had faded at the mention of the word 'fun.' Tazi could see she was warming up to the challenge of a prank. There might yet be hope for the girl, Tazi thought. Even if things should go awry and Larajin was found out, Tazi wasn't too concerned. She had noticed that since Larajin had been in the service of the Uskevren, she never received many punishments, unlike the other maids. There must be some arrangement
