Chapter Nine: Scarlett

                                    

                                          
I was reluctant to see what they wanted to dress me in, especially after the small lady who came in took one look at my outfit, frowned, and tsked. 
                          
"We'll get you a better outfit," she said and took me to a small plain room with a mirror on one wall. She took my measurements, made me bathe, then came back later with a dress-a very horrid dress that must have had thousands of skirts. I hated it before I even put it on. 
                          
The top visible layer was a cream color, the layer underneath a lemon yellow. There was an orange flower in the middle. There were so many skirts underneath it was hard to move. Then, the lady cut my hair so it was to my thighs instead of my knees, and made my face pale and cakey with layers of makeup. There was no way I was going to wear this to "show off".
                          
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The next day, we were to rehearse the showing of our outfits after lunch. Athena slept late that day, so I knocked on Julian's door after I woke up to ask him to help me pick out a suit. 
                          
"Of course," he said, "but whatever for?" 
                          
"You'll see," was all I said. 
                          
Julian lead me through the stone halls to a room similar to the one I changed in yesterday, with the wardrobe by the door. He opened it and grabbed a white button-up shirt, an ugly green cored jacket, and black pants and shoes. Julian left as I tried them on, and I shook my head. He next handed me a blue jacket, but still it didn't look correct. The Julian pulled out a gold waistcoat and a red and orange tie. 
                          
Perfect. 
                          
Julian left the room so I could try them on. The clothes fit nigh perfectly, and looked just right. I let Julian in, and he agreed. 
                          
At lunch (which Athena still wasn't present at) Julian and I talked about suits and other things that didn't matter. We were the only ones talking. 
                          
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When it was time for the rehearsal, everyone was gathered behind a curtain on a stage. Athena was wearing a golden dress that looked stunning on her. It also looked easy to move in. I envied her that. 
                          
Julian wore a gray suit and pants with an olive green waistcoat and a blue-green tie. 
                          
Athena glanced at me sympathetically, and I jealously at her. Then we were to walk out from behind the curtain as we were called and introduced. 
                          
I was embarrassed, and I walked stiffly like a robot; it was impossible to walk any other way. The mousey lady frowned. 
                          
"That was... That wasn't so great," she said. "Scarlett, you need to walk less awkwardly. Athena, same with you. Julian, smile, for Gods' sake." She listed off things that the others needed to change, and we restarted. 
                          
"That was better. Scarlett, is there a problem? Why aren't you walking like a human being?" 
                          
"This dress," I mumbled, "is much too heavy to walk in like a human being." 
                          
"Again," the mousy lady said, seemingly having not heard me. 
                          
We did the whole thing the rest of the day until dinner. 
                          
At dinner, people actually talked. It was more like whispering, but it was something. 
                          
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The next day, Athena came into my room and we read books that she conjured out of nowhere. Julian joined us later in the day, after lunch, and then it was down to business. 
                          
"We need more of a plan," Julian said, frowning. "All we have is to make allies but trust no one." 
                          
"We shouldn't show our abilities just yet," I said. "Maybe keep to ourselves at first, so we don't hang a target over put heads. The weak ones typically last longer, right? So we pretend we're weak. We pretend we are dumb, until very near the end. We should probably just...stay away from all the drama until we can't anymore." 
                          
It killed me to say it. Pointless deaths we could prevent, but, for our own safety, wouldn't. We wouldn't even know what was going on, which would be a huge downside.
                          
"We would still need to sneak out for information," Athena said. "At least one person. We would have to stay unseen. Unheard. Like we were never there." 
                          
"I will do that part," Julian said. "I doubt anyone else knows you're a warlock, and you can set up wards around our kingdom." 
                          
"Nobody but anyone injured or who needs help should be able to get in," I said. "They might have ill intentions." 
                          
"Even the injured might have ill intentions," Athena said regretfully. "I will just have to set it up to where nobody can get in, and it will alarm us if someone does. Then we decide if they have ill intentions or not." 
                          
"Or you could heal them, modify their memory, and send them on their way," Julian said. "And if they are uninjured, kill them." 
                          
"No," I said. "They don't need to die." I had never thought he would be so heartless to suggest killing an innocent soul. "All we need to do is make sure they don't want to hurt us, and then-" 
                          
"How?" Julian snapped. 
                          
"I can send a bit of magic into their mind," Athena said, "and I will sense their thoughts. If we can't see anything against us, we will let them in. If then they try to betray us, we will do as we see fit at that moment."
                          
Julian stayed silent. 
                          
Since there seemed nothing else to discuss, Julian left and Athena and I continued to read our books. 
                          
I couldn't concentrate on mine. Athena couldn't seem to, either. 
                          
"What's wrong with Julian?" I asked her. "He's gone horrible, snapping at us and suggesting pointless murder...he would never have done that before, right?"
                          
"Never," Athena agreed. "I don't know what's wrong. But he'll probably get over it; we just have to give him some space." 
                          
I nodded, and we spent the rest of the day reading and talking about unimportant nothings.