Red swirled from my hair, the magical dye lost as Sakura helped me rinse it out. The glossy, black shade returned, but the amount of hair I had was unbelievable. Sakura needed two arms to hold onto it all, and she looked sadly down at it.

'We need to cut it,' she said. 'Aster's hair is much shorter than yours.'

Aster and her sister, Azalea, were two young angels supposed to be attending the Equinox Ball tonight. Somehow, Morwena had managed to procure their invites, and neither Sakura nor I had the courage to ask how.

Instead, the fierce woman had left us the morning after our meal in the tavern, and came back that evening with the tickets in hand, and a sketch of each of the girls.

'Just in case anybody does know them, you should at least resemble them,' she suggested. 'I will follow you as your servant; it's not uncommon for the rich to do so. I'll be shown into the servants' waiting rooms, I imagine, unless you call for me.'

So we'd all begun to prepare, knowing we had to look presentable in less than two days. There was no way around it; both Sakura and I had to wear dresses, and fancy ones at that. Morwena dragged us to seamstress after seamstress, with the same story that we'd ordered dresses and they hadn't came, but none were available.

It was the evening before the ball, and we still hadn't found dresses. It was irking; in reality, we should be preparing for a fight-- if things went awry-- but no, we were going through bust measurements and shoe sizes. Finally, Morwena had left us behind, insisting that we should work on the rest of our "disguise", our hair and face powder (also apparently expected, to our dismay), but really I think we were just too unenthusiastic to be of help.

Luckily, the ball was a masquerade, which meant a lot of our facial features would be blurred beneath a silver or black mask. Aster's features were similar to mine; she was small and curved, with dark curling hair to her shoulders.

Sakura was harder to assist. Her skin colour was different to Azalea's, for one. Her only option was to bathe in a salt magic which temporarily turned her skin to pearl. A strange sight hit me when she came out from the bathroom, her white blonde hair turned to brown, contrasting iridescent, pale skin.

'I prefer your normal skin tone,' I admitted, 'but you suit peachy too. And brunette...think you're more of a blonde.'

She gave me a toothy grin. 'It'll be back with the next wash.'

'Could be a while then, if we end up in a prison cell,' I said, half-joking, half catching the dreaded reality in Sakura's expression.This party could well be our last, and our ruin.

And most people just have to worry about getting intoxicated and doing something stupid.

'Positive thoughts,' Sakura replied, drying my hair with a towel. She sat me down in front of the mirror, and began to meticulously comb out the tangles of my hair. I peered out at my reflection.

Compared to the girl I had seen in the mirror in my old bedroom-- it seemed like years ago now-- I looked a lot healthier. My complexion was no longer sallow or gaunt but filled, having eaten well and trained hard. My cheeks were a rustic pink, my eyes a vibrant amethyst.

But there was worry that hadn't been there before, and a tiredness which now filled my expression.

At that moment, the door slammed open, and Morwena stormed in, utterly empty handed.

Her expression was furious.

Sakura and I exchanged a very brief look of terror before facing the woman stomping around the room.

'Nothing, nothing in this damn city!' she said, pouring herself a glass of water from the jug by the bed. She took several soothing gulps. 'Not a single available seamstress within our budget. This is why I never lived here. Extortionate!'

She said the last word with such a bark that Sakura and I both leaped to our feet. Morwena didn't seem to notice, her scarred face staring out of the small, dingy window. Our own living quarters had skimped on any expense; our room was barely furnished, and in poor condition.

'What can we do?' my voice sounded small. Sakura moved in front of me, as if Morwena might pounce in her distress.

But the woman ran a concerned hand over her face, tracing the line of her scar with a worry she didn't share with us. Instead, she replied, 'We go to the Black Market.'

Sakura's eyes widened and she let out a gasp. I saw her hands contract, balling into fists. I stared between the two of them, confused-- a black market back home had been illegal, yes, but if the situation was so dire...

'A Black Market is where darker magic is used,' Sakura explained at my nonplussed expression. 'If we resort to bargaining with dark magic...'

Both of them still looked uncertain, sharing a look.

'Look, the sun is beginning to set and we have no dresses,' I snapped, 'Short of mugging people, what else are we going to do to get inside this party? We're going to stand out walking in the room in black joggers!'

Sakura was wearing slouching black jogging pants, I was wearing a loose hooded top. We looked like we'd both been on the run for several weeks. She took my point.

'We might be getting ourselves into worse trouble,' Morwena hissed.

'Even worse than overthrowing a king?'

I grabbed a grey scarf to cover my hair, winding it around my head and neck. Sakura moved to follow, but Morwena looked torn.

'Where do we go?' I asked, slipping on my boots.

The woman glared. 'I'm not sure--'

'What else can we do? This is our only chance to get into the palace! The equinox comes only once a year!'

Reia could be dead by the time solstice comes. I have wasted enough time already to let me get foiled by a damn dress.

Morwena cursed. 'I'll take you.'

---

The sun was a bright orange ball against the towers of the palace as we slipped through the back streets, several inconspicuous cloaked figures among the excited movement of people headed towards the palace. We were moving away from them, against the crowd, giving me the opportunity to glance through the streams to spot Fabian or the group. No such luck graced me, and I prayed that our dress hunt would go better.

Morwena scouted ahead, checking street signs and winding through the rows of perfected, white buildings. They seemed to be arranged in a very regimented pattern; several blocks of houses to form a perfect square, then a grass lawn that combined four rows of houses in a central courtyard. The setting sun cast shadows along central sundials, reminding me of the reason for the evening's celebrations; that tomorrow, night would equal day.

We cut across the cut lawns, the beds of flowers. Any startled looks were soon lost as we found ourselves in a less neat area of the city.

Whereas the previous houses had been like ordered soldiers, these houses were an odd array of many different shapes and sizes, all squashed together and tied by a small, filthy alley. As soon as we set foot, the world seemed to grow a little darker, and the excited noises from the crowds were shut off.

A woman hovered in the doorway of the nearest house. Looking at it, she blended expertly with the surroundings; a dirty grey dress covered in oil and grime, against a door that was so blackened it threatened to swallow the world whole. She lured us with one smile, pleased but sinister.

'Ladies, to what do we owe the pleasure? Revenge, perhaps? That's Gee's specialty, right there on the far left. Poison will cost you, but it's at the end of the street, name of Lee. But if you wanted certain...herbal remedies, well, they're right here.'

The cloaked figure gestured towards her door with a long, bent nail. Underneath, I could make out a worn, leathery face and tired, cold eyes.

'We're looking for a dress,' I said, feeling foolish being offered death and drugs, but requesting a dress.

'Two,' Sakura added.

The woman chirped in laughter. 'I ain't do that sort, chickie. Try next door. Mr Bee normally deals with the odd requests like you...'

Cackling, she leaned across her porch to rap on the door over.

'Good luck, ladies!' she called, opening her own door with a creak and disappearing inside with a snap.

Lost for words, the three of us awaited the second house to open. At long last, it opened with slow trepidation, like a sigh of relief being let out after a long wait.

Being the closest, I stepped in first, realising I was walking into a shopfront. The bell tinkled at the door as we entered, the three of us clustered on the doorstep. The windows were all closed, with the curtains drawn with heavy velvet, and an odd black tent sat in the middle of the room. To my surprise, there were clothes around the room on mannequins, but more in the nature of shackles and torturous cutlasses than ball gowns.

I gulped.

The door shut, and my second realisation was that there was a man behind it.

He was short but aged, with a shiny bald head and dark, black glasses that looked out of place in the dimly lit room. Tattoos of strange patterns and sharp-toothed creatures adorned his face, his head, his neck, and thick muscles pressed from his shoulders and forearms. He was carrying a candle, which gave him an odd, orange, flickering look across his pallid skin. He wore a black suit, and I was starkly reminded of seeing people dressed for funerals.

Wings the colour of the flames jutted from his back in small feathers. Exchanger.

I suppressed a shiver.

The man set about lighting the lamps around the room, none of us uttering a word. When he was done, he blew out his own candle before surveying us.

'What's it you want?' he asked, his voice a rough tone.

'Dresses,' I said with a straight face, 'Two.'

'What for?'

'The Equinox Ball,' I replied. Morwena and Sakura had lost their voices, and were eyeing the shop like they were ready to defend themselves from the cascades of black. I wished they didn't look as shifty as the shop did.

The man's mouth curved upwards in something like a smile. 'Yes, but what for?'

I swallowed. 'The ball...'

The man grinned again, but this time it was less like a smile, and more of a leer. He hobbled towards me, a limp gracing his left leg and a cane in his hand for support. It send a soft click across the floor with each step.

Stopping in front of me, the man reached with his free hand and pulled down his sunglasses.

This time I suppressed a scream.

The man had no eyes. They were gouged out-- gone-- two holes of scar and emptiness in his head. He turned towards my face as I stepped back unconsciously, but he didn't look towards me with the eyes of a blind man figuring out where I was. He felt my presence before him, like a predator catching a scent.

'I can't see, but I can sense,' the man placed his glasses back, covering his eyes. My initial reaction seemed excessive now, but chills were still creeping all across my body, and by the looks of it, Morwena's and Sakura's too. They were both stood as if they were to step in front of me, but the man's presence had kept them at bay. He spoke directly to me.

'You don't come here because you want black magic,' said the man, 'Some do. They normally want revenge, or poison, or love, or fortune...and they pay for it. Money, conscience...they pay the full amount.'

He stepped forwards again. He smelled like smoke. 'Here, I do deals. But I always like to know who I'm dealing with. Nobody runs to a black magic dealer to find a pretty dress. There's way too much at stake...I'm sensing something different about you. You're not simply going to a ball tonight...'

I gritted my teeth. 'I need that dress.'

That horrible grin. 'I know, my sweet. And I know it's not to find a partner. What are you doing at that ball, dearie? Maybe I'll give you a discount...'

The man had stepped closer again, so that his face was leering into mine like some kind of twisted romance. I felt sick, but I knew I couldn't back away. This man could get me into the ball.

Could he get Reia back...? The question burst forth into my mind. If I could ask anything...

The man tilted his head again, as if listening. 'I can't get her back, no. That's not how my bargains work, I'm no genie. It needs to be something concrete...a dress for a child, you know?'

I flinched. How had he known that...? What did he mean, a dress for a child...?

The man laughed. 'I told you, I sense things. I traded these eyes that could see earthly things for something more...regal. Now, what will you trade for your dress, your chance at saving your sister, your chance at taking back your throne, Lumina Fawcett?'

Sakura rushed in front of me, pushing the sightless man away. He stood and laughed, and Morwena moved towards the door.

'I told you this was a bad idea! Come on, Lumina, he can't do anything unless you seal the deal with him...'

Sakura had grabbed my arm and was shaking her head at the man, eyes angry and upset. Morwena had her hand on the door. But both had stopped, realising I was still staring at this bald man and his offer.

'No...' Sakura whispered, realising first.

'I ask for two dresses, one for me, and one for her,' I said, and behind me, Morwena shouted.

'And a uniform for her,' I added, pointing towards the older woman that was trying to knock me out before I could agree to something I'd regret.

'Done...' the man grinned. 'I'll let you design them, if you like.'

I frowned. 'Make them comfortable, please. And...maybe...shred-able. In case we need to get the hell out of there, you know?'

'They're magic dresses, sweetheart, you could order them to make you dance the Angelican Waltz perfectly if you wanted. But I prefer your idea.'

'Good. Then, dresses that can become something we could fight in. Shoes that aren't difficult to run in. A few weapons hidden, maybe...'

'Done. My turn?'

I bit my lip. 'Yes.'

Morwena and Sakura were both white, and both had hands on my arms as if pleading me to leave.

I'm sorry, I thought, sparing them an apologetic look, this might be my only chance to save Reia. She sacrificed herself to save me, months ago.

Now I must do something for her.

'I want your firstborn child,' the man said promptly.

Morwena let out a scream. Sakura clapped her hands to her mouth.

But I just blinked. That's what he had meant by that? It sounded so...simple.

I thought he was going to ask for my eyes, maybe. Something terrible.

'What if I don't have children?' I blurted out.

The man's grin widened. He seemed confident. 'Then it will be my loss.'

'Done,' I agreed, and Morwena shrieked.

The man held out his hand. I spotted a ring on it, encrusted with a dark stone.

Then I shook it, and the world poured black.

The ring flashed; something passed, from his hand to mine. A lancing pain flew up my arm, and I let out a scream of pain. The ring was issuing black steam, and a voice pierced through the darkness.

WHO CALLS ME?

The pain was spreading up my arm, and I collapsed to the floor, black spots dancing around my eyes. My head felt fit to burst in two.

'Master, I require your power...'

I could dimly make out the man's voice with the booming voice of the other, but I was no longer terrified of the man in the black suit with scars for eyes. I was terrified of the man he had summoned, who I couldn't see due to the blackness filling my eyes, but I was certain was the one the man had made a "deal" with to take his eyesight.

He had caused those hideous scars!

The pain moved up past my shoulder, and flew down my body. I arched my back, feeling retched as the pain burst into my pelvis, and I knew then that some curse was being laid upon me, wherever I might one day grow a child, the curse would lie in wait.

I could never have a child. This will be my only answer, I thought.

The pain lessened, and something lighter began.

I felt naked as the black smoke stripped away my slacks, leaving me bare in my underwear. The smoke poured around my neck, and along my shoulders, weaving black material that covered my arms in lace and ran in sleek black material to my waist. There, it circled, creating a large skirt with a bow, bunching at the back to form a trail. The smoke missed out my back, where my black wings lay bare. The skirt continued as the smoke burst across it in a sweeping motion, filling the room with a swishing noise as black skirts came to rest, covered in a design of silver thorns.

But the black smoke continued, shaping the dress into sleeves along my arms into gloves along my fingers, before rising across my face. Lines were criss-crossing before my eyes, making me panic, before I realised that a solid silver mask was sitting atop my nose, with only holes for eyes, covering all but my jaw and lips. The pattern of thorns had continued, weaving into a crown of crystals circling my head, which I thought was a strange nod towards my royal heritage. My hair whirled into a dark version of a victory roll, surrounded by thorns and dark, glittering stones.

'Fit for a princess,' I heard the man say as the smoke cleared. There was a definite gleeful tone of triumph in his voice that chilled me. Looking around the dissipating smoke, Sakura was in a sleek dress of black, suiting her long, tall frame and elegant legs. She looked just as surprised as I did behind a mask that was plain silver. Her dyed brown hair had been tossed into a bun that seemed to breathe "messy and not much effort", but actually seemed flawless.

We gaped at each other. 'You look hot,' Sakura said, staring at me, then back at her gloved hands, and back again at me.

'So do you,' I said, awe in my voice.

'Ahem,' said a voice, and Morwena-- our "maid"-- stood with her arms crossed. Her uniform was black (apparently, the only colour available was black), but covering her body conservatively. In my opinion, she still looked dressed for a ball.

The woman was glaring at me. 'Look what you've done.'

I put my hands on my hips. 'We're off to a ball, not getting arrested. Let's go, before we miss it entirely.'

I wonder if it's too late to ask for a carriage? I wondered. My shoes were thigh-high boots hidden beneath my dress, which was comfortable, but maybe it would speed our walk a bit.

The man laughed in a sinister way. 'That'll cost you...'

'No, thank you,' I said, picking up my skirts and heading for the door. He was already opening it, ushering us outside.

'Pleasure doing business with you,' he said, his smile beaming even more. 'I'll be back for my end of the bargain...'

I set off before his threats could worry me. After all, my priority was Reia, not babies.

But something told me it wasn't the last I'd see of the man.

---

A/N: Nearly finished with this book! So this next chapter will be a big one, and the ones after that so HOLD ON TIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And as ever if you haven't checked out my other work LITTLE SAINT BRIDE, that's going to be continuing after Equinox has finished so check it out! (And there should be a part 2 of Equinox in the next book, Solstice.)

What did you think of the bargain Lumina made? Do you think it'll be of relevance later?

(But who would the daddy be...?)

muchos love, and please VOTE/COMMENT/SHARE! ;D

Larissa