Tahni lay on her bed, staring sightlessly at the ceiling. She hadn't bothered to turn on the lights because the current dim atmosphere seemed to match her mood just fine.

The short of it was, she was angry, but in a strange way she had rarely experienced before. Where her wrath usually manifested as a violent boiling over of emotions, now it all seemed to rest in a tight coil around her chest and all she could do was let it simmer. She couldn't even say who she was mad at - it might have been that unscrupulous girl from the glade, her idiot brother, that snake Nazar, or even herself.

She knew she'd lashed out at Steppo harder than he would have deserved in the given circumstances, mostly because she realized the truth of his words as soon as he'd spoken them. She'd never been able to trust their housekeeper, no matter that she always appeared prim and proper, with strict etiquette guiding her hands and words in every situation. But Tahni had always had the uneasy feeling that more lurked beneath the prickly surface of that woman; her own father was a stickler for rules, but she would have never suspected him of backstabbing, whereas Nazar would have been her prime suspect.

Could she have been the one who stole the porcelain and ivory sets? She hated giving Steppo any quarter, but he might have been right. In any case, he wouldn't have had any reason to lie about it now, after she'd insisted on exposing him and hurt Meyo instead.

Tahni groaned suddenly and covered her face with her hands. An overwhelming tide of self-loathing washed over her as she once again remembered what she'd done to her other brother, the one she'd blissfully ignored up until he turned into a vegetable. And then she'd lost track of him again. Hadn't Ederra taken him to her room?

A timid knock sounded at her door and Tahni frowned at the interruption. She would have infinitely preferred it if people let her wallow in peace.

"Go away," she ordered, her voice coming out muffled from beneath her palms.

Perhaps the person in the corridor hadn't made out what she'd said, because the next thing she knew, a flooding of light assaulted her sensitive eyes as the door opened wide, admitting a familiar figure into the room.

Tahni cried out in agony and promptly rolled over to the side, bringing her knees up to her chest and curling up as tightly as she could.

"I've fixed the wall sconces in the corridor," announced Ederra cheerfully, coming up to the bed and depositing a rustling mass at the other end of the mattress. Curious despite her irritation, Tahni lifted her head and caught a glimpse of billowing white skirts.

"Would you mind closing the door, please?" she croaked.

"Of course not, but you'll need to let me turn on the lights in here."

Tahni flopped back against her pillows with an aggravated sigh, which Ederra nevertheless took as acquiescence. In no time at all, the door to the corridor was firmly shut and deep shadows played against each other at the behest of a flickering oil lamp, the smallest one Ederra had found.

"Now, I know you're tired, too" she began, and naturally Tahni didn't believe her for a second. No exhausted person could sound so unnaturally chirpy, especially in the evening. "I've read about this feast on Monarchy Day, just to see if I remembered correctly, and there's still more we need to do before you present yourself again. The first and most important aspect is, of course, your outfit."

Tahni scrunched up her forehead in confusion.

"Why?" she demanded. "It's just another feast and I've got dozens of dresses. Just rummage in that wardrobe," she added, pointing to the opposite corner of the room, "and you can even get one for yourself."

Ederra lifted a finger in disagreement, smiling ominously.

"That may be so, but am I correct in assuming that these are perfectly ordinary feast dresses?"

"What do you mean, perfectly ordinary? Some of them are so ridiculous that I can barely move. And there's beads and feathers galore, so much so that I'm in danger of constant sneezing if I don't keep my nose up."

"But their cuts are normal court fashion, yes?" insisted Ederra. "Any seamstress in the upper district might have a couple of samples ready to go, and then all you'd have to do is add said beads and feathers to get one of the dresses you already own."

"And that's the way it should be, at least according to Mother."

Ederra tapped the tip of her finger against her chin, staring pensively at the wall.

"Lady Belis is a fashionable woman," she said at last, "but I've never seen her or you in a riding habit. And I did go through all of your wardrobes when you got ready for your first trial, so that's how I know you don't own one. Or am I mistaken?"

Tahni's eyebrows shot up.

"Why would I need a riding habit?" she squeaked.

"Because it's a hunting feast, dear," explained Ederra patiently. "There'll be plenty of horses and opportunities to display your figure to the ultimate advantage while riding. After all, you'll be in an open field at the edge of the forest."

"Don't be silly, I'm not getting on a horse tomorrow, or anytime in the foreseeable future."

"Nobody's making you ride, but the point remains: you must appear as if you're ready to do so at a moment's notice. It is the fashionable thing to do and the first unwritten rule for ladies when attending a hunting feast." She shrugged, as if willing to emphasize that she hadn't made the rules. "Most of them like to use such opportunities to carry on their own personal exhibition. Some of them even change multiple outfits."

"So what you're telling me," said Tahni drily, "is that one of my regular old dresses which cost half as much as all of Mother's jewelry - and trust me on this one, I'm good with pricing - isn't going to cut it?"

"It's not forbidden to wear a normal, elegant dress. Just unadvisable, since most of your adversaries will want to wear the most flamboyant outfits imaginable without appearing too vulgar."

"They're not my adversaries!" blurted Tahni indignantly. "If that title were to go to anyone, it would have to be the palace guards!"

Ederra put her hands up in surrender.

"Alright, it was just a proposition. I only meant that you all have the same goal, namely to stay in the competition for as long as possible."

Tahni grunted and propped herself up on her elbows, studying her friend's face for any prevailing sign of deception. She found none, her eyes lingering instead on the dark circles beneath the girl's eyes, and she suddenly felt contrite at brushing off her efforts. Bless her heart, she was only trying to help.

"What's that?" asked Tahni, tilting her chin towards the mass of white fabric on the bed.

Ederra broke into a grin and picked up one end, smoothing it over her bodice.

"The outfit I had in mind. At least to begin with, and then we could make some alterations."

Tahni blinked disbelievingly for a couple of seconds, then felt obliged to state the obvious.

"That's your wedding dress."

Ederra sighed, clasping it even tighter against her chest.

"That's exactly why it's perfect for the job. You're only a bit shorter than me, so the changes will be minimal on that front. We're also of a similar build at the waist and bust, though perhaps I should do something about the shoulders."

"It's white."

"For now. But first, let's see if it's viable."

She got up hurriedly and there was no hiding her excitement, while all Tahni wanted to do was curl up on her bed and pretend that none of this was happening. But she soon found herself standing up again with reluctance, knowing that she couldn't turn her friend away and that Ederra wouldn't let her do so in any case.

The ample mass of the wedding dress was tricky to navigate and map out, but Ederra carefully directed her as she stepped into the right places, bringing it all together with painstaking care.

"You've washed it and fixed the tears," observed Tahni as she smoothed over the filmy sleeves while Ederra busied herself with buttoning it all up on the side.

"A matter of course," murmured her friend. Giving the concealed laces one final tug, she stepped back to admire the overall effect.

It was one of those rare moments when Tahni regretted not having a bigger mirror in the room, but her mother had insisted on buying her one, so she had naturally felt compelled to refuse at all costs.

"It's doable," pronounced Ederra at last. "Now for the fun part."

Before Tahni could puzzle out what she'd meant, she found herself brutally wrenched as an entire layer of cloth was torn from its seams below her waist. She froze with her elbows slightly bent, barely daring to breathe as Ederra did it again with the next layer.

"What..." she began uneasily, but the other girl cut her off without apparent worry.

"Trust me," said Ederra. "This serves the original purpose."

Tahni bore the violent tugs and loud tearing noises with fear bordering on amusement. She knew that Ederra was hardly an open individual and one had to pry deep and be patiently observing to understand her properly, but this new behavior had her worried that the Sebeks' general insanity might have transferred to her as well.

"There, that's the last one," said her friend with relish as she tore away one final layer of exquisite silk. She then bunched it up in a tight ball and threw it heedlessly at the bed, missing the mark entirely. "I designed it myself, and I hate to gloat, but it's got to be my best creation to date."

Too astonished for words, Tahni glanced down at the divided skirts she hadn't even felt before. The intricate bodice pattern inspired from centuries-old traditional Kassi costumes spread over her hips and ran down the length of the dress in gorgeous spirals one got lost in if one looked too closely. As for the overall garment, it was heavily inspired from the new Terevansian fashion, so if Tahni was to wear this on the morrow, she would by no means be viewed as boring or stale.

"It's beautiful," she said feelingly, knowing she needed no full length mirror to ascertain that fact. "And comfortable, and light, and the truth is I'd love to wear it, but-"

"It's still white," finished Ederra with a sigh. "It would be a dreadful blunder to turn out in anything of this color when you're supposedly competing to marry a man. On the other hand, white does lend itself best to being dyed, so if you've got any suggestion where we might get some coloring..."

Ederra trailed off as she caught sight of Tahni's blossoming grin, which was a natural harbinger of Tahni's own idea of fun, rarely shared by others.