As Del had warned she might, Aria fetched Iliana much earlier in the morning than she had before. When Iliana questioned her, pointing out that she had said Iliana wasn't needed until the evening, the woman shrugged.

"You aren't required to be in public until then. Corinna insisted, however, that since she is the only one allowed to prepare you, that getting dressed would take many hours."

Confusion flicked through Iliana as Aria led her down the countless tower steps. "She insisted?"

As far as Iliana knew, Corinna couldn't speak.

"She knows the hand signs," Aria explained after a pause. "And she was persistent through them."

Iliana hesitated. Silence coated the air between them for several minutes as they exited the tower and began the familiar trek to the bathhouse. Eventually, she decided there was no way to make her question less suspicious, or more persuasive.

"Could you teach me?"

Aria stumbled in her steps. "Excuse me?"

"Could you teach me the hand signs?" Iliana repeated.

Her guard stopped walking, turning to face Iliana with a complicated expression. The others accompanying them paused as well, each showing varying levels of confusion. Aria ignored them, her attention focusing on Iliana as a frown overtook her face.

"There's no point, Milady," Aria warned her.

"I don--"

"There is nothing you can offer them that could outweigh their fear," Aria interrupted. "And I only say that much because they won't know it. Understand this, it isn't that they can't understand, lip reading could get them quite far, but they don't want to know. Because knowledge is dangerous. And here in the palace, survival is everyone's priority. And it should be yours as well."

Iliana scowled. "It is. Which is why I want to learn."

"Attempting to sway your guards to your side is not wise. And no matter what you promise, that would be the obvious conclusion."

"Not being able to communicate with those you surround me with isn't beneficial either, though," Iliana argued.

"My answer is no."

And without giving Iliana the chance to argue further, Aria spun on a heel and started walking again. Her pace was harsher before, ending in Iliana having to half-run to catch up. She swore under her breath, but didn't try to restart the conversation. If Aria was going to be a dead end, Iliana would have to try someone else.

The opportunity, surprisingly, came to her in the bathhouse.

Like everytime after the initial bath--Aria reclined on a bench near the entrance after they arrived. That left Iliana alone with Corinna. Knowing asking would do no good while Aria was still within hearing distance, she bided her time. And, as expected, when the bath was done and Iliana's skin scented, Corinna led her into the same backroom she had on every other day. The second they stepped inside, Iliana placed her back against the door.

Seeming to realize something was up, the maid took a startled step back. Iliana put her hands up in a hopefully calming manner.

"I'm not going to try hurting you or anything," she reassured. It wasn't as if threatening Corinna would get her anywhere--which was probably why they were allowed to be alone. No one in the palace would care what Iliana did to a simple servant. "I just want to ask you something."

Wariness reflected in the maid's eyes, but she didn't move, either. It would have to do.

"You understand the hand signs. And, you understand me," Iliana stated.

Corinna nodded.

"I want to learn them."

Alarm sparked in the girl's gaze. She instantly shook her head, taking several more steps away from Iliana. Inwardly, Iliana cursed. Aloud, she stayed carefully silent, and didn't budge from the door. Scaring Corinna further would only be counterproductive.

"I won't tell who taught me," Iliana tried again. "I can always claim I picked it up on my own."

If she wasn't doubtful about her own ability to learn, Iliana would have taken that route in the first place. But, as she had told Del, she'd never been a great student.

Corinna shook her head again, vehemently this time. Instead of continuing to face Iliana, she spun around and began fussing with one of the dresses that hung behind her. Iliana bit her lip, debating if pressing the girl further would be worth it.

No, she decided after a moment, when Corinna continued to do anything but look at her. She didn't trust Iliana enough. Likely, Corinna's own position in the palace was too precarious. She would have to wait, and earn her trust, or sympathy at least, before trying again.

Aria or Corinna, someone would teach Iliana. She wasn't going to give up just yet.

The next several hours passed in a whirlwind of lace and pins. First, Corinna layered Iliana into a pure white gown, before changing her mind and switching. In typical eastern fashion, the bodice of the new dress consisted of a dark crimson corset, buttoned at the center and bordered with black ribbon. It left Iliana's collar bare, putting her tattoo on an unsettlingly prominent display. As was no doubt the purpose of a neckline that barely just barely covered her chest.

The skirt was heavy, but lacked lace. Instead it was dual layered. The outer petticoat layer was the same deep crimson of the corset, with the layer underneath a black that matched the bordered ribbon.

When Corinna was finally content with the dress, she moved onto Iliana's hair. It was pulled back with pin after pin, ensuring that while the curls were allowed to hang loose, not a strand--beyond two, precisely placed locks--would fall in front of her ears.

Next, Corinna produced a collar of lace and ribbon. Once placed, it covered the entirety of Iliana's neck, while leaving her collarbone bare. Corinna finished it with a polished ruby secured over the front hollow of Iliana's neck.

By the time the maid put the final piece on the outfit--two, black heels that would likely kill her feet by the end of the night--Iliana was exhausted. Aria's explanation of the early hour made an unfortunate amount of sense. A step into the world outside revealed it to be mid-day. If they had started later, Iliana would have had to go directly from dressing to whatever event was being held with no chance to rest.

As it was, Iliana was dropped off at the tower with firm instructions. And, for once, she felt no desire to challenge them. Whatever punishment would follow if she accidentally messed up her outfit couldn't possibly be worth it. So, she carefully spread her skirts before sitting on the edge of the bed to wait. Quickly, however, the wait weighed on her patience. Without Del to talk to, the room was far too quiet.

So, she carefully pulled her leg up to the bed, so she could place a hand on her anklet, while curling her opposing hand around where Koun's necklace dipped beneath the lace of her collar. Instantly, warmth seemed to seep from the little fox.

'Koun?'

The world of white came to her without warning. One second, she was settled in on the softest bed she'd ever experienced, and in the next she was standing in the void.

Unlike her last visit, there was no sense of haziness to the world. She offered a quick prayer of thanks for Koun's gift, before focusing on her charms. At first, she was tempted to just follow Kain's charm. Her desire to see her best friend was near overwhelming. There was, however, something more important than impulse. It drew her attention from Kain, to the sole charm that still remained a mystery to her.

Iliana knelt down and as her fingers brushed the old metal, a shiver racked her spine.

The triskele.

The person who owned it was worried. Scared, even. And for the life of her, Iliana had no idea who it might be. After the last, however, her fear of the unknown had faded into a low burning anger. Who else could the gods have shoved at her? What other aspects of Iliana's life had been manipulated to their desires? She had to know.

So, throwing away her desire to see Kain, Iliana gripped the red string that came from the triskele and stood to follow it.

As always, time slipped into nothing as she walked. The silhouette she eventually found was slender, but masculine in build. Their height was not all that different from hers, and their hair even longer than Iliana's own.

Only one name came to mind in response to the sight. As odd as it would be to connect all the emotions she had experienced to him, he was the only man she knew with hair that long.

Callias.

Her mind pulled the dream she had experienced to the front of her thoughts, unbidden. The child and mother had made little sense at the time--as it fit none of the lives she'd known to be connected hers, but if it was Callias, then the woman's words, the child's behavior, they matched.

For once, it was curiosity, not forced bravado, that drew Iliana closer to the silhouette. Before she could touch it, however, a hand gripped her own.

"Fucking--Gods dammit, Koun!"

Fear from the sudden appearance drew curses from Iliana's lips before her mind could fully consider what was being said. Thankfully, the god didn't seem insulted. Instead, he chuckled.

"Apologies," he said, sounding anything but. "However, you can't go there right now."

"Last time you interrupted you said I was visiting someone too much," Iliana argued. "Now, you're going to stop me from watching someone who I haven't even checked?"

Koun shrugged, and released her wrist. "I don't make the rules."

"You're a fucking god! If you don't, who does?" she demanded.

He quirked a brow, and Iliana's anger cooled several degrees. Upsetting Koun didn't seem wise, all things considered. So, she cleared her throat, and tried again.

"Who makes the rules...Milord?"

He laughed. "Please don't fall back on formalities. From you, they might as well be an insult."

She wasn't sure how to take that. "Are you going to answer or not?"

Koun made a show of crossing his arms as he curled one finger through the air, catching a previously unseen red string over his finger. Iliana shivered as he gave it the faintest tug, and it seemed to pull on something inside her.

"The fates, occasionally. But, for this game...most of the rules are Inna's," he admitted. "And she says that you must wait. If you watch their party right now, it could alter what comes. So, you cannot."

"That's fucked."

Koun chuckled. "Be that as it may, it's what she has asked. If you wish to entertain yourself, look at the child of sun."

"The--who?"

Even as she asked, memory of Inna's chosen address for Lykos flickered to the front of her mind. Iliana frowned. At the time, she'd been too distracted by what Inna's lack of interest in her meant for Iliana's future. Now, however, she realized how odd it was that the gods didn't use his name.

When the gods used a title, it typically meant something.

"What does child of sun mean?" she asked. "Who does it refer to?" 

For a moment, she thought he might answer. Then, Koun shrugged once again, letting the crimson thread drop from his finger. It dissipated in the air. "I cannot say."

"Another rule?" she snarked.

"No," Koun replied. "I just don't feel like it."

And then, without another word, he disappeared.

"Then how the fuck am I supposed to know who to follow?"

Unsurprisingly, her shout didn't make the god return. Instead, a ghostly chuckle drifted through the air, before two unseen hands shoved her forward. She fell, but instead of hitting the white ground, reality shuddered, and Iliana found herself sprawled across near pitch black stone.

The black tower.

Koun had sent her to Lykos.

A/N: A short chapter, but necessary to split the upcoming events how I want to. 

Also, a lot happened despite how short this was! Any thoughts on what Iliana has learned? 

See you next week, where we'll be with Iliana again as she learns what the black tower is really like.