~Villain~

Oris didn't remember when exactly she fell asleep, but she woke up to Keziah sorting through a pile of gowns beside her. The dimness of the tent seemed to wrap around her until she was nothing but a wisp of a person now and then.

She yawned and blinked the blur from her vision until the girl started looking more human and less shadow. "That was some good sleep."

Keziah looked over her shoulder. "I got bribed to take off your veil. Unexpectedly. In a public place."

"Ah," Oris sat up, "those do look like a lot of dresses. One per person?"

"And then some." Keziah cracked a grin. "There was a competition of sorts, towards the end."

"You look too pleased for that to be all."

"It's refreshing to be one of yours, Mistress."

"I think you just enjoy the subterfuge."

"I like not having a stupid master."

Keziah pulled out a slip of paper from a pocket concealed in her bodice. "These are all their names and stations."

Oris pinched it with two fingers. "That was easier than I expected."

"They are of low station, Mistress, I wouldn't get my hopes up."

"You can't look down on our allies, Miss Keziah. They are all better than me, at least they are nobility."

When Keziah fixed her a stare that threatened to strip her down to her barest layers, Oris sighed helplessly. "Their connections will prove to be valuable."

"I don't trust an alliance where the reliability of our members is based on the fact that they all saw each other pledge allegiance to us. They would only need to agree to pretend that this night never happened then—"

"If I call them pawns, would you be happy?"

Keziah's hands paused over the fabric of a silk dress. "Yes."

"Thought so." Oris got to her feet and stretched. "My bed in the dungeon was more comfortable than this."

"If you miss it that much—"

Oris held up her hand and pointed to the entrance of the tent. Keziah dropped the dress she was folding and stalked towards it.

"Touching my sore spot now, Keziah?" Oris asked sharply. "It seems I have been much too friendly with you. You see me as one of your own, that is a mistake that should be corrected."

"Quiet now, are you?" she asked, just as the girl was about to leave the tent. "The walls of this tent are quite thin. Don't you that someone could easily listen in on us then scurry off to tell their master? What would happen to our pawns then? Would they still side with us?"

There was a gasp, and when Keziah slipped out, a scuffle.

Oris yawned again and returned to her beddings, taking over the task of folding the dresses.

She had just finished when Keziah returned, the hair of a maid trapped in her fist. "Mistress, there were three of them. The others have scurried off to tell their masters."

"Good." Oris beckoned them forward with a finger. "Poor girl, did she hurt you?"

Keziah shook her fist and the girl swayed with the motion, boneless. "My mistress is talking to you."

"N-No, my lady," the maid stammered.

Oris' smile widened. "Ah, so polite. Come. Come. I need you to do something for me."

The maid paled.

"Oh no, I'm not asking you to poison anyone's tea. Keziah, let go of the poor girl."

The maid crumbled to the floor.

Oris tsked sympathetically and held the list up in the air between them. "If you do this one thing, I'll pretend I never caught you. You can tell your mistress that you escaped. That we didn't even see your face. If the other maids accuse you, it would be my word against theirs. You won't be punished."

Slowly, the maid began to regain her backbone. She sat up and knelt in proper form. "What do you need me to do?"

"It's very simple," Oris said. "This is a list of ten women. Tell me which is your mistress, who it is you like the most and who it is you never wish to cross paths with."

~

"You must enjoy playing the villain."

"Playing, Keziah? I am the villain."

"Alright, that should be all the eavesdroppers for today," Keziah said. She had just gotten back from confirming the information the maid had given. "How lucky we are that there was more than one of them."

"I don't think it had anything to do with luck. What did you tell them while I was asleep?"

Keziah only smiled. "Mistress, I just checked. There is no one on the path to the stream, we can go now."

"And leave all of these dresses unattended to," Oris rose to her feet, "a pity."

"What is the next step?"

"We should pay Lady Dianne a visit. She was the first to care for us out of all of them. We should show some loyalty."

~

In the ill-fitted dress Lady Yue had given her and a new veil, Oris dropped by Lady Dianne's, pushing past the maids and walking in unannounced.

"You!" Lady Dianne scowled upon seeing her. "You dare show your face here."

Oris smiled compassionately and hoped that it showed in her eyes. She knew it worked when the lady's expression worsened.

"What do you want?"

"I and my maid came to thank you for the concern you showed us after the fire. I would have come earlier but I had been much too filthy."

"Because of you the Emperor censured me!"

"He censured the person who started the fire. Is this you admitting guilt?" Oris pointed to one of the many cushions in the room. "May I sit down?"

"You already barged in here," Diane grumbled.

"I must apologize for Andrea. I can't control the girl at all, you know? I'm sure you've heard the rumors. I assure you, they are true." Oris shook her head and sighed. "You can't still be blaming me for what happened in the hall?"

Dianne stiffened.

"Fine. Fine. Blame me as you like. I am the one in the wrong; the one who needs to apologize. I listened to the ill-advice of my maids and offended you. How could I have known that you were not only the only daughter of the Earl of Luckstrum, but also the grandniece of Luckstrum's high priest? I am in awe of your status."

Dianne's chest puffed up, predictably, but Oris saw no reason to stop talking.

"See, myself, I had to wear the clothes offered to me by others, out of pity. What right did I have to show off in front of you."

"Oh, I thought I recognized that dress," Dianne said, aghast, "it looks very much like the one my cousin wore to a ball a year ago. So dated!"

"It was given to me by Lady Yue of the Isle Of Yue." Oris rubbed the material between her fingers. "Even though it's old, it is such a nice dress. The material is also—"

"Don't wear anything that she gives you."

"But I don't have other clothes—" Oris cut herself off. "Of course, Lady Dianne. If it means your forgiveness."

"You may go now. I need to have my morning rest."

"I won't bother you any longer," Oris said, and rose to her feet. "I have to return this dress to your cousin."

Keziah took her by the hand and walked her to the exit.

"If you truly are that desperate, I can lend you some of my old dresses. The hunt is only lasting a week," Dianne said.

A week? That was new information. Oris turned around and let her smile reach her eyes. "I won't forget your kindness."

"Mistress, are you..." Keziah whispered as they stepped out.

Oris only answered once Dianne's tent was far behind them. "Did you know that Ashenpol is the home of incense? In all of Narita, it is the most benign thing to specialize in but there have always been rumors of kings dying after offending palace incense makers."

"Poison?"

"If so, one that isn't easily detectable. Most consider it a spiritual affliction. After all, the smoke is used for purification at shrines and during rituals."

"Then my next question should be..."

What is being purified in the Empress Dowager's palace? Oris pushed Keziah into the tent they shared with twenty other women and nodded towards the pile of dresses. "Check which ones are missing."

~

Lady Ria of Ashenpol is from Ashenpol, in case you guys forgot. So... What do you think Oris is up to? I'm asking for a friend.

Alright. She's gathering dresses and starting rumors about herself. Blackmailing maids and sucking up to Lady Dianne. Hehehe. Such fun.