Merizel discovers that life in the palace isn't at all what she expected. She struggles to comprehend the relationship between her new employer and the Prince... which seems to be very physical. Meanwhile, Garia has difficulty containing her temper over some innocent questions.

Somewhere Else Entirely

by Penny Lane

21 - Educating Merizel

Disclaimer: The original characters and plot of this story are the property of the author. No infringement of pre-existing copyright is intended. This story is copyright (c) 2011-2017 Penny Lane. All rights reserved.

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Merizel raised an eyebrow as Garia entered the dining room followed by her maid. Whatever was she wearing? That looked like an ill-fitting tunic on top, clearly too big for her, and why was she wearing a mismatched skirt with it? In fact, why wasn't she just wearing a light summer gown, like she herself was? Surely she wasn't wearing boots, not in weather like this? And tights? Most peculiar! Perhaps she has some kind of leg problem, blotches, maybe? Perhaps that's why she has to have them covered up? But... her legs had appeared perfectly smooth and toned when they had first met yesterday before lunch! She smoothed the expression of disapproval from her face and went over to greet Garia.

"Mistress Garia! Good morning to you."

"Lady Merizel." Merizel noticed that Garia omitted the obligatory curtsey. "You had a restful night? I find it sometimes takes a day or two to settle into a strange room and bed."

"Thank you, yes, Mistress. It was rather hot, but then all Palarand is hot at the moment." Merizel felt she had to mention the girl's clothing since it was so odd. "Your attire, is there some particular reason to dress that way?"

Garia grinned at her. "Yes, there is. After breakfast the Prince, Jenet and I will be going to use one of the chambers the Guard normally use, to do some exercises." She thought, and then added, "I suggest you come along and watch us today. I'm not suggesting you have to get involved, either today or in the future, but since I'll be exercising every morning from now on it would be good that you have some idea of what I'll be doing." She shrugged. "After that, it will be up to you if you wish to get yourself involved or not."

Merizel asked cautiously, "Exercise, Mistress? Why would any woman want to exercise? What kind of exercise do you intend?"

"That's kind of difficult to explain, Merizel. It will be best if you come and watch, then you'll understand."

"As you wish, Mistress. After all, I'm supposed to be helping you, so I need to understand your routine. Of course, when I was acting for my father I already knew his routine so it was easy to fit in. Living in the palace is somewhat different, isn't it?"

"It certainly is, especially for someone like me who's not used to any of the local customs."

Keren entered the dining room and came to join them.

"Good day to you both, Lady Merizel, Mistress Garia." To Garia he added, "Looking forward to our next session? I am."

"I am," she replied, "but I am beginning to suspect your motives."

He looked at her seriously. "Trust me, Mistress, I am eager to learn more of anything you might teach me." He grinned, then. "However, I have to admit there is a certain... additional incentive to exercising with you. Shall we go and join the others at table?"

~o~O~o~

When they arrived at the Large Training Room they found Captain Bleskin waiting for them. The sounds of his men could clearly be heard exercising through the open door in the field beyond. Garia formally introduced Merizel to him and he bowed to her.

"Highness, Milady, Mistress," he addressed them, "I have been thinking about your exercise needs since last we spoke, Mistress. There is very little reason that you cannot continue using the Small Training Room for another three weeks or so, but once the rains start in earnest we shall all be forced indoors. Once that happens we will want to use all available space so I would like the Small Training Room back, if I may. However, there is another room it may be possible that you could use. If you would like to walk this way."

He led them to a door in the opposite end of the wall from the one that they normally used and opened it. Beyond was another room the same size as the Small Training Room but which obviously hadn't been actively used for some time. It was nearly filled with all kinds of junk and discarded items, all connected in some way to the Palace Guard. Saddles, both worn and damaged were piled in heaps on the floor. Lances, shields, boots, helmets, odd pieces of armor lay scattered around the room or propped against the walls. Other unidentifiable bulging sacks could be seen piled against the far wall.

"Much of this is spare or retained for salvage, Mistress," Bleskin explained, waving a hand. "Some of it was confiscated after battles or from bandits, some is just worn-out equipment, other items are trophies of war. It's mostly been dumped in here to keep it dry and out of the way, since we didn't need the room for training. It's probably about time I got some of the men to tidy it up and throw away the rubbish or send the re-usable parts back to the armorers. If we clear the room, Mistress, do you think it would be suitable for your purposes?"

Garia's eyes darted round the room. "It's the same size as the other room, isn't it, Captain?"

Bleskin nodded. "Aye, it is, but the lighting isn't as good as the other room. It doesn't have the protective planking round the walls, either."

"That won't be a problem for us, Captain. And you needn't throw anything away either. If you tidy all this up, I don't see why it wouldn't fit in that half of the room, and then we can use this half, near the door. The only thing I'll need which I don't see here is a felt mat."

"That we can easily provide, Mistress. Just give me four or five days and I should have the room cleared for you."

Garia smiled at him. "Thank you very much, Captain! I know I've asked you for a lot, I do appreciate what you're doing for us."

He beamed at her. "Telescopes, Mistress, and semaphore signaling! That's all the incentive I need to provide this for you. Tell me, when do you think I might be able to watch you at exercise? Sometime soon, perhaps?"

Garia looked thoughtful. "I wish it could be soon, Captain, but I think I'd rather leave it for a week. I'm still having to adjust to this new body," Merizel's eyes narrowed, "and my size makes things different than I was used to before." She gave him another smile. "So far, everything seems to be going the way I expected it to, so perhaps next week we'll be able to give you a reasonable demonstration."

Bleskin returned her smile. "I'll look forward to it, Mistress. And now, I must go out to the field and join my men, if you'll all excuse me. Highness, Milady, Mistress." He bowed three times, turned and walked out onto the field.

Garia, Keren and Merizel, accompanied as always by Jenet and Bursila, made their way down to the Small Training Room.

"Merizel, Bursila, I suggest you go and sit down over there," she told them. "Keren and I have to get one of the mats out."

Merizel walked to the indicated bench and sat, Bursila standing beside and behind her as she would normally do. She watched with puzzlement as Garia and Keren pulled one of the rolled-up mats into the center of the room and began laying it out flat. Why didn't they get servants in to do that kind of work for them? That's why one had servants, after all, wasn't it? Then she watched in amazement as Garia's maid pulled her mistress's skirt off and laid it over the end of their bench before retying the pink sash around Garia's waist. Merizel's suspicions were confirmed, Garia was indeed wearing tights, the effect of seeing so much leg was scandalous, but strangely the Prince didn't seem concerned at all. The three then took positions on the wood floor, Keren and Jenet facing Garia, who just happened to also be facing Merizel.

"These are just loosening-up exercises," Garia called to Merizel. "Just watch for now, see what we do."

She led them through the exercises they had done so far, discovering that they had already seeped into the muscle memory of her two students. With that in mind, she introduced them to more of the forms and repeated them until both appeared to have understood the new moves.

Merizel watched this performance with increasing puzzlement. It had seemed to be some kind of dance at first, but later there appeared faintly sinister overtones. What kind of movements were those for any woman to be doing? What was the purpose? She watched in further puzzlement as the Prince and Jenet came and sat beside her on the bench.

Garia took her initial position again and ran through the whole Tai Chi exercise from beginning to end before coming to the bench and accepting a drink from her maid. Then, she stood at one end of the mat and began her individual rolling exercises. She stopped these abruptly and stood to call out to Keren.

"Keren, perhaps you should start doing these as well? Come over and join me."

"I was wondering when you'd ask," he replied, getting up and joining her.

Merizel was shocked by the familiarity the two showed one another. Maker, even two who were betrothed didn't talk to one another like that! And the girl had only been here twelve days, by her own reckoning, so they hadn't known each other that long! She began to wonder if she'd wandered into a house for the insane by mistake. Could the rules in the palace be so different than those at home? Yes, things were bound to be different in the city compared to where she had been brought up, but this...

She watched the inexplicable things happening on the mat. A side-glance told her that Garia's maid saw nothing unusual with what was going on, but that didn't explain whether this was normal or not. The two of them were practicing falling over! After a while, Merizel perceived that Garia was in fact teaching the Prince how to fall, roll, and keep on moving until he came to his feet again, a clever trick, but what use was it? Neither of them was a traveling player, an acrobat, so why were they doing this?

Laughing, the two stood and took positions at either end of the mat. Merizel watched curiously. Suddenly, the Prince attacked Garia! She watched in shock as Keren rushed in, his hands stretched out to grab her. Unconsciously, Merizel flinched at the expected brutal contact. The next thing she knew, her eyes were as wide as they could get, and both her fists were jammed into her mouth to stop her screaming with disbelief as Garia calmly bent, grabbed Keren's tunic, twisted and sent him sailing over her body. The Prince landed on one shoulder, folding his body to turn his fall into a roll, which ended with him coming smoothly to his feet and turning to grin at Garia.

"Was that better for you?" he asked her.

"I have to say, Keren, that you're a quick learner. Want to try it the other way round?"

"Of course. I think I have the moves right, although obviously I'll have to modify them because you're so small and light."

She grimaced back at him. "Yes, it's going to be a problem. Before, I was about the same size and weight as you so everything worked out properly. But my Sensei - um, that's what the master of my art is called - would say that the size of your opponent was immaterial, that if you do the movement correctly the end result would be the same whoever your opponent was. Still, we have to work with whatever we've got. Ready?"

This time, it was Garia who sailed over Keren's hip. Merizel had gotten over her original shock but still couldn't believe what she was seeing. The girl, younger and smaller than herself, was heaving the heir to the throne about as if he was a sack of meal! She watched as the 'exercise', or whatever it was, progressed, watching the two people on the mat apparently fighting one another but equally apparently somehow avoiding injuring each other, instead laughing and joking while they were doing it!

Finally the pair decided they had done enough for the day and came to the bench to get the drinks Jenet had made ready for them. Both were breathing heavily, although not gasping, and both tunics were heavily creased and stained with sweat.

"Well, what did you think, Merizel?"

"Mmm-, ah, Garia, I don't know what to say," a shaken Merizel replied. "I have never, ever, seen a girl do things like that before. And to the Crown Prince! What is the purpose of such violent activity?"

Garia drained off her beaker and handed it to Jenet for a refill.

"Self-defense, Merizel. If I had been able to do this the night they attempted to kidnap me, I might not have jumped out the window. At home we do it for sport and to keep our bodies fit."

Merizel assumed her usual confused expression. "But, why would we need to defend ourselves? Surely that is what the men are for, to look after us women? And why would I want to be fit? Am I not fit enough for what I do?"

Garia thought about her answer carefully. "On my world, women lead more independent lives than you do here, so there is more need for some means of self defense. The men are there as well, of course, and they will defend women when there is need, but sometimes the circumstances are such that you have to be able to take matters into your own hands. These methods I'm teaching Keren can be used by men as well as women, in fact most of the people who did it with me on Earth were men. There's no age barrier, either. Anyone from six to sixty can practice these moves if they are fit enough."

Merizel's eyebrows narrowed as she considered this revelation. This world Mistress Garia claimed to have come from sounded like a very violent place, and Alaesia was violent enough!

Garia continued, "As for being fit, consider this. If you can keep your body fit, you will live longer and catch fewer illnesses - and retain your natural beauty longer."

Garia had deliberately added that as she thought it would catch Merizel's attention, and she was right.

"My beauty? How is that possible?"

"You'll be working your body as it was designed to be used. You'll keep your muscles stronger for a longer time, and your circulation will improve, as will your breathing. Your body will make better use of the food you eat, and you'll look younger for longer."

"I... don't know," Merizel replied finally. "Your exercises seem very... violent. Do you want me to do them with you?" She definitely looked unhappy at that idea.

Garia quickly shook her head. "No, not at all. In fact, I think I don't want you to get involved with this at all to start with. We're still working out what to do and where and how to do it, so trying to teach you anything would just complicate matters right now."

"But... you're teaching the Prince," she objected.

"Who was training with the Palace Guard until I arrived here," Garia explained. She stopped and thought. "But there's no reason you and Bursila couldn't start doing Tai Chi with Keren and Jenet. That's a non-violent form of the exercise which will keep you supple and ready for the day's activities and is also suitable for all. You wouldn't have to put special clothes on or anything like that. I want to get as many people here as possible doing Tai Chi."

"I don't know about that," Merizel said. "I've never done anything like that before in my life."

"Think of it as a kind of slow dance if you like. It won't be hard for either of you to learn, and it really will keep your body supple and well-stretched. Look!"

Garia walked out to a clear area of the wooden part of the floor and did the splits. This time, she was listening and heard the fabric begin to part as her legs straightened out to either side. Merizel just gaped at her. Garia carefully got to her feet without exposing anything and walked back to the bench.

"If I keep doing my exercises," she said, "I'll still be able to do that in forty years time."

Merizel gulped. "That looked painful."

"Not at all! Any girl our age should be able to do that unless her posture was so bad she'd got stiff." She eyed Merizel up and down. "You'd need to loosen up a bit, but I don't see any reason you couldn't do that if you wanted to."

Jenet reached into the big bag she carried and handed Keren and Garia a towel each to wipe their faces with. They scrubbed the sweat off and wiped the excess dampness from their hair and necks. Merizel watched fascinated. She knew that such things happened, after all her own father had armed retainers who trained just as the guardsmen outside were probably training, but she had never witnessed such a display before in her life, nor observed them while they were practicing. That would be unladylike.

The Prince's behavior was strange, too. Although he had treated her with the deference a woman of her station expected his behavior towards Garia was distinctly unusual, and Merizel couldn't work out what it meant. At first, Merizel had assumed that Garia was going all out to catch the Prince, but consideration of Garia's status made her realize that was impossible, and the two were far too friendly in any case. They were behaving almost like brother and sister, or, she considered wonderingly, brother and brother. Very strange!

Merizel was also finding herself somewhat attracted to the Prince. The combination of watching him work out, his constant smiles, grins and gentle banter plus the effects of the good, clean honest odors coming from his stained tunic and flushed skin made her fervently wish that the rules on marrying Princes were not quite so strict. Perhaps I can become his close friend, she thought, at least until the woman who is to become his queen comes along. After all, Garia has managed to get close enough!

"Mistress," Jenet said, "The guardsmen are coming back into the main hall."

"Oh, should we go?"

"I think so, Mistress. You'll need to get cleaned up before lunch."

"Whereas I can appear looking like this," Keren said to Jenet with a twinkle in his eye.

Jenet blushed. "Highness, you know I included you."

Keren laughed. "Of course, Jenet. Come on, perhaps we'd better go."

In the larger room the men were gathering, glad to get in out of the hot sun. The four women accompanying the Prince were all given appraising glances by the men. A few looked at the sweat-stained tunics Keren and Garia wore and wondered just what the two had been doing. Some looked at the tall unfamiliar girl with an aristocratic bearing and her maid, estimating their chances at some kind of meeting in the future. Some waved or grinned at Keren, who had been training with them until recently.

"Hey, Highness! What are you doing in that room with four women?"

Keren grinned back at them, then turned and gestured with the palm of his hand.

"Wait here while I go and squash these no-good idlers."

He walked over to the group containing the man who had called.

"I've been working hard all morning, unlike you lot of work-shy layabouts who've probably spent the whole time sitting about soaking up the sun."

"We've been soaking up the sun all right, Highness," the heckler replied, "stood around waiting our turn at the butts." The speaker's eyes flicked up and down Keren's disheveled state. "What's going on, then? You chasing them round the room?" An evil grin came. "Or are they chasing you?"

"As if I'd get the chance. No, I've been learning how to fight dirty, and bare-handed too. Mistress Garia is teaching me things new to Alaesia."

"What, her? That little thing?" The speaker roared with laughter which suddenly cut off when he realized that Keren wasn't joining in. He looked again at Garia and noticed that her tunic top was as sweat-stained as Keren's. "You're serious? Surely not!" He looked at Keren's face again. "Maker, he's serious! She can do that? With her bare hands? I don't believe you."

"Believe it, Torin. We've only just started, but we'll be able to give you a demonstration in two or three weeks or so and then I'll hand you all your worthless backsides."

Torin looked meditatively at Garia. "I'd heard about her, and I didn't believe all the stories. You telling us they are all true?"

Keren grinned. "Since I haven't heard all the stories I can't answer that. But she's good, and she knows her subject. You just wait and see."

The guardsman looked over Keren's appearance, aware that he must have been working quite hard to end up looking the way he did. "Are we supposed to be learning what she's teaching you, Highness?"

"More than likely, Torin. That will be up to Captain Bleskin to decide, of course." Another grin. "And don't expect her to be doing all the teaching, either. You'll probably have to put up with me instead."

Torin groaned, obviously unhappy about the hard work looming in his future.

Another man spoke up. "Highness, who's the aristocratic type with Mistress Garia?"

"Oh, she's the youngest daughter of a minor Baron, who just happened to be visiting her brother in the city. Baron Kamodar of South Reach." The guardsmen looked blank. "No, me neither, although Father says he knows the Baron. Mistress Garia is getting so busy she needs some extra help, so Lady Merizel will become her secretary, if we don't frighten her off first."

"I can understand that, Highness. Life has been more... interesting... since Mistress Garia arrived."

Keren grinned again. "Don't I know it! We must go, we'll need to get cleaned up before lunch."

He rejoined the women and the group made their way out of the hall, taking a route which would bring them all back to the household corridor as quickly as possible.

"Keren," Garia asked him as they walked, "if all the guardsmen are out practicing on the field, who's guarding the palace?"

"That's easy, Garia, that isn't the entire guard, only a fifth of it. The Guard is divided into five Quadrants." He saw her mouth twitch and chuckled. "Yes, I know, it's a standing joke. One Quadrant is training, two others are on guard duty, one does the night shift and the last is on leave, or occasionally on duty away from the palace. There's about forty in each Quadrant and they change duty once a week. The first week it's training, then walls, gates and watchtowers, then they move inside to guard chambers and corridors. Finally they get a week off which gives them a chance to adapt to a week of night duty."

"Ah. I wondered why there were guardsmen around but they always seemed to be out on the field when we got there."

"Yes. It's a good system, keeps them fresh, doesn't overwork them or let them get bored doing the same job all the time. That's why they were able to respond quickly that night. The problem then was working out just where you were, nobody expected you to be away from your night chamber, and nobody expected anyone to be in the herb garden."

"Highness," Merizel said, "did Mistress Garia really climb out a window?"

"Oh, yes," he told her, "it was quite dramatic. That's why she got moved to Elizet's old suite. And, here we are. I'll leave you to go and change, I'll see you in the dining room. Milady, Mistress."

Garia showed Merizel into her sitting room while Keren wandered off to his own quarters.

"I have to go and bathe, why don't you amuse yourself by looking around. I've nothing to hide."

Jenet collected two fluffy robes and the pair retired to the bathroom. Jenet pulled off the sash, skirt and tunic, and then carefully unwound another sash Garia had decided to try under her tunic but over the bodice. This had started under her breasts, then round the back under the armpit, spread to hold one breast firmly, round the back again, under the other armpit and across the other breast. It had made a difference but Garia had found it bulky and uncomfortable while they were active on the mat, not to mention hot. Oh, well, it was only an experiment. Now all I have to do is remember exactly how a sports bra is made, then convince someone to make one for me.

Once clean and refreshed and wrapped in a robe, Garia found Merizel in her dressing room rifling through her gowns.

"Oh! I hope you don't mind, Garia. You did say I could look round."

"No, that's fine, carry on. All this clothing is out of the Palace Wardrobe in any case since I had almost nothing to wear when I arrived. These are mostly old gowns that belonged to Keren's sisters when they were growing up."

"They gave you all of this from the Palace Wardrobe? These gowns look quite fine. The quality of the stitching is very good, but I'd expect that from the palace." Merizel gave Garia a calculating look. "If I'm now to be living in the palace, do you think they would let me have gowns to wear from the store?"

"Um, I'd take it slow if I were you. I'm not sure how they would take to you helping yourself, if you already have gowns to wear." Garia moved to a shelf and reached. "I was an exceptional case, these were what I was wearing when I came to Anmar."

Merizel twitched at that uncomfortable sentence, but she took the satchel Garia handed her and carried it to the dressing table while Garia and Jenet selected a gown to wear for the rest of the day.

"What peculiar clothes!" She held up the jeans. "Trousers? You were wearing trousers? You surely didn't wear these, did you? They look too long for you."

"I told you," Garia said patiently, "on Earth I was a boy. The clothes fit me perfectly then."

Merizel held the impossible garment in her hand, looking at the strange design and fittings, and realized that she would never be able to find a rational explanation for Garia's appearance.

"I'm sorry, Mistress Garia," she said, "I really didn't believe your explanation of how you came here, it seemed much too... fantastic. I don't know that much about men's clothes but I've never seen anything like this before. I can't say if you have come from another world, but you've certainly come from somewhere a long, long way from the Valley. I'm sorry I doubted your story."

Garia smiled. "That's all right, Merizel. My story is so wild I'm surprised I believe it myself. Now, come and help me find something to wear."

"If you were a boy before," Merizel said slowly, "then... is all this clothing strange to you?"

"Yes and no," Garia replied. "On Earth neither men or women wear styles like they do here, but they did wear similar clothes in the distant past. I've had a bit of a crash course in wearing gowns so I'm comfortable now, but I wouldn't know how to choose a particular style or length for a special occasion. I have Jenet to help, of course, she's been marvelous, but because I'm new to Palarand I don't know what people are expected to wear."

"Oh. Yes, of course, I'd be delighted to help you, Garia. Although, I'm from a rural area and city styles are somewhat different to the eyes of a country girl like me. Still, between us we should manage, don't you think?"

Garia smiled. "That's what I'd hoped you'd say. And, this afternoon after our nap I was planning to go along and visit the Mistress of the Wardrobe. Perhaps you should come along and I'll introduce you."

She sat down in front of the dresser and let Jenet brush out her hair, finally coating it with a hint of the karzal-nut oil.

"Your hair," Merizel said. "When I first met you I thought it looked awful, that's because no-one in Palarand has short hair at all unless they've been really ill or had an accident. I think that was the first thing I noticed about you. I thought it made you look ridiculous because it showed off your neck, and that fringe is something only the very young girls wear these days. But I've since realized that it's actually a very good style, isn't it? I noticed that it didn't get in the way when you were throwing each other about earlier, and watching Jenet dry it just now showed me it's really easy to look after, isn't it? Do... the girls on your world all wear their hair that short?"

"You can wear long hair when doing martial arts," Garia replied, "but you'd have to braid it up or do something similar to keep it out of the way. Yes, that's one reason I asked for it short. Another was to make sure people understood I wasn't just another Palarand girl." Garia twisted in the chair to face Merizel. "To start with, they all thought I was making up huge stories, nobody would listen to what I said. I decided that since they were judging me by my appearance, I would have to change it. To answer your question, girls - women - wear their hair all kinds of lengths, some as long as yours, others shorn down to almost stubble. There's a certain amount of fashion involved and also which country you're in, I guess. Styles change over time as you might expect. This particular style," she reached up to finger the hair by her cheek, "is actually from a completely different culture to mine, a group of islands far away similar to the Kittrins here."

"The Kittrins? Who are they?"

Garia rolled her eyes. Trust the Queen to come up with an ignorant provincial for an assistant! I guess I can't blame her, though. She's no different than many back home who have never seen the sea and don't know where almost any foreign country is. Heck, some of them don't even know which State they're in!

"Never mind," she said. "Come on, it's time we went downstairs for lunch."

~o~O~o~

Garia lay on her sun-lounger, eyelids half closed as she began to drift off. Facing her lay Merizel and behind each of them their maids were settling down. Garia considered the morning's activities.

This morning was quite difficult, she thought. And then again, there were times it wasn't at all. Sometimes, when he touched me, some very odd things happened inside me. Other times, it seemed to do nothing at all. Sometimes, I just wanted to stop, to let him hold me close. Other times he was just a guy I was sparring with. Perhaps I've been too close to him for too long, even though I've barely been here two weeks. We've been almost constantly in each other's company, and I have to admit I like it that way. He's about my age, and despite our totally different upbringing we seem to click together just like that.

However, I have to ask myself, is it distracting me too much? Or, perhaps just as important, am I distracting him? After all, he's going to be King, perhaps he should be reserving his friendship for someone more his own level, someone who can take that friendship much further than I can?

Now, why exactly don't I want that to happen?

Hello! Guy inside here! I can't allow myself to get jealous when other girls want his attention. I'm not ready to have a relationship with a guy, am I? I know it's going to happen sometime, but I need to get comfortable in this skin first, and then it'll all seem natural, won't it?

So why does the thought of Keren marrying someone else fill me with anguish? Or fill me with rage, instead?

~o~O~o~

"Now, the Mistress of the Wardrobe is called Mistress Yolda," Garia said as the group walked through the corridors. "She's apparently been here forever and appears resistant to any kind of change. She doesn't like me at all, and when I first came she didn't want to give me anything except what she thought a lady of the court ought to be wearing. Of course, as you have seen today, I need to wear different things for exercising, and we had quite a battle over it. In the end Queen Terys has forced her to provide me with what I ask for, and she will be handing her office over to someone else when the rains come to an end."

"I know people like that," Merizel said. "Daddy's people are quite traditional but at least they know that fashions change, even if it all happens very slowly. Now, our neighbors Baron Runden and Lady Darina of Nether Bend have a Mistress of the Household called Mistress Jansy. She is much like you describe, never wanting to change anything. Poor Lady Darina is reluctant to visit far afield since her gowns look quite old-fashioned, and indeed the Baron's clothes are dated as well. Unfortunately, it seems that they can't get rid of her the way the Queen can."

"Ah, it's good you know the sort of person I'm talking about, then. So, be careful when we get there, I don't want to antagonize her or give her any reason to reject my requests."

"As you say, Garia."

Mistress Yolda was in her office, seated at her desk beside a man in a variation of the palace livery that Garia hadn't seen before. In front of them on Yolda's desk were a number of document piles which the two appeared to be going through. Yolda looked up when Garia entered, noted Merizel's presence, and returned her attention to the table.

"Your pardon, mistresses, I am momentarily busy," she said, without looking at them again. "If you would both take a seat, I shall see to your needs shortly."

Merizel looked as if she would burst into furious speech but Garia put up her hand, shook her head and quietened her, pointing to the chairs at the side of the office. They both sat down and waited, listening to Yolda compare a list of outdoor clothes with a similar list the man was consulting.

"Forty waterproof cloaks of the extra large size," the man said. "That's what we found. Not twenty-eight, like your records show. And does the palace really need forty cloaks that size?"

"Probably not," Yolda replied. "But, are you sure your men checked the sizing correctly? Some of them could be smaller cloaks stored on that shelf because there was no room elsewhere."

The man nodded. "A point, Mistress." He rose from his seat. "I will ask them to re-check what they found, paying careful attention to the sizes."

He came round the desk to the door, gave a bow to Garia and Merizel and departed.

Yolda looked up and spoke. "Mistress Garia." Her eyes went to Merizel.

"This is Lady Merizel, the daughter of Baron Kamodar of South Reach," Garia explained. "She has come to the palace to be my secretary. Master Terevor has given her the Cerise Chamber."

"Milady, welcome."

Merizel noticed that the old woman wearing pince-nez didn't bother to get up and curtsey. Yolda turned to a pile of documents on a nearby shelf.

"Ah, yes, I have a note of your arrival here. Your belongings have all been delivered? Is there anything you require from the Palace Wardrobe?"

"Thank you no, Mistress," Merizel replied. "I'm merely accompanying Mistress Garia today."

Yolda's jaw set since she had a good idea why Garia had come, but she kept her attention on Merizel.

"That is your maid with you, Milady? Then I must issue her with a suitable uniform."

Merizel looked bewildered. "But, she's my maid! She's not one of the palace staff, she has been my maid almost all my life!"

"That is so, Milady, and I hope she will continue with you for many more years, but while you reside in the palace, your servant should wear palace livery. That way, we can distinguish servants from visitors, who are not permitted to walk unaccompanied in much of the palace. If she were not to be in livery, the guard would be continually preventing her from doing her duty."

Merizel turned to Garia, who shrugged. "I didn't have a maid when I arrived, so I was assigned Jenet who already lived here. It sounds like a sensible arrangement to me, actually."

Merizel turned to her maid. "Bursila? You are technically still one of Daddy's retainers. Do you mind having palace livery? I can send you home if you think you would be too uncomfortable."

"Milady, I will wear the palace livery," Bursila replied. "As Mistress Garia says, it is a sensible idea. And if you send me away, you will have no-one here familiar with your ways."

"Very well, Milady," Yolda said. "I will of course need to measure her, but I can find someone else to fit her while I attend to Mistress Garia. Mistress? I expect I know why you are here."

"Yes, Mistress Yolda. The tunic and tights you provided me were adequate for my exercises, but of course they were sized and shaped for a man. Now that I know I will need them, I have come to ask you to make me several tunics my own size and shape."

Yolda looked at Garia for what seemed like a full minute before replying.

"Mistress, I cannot."

Garia opened her mouth to make a fierce response but nothing came. Instead, she had a shock, suddenly her view of the situation changed completely. The inside of her stomach twisted in a way she hadn't experienced before, and it frightened her.

Why am I doing this? Haven't I done enough damage for now? I've even managed to get this woman kicked out of her job, and in a world like this that might mean she ends up living like a pauper. Am I so arrogant to put my own wants in front of other people's? I've done nothing but disturb everything from the moment I got here. What gives me the right?

Then Yolda spoke again and brought her to her senses.

"Mistress, since I shall soon be leaving, and because the wardrobe is being audited, I should not be taking commissions for new garments. However, I can introduce you to one of my senior seamstresses, who would probably be able to provide you with what you desire."

"As you wish, Mistress Yolda."

"Then if you would wait here, Milady, Mistress."

Yolda got up and left the room. Garia was left to try and analyze what had just happened to herself.

"Garia? Are you all right? You looked quite odd for a moment."

Garia passed a hand over her forehead. "I don't know. I did feel a little odd, but I don't know why. Every time I've been here before it's been quite a battle, and perhaps that's what I expected today. I should have realized she wouldn't be doing the sewing herself." She sighed. "Perhaps I did a little too much this morning. I don't feel quite a hundred percent."

"What?"

Garia realized that nobody on Anmar used percentages. "Oh, it means I don't feel entirely right," she explained. "It's an expression from Earth I used without thinking."

Yolda returned with two women, both in their mid-thirties.

"This is Malissa, who will measure and fit out your maid, Milady," she said to Merizel. "Mistress Garia, this is Rosilda, who will discuss your needs with you. Malissa, Rosilda, take these people to the changing areas, please."

Each of the changing areas was about nine feet on a side and contained a single chair and a full-length metal mirror. Garia and Jenet followed Rosilda into one while Malissa took Merizel and Bursila into another.

"How may I assist you, Mistress?" Rosilda asked.

Garia explained, "Mistress Yolda gave me a guardsman's tunic for me to exercise in, as an experiment. The experiment was successful, but of course the tunic was not a very good fit on my body. I'd like you to make me a tunic that's more my size and shape, please. Of course, I know that it will be slightly different than what the guard wear, but that's all right, I realize that."

Rosilda looked Garia over carefully. "Mistress, a tunic? Is there nothing more suitable? I can make you a nice loose dress which would be better on a woman's shape."

"No, because what I do involves some quite pronounced movements, like this." Garia waved her arms and legs in what she hoped would cover the range of movement that she needed freedom for, making it plain that in her current gown the waist rode up and the sleeves were too tight. "It also involves falling to the ground and tumbling, so I will be wearing tights to ensure that nothing gets exposed. I just need a short tunic that comes down to here," she put the edge of her hand halfway down her thigh, "flared below the waist, short, wide sleeves that will let me move my arms freely and a neckline just like the men's tunics have."

Rosilda's eyebrows raised. "Such a garment would show too much, Mistress. I doubt you would be permitted to walk the palace dressed like that."

"That's perfectly understood. What I do now is wear a separate skirt with a sash around the waist to disguise the join. When I'm in the training room I take the skirt off."

"Ah, I understand, Mistress. Yes, I can probably make you something suitable, but since it will be unlike any garment we already make I will first have to make a mock-up and ask you to come back for a fitting and adjustments."

"That will be fine, Rosilda. I would expect something like that."

"Then what fabric shall we use, Mistress? I have a length of peach silk which would suit your coloring, or perhaps a cooling cotton in pale blue, especially as the weather is so warm?"

"No thank you, Rosilda, I want you to make it out of the same material as the men's tunics, please. This is to be a working garment, so it needs to be strong enough to take some abuse."

Rosilda showed distaste. "You wish to wear something that rough and heavy, Mistress? Surely not. I can easily find something more suitable for a young lady of the court such as yourself."

Garia felt a flash of irritation inside. Not again. How long is it going to take me to get them to understand what I want?

"That is exactly what I want, please," she said through gritted teeth, "and if you offer me something else I shall reject it. Now, I'm going to be wearing it every morning to exercise." Garia turned to Jenet. "About how many bells long would that be, Jenet?"

"About two and a half to three bells, Mistress."

"Thank you. In that time it's going to get all sweaty and creased, so as it's going to get washed every day it needs to be a tough cloth. If the design is good enough I'll probably ask you to make some more so that they can go in the palace laundry."

"Very well, Mistress, as you desire." Rosilda's face showed resistance to Garia's comments, but Mistress Yolda had already warned her that the Mistress had some strange requirements and the Queen's favor besides. "And the skirt?"

"That's not going to get the same treatment as the tunic, so you can make that just like you normally would," Garia said. "Perhaps slightly longer to hide the tights I shall be wearing underneath."

"As you wish, Mistress." Rosilda considered her options. "I should have a mock-up made by the end of tomorrow, Mistress, or perhaps the morning of the next day. Will that be acceptable?"

"Of course. Especially as it's something you've never made before."

"Let me think, then. Lacing at the back as normal?"

"No. No lacing, both because I don't want the bones you'd put in and because it would hurt if I were to fall on them. The tunic has to be loose-fitting, just like the ones the guardsmen wear, so I just want to be able to pull it over my head and tie it at the waist."

"Ah, of course, Mistress. I think I had better measure you again, then, to make sure the sizing I have is accurate. I have your measurements here that Mistress Yolda made when you arrived, I should make sure they are still correct."

Jenet helped Garia to take her afternoon gown off and Rosilda made careful measurements of Garia's whole body, taking note of where Garia wanted various parts of the garments to come. While Jenet helped her dress again Rosilda wrote down details of the required materials and then turned to Garia.

"Now, as to the detailing, Mistress. A nice scallop edge to the neckline, perhaps? Scalloping is fashionable at the moment, Mistress."

"No, no scalloping, thank you. Just plain, like the men's tunics."

"Perhaps a flounce at the hem?"

Garia felt another flash and sensed the red mist rising. "No, thank you."

"What about some lace detailing on the sleeves, then?"

Blam. Garia felt herself exploding into fury. "What is it with you stupid people? Why can't you just make me what I fucking ask you for?"

Having half shouted that out, she turned, crumpled onto the chair, put her head in her hands and began sobbing. Jenet immediately went to her and put her hands round her while Rosilda shrank away, white faced with shock and fear.

Jenet turned her face towards Rosilda. "She did tell you twice," she said softly. "She didn't want anything like that. Just plain like the men's, that all she needs. I'm sure she didn't mean to swear at you, it's just that she's been doing so much lately. She's tired."

Jenet turned her attention to Garia, pulling a cloth from her pouch to try and dry her mistress's face, but Garia was momentarily overwhelmed and paid her no attention. Eventually she stopped and raised her face to Rosilda.

"Sorry. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, you're just trying to do your job. But I don't want anything fancy so stop trying to get me to have any."

"Mistress?" Rosilda was confused. Young ladies, especially of the court, didn't behave like this girl did. In fact, she couldn't ever remember being sworn at by a woman before, although she did hear the odd word from one or two of the men she had provided clothing for, when they forgot where they were.

"Mistress Garia is new to Palarand," Jenet said to her, understanding the problem. "She comes from somewhere else entirely. The customs and styles of her own country are different than ours."

"Ah, I didn't know, Jenet. Nobody explained that to me. I should apologize, Mistress, I should listen properly to what I am being told." She hesitated. "Mistress, I think I have enough information to begin making your garments. Perhaps I should go and leave you here in peace."

Garia made a wan smile. "Yes. Thank you, Rosilda, I'm sorry again I shouted at you. My temper seems a bit short this afternoon."

Rosilda bobbed a curtsey and left the room. Shortly afterwards Merizel and a newly-uniformed Bursila came in, their faces alive with curiosity.

"Did I just hear you swear at that woman?" Merizel whispered to Garia. "Whatever did she do?"

"Oh," Garia dismissed the incident with the tired wave of a hand, "she kept asking me about extra twiddly bits she wanted to add to the tunic and she wouldn't take no for an answer. I'm afraid I lost my temper."

"If you don't mind me saying so, Garia, you look terrible."

Another wan smile. "Yes, I expect so. She really upset me. You see, all I've been getting since I arrived at the palace is obstruction, and my temper seems shorter than it used to be... before. Perhaps it's the different setting and all these strange people, I seem to get irritated a lot easier than I used to."

Jenet was finally able to crouch and clean up her mistress's face, and the four finally left the changing room. When they looked in the office it was empty so they started walking back to Garia's suite.

"Feeling better now?"

"Yes, thank you, Merizel. I still feel a bit shaken up but that's to be expected. Once I have some dinner and wine inside me I expect I'll have settled down again."

~o~O~o~

"I'm still not quite right, Jenet."

Jenet was undressing her mistress before bed. "Oh? You're not still upset by that business with Rosilda, Mistress?"

"I don't know. Something feels off, but I don't know exactly what. I'm beginning to wonder if I've eaten something that disagrees with me. It was bound to happen sometime." Garia explained to Jenet, "At home there are some fruits and vegetables which can upset certain people if they eat them. I don't recall anything there that affected me that much, but since I have a different body here and all the food's different as well, it's always possible. I can't really put my finger on anything, but it might explain why I've felt... uncomfortable today."

"It's always good to take note of what your body tells you, Mistress. Perhaps it would be well to consult Mistress Margra tomorrow."

"That's a good idea, Jenet. If anybody knows what's wrong with me, she will."