Free Web NovelChapter 59: Chapter 59 : Zara’s outing
The carriage rolled to a stop near the heart of the Calrath city, and Zara was out the door almost before the footman had it fully open, Maria following at a more measured pace behind her.
Two guards trailed a respectful distance back, doing their best to look like they weren’t guarding anyone in particular but it was as clear as a day. Since Zara stood out more than anything, she had most take a second glance at her the moment she passed through.
Maria casually flipped a hooded cloak on her , hiding most of her facial features , but it still wasn’t enough to hide that the fact she belonged to a noble , since Zara was being followed by gaurds and Maria with a uniform clearly for maids.
It was arranged this way as to remain lowkey but yet be given a respectable distance by others. Zara Didn’t like the setting but knew well , that it was for her safety as such she did not complain about it .
Maria while behind her glance at the object Zara had been holding. She had the folded paper tucked carefully inside her coat which was barely peeking out .It was the dress design that Lisa sketched out.
She patted the coat once to make sure it was still there, then turned to Maria.
"There’s a tailor two streets from here. I remember the sign from last time." She glanced toward the busier part of the road ahead. "We’ll go there first, and then.. "
She paused.
"Maria. I really think you should go see your family today."
Maria opened her mouth, likely to repeat the same polite refusal from the carriage, but Zara cut her off before she could.
"I mean it. I’ll have the guards with me. I’m just dropping off a design and walking around for a bit. Nothing that requires you standing over my shoulder the entire time." She softened her tone slightly. "Seven months is a long time, Maria."
Maria looked at her for a long moment, the kind of look that weighed obligation against something more personal.
"...I’ll think about it," she said finally, which Zara knew well enough by now meant
"yes, but I won’t admit that yet."
Zara smiled and looped her arm through Maria’s anyway, pulling her along toward the tailor’s street.
---
Percy stood outside a clothing shop, looking down at himself with a critical eye.
The coat was salvageable, mostly. The shirt underneath was a lost cause , with dirt-streaked, slightly damp still from the bath, and smelling faintly of garden soil no matter how much he’d scrubbed. He couldn’t show up at the orphanage looking like he’d crawled out of a ditch, especially not in front of Dana, who would absolutely have something to say about it.
He stepped inside.
The shop was modest, racks of ready-made shirts and trousers organised by size rather than the custom fittings Beningham Styles specialised in. A clerk glanced up from behind the counter and gave him the same once-over the bathhouse attendant had, though with slightly less judgment behind it.
Percy picked through the racks methodically. Nothing extravagant ,as he wasn’t about to blow through Norman’s advance on a single outfit, no matter how good it felt to actually have money sitting in his pocket again. He found a plain shirt, a pair of trousers that fit well enough, and a coat that wasn’t quite as fine as his usual one but would do for now.
"Get something proper later," he told himself, "once things settle down a bit."
He paid, changed in the small fitting area at the back, and left his old clothes in a bundle the clerk offered to dispose of without being asked , which told Percy plenty about how they’d looked. But he still decided to ask for a bag to put those in , since after cleaning they would be usable as a comfort dress for home or he could use it for when cleaning the house or something.
Outside, he flagged down a carriage and gave the driver the address.
"Galeon district. The orphanage there."
The driver nodded and got moving. Percy settled back against the seat, finally looking and smelling like a person again, and let himself relax for the length of the ride — right up until his mind caught up with exactly how late he already was, and exactly how much explaining he was going to owe Dana once he got there.
-----
Zara stood inside the tailor shop, her hands fidgeting nervously as she looked at the man in front of her. He carried himself with elegance and professionalism.
He wore glasses with sharp, fashionable points at the corners, a coat that had clearly been stitched by someone clearly an expert, sleek black shoes that hadn’t picked up a speck of street dust despite the city outside.
Zara barely registered any of it. Her attention stayed fixed on his hands, where Lisa’s sketch sat held carefully between his fingers.
He examined it for what felt like a long time. Turning it slightly. Holding it at an angle where the papers tilted to the left and along with it , he too had his head tilted to the left , Zara had her head tilted to her right a bit to see his expression.
"Why doesn’t he read it straight , does that help him examine it better?" She wondered.
Finally he looked up.
"This is a very creative and well made design." He pressed one hand to his chest, the other raised slightly with theatrical flair.
"A bit crude, admittedly, but I can see ,no I can feeell... the young talent and passion radiating from this very paper."
Zara blinked. "So... it’s good?"
The man cleared his throat and composed himself, dropping the dramatics for a moment.
"I’d rather not be the judge of that. But when it’s finished, the others can decide for themselves."
Zara brightened, though some confusion still lingered. "So you can make it?"
"Oh, but of course, my lady." He gave a small bow. "I shall make it with the utmost care and devotion."
He gestured toward the window, where the second sun sat low in the sky.
Zara clapped her hands together. "Wonderful! So how much would it cost?"
The tailor’s expression shifted into something between a frown and a polite stop sign, one hand raised.
"Let us discuss such meager things once the dress is ready."
Zara nodded, deciding not to push it.
"What a strange fellow "
---
Maria sat in a carriage heading toward her family, not far from the tailor shop where Zara had practically shoved her into the seat herself.
It hadn’t taken much arguing in the end , with more shoving, if she was honest. Zara had all but pushed her through the carriage door before she could finish her third refusal.
Maria smiled faintly to herself as the carriage rolled on.
"She can be a handful," she thought, though there wasn’t much complaint behind the thought at all.
