“What do you make of Dietra Araullo?” Liorit leaned over and asked her one evening at court.

‘At court’, being a party where there was no dancing and people sat around talking to each other about the weather. Many played card or dice games where they bet money, and that Canelle was not willing to do.

Prince Valkom was spending time with his companion’s family. The first four days of their visit consisted of following Lior and company around, navigating through Dofev’s upper echelon, and being stuffed in the same room with the same people. There was talk of sightseeing, it was in their itinerary, they just hadn’t done any yet. 

In Dofec, the language of Dofev, ‘Dietra’ was the prefix for a majority of the noblewomen in the court. As a result, Canelle was all jumbled up on who was who. 

A ways down the room, Dietra Araullo socialized with a group of women. Nothing singled her out from the group, but her attention gravitated in their direction. Canelle caught the woman looking their way a couple of times, making her uneasy.

She answered truthfully, “I don’t like that she keeps looking at us.” 

“You don’t think she’s cute?” 

The girl stole another glance of the stranger. Everyone at court was conventionally attractive. It came with the territory. Nobles invested a lot into their appearances, regardless of the country. 

Dierta Araullo was no exception. And her clothes, fine as they were, were not the finest in the room, nor was she outstandingly attractive. But the poise in which she carried herself… It was a grace that Canelle could only dream of having. 

And, for no reason at all, everyone was tall. In excess. She overheard someone in court call Liorit an ‘elf-pixie girl’, and Liorit was on the taller side for a woman. At least in Bevij. 

She was also misled by Valkom’s lady friend, she was about the same height as he and Lior from the glimpses Canelle caught of her. 

As a kid, Canelle was clumsy, and as she grew taller she only became clumsier. It made no sense to her that all these tall people could be as graceful as they were. 

“She looks important. That’s why I don’t like that she's watching us, what if she knows?” 

“If that’s what you’re concerned about, I can tell you that you’re wasting your time. She’s looking because she already knows.” Liorit said haughtily.

“You think she’s looking at you because she’s interested? You really are full of yourself.” Canelle hardly tried hiding her skepticism.

“You’re right, the real reason is likely because we’re visitors.” 

There had to be truth in that comment. Even in the traditional Dofec attire, they stood out as foreigners. Their shorter stature, along with their hair and skin that were hues lighter. Lior’s hair color was rare back in Bevij, and it practically glowed compared to everyone else’s in the room. 

“That being said, I think I’m gonna go take my chance.” The noble winked and sauntered away.

Canelle had expected this. And given the number of times Lior emphasized the location of their tower to the squire, it was likely that she had the same expectation. Locating their rooms wouldn't be a problem, she knew how to get there. What she didn't know was how long she was expected to stay at an event before it was no longer considered rude to leave. 

She drifted in the direction of a corner, and she would continue to do so at short intervals, hoping no one paid her any notice.

***

“Dietra Araullo.” 

The server bowed, offering the woman a drink from a tray balanced expertly on the tips of his fingers.  

Reflecting on her morning, Bahar Araullo decided that she did indeed need a drink. Before she could take one however, another hand swept in and handed it to her in a swift, fluid, motion. 

She thanked the fair-skinned woman, finding her red hair wondrous up close. Bahar remembered herself and greeted her, “Dietra Liorit, right?”

Lior took a second drink from the server, sipping at it and nodding at the taller woman. “I see that I don’t need to introduce myself.” She responded in Dofec. Properly.

Many knew the language, yet struggled with conversations. In most languages, there was a pause between sentences. This was true for Dofec too, despite the popular misconception that there wasn’t. Dofec had pauses. Shorter pauses, that gave the contrary impression: that it was a garbled mess of a language. 

Bahar joked in the past that Dofec was spoken in cursive. Visitors of Dofev either spoke too slowly, or tripped over themselves, spitting out the words hard and rushed. 

She took a swig of her drink before responding in Lior’s native tongue. “You are a very popular woman… and your party is involved in the latest scandal of the court. I try not to eavesdrop or pay mind to gossip, but you know how our culture is. There’s not much else for the common women to do.” 

Her sharp gaze dared to look her over, a response to the ‘common women’ comment. “Is it a scandal? He tells me there is nothing going on between them yet.” The tone carried a hint of disapproval. 

What Bahar knew about the neighboring crown prince, His Highness Valkom, was secondhand information. It was alleged that he cared very little about what those beneath him thought. 

“Although, ‘yet’ means that’s subject to change. I keep telling him to be mindful of his father and not do these things out of spite. Then again, I won’t pretend I take the moral high ground.” She winked. 

“Right, your reputation precedes you. You made your way over here rather quickly,” Bahar pointed out, consciously unphased but…

Liorit’s grin could win a war. 

The Dietra recognized that Lior visited Dofev often. Once or twice she caught a glimpse of the woman, kept away by their differing social circles. As their culture dictated, as long as Bahar were to remain unmarried, it was unacceptable for her to socialize with unmarried men. 

Lior socialized with both women and men during her stays. The pressing issue was that she traveled with the heir, Valkom, a controversial figure on his own. 

Together they were a worse influence, and Bahar was instructed to steer clear of them. Because of her nature however, that restriction merely served to pique her interest. 

This is why she was elated when Lior walked in with her female friend. Her female friend, who appeared perfectly amicable. 

The person standing in front of her though, was not the friend. 

Liorit’s brilliant eyes glossed over, “Rumors will be rumors. I cannot imagine what you’ve heard. Wouldn’t you rather find out what is true and what is not, for your own good conscience?”

“You have a talent for drawing people in… and a couple of months ago I would have taken you up on the offer. Alas, I’ve been on this generic journey of self discovery, in which I’m trying to hate myself less, so unfortunately I have to decline. I hope you don’t take offense, it's not specific to you. I presume you came over because of my staring earlier. If I tell you the truth, will you promise not to judge me?” Her tone was mutual in its playfulness. Lior had the power to draw her in, but Bahar too had a pull about her. 

“I just said that I have no grounds to judge anyone, mu Dietra.” Again, her accent was perfect. 

A part of Bahar would regret turning her down. All in the same, she was very proud of the part that did. She wanted to talk to her, but actually talk to her, not be a victim to her words. She wanted to impress Lior with her own words instead of just her looks. 

“I was making up a backstory for you and your friend. Given that I can’t do anything else, I write stories to pass the time. Stories of adventure and fantastical worlds that are beyond all of us. Your friend struck me with inspiration. I made up a three part saga about your journey here.” 

Lior appeared to respect the woman’s candidness. It was rare, especially at court.  “I don’t see what there is to judge, if anything that’s impressive. I know who you are and what you do. Clearly you are intelligent and witty. It’s a shame that your society is structured the way it is.” 

Dofev’s oppression of the woman sex was regrettable. The present situation didn't call for politics, neither of the women could do anything about it, and so Lior navigated away from the topic. 

“What story did you come up with for my companion?” 

They followed the young woman’s movements with their gaze, as she sauntered further and further into a corner. There was something endearing to Bahar about the way she put additional effort in her subtleness. She wanted to go over and tell her not to bother. The people present were too self-absorbed to pay mind to their surroundings. 

An unfair judgment, Bahar realized. She couldn't assume how much the visitor knew about Dofev or the patterns of the wealthy. 

***

Lior on the other hand found Canelle’s behavior almost humorous. There had always been a comical touch to her antics that couldn’t quite explain. As entertaining as they were in their downtime, the traveling noblewoman's active interest remained on the ravishing beauty before her.

She dove into the story so fast that Lior was convinced that the woman did in fact spend time putting it together. She called Canelle, ‘Elie’ in her story, which couldn’t have been a coincidence. 

The story, from the beginning, had a couple of common tropes. A girl from a small farm who had strong ties to the community and her struggle to leave the suffocating small town boredom. A traumatic incident is what finally pushes her to leave. And although Lior knew little about Canelle’s ties to Gaidos, or even if that was where she was from, there was a likeness in Bahar’s ‘Elie’. 

Lior made a mental note to inquire about Canelle’s previous life later. It had become clear that Bahar had a knack for analyzing a person’s character. If she truly was a writer or teller of stories, she was a crafty one. This prompted Lior to ask her about herself. 

“Where do I come into the story?” 

Bahar was eager to indulge Liorit. She raised both eyebrows as if deliberating. “I omitted any influence of your reputation, keep that in mind.” 

She brought in Lior’s character as a woman named Italia. By this point, Bahar had introduced magic into her story. As if to pull it away from reality, and make her dissection of their characters less harsh and uncanny. Italia, sans magic, was a woman searching for something in all the wrong ways. She roped Elie into the adventure with a promise she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep. All of which were parallels to Lior’s actual life. 

Was Bahar a storyteller or a reader of minds? Lior hadn’t minded this crafted caricature of herself until Bahar struck her with a particular passage. 

“Italia saw Elie first. Walking across a field, the sun shone down on her in just the right light, and the wind blew the aroma of baked bread in Italia’s direction. She had gone on this quest in search of it, despite not knowing if magic was real. It might have been the smell, or maybe it was Elie’s smile, but Italia recognized magic—she recognized magic as a real, tangible thing.”

That hypothetical sentiment had hit a little too close to home for Lior’s comfort. Bahar picked up on it and reeled in her verbal assault. “And that’s all I’ve got for part three of this unnamed saga,” she said cheekily.

The visitor cleared her throat. “I’m sad that there are not more people like you, there ought to be. You are very good. For the most part, I did rope Canelle into this. Haven’t quite made up my mind on whether that was a good idea.”

Bahar glanced at Canelle again and laughed a bit. “Canelle? Tell me you call her Elie for short, even if it’s not true. It would make my day.” 

Lior chuckled at the woman’s sincere amusement. “She likes stories I’ve heard.”

“Ah? Then perhaps I should approach her?” she teased. 

“I’m sure it would do her better than whatever she’s doing right now,” said Lior, knowing well that the girl was trying to leave. 

“You just want to get rid of me so you can go lure someone else into your bed.” Bahar saw through her ruse. “I can respect your game though. Do you want me to tell you who in court swings? I feel like someone like you enjoys the challenge of figuring it out, so maybe I shouldn’t.” 

Lior decided that she liked Bahar, but declined the offer. “I appreciate the thought. If you do approach Canelle in… that way, all I ask is that you treat her well.” 

Bahar expressed confusion at the woman’s phrasing, “Why wouldn’t I?”

Right, no one in Dofev knew that Canelle had been a servant back in Gaidos. There would be no reason to treat her as anything less than a human. Not that Liorit thought her to be less human because she was a servant. No, her reservations about the girl stemmed from a different place, something she would rather not dwell on, and instead suppress with booze and women.