Location: Mist, Mahsheean
Once
entirely out of sight she slipped off her elaborately carved, ridiculously high
platform shoes. Why other races were so
obsessed with being taller Kamino would never know, but everyone Clomp, Clomped in platforms, it didn’t
matter what your training was.
Fortunately the outfit had voluminous sleeves that fully enveloped the
shoes, and enough length to hide her bare feet – if she encountered someone
she’d be able to play it off.
Kamino
turned toward her true direction, pleased with her subterfuge –and tripped on
the now too long skirt, falling flat on her face, each shoe landing with a
hollow Thunk several feet away in opposite
directions. Kamino looked around to see
if anyone had heard, but it seemed her ignominious face-plant had gone
unattended. Next she groaned, rubbing
her forehead. Some super-sneak she was.
Pulling
herself up, cautiously attentive to any noise of discovery, she retrieved her
shoes with one hand while holding up the hem of her robe with the other. “Idiot,”
she muttered to herself. It was always
the smallest details that could bring down a perfect plan.
Still,
her good fortune held and no one came rushing in to investigate the noise. She wouldn’t let this small favor go to waste
– she started working her way through the maze-like labyrinth of the house
toward her goal, carefully avoiding the wandering guests and ducking under a
table when a servant passed. The
mouth-watering spicy-sweet aroma he left in his wake tempted Kamino to risk
grabbing a morsel, but she bravely resisted the temptation.
Finally,
with no further incident, she reached the cavernous room lined with books and
scrolls, entirely dark except for one small brazier in the corner. There was no reason for the innumerable
lanterns and candles to be lit – this room was off limits to party guests.
Kamino didn’t need any additional
light, she knew just where the volume
she wanted was. An ancient text written
in the old tongue, she’d discovered this little gem yesterday, but the party
had kept her from it until now. Setting
her shoes on the floor in front of the brazier, concealed by the divan, she
went to fetch the slim book, then returned to settle on the floor beside her
platforms. Pulling a notebook and pencil
from her sleeves, she was ready to delve in and discover all the secrets the
ancient volume held.
Only to have the book yanked from
her hands. Above her, as yet unnoticed,
reclining on the divan was Mishee. He
shook his head at her. She’d been so
carefully listening for noises of someone entering the library, she’d failed to
realize someone was already there. The smallest details.
“Knew you’d turn up here
eventually. Lady, your guests are
missing you, you can read this tomorrow after they leave.”
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