The Vampire & Her Witch

”Everyone,” Ashlynn said, addressing the entire great hall. ”I would like you to take out the gifts you received when you entered the hall,” she told a surprised audience who had expected the announcement of the next minister. ”Who among you was surprised by what you encountered in our little craft bazaar? Who is willing to share what you chose and why it surprised you?”

”I will,” a crisp, masculine voice said as Sir Cynwrig stood up holding a dark brown tunic in his hands. ”For those who may not know me,” he said, quickly introducing himself. ”My name is Cynwrig Stormbrook, and my village dyes close to a third of the wool that’s shipped out of the Barony, or rather, the Protectorate of Dunn,” he explained.

”I mention that by way of saying I know a bit more about textiles than most lords have reason to,” he explained. ”It isn’t the dye of this tunic that impressed me, though,” he added. ”Even though the color is rich and even and it feels like it will last for many years. It’s the construction of the tunic that caught my eye,” he said, gesturing to the seams along the sleeves and collar.

”The best seamstresses in Dunn cannot manage stitching this fine,” he said. ”Even young women who learn as children and have very delicate hands would struggle with this level of detail. Moreover, the stitches are both strong and decorative without creating a seam that feels stiff or awkward.”

”I won’t lie,” he said, looking at his fellow lords at the table where he sat. ”I chose it in the hopes of giving it to the tailors in my village to see if they could learn a thing or two from it. The fabric itself is serviceable, and the dye is good, but the craftsmanship is exceptional.”

”You’re welcome to try,” Heila said, standing up from her seat at the center table. ”But that tunic was made by tailors of the Horned Clan,” she said, holding up her hands so everyone in the hall could see how small they were. ”We know a thing or two about wool ourselves,” she added, tapping her curled horns. ”But when it comes to fine stitching and embroidery, sometimes, it helps to be small yourself,” she said with a bright smile.

”So that’s why the embroidery on Ashlynn’s dresses is so intricate,” Charlotte whispered to Adala. ”I wonder if Lady Heila did the embroidery herself. I know she’s supposed to be Ashlynn’s lady-in-waiting, but she’s also a witch...”

”You could ask,” Adala said, giving Charlotte an affectionate squeeze as she watched her eyes light up. ”You’re close, aren’t you? I’m sure she’d tell you,” Adala said.

While the two young ladies speculated about Ashlynn’s embroidery and Lady Heila’s skills, Sir Cynwrig had sat down, and another person stood to address the crowd.

”I was surprised by these game boards,” Peigi Aleese said, holding up one of the carved wooden game boards set with granite from the Shattered Hills. ”While people were finding their seats, I asked what they were for. I never imagined that it was intended to track the progress of horse races,” she said, smiling brightly at her husband who had struggled to take an interest in anything since learning that his life depended on the outcome of a contest.

”I’m told there are rules for playing it as a game with dice instead of watching horses,” she said, turning away from her sulking husband to look at Ragna, Betrys, Tosha and the other ladies she was acquainted with.

”For the long winter months, I can imagine spending hours talking and playing a game like this with friends,” she said, placing a little extra emphasis on the last word as if to let the ladies she’d looked to know that she still saw them as friends despite the wildly different fates each of their families was meeting after the fall of Lothian March.

”I think it’s a precious thing, spending time with friends and talking openly over idle pursuits,” Peigi said. ”And I’m glad to know that our neighbors to the south and west share the same love of idle pursuits that we do,” she said, smiling as she returned to her seat.

”Thank you, Lady Peigi, Sir Cynwrig,” Ashlynn said as she smiled at the room. ”I’m glad these humble gifts are helping you to see and experience the Eldritch world. This, to me, is the most important mission our new empire must undertake,” she said. ”A few of us will undertake the dangerous duty of defending our borders and negotiating for peace with our neighbors to the north and east, but the common people of the empire need a different kind of champion.”

”Homes are built, and bellies are filled on the balance of trade,” Ashlynn said, quoting wisdom so old that her father had never been able to explain where it had come from other than that he’d learned it from his father and that in all his years as a Count, he’d never found reason to believe it wasn’t true.

”For the past hundred years, the Kingdom of Gaal has treated the Verdant Hills like a mine,” Ashlynn said. ”The Kingdom extracts everything from timber to furs, wool and grain, all shipped down the River Luath, through Otker Canyon to the mills and factories of the duchies. The crown collected a heavy tithe from the march and much of what the people needed to live good lives had to be purchased at great expense from makers outside the march.”

”Now, we no longer need to subsidize a distant crown who cares nothing for the lives of the people here,” Ashlynn said. ”But in order to know that the Bloodroot Empire sees them and cares for them, the common people need to feel their lives changing for the better. For that, we need someone who can actively guide the flow of commerce, oversee the guilds and help to stitch this empire together.”

”In this regard, I can think of no one better than my sister, Princess Jocelynn,” Ashlynn said, turning to face her sister. ”So, what do you say, Jocey?” Ashlynn asked casually. ”Can you forgo the idle life of luxury due an imperial princess to help the merchants and makers of our realm thrive?”