It took three days before Deryn could walk properly again. Although they weren't the worst three days of her life. She was pampered with fine silks to wear and delicious food, even if it was a bit boring sitting in bed all the time. At least she got to catch up on all the sleep she had missed.
On the third morning she finally got the energy to walk downstairs. Elsie was sitting in the parlor next to a young man who Deryn recognized as Dr. Higginz, the British Ambassador. They were both drinking tea and reading Japanese newspapers. When Deryn walked into the room, Elsie greeted her with a large smile.
"Gutentag, Miss Sharp. I'm glad to see you up and about. How are you feeling?"
"Loads better, thanks." She sat down next to Elsie on a red velvet sofa.
"Good. I was hoping to have a serious conversation with you once your health had improved. Is now alright?"
Deryn shrugged,
"I guess. Why, what is it?" Something in her gut gave her the idea that Elsie had bad news.
"You remember Mr. Higginz?" Deryn nodded and saw the Japanese man give a polite bow of the head.
"Charmed." He said, and Deryn heard his strong London accent which surprised her coming from an Asian man.
"I've told him about your…er….predicament, and I assure you we are both sympathetic toward your distraught." Deryn gave another nod, wondering where they were going with this.
"For the record," Elsie continued, "Count Volger wishes you well, but he had to return to the Leviathan yesterday. The Captain has ordered a strict guard on Alek and all his men."
Serves him right. Deryn thought, not about the Count but about Alek. He deserved to be under lock and key after nearly killing himself and destroying a fabrication of the British Navy. Yet she couldn't help but worry about him as well.
"How is he?" She blurted quickly.
"I haven't heard from them, but I would guess that Alek is fine." Elsie said without completely making eye contact. She seemed a little unsure with her own statement.
"We have been worried about Prince Aleksander's well being," Dr. Higginz stated, "and that's what we need to talk to you about."
"Did the wound get infected? I tried to clean it, but it was a barking bird beak! You know those things are designed to…"
"I'm sure Alek has the best care possible on the ship." The doctor interrupted her. "What we need to discuss is his current status with the Japanese government."
"Now Deryn, I've asked you several times, but once again, are you sure that Alek may have been responsible for the death of the Demon." Elsie looked at her with those crystal blue eyes that seemed to stab right into her soul.
"Ummm, yeah. Dr. Barlow said he did it, and he didn't argue with her."
Elsie sighed and gave the Ambassador a sad look.
"I guess we have no other choice then." She said, "Deryn, we are going to have to ask you a for a very big, and very dangerous favor."
"What's that?" Deryn didn't take her eyes off of Elsie's face.
"Alek is in danger. The Emperor wants him dead. They believe he is a spy working for the Germans."
It shouldn't have come as a surprise, but Deryn felt her mouth drop open anyways.
"Alek can't be a spy!" She finally got herself to speak. "He's just a boy, a very self centered ninny boy with clart for brains."
Elsie smiled at her remark.
"That very well may be but those things are reasons he would make a good spy as well. He's not the expected spy persona, which makes him trustworthy with secret information."
"So YOU think he's a spy."
"No, I'm saying that Emperor Taisho does. And whether he is right or not, Alek does know too much about the Golaith for his own good."
"You really think that Alek would blether the whole barking idea about the beastie to the Germans? He hates the Germans! They killed his folks!"
Elsie gave a shrug and lifted one eyebrow.
"I think there is a possibility that he might." She said. Deryn suddenly remembered that Elsie was German herself and quickly shut her mouth. Alek had been against the idea of bombing Tsingtau since the beginning. Trading himself in to the Germans to save thousands of people from the Demon was something so daft and noble that she was certain his princeliness would do it.
But why would that matter now? The Demon was already long dead at the bottom of the river. Alek had already ruined the Emperor's plan.
Elsie seemed to know what Deryn was thinking.
"Just because the Demon is dead doesn't mean the Japanese will stop their attacks on Tsingtau. It's an important Chinese port town that the Emperor has had his eye on for years. If he can take it from the Germans, then Japan will have a direct trade route with China."
Deryn could see where this was going.
"So they have to stop Alek from letting the Germans know about future attacks." She said. Elsie nodded.
"Exactly." Dr. Higginz chimed in. "We all can agree that Alek's safety is important. I for one know that he may be the ticket to an alliance between Austia-Hungary and Great Britain. We cannot let the Emperor kill him."
They were both staring at her. Once again it seemed that the fate of the war might be resting on Deryn's shoulders.
"What do you want me to do?"
Elsie grinned at her.
"Have you ever been to a ball, Deryn?"
"A ….what?"
"I didn't think so. In that case, consider yourself lucky. The Emperor is holding a formal dance and dinner for the officers of the Leviathan. He states that it is a farewell ceremony to commemorate the visit of the ship since the airship will be leaving Japan tomorrow." She nodded at Dr. Higginz who pulled out a fancy parchment envelope from his jacket pocket.
It was a handwritten invitation asking for the Lady Elsie Adaliz Eberhardt's attendance at the palace for dinner and dancing. Deryn noticed that it was written in both Japanese and English.
"All of the nobility in Tokyo have been invited, as well as the Prince of Austia-Hungary, of course."
"I thought the Emperor wanted to kill Alek, not invite him to a ball and feed him a barking dinner."
"True enough." Dr. Higginz said. "I have information from the Emperor himself that he plans on kidnapping the prince on this very night. With the entire crew of the Leviathan back on the ship and the officers all distracted at the party, Aleksander will be an easy target. Captain Hobbes won't even realize he's gone until morning."
"By which time Alek will be disposed of." Elsie said. She took a sip of her tea and gave Deryn a very serious look.
"Well, then we have to warn him!" Deryn stood. She was still wearing her silk nightgown and a pair of pink slippers, so she must not have looked very convincing. Both the doctor and Elsie laughed.
"I wish it was that simple." Elsie finally said, putting down her tea cup. "But do you really think that anyone on the Leviathan will trust us? What with me being the daughter of the German Ambassador and you being, well, you." She gestured toward Deryn's outfit with an open palm. Deryn blushed.
Had the Lady Boffin told the Captain about her secret? She shivered again, imagining her crew mates suddenly realizing her true identity. What would Newkirk say? Or the bosun?
And with Alek and his men under guard she would never be able to reach them without someone onboard seeing her.
"We will have to stop the Emperor at the ball." Elsie answered for her. "Thankfully I will have you to help. It comes in handy to have someone with fighting skills and the training of a soldier on your side. I'm very glad you ended up on my doorstep the other day."
"What exactly am I going to do?" Deryn asked, realizing that she didn't have much choice in the matter.
"You will be attending the ball with me as my lady in waiting."
"Say what?"
Dr. Higginz sighed. "When Aleksander cut down the Demon the British Army recognized and identified you as well when you pulled him out of the river."
"Meaning they recognized Dylan Sharp, a middie from the Leviathan." Elsie included. "If Dylan Sharp were to come to the ball, he would be arrested and killed along with the Prince. Seeing as that you two were in cohorts to destroy the Demon. As a woman, you would be unnoticed."
This was much more serious than Deryn could have ever realized on her own.
"Blisters!" She swore. "Alek you DUMMKOPF!"
"And that is one thing we will have to be changing." Dr. Higginz winced.
"What?" Deryn glared at him.
"Your language, Miss Sharp." Elsie grinned. "A lady in waiting would never be plagued with such a foul tongue."
Deryn grimaced. What had she gotten herself into?
"Repeat after me," Dr. Higginz said. "The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plane."
"The rie-aine in Spi-aine falls on the bloody plane." Deryn mumbled. She had repeated the phrase nearly seventy times, and was content on making it worse each repeat.
"Now Deryn, if you don't try we will never be able to…"
"And what if I don't bloody well care!" She shouted in his face.
Dr. Higginz sighed and rose from his seat.
"FINE!" He suddenly shouted back at her. "I give up! Go get yourself killed for all I care!"
As he stomped out of the room Deryn adjusted herself awkwardly. She felt bad for upsetting the doctor, but he had to understand that this was incredibly miserable for her.
Across the room was a full length mirror and Deryn examined herself in the reflection. The dress they had squeezed her in was a dark gray blue that matched her steel colored eyes. She stood to get a better look.
The hem had been let out in the skirt otherwise it would have been too short. The sleeves had to be lengthened and the neckline was all wrong. But Deryn had to admit that she had never looked this nice before. She turned to examine the back. It was laced tightly to her skin so she could make out the fine curves of her hips and shoulders, something she had never noticed before. Even the corset underneath, although incredibly uncomfortable, brought out her breasts in a way that made her blush. She looked like a woman.
Except for her hair. She fiddled with it unnecessarily for a moment, trying to puff it up and make it more feminine, but it was useless. Annoyed, she sat back down in the chair which was very difficult with all the petticoats.
"Miss Sharp!" Came a squeak from door. Deryn turned in enough time to see Elsie bound into the room in a swirl of fabric and sparkles. Her dress was blue as well, but a pale delicate color with embroidered beads and lace. In comparison, Deryn looked like a piece of metal.
"Only three more hours until the event!" Elsie squealed. She had been counting down since that morning when they had first let Deryn in on the plan. It seemed kind of weird that she was so excited about something so corrupt and dangerous.
"You know, if I didn't know better I would think you were actually looking forward to this barking mess." Deryn said grumpily.
Elsie laughed. "In a way I am. I'm excited about your big reveal!"
"Big reveal? We're doing this so they don't know who I am, remember?"
"Maybe." Elsie winked at her. "Or maybe there is a certain someone whose expression I am dying to see when he sees you."
Deryn snorted. She could only imagine what that meant. Be it Elsie to use every card trick she had to get back at Alek. She wondered if this was just another trick to embarrass him and Deryn both.
Elsie pulled another chair over to where Deryn was sitting and plopped down in front of her. In her hands was a large wooden box and what looked like a small dead animal.
"What is that?" Deryn yelped and tried to push herself away.
"This," Elsie raised the dead looking clump of hair up to her face, "is a hairpiece. Lucky for you I was able to find it."
"Like a wig? Um, no thanks, that's gross. Hey Stop!"
Before she could fight back Elsie had pulled her head forward and began pinning the wig to Deryn's scalp. It was a painful process, like everything else that involved being a lady. When she was finally done she pushed Deryn toward the mirror without another word.
It was nothing short of amazing. She had been transformed into a different person. The wig was long and curled perfectly down to Deryn's shoulders. The pins ended in elegant little pearls that sat like a small tiara on her head. Even her own hair, which was visible beneath the wig, matched perfectly and gave her the added appearance of lengthy bangs and fancy wisps.
"It's beautiful." Deryn gasped. She turned around, ready to see a smug 'I told you so' look on Elsie's face. But instead, the girl's eyes were moist and she could hear a faint few sniffs.
"I'm sorry." Elsie said. "You just.. ..it's just…"
Deryn put up her hand to stop her. "Your sister, I remember." And she did remember. The girl who had died so young that had the same hair color as her.
Elsie nodded.
"That was her hair piece." She gave a sad smile and wiped her eyes. "I'm just glad that someone will get to wear it."
She stopped looking at Deryn for a moment and pulled out the wooden box again. Inside was a collection of jewelry.
"It's not much," Elsie began, "When my father was arrested, most of the family inheritance including the jewels were taken." She pulled out a handful of diamond chains and earrings. Deryn's eyes widened. It looked like a lot to her.
"That's awful." She was able to mutter, hopefully hiding the shock of seeing so many large rocks.
"I miss him a lot." Elsie said, and gently hooked a golden chain around Deryn's neck. The charm was a large cameo pendant, a woman's portrait carved in ivory. "The Japanese didn't trust him and locked him away nearly five months ago."
"Why?" Deryn had to ask. She let her fingers trace the outline of the cameo on her clavicle.
Elise shrugged.
"Something about religious preferences. At least he's safe. It was different in Germany when they forced us out of the country simply because we were Jewish. After that my mother left us. She stayed in Frankfurt while we moved to Japan."
Deryn stared at Elsie, amazed at how matter of fact she was about the situation. She had, of course, witnessed anti-Semitism back home in Glasgow, but it had never been anything more serious than a few crude remarks. The Jews in her neighborhood were very different than Elsie. They lived in their own section of town, wore funny hats and beards and stayed away from the rest of the world. Her father had explained that people were not kind to them and that's why they stayed away. She knew that this was especially true in Germany and Austria, the Clankers could be extremely hateful. Although she couldn't imagine Alek being like that. He had wanted to marry Elsie, didn't he?
She gave the other girl a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"Don't worry. Once we get Alek out of this mess, maybe he can get your da out."
Elsie gave her a kind but depressing grin.
"I hope you're right Deryn" She said, pulling out some rings and gems. "Do you like the necklace? It was my grandmother's. Here, I have some things that will match."
Together they strung some diamonds in her hair and some more chains around her neck. Deryn didn't have pierced ears so they put on some clip earrings that dangled sweetly next to her neck. Her fingers were laced with rings and afterwards Elsie painted her lips with a red wax and brushed her eyelashes with ink.
"There," Elsie said and turned her toward the mirror. "you're done."
Jaspert would have said she looked like a bumrag, what with all the clart smeared on her face, but Deryn couldn't help but beam and grin.
"Barking spiders! I look like a blistering princess dressed to the sixes and sevens!"
"Watch your tongue Lady Deryn." Elsie remarked. "And hurry downstairs or we'll be late."
Deryn quickly dashed out of the room, a mixture of excitement and fear fluttered in her stomach. She was like Cinderella. Only Cinderella had never been an airman.
I just realized the other day what a "bumrag" actually is. That's right people! It's 1914 TOILET PAPER! That 's why I added in that little bit about clart and all, what with clart meaning shit. I know, super gross. Har de har har.