Author's Note: I went back and changed some author's notes broke up the first chapter a bit. Don't get alarmed if you see that I've changed something, the chapters themselves are the same. I am at 10 CHAPTERS! stands up and does a corny victory dance Now that I am aat an even number I will start my personalized reviews starting with the reviews sent in for this chapter. You guys have been great and I love all of the support.

Chapter 10 - The Dress-Maker

Large, fat flakes of snow drifted back and forth form the sky. Everything was frosted in its pure white glow. It was freezing cold and no one dared to go outside unless they had no place to go into. I push on a creaky wooden door. It got hung up, but it grunted open with a little extra force. Tiny bells jangle as I hurriedly shut the door. I turn around to find that I am alone.

I returned to the dress maker's shop to buy her wares and services again. It is vital that we have the proper Tortallan gowns that we lack. The shop groaned in the harsh winter wind. I shake my head and large white snowflakes flew from my long hair. I waited patiently for a few moments, but no one showed up.

I creep over to the door the girl, Lalasa, had led us into the time before. I found that the room was empty. Next, I turned to the door that Lalasa had led the shop owner through during our visit. The door swung open on its hinges silently. I see the room is vacant except for a girl in the corner. Her sleeves are rolled up and she is spreading a salve that I am to familiar with on the exposed skin. It was bruise balm.

The woman looks up as she hears my breath. I see the terror that fills her eyes. I recognize her immediately as I get full view of her face. It is Lalasa.

She stumbles to curtsy and pull down her shirt sleeves in one simultaneous motion. I lunge for the girl's arm before she can hide it. I grasp it with authority, but there is barely any force behind it. I do not want to hurt her any more than she already is. Dark bruises speckle her arm in the shape of fingerprints. I look up and see that the same marks are on her neck.

Anger surges through me. If she is hurt here, it is most likely that the black and blue sores are littered all over the woman. "Who did this to you?"

Lalasa cringes at my snap towards her. I let my emotions get the best of me, and now I've frightened her. I take the bruise balm off of the table and sweep some up with two fingers.

I lead her to a comfy seat and rub the cream of her wounds. She sighs with relaxation. When I was down I sat down beside her. I turn and look straight at her. I ask her my question again.

Tears well in her eyes and she sees my concern. This girl was a few years older than me, but I draw her into a reassuring motherly hug. Lalasa could not seem to maintain herself. It was all just too overwhelming.

The tears spilled out and they didn't stop. She gasped for breath and shook she was crying so hard. How could someone do this? How could they cause someone so much pain?

Finally, Lalasa regains her normal breathing. She extracts herself from my hold and sits up. Strongly, she begins her story, "I was helping an old fortune teller who was sick. She took me under her wing when I first came to Corus, and I wanted to repay her. She is the closes thing I have to a friend and a mother here. She doesn't live in the best part of the city. I had to go, and I had no one to take with me.

I was on my way home after Sachi, the fortune-teller, was looking a little bit better. I was thinking about a dress that I wanted to make and I was too distracted to hear the sound up ahead. I just stumbled right into it. There was a man. You could tell he was noble by the way he dressed.

He was hitting a girl. He saw me before I could get away. He had a hold of me and beat me. He told me not to tell anyone. The other girl escaped while he was hurting me. It only angered him more that I distracted him and the woman got away. He kept hammering me. It hurt so badly and I just wanted to be anywhere else."

Tears stain Lalasa's beautiful face again by the time she finishes her story. The fact that it was a noble man made my protective instincts kick in. Commoner women often felt powerless if their attacker is higher born than they are.

I carefully manipulate Lalasa to tell me what the man looked like with out her getting suspicious. She said it was dark but he was tall, bony, about twenty with brown hair and hazel eyes. (I know you hate being interrupted in the middle of the story but I couldn't find this guy's hair or eye color in the book so I made these up. Tell me what they are if they're in the books.)

He sounds so familiar. Who could this be? I must know him. It is a noble man around my age. I would have run into him while I was a probationary page, but whom?

Lists of names and pictures of faces flash through my mind. I keep trying to think of all the possibilities, but one keeps coming up, Vinson of Genlith.

He was one of Joren's cronies and Goddess knows that they did not have the greatest respect for women. It is not completely out of his character for him to do something like this.

"I have to do something, Lalasa. This isn't right. I have to report this. He has to know that he can not just go around thrashing a woman. It goes against the oath he took when he became a knight," I fume.

The woman's eyes grow round. "You can not do that, my lady, please. The people talk, and a noble can ruin a girl's life. My mistress is in a fog most of the time, but when we start losing customers because of me I will have no job. There are plenty of girls out there that can sew. I have a fair hand with it, but I can be replaced. Please, m'lady, do not report it," Lalasa begs.

I know she makes sense. I can not always protect her and sometimes rumors and lies can hurt more than a weapon. I do not want to, but I will have to hold my tongue.

I nod to Lalasa and vow that I will not report it. She gives me a skeptical look, but I nod my head again.

Satisfied, she wipes her cheeks with her sleeve and stands up. She leads me into the small room with the platform. I stand up for her to take my measurements and I give her Yuki's and Shinko's.

It took hours before we had decided on fabrics and styles. The deed was done though, and I had a new friend. I close the old wooden door and head for the temple district.

I am aware of everything around me. It is one of the side affects of being a guard to an emperor who suffers from several assassination attempts every few years.

The sun is going down and most everyone is inside. I can hear noise coming from a dirty inn with a dove on the sign. This is not the way I came. I look around for a familiar sight. I had been aware of threats, but where I was going slipped my mind.

A man turns the corner and grins at me. I kindly return the gesture with a glare. He acts as if he is offended and puts his hands to his heart. "You hurt my feelings by thinkin' so little of a commoner like me. I 'ave on'y the best intentions. You look lost. I thin' a gal like ya down in the city at this time o' day is amusin's all. I can help ya out, miss," he chortles.

He looks like he is crooked, but the twinkle in his shows that he is a decent man. I can defend myself if my instincts are wrong, but they usually aren't.

He leads me through a maze of streets and alley ways. I started to wonder about him, but then I found myself standing at the bottom of the temple district. I turn to thank the man, but there is only glittering eyes in the darkness. I can hear a whisper riding the wind saying, "We will meet again."

The sparkles vanish and I am alone again. I sigh. I do not know what that was about, but there is no use worrying. I will find out soon enough, and I begin my hike up to the palace.