Madeleine stood in the doorway watching her distant lover. Margot was seated at the dressing table. The oil lamp on the table burned bright. The light transformed her copper hair into molten metal. Margot had it pinned up off her neck. She opened a jar of moisturizer and looked at herself in the triptych mirror as she applied a dab to her clean face.
They weren't speaking to one another. Or rather Margot wasn't speaking to her. Not in private at least. To make matters worse she'd made a point not to touch Madeleine over the past two weeks. Margot wouldn't so much as help her with a zipper. She was still angry with Madeleine for extending their visit without bothering to discuss it with her first.
"Ma chérie?"
The redhead twisted the lid back on the jar and ignored her.
"Je suis sincèrement désolée," Madeleine apologized.
Margot met her eyes in the mirror.
"De quoi es-tu désolée?"
Apparently, Margot wasn't going to make this easy.
"Je suis désolée pour tout," Madeleine said.
"Je vous pardonnerai si vous êtes en train avec moi demain," said Margot.
Madeleine crossed the room to her lover. If such things were allowed she would call Margot her wife. Madeleine leaned down to put her arms around Margot's shoulders and kissed her cheek.
"D'accord," she relented.
In the mirror she saw the engineer's features soften. Margot circled her hand around Madeleine's wrist as she rose from her seat and tugged her toward the bed. They kissed as if for the first time. It didn't take long for their passion to ignite.
In the corridor of the imperial wing Lan Fan stood watch. Lan Fan's eyes were closed but she was tapped into the dragon's pulse. The qi signatures in the vicinity were expected. The entrance to the wing was barred by a pair of guards. Down the hall in the dowager's rooms Lady Xue was accompanied by two of her attendants. The emperor was alone in his room getting dressed.
It was her fifth sweep of the area in the last twenty minutes. Satisfied with her findings Lan Fan opened her eyes. Despite her anxiety regarding the emperor's safety she looked forward to aspects of the party. Lan Fan looked forward to the music and the fireworks in particular. The scent of gunpowder lingered in the air during fireworks. It reminded her of grandfather.
Fu taught her how to handle fireworks before he'd trusted her with bombs and flash grenades. He didn't teach Lan Fan how to make her own until she was almost fifteen. Master Fu had warned her not to lose any fingers. Lan Fan glanced at her metal digits. The irony wasn't lost on her.
Lan Fan felt the approach of a familiar qi. Dressed in full uniform Qiyin entered the corridor. The guardsman's appearance was entirely unexpected. He wasn't due to take up watch until well after the party tonight. Qiyin bowed before her.
"Good evening, Commander Liu."
"Is something wrong?" Lan Fan asked.
"I've been asked to relieve you of your duty and deliver this," he answered.
Qiyin handed her a letter. The front of the envelope read Lan Fan Liu Zhang. Her full name. Heart pounding she turned the letter over. The seal of the emperor. Lan Fan tore open the envelope. Inside she found an invitation to the soiree. There was a note on the back from the emperor.
Lady Bodyguard,
I command you to have a little fun tonight.
Sincerely,
Ling Yao
Emperor of Xing
P.S.
Don't be cross with Qiyin
The commander of the guard bit her cheek. If she refused to attend as a guest she would be disobeying a direct order, but there was nothing stopping her from acting as a plainclothes bodyguard. Lan Fan tucked the invitation back into the mangled envelope.
"You will not let him out of your sight unless he is in mine," she commanded.
Upon his acknowledgment she departed. What she was supposed to wear to this Lan Fan didn't know. She was disinclined to wear the dress Madeleine gave her. Even with full length gloves too much of her automail showed. Furthermore, the length was inappropriate for an evening of this caliber. Lan Fan intended to draw as little attention to herself tonight as possible. It wasn't the first time she'd been a wallflower.
There was an apparel box on her bed.
The box was cream colored and wrapped in a black satin ribbon. She hesitated to open it. Instead, Lan Fan removed her armor and went to the baths. Half an hour later she showed up at Madeleine's room dressed in a robe. Water dripped from her freshly washed hair. The bodyguard had the box tucked under her arm. She knocked on the door urgently.
Margot answered the door.
"Is Madeleine here?"
"She went to warm up with the band."
Lan Fan's face fell.
"What do you need?" Margot asked.
"Help. I don't own any makeup..." she confessed.
Margot looked her up and down.
"Get in here. I'll take care of you."
Lan Fan thanked her profusely and hurried inside, following Margot into the adjoining room. She set the box on the unmade bed.
"I'm assuming there's a dress in that box. Let's see what we're working with," Margot sighed.
Carefully, Lan Fan pulled the ends of the bow and removed the top of the box. Inside, wrapped in gold tissue paper, was an evening gown. The dress was turquoise silk with gold trim and beading. The sleeves were short and made of sheer fabric. It was magnificent. Lan Fan was afraid to touch it. Margot lifted the dress by the sleeves and whistled. It was floor length. Lan Fan would have to wear heels.
"Someone has expensive tastes," Margot remarked.
Lan Fan said nothing.
The redhead put the dress on a hanger. There were gloves in the box as well. The same champagne color Lan Fan had worn previously, but to her relief these were opera length.
Margot pointed at the vanity and snapped.
"Sit down. I need to set your hair before it dries."
Lan Fan did as she was told. Margot set her hair in waves and pin curls, making quicker work of it than she ever could. Before starting on Lan Fan's makeup Margot used the pitcher and basin to wash her hands.
"I thought you were working tonight," Margot said. She turned Lan Fan's face toward the light. For someone who worked with them so often Margot's hands soft.
"So did I," Lan Fan replied.
The engineer clicked her tongue.
"I see." Margot tested a few shades of foundation on her cheek before she found a match she liked. She applied it to her face with her fingertips. "I'm not putting as much of this on you as Madeleine does. You don't need it."
"I don't?" Lan Fan echoed.
"Trust me. You have a beautiful complexion." Margot applied blush to the apples of her cheeks.
"Thank you," Lan Fan breathed.
They fell into silence as Margot accented her eyes with shadow. She set the makeup with powder then got out an eyeliner pencil.
"Eyes closed," Margot instructed.
Lan Fan shut her eyes.
Margot finished lining her eyes. She tried several shades of lipstick on the back of her hand. "We're going home tomorrow," Margot informed her as she cleaned the swatches of color from Lan Fan's fair skin.
"I thought you might," Lan Fan said.
It was still disappointing but not surprising.
"We'll come back to visit." Margot lined her lips into a bow, filling them in with the lip pencil. She followed up with the coral lipstick. "You know you can come visit us, too. Anytime. You've always got somewhere to go with us."
Margot replaced the cap on the lipstick.
"Thank you, Margot."
The engineer waved off her gratitude.
"Let's get you dressed."
Lan Fan took off her robe. Underneath it she already wore undergarments and a slip. Lan Fan put on the gloves and a borrowed pair of stockings. Margot helped her into the dress. Lan Fan wondered if Ling had picked the dress himself. She had Lan Fan face the full length mirror as she ran the zipper up and fastened the snap. It was then Lan Fan realized this wasn't something off a rack. The gown fit too well to be anything other than bespoke.
Once again she sat at the dressing table while Margot finished her hair. Margot took out the pins she used to make fingerwaves, adding a jeweled headband to Lan Fan's hair. As Madeleine had the night of the dinner party, Margot finished the look with strands of pearls. Lan Fan stared at herself in the mirror. When she remembered herself she tore her gaze away. If Master Fu was here he would strike her for her vanity.
"Do you want a clutch for your lipstick?" asked Margot.
"No, thank you."
Margot raised a brow at her.
"How about for your explosives?" Margot asked again.
Lan Fan laughed once at that.
"Yes, please."
Margot fetched her a small beaded bag from Madeleine's collection. Lan Fan gathered up her things and put them in the dress box.
"Lan Fan."
The bodyguard looked over her shoulder at her automail engineer.
"Don't let anyone take advantage of you."
Lan Fan wasn't sure to what she was referring. How could anyone take advantage of her when she could easily slice them to ribbons?
"I won't.
Notes on the Chapter:
My canon for Margot and Madeleine is they speak "Creatan" i.e. French in private. For reference if the context of their conversation wasn't clear the English version is below. Creata being essentially France doesn't line up with the film canon, but I also wasn't a big fan of the Sacred Star of Milos. Also there was a LOT of internet translation involved as well as searching my brain for the French I learned in high school. My apologies for any errors.
As always I appreciate any feedback you wish to give. Thank you for reading! 3
"My darling?"
The redhead twisted the lid back on the jar and ignored her.
"I'm sincerely sorry," Madeleine apologized.
Margot met her eyes in the mirror.
"What are you sorry for?"
Apparently, Margot wasn't going to make this easy.
"I'm sorry for everything," Madeleine said.
"I will forgive you if you are on the train with me tomorrow," said Margot.
Madeleine crossed the room to her lover. If such things were allowed she would call Margot her wife. Madeleine leaned down to put her arms around Margot's shoulders and kissed her cheek.
"All right," she relented.
