IN THE ZAMI FEIN TAILOR SHOP
"Stand still."
"I am."
"Not with all that fidgeting you're not."
Kade let out a huff of air through his nose and then took in a breath and adjusted his stance and tried again. Ah, but it was difficult. Of course, right? For all of the things Kade imagined happening on his trip to
Annuakat to compete in the Tower of Tribulations, being summoned by the Emperor was, heh, it most certainly wasn't one of them. But what a story he'd have for his little sister and little brother! Mom might faint, and Dad might be stunned beyond words, rare as that was for him.
Light from the outside filtered in through the intricate circular wooden designs on the windows, and altogether the interior tailor shop's main room had a golden and amber ambience to it. Much like the man Zami himself, his shop was meticulously arranged, everything neat and in its place, every ream of material placed like the pillars of a masterwork pantheon upon the shelves and every square of material folded and laid out like the tiles therein upon the tables. There were a few mannequins about, and, well, Kade had to make like one of them.
"That good?"
"Better," said Zami, the venerable old tailor who was first measuring and then would be fitting Kade for some new clothes. Everything about Zami was precise and exact: his groomed white hair and beard, his perfect finery, the symmetrical jewelry he wore, even the wrinkles across his brow and fanning out from his eyes. The man had an air of expert authority. "Arms out."
Kade did as instructed. He kept up the conversation though because, gods, he just had to, or else the nervous jitters would get to him again.
"That silk you showed me earlier was, uh, whoo, it was soft. Plush. Awfully expensive, isn't it?"
"More expensive than the potato sack and loose rags you're wearing now," Zami said, keeping his eyes on his work. He held his measuring rope to the length of Kade's right arm and examined closely the tick marks upon it.
"They're not...not that bad," Kade said. What was so wrong with his clothes anyway? He was excited about meeting the Emperor, absolutely, but the guards that had summoned him brought him here first, and the tailor Zami was already expecting him. Like this was all planned.
"They are certainly insufficient to be in the presence of the Empress," said Zami, shifting to Kade's left arm then.
Kade blinked. Once. Then twice more. The slight against his attire lost by the last detail of what Zami had said.
"Empress?"
"Yes. Empress."
A cavalcade of perplexing and quite possibly wildly entertaining thoughts about what might have happened to Gerra went parading through Kade's mind.
"Empress. When did that happen?"
Zami actually paused in his work for a moment. Gave Kade a reproachful look. Stated more than asked, "You really do not know."
"...No? I guess I don't?"
"Emperor Gerra has departed the throne for a time. It is Empress
Medja for the time being."
"Medja? The Vizier of Stars?" Hot sands, she was the one who'd organized the whole Tower of Tribulations. He had been that close to the Empress and
he didn't even know it. What a trip, this was going to be a wallop of a story for his family to hear. Sure thing.
"At least you know that. Isn't she
from Ragash, like yourself?"
"I don't know. Is she?"
Zami sighed. He hadn't truly been asking Kade that, his question purely rhetorical. He went back to his measuring work. "I feel now that your attire will be the least of your concerns."
"You're telling me."
Zami crouched and began to measure Kade's legs. "Do you have the slightest idea how lucky you are, young man?"
"I dabble in luck, you could say. I'm awfully aware, yeah."
"Lords and nobles and sultans and sheikhs alike all struggle for the time of day," mused Zami, "but a street rodent like you is allowed an audience with Her Imperial Majesty."
"Is that what I'm supposed to call her? Her Imperial Majesty?"
Zami just looked up from his work. Gave Kade a stern look until he thought it wise to relent.
"I'll call her Her Imperial Majesty."
Zami resumed his measuring, wrapping the tick-marked rope about Kade's waist. He said then, "It is not mine to know why someone like you has been so summoned. But, I would advise you, young man, to show the utmost respect to the Empress. You likely cannot even conceive of the power she wields, so beyond the scope of your understanding is it. More than just lives, the fate of whole
cities and entire
peoples hang on the balance of utterances and proclamations so given by her. She
is the Empire. Do you understand?"
Kade, breaking the rule to stand still without really thinking about it, nodded and said,
"Yeah. I understand."
Zami again paused his work. Met Kade with that stony gaze again. "Do you, young man,
un-der-stand?"
Something about the way Zami was looking at him made Kade at last realize the sheer immensity of what he was getting into. This. Was. The.
Empress. Not just someone who was well-known and who just by meeting them or even just being in their presence would make for that good story he was thinking about. The.
Empress. There was a reason he thought Mom would likely faint and thought Dad would likely be stunned. Because it was the Empress. The Empress
herself.
Oh.
Oh gods.
Kade swallowed. Lifted his eyes and stared straight forward.
"I...I understand."
Zami gave a small nod. Went back to his work. "Good."
And a second later said it again.
"Good."
* * * * *