Page 107 of The Well of Ascension

Allrianne obviously expected more of an explanation, but Vin didn’t give one. Finally, Allrianne turned to look out the window. “Are you sure we’ll be safe, traveling with only one manservant, Tindwyl?”

Tindwyl eyed Vin. “Oh, I think that we’ll be all right.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Allrianne said, looking back at Vin. “You’re an Allomancer! Are the things they say true?”

“What things?” Vin asked quietly.

“Well, they say you killed the Lord Ruler, for one. And that you’re kind of…um…well.” Allrianne bit her lip. “Well, just a little bit rickety.”

“Rickety?”

“And dangerous,” Allrianne said. “But, well, that can’t be true. I mean, you’re going shopping with us, right?”

Is she trying to provoke me on purpose?

“Do you always wear clothing like that?” Allrianne asked.

Vin was in her standard gray trousers and tan shirt. “It’s easy to fight in.”

“Yes, but…well.” Allrianne smiled. “I guess that’s why we’re here today, right, Tindwyl?”

“Yes, dear,” Tindwyl said. She’d been studying Vin through the entire conversation.

Like what you see?Vin thought.What is it you want?

“You have to be the strangest noblewoman I’ve ever met,” Allrianne declared. “Did you grow up far from court? I did, but my mother was quite certain to train me well. Of course, she was just trying to make me into a good catch so Father could auction me off to make an alliance.”

Allrianne smiled. It had been a while since Vin had been forced to deal with women like her. She remembered hours spent at court, smiling, pretending to be Valette Renoux. Often when she thought of those days, she remembered the bad things. The spite she’d faced from court members, her own lack of comfort in the role.

But, there had also been good things. Elend was one. She would never have met him if she hadn’t been pretending to be a noblewoman. And the balls—with their colors, their music, and their gowns—had held a certain transfixing charm. The graceful dancing, the careful interactions, the perfectly decorated rooms…

Those things are gone now,she told herself.We don’t have time for silly balls and gatherings, not when the dominance is on the verge of collapse.

Tindwyl was still watching her.

“Well?” Allrianne asked.

“What?” Vin asked.

“Did you grow up far from court?”

“I’m not noble, Allrianne. I’m skaa.”

Allrianne paled, then flushed, then raised her fingers to her lips. “Oh! You poor thing!” Vin’s augmented ears heard something beside her—a light chuckling from OreSeur, soft enough that only an Allomancer could have heard him.

She resisted the urge to shoot the kandra a flat look. “It wasn’t so bad,” she said.

“But, well, no wonder you don’t know how to dress!” Allrianne said.

“I know how to dress,” Vin said. “I even own a few gowns.”Not that I’ve put one on in months….

Allrianne nodded, though she obviously didn’t believe Vin’s comment. “Breezy is skaa, too,” she said quietly. “Or, half skaa. He told me. Good thing he didn’t tell Father—Father never has been very nice to skaa.”

Vin didn’t reply.

Eventually, they reached Kenton Street, and the crowds made the carriage a liability. Vin climbed out first, OreSeur hopping down to the cobblestones beside her. The market street was busy, though not as packed as it had been the last time she’d visited. Vin glanced over the prices at some nearby shops as the others exited the coach.

Five boxings for a bin of aging apples,Vin thought with dissatisfaction.Food is already going at a premium.Elend had stores, fortunately. But how long would they last before the siege? Not through the approaching winter, certainly—not with so much of the dominance’s grain still unharvested in the outer plantations.

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