Page 82 of The Tsarina's Favorite
She disappeared into her bedroom and returned minutes later carrying a fabric-wrapped item that one of her ladies carried in earlier.With Alaina carrying it, it threatened to swallow her up.She tossed it onto the chaise to free her hands.
I stood beside her, appraising the bundle.
“What is it?”I asked.
She pulled at the fabric wrapping, revealing slivers of blue brocade and dark fur until she managed to free the wrapping entirely and discard it on the floor.The blue shimmered in the light, and the fur absorbed it.She unrolled the item, and though she held it above her head, the bottom still trailed along the ground.
“What do you think?”she asked.
I regarded the swathes of fabric, very fine, very attractive, in something of a dress pattern but not of the style she usually wore.And much too big for her.I could not help but reach out and stroke the sable collar though, luxuriating in its softness.
“What is it?”I asked again.
“It’s a new outfit — for you!”
“I have feathers,” I protested, “and do not need clothing.”
Alaina’s arms dropped in her disappointment, the garment now a puddle of blue brocade on the ground.She hesitated a moment before turning away from me and draping it over the chaise.
“I had one of my dresses made into a robe for you,” she said.“Since you’re so much taller than I am, I had my seamstress cut sections of the skirt to add to the bottom and make it look less skirt-like.”
My gaze traveled the length of the robe.The brocade dazzled in the lamplight, reflecting and absorbing the light according to elegant folds and alternating glossy and matte foliate patterns woven into the cloth.Gold braid and crystal bead trim hid the seams from the original skirt to the additions.The front bodice had been converted into a top of military style, bedecked in gold braid and ornate clasps.The deep brown sable fur trimmed the hem and the open collar that met just above the top golden clasp.
“I wanted to give you something green to match your eyes, but I didn’t have anything that color,” she explained.
I took a step toward the robe and reached out, brushing my fingertips through the fur and tracing my claws over the gold braid.I withdrew before I reached the blue brocade, afraid the rough texture of my hands would pull the shimmering threads.I had not worn anything so handsome in such a long time.
I hated the robe for the covetousness it inspired in me.
“Thank you.It is a kind thought,” I admitted, “but there is no way to get a robe over my wings.”
There.A practical thought.A practical reason not to accept it.I would not look ungrateful with the observation but solid and resolved.And I would not offend her.
“But I thought of that!”Alaina grabbed the robe up from the chaise and turned it around, draping it over her arm.She showed me the backside, two slits running down from the shoulder blades.“The middle section goes between your wings, and then there are clasps beneath.”She pinched one of the gold braid clasps that echoed the military fastenings of the front and held it out for me to see.“Provided that the slits are at the right height, of course.I would like you to try it so that I can see.And if there’s something wrong or off, it can be fixed.”
Someone I cared about offered me material consideration beyond some token access to fire or a cute little picnic that would be over and done within an hour.The robe was a token of her world, of her world as a person and as a princess, that she was sharing with the creature of another.This was a gesture the likes of which she might have appreciated had our roles been reversed.This wasn’t care of an animal.This was a gift, a fabulously expensive gift, from one person to another, and not just any other.This was a gift intended for someone dear.
She was dear to me.And somehow, I had become dear to her.
I took a step back, frightened a little by the import.
The glitter of her eyes dulled and her voice wavered with the evaporation of her joy.“Please try it?”
The soft request broke through my hesitance.I couldn’t let myself be the cause of her unhappiness, and I couldn’t bear to disappoint her after investing so much thought into her present.
“Yes,” I said.“Thank you.”
Alaina’s radiant delight returned with my acquiescence.
“Arms in,” she instructed as she held the robe up for me.
“Your sleeves won’t fit me,” I cautioned, “if this was one of your dresses.”
“I thought of that too!”She hooked one of the openings over my arm.“A tight-fitting sleeve would certainly have prevented you from being comfortable, so I had the shoulders extended with gold braid and sleeve caps.And I had my sleeves replaced with bell sleeves so you have greater movement.”She fitted the back of the robe over my wings and then pulled the other sleeve over my other arm.“I spent a lot of time figuring out how to make this work for you.That’s why it took so long.I was hoping it would be ready the first week you were with me, and then I kept finding faults with the design.”
The sleeves slipped down my arms, luxurious and silky.The fur trim lay gently reassuring on the backs of my hands.The fur collar warmed the back of my neck.I closed my eyes to enjoy the sensations and forget for just a moment everything that had occurred this past year that made this event so special.
“The slits look about the right height.”Alaina fastened the robe under my wings and tugged on the fabric to straighten it out.“The length looks good too.”
