[The Weft and Warp] Another Day, Another Miza. (Open)

[Nessaisa Protea]

Timestamp: 47 Day of Winter, 511 AV

Nessaisa left her home early in the day. She gracefully wound her way through the red thread roads to The Weft and Warp. It had been awhile since she had been in the building. After she had finished her schooling, she had left to study a little of the bartering and market skills with a cousin. Now she was going to start working on one of her passions--weaving.

She entered the building a little earlier than expected. She smiled as she entered. She remembered its beauty now. She took her time, her eyes studying the beautiful silks that covered the walls, broken sporadically with pretty ornaments.

She finally got down into the main room. School was just about to start for the younger Symnestra that were just beginning to learn the trade. She went to a loom that was not yet setup and began to get it ready for the day.

[Poison]

In the morning the Weft and Warp was especially busy – and loud. While hardly a sound could be heard later in the day, the building was filled with the voices of countless Symenestra that had come here to start their work. Alessa Anthurium, the owner of the Weft and Warp, and her cousin Avarys had not arrived yet, and thus the weavers could do whatever they wanted.

A couple of young Symenestra girls, lovely with their brilliant white hair and their silken dresses, stood in a corner, chatting excitedly. They were talking about who would be chosen as Moth Queen next and whatever there would be another accident. Selaria, the last Moth Queen, had bene poisoned.

An older, dark haired Symenestra woman sat down behind a loom next to Nessaisa and shook her head. „Children“, she muttered. „They should concentrate more on their work.“ But there was a smile on her face. She still remembered what it was like. It was good to see young people here, especially since fewer and fewer children were being born in Kalinor.

A boy, an apprentice, hurried into the main room, a cup in hand. He had slept in, so there had been no time for a proper breakfast. All he had was a cup of lukewarm blood, taken from only the gods knew what creature.

It was then that a man descended the stairs. He moved quietly and with the grace of a dancer. He was slender, almost deadly pale, with deep black hair and brilliant violet eyes. His clothes were made of the finest silk imagineable. As he saw the girls chatting in the corner, he clapped his hands once, and they quickly hurried to their looms and started to get them ready.

Seeing that, he smiled slightly, and then he walked over to Nessaisa. It seemed as if Avarys Anthurium wanted something from her.

[Nessaisa Protea]

Nessaisa was beginning to feel at home again. The hustle and bustle of The Weft and Warp was a soothing backdrop to her. It was natural and familiar, and put her at ease and left her happy.

Almost as soon as she had her loom ready for the day, an older Symnestra sat down at the next loom. She smiled even wider when the woman pronounced that the children should concentrate more on their work. She wasn't far past their age, although she had not been as prone to neglecting her work for idle chatter.

She turned to the woman and said, "Ah, they'll have a hard time working, since it's coming close to time when the Moth Queen is chosen. And it'll be worse this year, they will still be speculating on the horrible end met by the last Moth Queen."

Nessaisa was about to go back to her loom when her eye was caught by a graceful man descending into the room. Richly dressed and quite handsome, he seemed to almost dance across the room. Then she noticed he was heading straight for her.

[Poison]

„Nessaisa, isn’t it?“ the man asked and smiled at her, revealing just a hint of fang. „Nessaisa Protea? My cousin told me about you. You are quite talented for one so young.“ He came yet closer and set down behind the loom on Nessaia’s other side that was still unoccupied. The older woman that had complained about children earlier stopped her work, turned around and looked at Avarys curiously. What did he want from her?

„I may have a job for you“, Avarys revealed. His voice was pleasant, the look on his pale face friendly as if all those nasty rumours that circulated around Kalinor weren’t true. Avarys Anthurium didn’t look as if he could hurt a single soul. „A special job. I thought a young, talented weaver like you might be especially interested in advancing her career. What do you say, Nessaisa? Do you want to do something other than sitting behind your loom and weaving cloth day in and day out?“

Next to Nessaisa the older woman crossed her arms over her chest. Of course she was happy for Nessaisa, but she wished she would have gotten such an opportunity when she had been young. The Anturiums – back then Alessa’s and Avarys‘ grandmother had owned the Weft and Warp – had never asked her to do a special job for them!

[Nessaisa Protea]

She recognized the man as he got closer. Avarys Anthurium, co-owner of The Weft and Warp. She had never been introduced, but she knew him from his appearances and from the rumors circulating Kalinor. All of a sudden she got quite nervous.

By the time he got to her and verified her name, all she could do was nod. She listened intently, her ears believing what they were hearing less with each word. A special job for the Anthuriums! A dream come true! The opportunity of a lifetime!

Then came the feeling of apprehension. It was too good to be true, or she would fail at it, or some such thing. She quickly crushed the feeling and mentally argued with herself that this was the opportunity of a lifetime, that this would be the best chance she would ever get to achieve all of her dreams.
She realized that Avarys had finished talking. She blushed a little, realizing she was sitting there with her mouth wide open, and eyes wide as saucers. Quickly she responded, "Yes, of course I will! What can I do for you?"

[Poison]

As they realized that Nessaisa had attracted the attention of Avarys Anthurium himself, the girls that had been chatting before stared at her. While the woman that sat on the loom next to Nassaisa smiled encouragingly, they looked very, very jealous. „Why has he approached her?“ one girl whispered. „I’m much prettier!“ „I don’t think he’s interested in her looks“, another girl suggested. „He is interested in her work. You know those rumours about him!" „Still“, the first girl complained. „I’m better!“

Avarys cast a glance at the girls – he had heard every single word – and they immediately fell silent and started working again. He nodded – this was what they should be doing – and then he turned to Nessaisa again. „Not here“, he told her. „I have the materials in another room. Come with me.“

He gestured for her to follow him, and then he disappeared behind one of the silken curtains that separated the main room from the rest of the house. The room he took her to was small. There was only a single loom made of very fine wood in it. Balls of cloth could be seen in shelves along the one wall that was actually made of stone rather than silk. A fine carpet covered the floor, and candles filled the room with a pleasant light.

„Silenva Hyacinth has ordered a dress made of golden silk from us“, he revealed. Silenva was, as Nessaisa without a doubt knew, the daughter of the ruling couple. „Would you like to be involved both in the creation of the silk and the design of the dress? As far as I am concerned, it would be helpful to hear the opinion of somebody that is close to Silenva in age and a woman on top of it. My cousin would probably disapprove – she’ll think that involving somebody like you poses a considerable risk – but I’d like to try something new.“

He grinned.

[Nessaisa Protea]

Nessaisa could now feel all eyes on her. It made her a little nervous, actually. She slid her eyes to where she could see the gossipping girls out of the corner of her eye, and she could hear them. She was relieved when Avarys silenced them.

He beckoned and she followed him to a cozy little room with a single, yet high quality, loom. She looked all around, observing the cloth in the shelves, the rug beneath her feet. Then he told her what he wanted from her: a dress for Silenva Hyacinth. Her nerves picked up all over again. She didn't seem to hear much of what he had said besides that.

The prospect excited her more than it made her nervous though. It was definitely the opportunity of a lifetime. She looked back at Avarys who was grinning widely. She began to grin herself, her excitement burning through her previous nervousness.

"Yes, I will do it."

[Poison]

„Wonderful“, Avarys remarked as Nessaisa told him that she would do it. „This is your room for as long as we’ll work on Silenva’s dress by the way“, he added, as if there was nothing special about that fact that she had just received such a huge promotion. „I want you to be able to concentrate on that project and only on that project and not have to worry about the girls outside. And I don’t want you to tell them anything about what we are making, do you understand? They tend to gossip, and I don’t want Silenva to know what the dress looks like before she actually sees it.“

„She wanted a golden dress, made of silk, but she left the rest up to us. The only ones you are allowed to talk to are my cousin and me.“

„Now then …“ he continued, leaned against a wall and crossed his arms over his chest. „What do you know about Silenva Hyacinth? What kind of person is she in your opinion? And which style do you think would suit her? Not every woman – not even Silenva Hyacinth – looks good in every dress of course. Oh, and do you actually have any experience with sewing? From what I’ve seen you’ve mainly sat behind one of the looms outside since you’ve came here.“

Secret :

A description of Silenva Hyacinth and her family can be found in the wiki!

[Nessaisa Protea]

Nessaisa paid rapt attention to Avarys' every word now. She still could not believe she had lucked out like this. It was almost too good to be true. Making a dress for Silenva Hyacinth herself! She nodded to make sure Avarys knew she would not tell a single soul about this.

She took a minute to think about his next question. She knew very little about Silenva Hyacinth. She probably knew more about Nessora Hyacinth. She answered, "I don't actually know much about Silenva. I have heard that she has inherited her mother's strength. She certainly looks strong, and not just physically. She also is supposedly very intelligent, and has a strong relationship with her mother."

It was also clear from the fearful look in her eyes that she had heard the other rumors about Kalinor's princess. She proceeded with what she remembered of Silenva's physical appearance. "I know she is taller than I am and slender, and she usually wears form-fitting clothing that shows off her beauty. If I remember right, she has silky black hair and gold eyes that will match this dress beautifully."

Then she began to think about what kind of dress would look good on the princess. "So far as the dress goes, she will want something that shows off her body, but still leaves a little mystery." Nessaisa nodded again, and the look in her eyes was far off. She was smiling and gesturing as if she had forgotten the world around her. She was definitely in her element.

Her face fell though when she answered his question about sewing. She had very little experience sewing and definitely could not sew the dress herself. Her specialty was more in weaving tapestries and fabrics. She told Avarys this in a very disappointed tone. She had definitely wanted to make the whole thing herself, but she knew that it would probably take a master at sewing to create a dress like this.

[Poison]

As Nessaisa talked about Silenva, Avarys got a dreamy look in his eyes. Of course he was dedicated to his dear Alessa more than anything else, but still, he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be with her. The ruling couple’s daughter was called „Sweet Poison“ for a reason. She was a fascinating woman. He wanted to taste her poison and find out if she really was as good as she was rumoured to be. Maybe he’d get the opportunity, if everything went according to plan, if Silenva appreciated a new, fresh designer, as he was convinced she would …

„I think that’s a good idea“, he remarked and smiled as he heard Nessaisa’s words. „A dress that shows off her body, but leaves a little mystery. We’ll have to decide how long the dress is going to be as well. She has a great body, don’t you think? Ah, I forgot. You are a woman yourself. You probably don’t appreciate her the way I do. Oh, why are you looking at me like that?“ He pouted a little as if he felt offended. „Didn’t you want to hear that? Or is it because you are not good at sewing? If you are worried about that, Alessa and I will help you, teach you a little and let you do the easier parts.“

He’d never mentored anybody before – Avarys usually wasn’t a very helpful man – but he found that he liked himself in that role. It would confuse people if he was actually nice for a change … besides, Nessaisa did have talent …

„Have you seen my cousin?“ he suddenly wondered. „Alessa should arrive here anytime. By the way, do you know where we usually get our silk from? We should probably buy some so that you can start making the cloth …“