A Simple Darkness (The Young Ancients: Tiera) by P. S. Power Read Free Book Online Page B

lounge dressed like this."
    Tiera went back to Browns, then her new dress a few times. It was good to practice things like that, since it meant she had a new outfit now. It wasn't hard to work the amulet, but good new designs were difficult to come by. Common clothing was easier, but anyone could do that. Plus it was a Petra design. That was kind of a big deal.
    Then the woman surprised her.
    "Will you work up something for me? I'm thinking a nice practical brown for tonight. Something that isn't quite as nice as what you have. I want to blend into the background a bit more, I think."
    Tiera smirked, trying not to seem put upon. She felt that way, since it was out of her comfort zone, doing clothing designs, but it was also a companionable thing to do, letting her play too. It was a friendly gesture she understood, not a demand for perfection.
    That was good, because the first three things she tried made the woman look like she was getting ready to go work in a tavern. Finally Tiera focused and put her in a nice pink gown instead, that was a slight variation of something that she'd seen in the Capital, on the Queen. Then carefully, she made it look like brown silk. It was still nice, but not perfect at all.
    Petra made a face, looking at it, but not a disgusted one, it was more like she was considering something.
    "Not bad. I need a mirror though. Do you have a disguise amulet on?" The words were sudden, and a little abrupt.
    "No... I, Tor never gave me one." It was the only way she could have one, unless she learned to make her own and they were pretty hard to even copy, she thought. No one had them for sale yet at least, not that she knew of.
    Petra rubbed at her face then and wet her finger to try again, which got Tiera to step back, forcing a chuckle.
    "Um... Say, strange person that I hardly know... what are you doing? If this is some kind of sex thing you've nicely gone well outside what I know about." It was possible that it was, that or she'd had a smudge on her face and Petra thought she was a tiny child.
    "Nothing like that, I was checking for make-up. You don't have anything on at all? Your skin... It's perfect. I was expecting to spend fifteen minutes fixing your face, but it just doesn't need it. Not for this. For something at the King's palace maybe, but for a meeting like this you're naturally ready. I'm jealous." Except that it didn't sound like she really was.
    There was a small smile on her face and then the large woman patted her shoulder again, this time letting her hand linger a little more.
    "I'm not normally into girls, as a rule. Plus, you have that whole Doretta reputation, so I wouldn't want to make any moves. You understand... so that I won't get hurt?" There was definite teasing in her tone this time at least.
    Tiera nodded.
    "Alright. I just wasn't sure what was going on. Karen told me I should just accept any overtures for now, so that I didn't mess things up I think. I've only ever even kissed one person. My roommate. My old one. Karen is in here with me now, to watch me I think."
    Chuckling a little, Petra leaned in and kissed her on the mouth. It wasn't a romantic kiss, and was a bit dry, but she winked after she stood up.
    "There, now it's two people. At this rate you'll be popular in no time. Two or three years, tops."
    They worked on Petra's make-up for a bit, a knock coming at the door a few minutes later. She figured that it would be Timon, but Karen was with him, so why would she knock? When she opened it, she saw that Sir Kolbrin was with them. Maybe she'd wanted to alert them, in case they had their clothing off or something?
    The man looked at her and nodded seriously.
    "Perfect. Now if only the rest of the first year students in my section would follow suit. Shields require it, but most try to protect their hair for some reason. It's the first test you know. If you hadn't at least taken it off to shoulder length I would have politely suggested that you be removed from the school. This