"So...let me get this straight...you're tellin me, me, Omnathan Milt Sindal, alchemist-in-training, that you, lady from Violl, from the other night, are the sister of the Most Beautiful Woman in the Entirety of Unified Castia, and let's be real, probably top 5 in Iska, Euphorbia Osten, soon to be princess and then eventually queen. And you just, like, showed up the other night, looking for Dunne actin all regular. And you know her--neigh, you are related to her?"
He pointed to the newspaper with a jagged, chewed down finger nail. Arnica nodded and chewed.
"Dear gods...does Dunne know?"
"Yes."
Arnica nodded and Gowri smiled but didn’t laugh because laughing hurt too much with a black eye that was slowly swallowing the entire left side of her face. By evening, she wouldn’t be able to smile at all. But it didn’t matter, because Omni had been right about one thing, and that was that Thallia wouldn’t mind any of it if she got her a present with the jin and so she had had a very good night in a very nice hotel in the southwest district along the only portion of the shore that wasn’t taken up with freightliners.
"She knows the king, ya said."
Gowri finally spoke.
"Yeah, so?"
Omni spread butter on another crepe and drizzled it with Sylvan berried honey . It was a luxurious breakfast. Gowri would pay because her face hurt, but she was rich for it, and it wasn’t like Omni had any money and even though he said the Viollan woman was gonna pay Gowri wasn't gonna let that happen. That was just a matter of principle.
"I'm just sayin', dumbass, it ain't surprisin' that someone knows the king'd got a sister that's famous, y'know?
Gowri sighed and drank, looking at the Viollan woman with a smirk.
"I mean I ain't saying I like him-I think he's a piece of shit, you know that, but they ain't exactly got randos like y'an'me working for the king, now, do they, Om?"
"You think that the king is a piece of shit?"
The Viollan woman smiled genuinely, and Gowri was confused how Omni was so confused that she could be related to Euphorbia Osten when she looked it well enough.
"I mean..."
Gowri shrugged, looked to either side of her, half to see who was listening and half to see how pissed Omni seemed, and leaned in.
"I mean, a little bit, yeah. He killed our Ma, basically. Or a'least his men did. And besides, I think he’s a pompous fuck and I think he’s the reason Dunne’s the way he is. I mean, he don’t say it, but it's inferrable, y'know? But it’s cool, I know he’s your boss and all. Or was. You like him?”
"I don't know."
Arnica shrugged, rolled her own crepe and cut it with a fork and knife into small bite sized chunks that she then dipped in a ramekin of sugar syrup.
“It’s hard to have an opinion of someone when you’re that close to them and you’ve got so little choice in the matter. I don’t blame you for yours, though. Actually, I think it’s refreshing. Did your mother fight against him in the wars?”
"Nah."
Gowri shook her head.
"Worse than that. Got trampled when his men took over the City durin' the Fassenian Wars. She was a fuckin' psychologist at the old University before it moved. Hell, I think her dyin' here was half the reason it moved. Looked bad, y'know? Gave the place bad vibes. People don't like bad vibes when they're payin' for university."
"Trampled?"
The woman raised her eyebrows. Gowri was glad she'd found them. There was very little she liked more than alarming hot Viollans.
"Gods, that's dreadful. I'm sorry."
"It's a'ight."
Gowri shrugged. That was all she wanted. The obligatory little I'm sorry of sympathy that made the rich collapse in on themselves just a bit.
“Can we not talk about mom, please?”
Omni choked back more crepe. He was eating his weight in carbohydrates and breakfast wine. He'd puke before the hour was out, Gowri would have put money on it if Monterro were there to take the bet. And he would have if he were.
“It’s not King Maathen’s fault. It’s not anyone’s fault. It was just a fluke. Wrong place at the wrong time sort of thing. Like when people get attacked by interwolves on the highways. Not their fault and not the wolves’ fault, you know? Look—can you just please tell me about Euphorbia.”
“Oh, um, yes, sure.”
Arnica took a sip before speaking, like a real Viollan orator.
"What would you like to know about her?"
"I dunno."
Omni shrugged. He looked like an excited little kid waiting to be told they could get out of school.
"You think she should marry the Prince? Or she too good for him? Cause prince's can be dicks, can't they? I mean, maybe not, but seems like."
"Mmm...they can."
Arnica smiled.
“But...Vikram’s not so terrible, I suppose. He’s very stupid and selfish, but he’s not...he’s not too cruel. Not for royalty, I don’t think. Eu’s...she’s kind of like him. She’s not cruel, at all, though. She’s very kind. She’s very selfish, though, at the same time, somehow, which is...unique. But I can’t say I blame her for that. Um…she’s six years younger than me. We didn’t do much together as children, our education was very different, but I know she didn’t like school very much. She used to make clothing for herself out of other clothes, taking them apart and putting them back together, she said that was what she wanted to do for work for a long time until she realized that if she was Queen, she wouldn’t have to do anything for work, which would be better. She’s very good at...talking to people. She’ll be a good Queen, I think. Better than Vikram will be King.”
"Figures..."
Omni sighed with the whist of someone who actually had a chance with the person they were talking about. Gowri laughed into her drink.
"She sounds amazing..."
"Sounds like some chick from Violl."
Gowri chortled and then regretted it. Her face hurt.
"You don't like her, do ya?"
She goaded the Viollan to see if she'd bite.
"She's fine. She's my sister."
She responded, but there was no bite.
"Do you like him?"
The woman nodded to Omni and took another careful, dainty, Viollan bite.
"Touche...so, how long you gonna be in town?"
"I gotta pee..."
Omni kicked his way out from the table like a baby ji on wobbly legs from two glasses of wine. Gowri rolled her eyes. Weak.
"I don't know."
The Viollan woman shrugged again and picked a piece of her hair back. She looked less put together than she had the night before, but it suited her.
"The foreseeable future, I suppose...or..."
"Or what?"
The woman looked nervous for the first time, almost scared, Gowri leaned in. Scared, hot, fancy women were her forte in life.
"Somethin' wrong?"
The woman looked down and a tiny bit of blood rushed her cheeks. Something was wrong.
"They froze my bank account...I don't know why...so yes, I'm stuck here...and I'm broke, too...and..."
"Fuck, for real?"
"You ain't gotta pay for this for real, you know? Omni can buy his own goddamn crepes, he's got a job, kinda--"
"It's not that...I can get this...he showed me around, so I suppose I owe him, no...I just..."
She sighed.
"I'll have to find work and somewhere to stay and I...I don't know this city well and it's all very...annoying."
"That's putting it mildly, ain't it?"
Gowri tried to smile despite the ache.
"Dunne kick ya out? Why don't ya just stay there?"
"I don't want to impose."
"Ah...he'll tell ya when you're imposin', trust me. Besides, he imposes on me all the fuckin' time. You see this shit?"
She pointed to her face.
"Imposed this shit on me just cause Monterro needed a favor so Gennie can marry Khaled fucking answers, that pussy-ass numbers man..."
"I don't think your supposed to say that out loud, Gow...that how throwing fights works, isn't it?"