I can't believe it! I started this project two years ago, and now I am halfway though. This is a landmark. I'm really happy.
Under Willow's pressuring, Rivek sneaks her out of the castle, dressed like a boy. This is what we call a "character midpoint"...
"Haven't you ever been outside a castle before? You're seem new at this rule-breaking thing." Rivek handed Willow a pile of folded clothing. "Put these on."
She looked through the individual articles. They were commoner clothes, a simply design boy's outfit with dull colors and many holes. However, most importantly, they bore no palace markings.
"What? They're clean."
She picked up the shirt, stretching it out at her arms' width. "They're kind of big, aren't they?"
"Well, you're kind of small."
She threaded her hands through the cotton sleeves and narrowed her eyes.
He sat down at his desk, waiting. He knew girls could take an awful long time when getting ready, but he had told her not to wear make-up. He hoped that would at least cut the time in half.
She waved her hand. He gave her a confused look in response.
"Oh, wait. Right." He turned his chair around, making an exaggerated gesture to show he was most definitely covering his eyes.
Just in case he was watching, she slipped the garment over her head before unbuttoning her uniform. It took substatial flexibility to remove her everyday shirt, but Rivek's gave her plenty of room to maneuver. She let her clothes drop to the ground before sliding her arms through the sleeves of her new top. On Rivek, the cuffs fell just past his shoulders, but, on her, they reached her elbows. She threw his vest on top, and it ended at her hips, close enough to be a dress in its own right.
"Done yet?" he started to turn back around.
"No!" she picked up her discarded shirt and threw it at his head. He immediately returned to face the wall, throwing his hands into the air before covering his face again.
As carefully as before, she put the pants on under her skirt before removing her own clothes. They itched a little, and the crotch fell uncomfortably low, almost halfway down her thighs. When she let go of the waist, they drooped to her knees, and she scrambled to pick them back up again. "This isn't going to work."
He turned around. Willow stood with his pants hiked around her waist. He could not help but laugh. He stifled his mirth and got up to dig through his dresser. He produced a wide belt. "Nope, won't work at all, but maybe this will. It's Bohren's, but he won't mind."
Willow sat down on the bed to keep the pants from falling down mid-fastening and tied the belt around her waist. "All right, let's go."
He tilted his head to the side and looked her up and down. "I don't think so." He went back to the dresser and emerged with a gray cap. He threw it in her direction, and it landed at her feet.
She picked it up off the floor and put it on her head. "Done now?"
He motioned for her to tuck her hair under it.
"You're going to make me look like a boy." She knotted her long, chestnut braid into a spiral and tugged the cap squarely over it.
"That's kind of the plan. So, that -" He pointed to her chest. "-is going to be a problem." The unbuttoned collar hung just above Willow's petite cleavage. She immediately folded her arms to cover it, blushing.
He laughed again. "So I guess you don't just need my old clothes. You'll also need my sporting equipment. Here." He handed her a fat roll of bandage and turned around again. "Tie them down. I won't look."
She undid the belt and took her top off, keeping a watchful eye on Rivek. Next, she removed her bra and stuffed it under her discarded clothes. She covered her nipples as she passed the first end of the bandage under her arm. Wrapping the strip around her body was more difficult than she had expected, and the loops she made were diagonal and uneven. Nevertheless, she figured it would do. She clipped the ends down and tucked in the edges. Her chest felt tight, so she adjusted her breathing as she put the other clothes back on. "You can turn around now."
He sized her up one last time. "Almost," he touched his earlobe. "You forgot something."
It took her a few seconds to recognize what he meant. "Oh!" She took the gold backings out, and let the emerald drops fall into her palms.
Rivek extended his hand.
"How do I know you'll give them back?" She closed her hands into a fist. "For all I know, you're going to run off and sell them!"
"Looks like you're just going to have to trust me. But," He shrugged. "To put things into perspective - since you're already trusting me to guide you into a figurative thieves' den, then the earrings aren't such a big issue, are they?"
Resentfully, she opened her hand. He took the jewelry and dropped it into his dress shoe under his desk.
"That's disgusting."
"Come on. I haven't used them in months. And trust me - no one will find them there." He approached the door and held it open for her with a bow. "Milady."
She walked up to the exit. But right before she stepped over the threshold, he let the door slam shut. The hinges reverberated from the loud crack.
He winked. "Get used to it. Where we're going, that doesn't happen."
She glared at him. Then, she pushed the door open herself and stepped into the hallway.
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