Day 3 7056 at some point there will be a chapter 2. And she will go for a run. not yet, but it will come.

Seth said. “The pant legs on mine are a bit to tight, but other than that it is fine. I take it there are problems with the dresses? Is that why you had us go outside with them on? Come to think of it I do recall one of the others saying something about the ball dresses giving a good show. Are they that bad? I can get some fabric, if that will help. Long as the color matches there is no reason it should be an issue. Father has already told Landen to go buy some pants as he was complaining about them. Of course he is sending me to get them, for he is too busy with his horse, so it would be no trouble to pick up things for you as well.” He then stopped and looked at the door and realized what had been said as he entered. “Just what did they send? I meant I have to go to town. There is no problem. I might even be able to get Joe to come and help if you need another set of hands. You know that he would be thrilled to.”

Idrias answered as she came out of the bathroom. “The dresses are bad, they are all worse than the gown Dilly had on casing you. The bright red one.” He coughed and flushed. “Mine might be worse than the one she didn’t make it out of her house in, it has to be as bad as it at least. However it won’t be by the time it has to be worn.” Seeing his face she knew that no matter what anyone said Joe would be coming, so might as well help him out. “As to the cloth, see what he recommends for a under slip. That will get him here to see the dress so he knows what is needed. Once he sees it he will get involved. That way you will stop worrying about it as you will no matter now that you have realized I was sent one.” It was silly how much he got upset about it when he thinks I am being single out. My being a shifter upsets him far more tan it does me. I am just sure that is why he didn’t go to the meetings before this year. I know it is why he has refused to go to the prep school with Andrew and the rest. When Father said that it wasn’t for me he said that meant it wasn’t for him, which is complete nonsense. We might be twins, but we are not the same and somehow he needs to see that my weakness do not affect him. He shouldn’t be letting me hold him back. I am doing enough of that just by being here without him turning down chances because they are not fit for me.

Seth said. “I can’t believe. Just how bad is the slip? Just what are they trying to get you to do? I am glad it is being fixed. Now is there other fabric needed? ” It will be best that he helps, I know that they mean well but Mother can’t see that Idrias isn’t a child at times and wants her to act older that Landan at other times. I know Gladys won’t let it get out of hand but sis isn’t going to say if she needs something changed and I don’t know how many of her clients are shifters. Surely some are, but that doesn’t mean that she will understand that need different things in their clothes. Sis is hard the only that is trained not to speak of her differences after all. It might just help her business as well, come to think of it.

Alice was wondering why they had to say they were working on the dress in the first place. Whishing there was some way to stop it, but there was nothing that could be done. He would be here and making everything harder than it needed to be, but they did need fabric for the slips. “Knowing Joe he will bring half the store with him no matter what is said, but all that is needed is some lightweight white cloth. I am sure that we could mange, but as Idrias said there will be no convincing him of that before he sees the dresses. I am sure he has been trying to come up with reason to anyway, which I should have realized. He knows you all have to be at court so likely has clothes made. Now he won’t have to claim that there were simply too many clothes waiting for you to bring on your own.” I do not know why he is so convinced that he is the only one that can make fitting clothes for the child, and some of the things he would have her in. Well at least he won’t be too outrageous with the others here. Though I fear what they will think when he brings the wardrobe and then insists that he clean out her closets as it has been a year. I should have had him here before they got in. “Go on before they have Iron completely confused.”

Gladys said. “So is this Joe the one that made that dress Idrias?” She barley let Idrias nod. “I was going to ask where you got it. That is just right for you. He has a good eye, I will be glad to see what he thinks. Might just be that with his help we can make it a bit closer to comfortable than I thought.” She took the dress and snip off a piece at the bottom. “Seth take this so he knows the color of the dress. That will let him know a bit what we are up against. Tell him we have to stay with the color, as bad as it is. He might just have some better trims. Don’t worry we will see to it that Idrias looks like they young lady she is.” Seth took the fabric and she pushed them to the door.  “No matter what sort of ploy this dress was meant to be. Now run on, I can bet they are thinking you are lost.” She shut the door once they had cleared it, not giving them a chance to say anything.

Seth looked at the door then started laughing as well as walking. Just what was that? He had been expecting a bit more frowning and had been preparing a list of reasons why he had to be the one to go. Yet his Mother did even think to tell him to have a hand get the pants, and then to be pushed out the door. It was to much. Then he saw that Idrias was upset and that let him get some control back. “Sis it is fine. Father isn’t a bit. He just couldn’t give them the answers. You know he doesn’t care a bit that you read the reports, and he asked you to make some plans for us so is hardly going to be upset that you are working on some involving the other borders as well. He knows that you have to play them out. After all he put the table there for you.”

Idrias said. “I was just thinking. I forgot that Joe hadn’t been over. He is going to insist that all my clothes are out of date. I fear just what a mess it will be even if there wasn’t the dress. He is going to make them redo more of it then they need to. You know how he gets. Just what are they going to think? I know it will happen, I just wish there was a way to get him to understand that.” She shook her head, and paused a bit, trying to relax. Just what did they find? I thought I had everything picked up. Which set did I miss? Hopefully it was just where I was working on a counter of Vanicorft. That should be safe enough, for there are a lot that go into what should have been done to stop him. Slowly she walked into the study, not looking at Seth. He would not understand why this was bad, no matter what Father had said. Anything there will just be pointing out how different I am from the other young women. Few that are not shifts are attacked to the study of war. I know there are some, but not here. It just isn’t acceptable. The fact that he permits and indulges me is evidence of what I am, which is why I tried to get it all put away. After all they hardly need the reminders, if they somehow were able to forget it is a help. That is the issue with Joe, he is going to try and see that no one can forget that I have needs normal people don’t. “Hi, Seth said that you had some questions? I am sorry. I thought I had picked my things up. I didn’t mean to cause a distraction.”

Iron shook his head a bit, but smiled. “You picked up way more than you needed to. I told you that we didn’t need your table and to just leave your stuff. Yet you packed it up. There was no need of that. I caused the questions, not you. You had everything tucked away I just needed the map you had on top so that let them see the papers you had there on Olster.”

Idrias flushed a bit. “I thought I had set out some maps for you. Did you find what you needed? I don’t know just what ones I had there. I was a bit rushed, I got a bit caught up and near forgot to leave. I was reading the report and just had to lay a bit out to get try and get it to make sense.”

Oliver said. “Where did you get the population for Hasen from? We can’t find anything about them. Yet you have trade records, which I want a copy of, and those numbers. Where and how? We have a large border and can’t even find out if the king is alive. Do you truly think they have a treaty with Olser? It makes sense, to much sense. Yet it is nothing anyone has seen that I knew of.”

Another man nodded. “And why do you have the tanks going to Willamnt not Bishop pass? I have the same number for them, but I don’t see why that route. I do like where you sent the red units, that works much better. However those tanks are troubling. No one has thought to put a watch there, not seeing a thing using it. It should be inaccessible, or so our maps show.” He smiled a bit, for she looked shocked. Clearly she hadn’t thought they were really interested in it.

Iron shook his head again, they could have at least let her get over to the table. “We needed a better map of the Green range, for the one they sent was far from complete just from the bits I knew. This is the map you had of it. I didn’t even look at the stand to see what was there. I just knew you had one so went to get it.”

Idrias looked at what he had then went over to the map stand. “I don’t mind a bit, but I think you will find this one better. That one there was made before the last rock slide, and so is off a bit. A lot of what I have on Hasen is biased on old reports from before Hanover took the throne. The population data is biased on even older data and is pure speculation, but the same one who came up with it also did such work on other lands and those that could be checked have been fairly close.