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Mei averted her eyes to the ground as she meekly replied; “No, I can go..”

“He tried to stop her, but I explained that since you two are diplomats for Alcon, it would be in Sai’s best interest to allow her to go,” Genie stated with a cocky grin.

Tidas grinned cheekily; “You always were a smooth-talker. I’m surprised that you weren’t Sai’s diplomat for Alcon before this year.”

Genie nodded in the positive; “Thank you, Tidas.. That gives me hope for what I’m about to ask you.”

As Tidas’ expression fell, Genie quickly added; “Remember how I told you that I wished for you to ‘go over the books’, so to speak? Well, how about we get started now?”

“...You want me to do paperwork? Now? Do you realize how much I had to do right before we left Alcon?” Tidas griped.

Genie patted his shoulder; “The sooner we get this done, the quicker we can find out who’s smuggling weapons into Sai. Which means that’s all the quicker you can get some aggression out.”

Tidas sighed heavily with despondency. He really wanted to train with Genie, not be stuck at a desk for countless hours. Knowing that he really needed Tidas’ help, a sly idea popped into his head..

.....

“I’ll help on the condition that you teach me everything that you teach your ninjas..”

“Not fair! I wanna learn, too! Especially that sneaky thing ya do. I owe Peggy,” Skye quipped as she turned and looked at the elderly servant.

Peggy grinned back cheekily; “Tis a fun trick ta ken, hehe.”

“Glad to see that you’ve not abused what I taught you all those years ago, Peg,” Genie added with a comical grin.

“Only when necessary...or fun,” she joked with a chuckle.

As the group smiled, Kari watched with a small smile. Wherever Skye was, people were generally happy, like it followed her. As they all gathered their things and readied to leave, Kari followed behind; enjoying the banter between them all.

************

“This place is Huge! Look at all the wee stalls! Oh! And there’s tea and sweets shop, too! We’re gonna have ta hit that on our way back. Ima told that the green tea here in Sai is the best in the world, and that dango looks delicious. We definitely need ta try it,” Skye stated as her head whipped back and forth with excitement all over her face.

Mei smiled brightly as she watched her friend enjoying herself. Skye’s child-like enthusiasm towards life in general was one of the things that she loved most about her. As they walked along the side of the street, Mei wished that she was as open as Skye was..

“I’d something bothering you? You’re making that face again,” Hana commented low.

Mei reigned in her emotions as she replied; “I’m fine. I just didn’t realize how much I missed Skye until now.”

“...Okay,” came Hana’s somewhat-cold reply.

Kari watched the two as Skye continued to talk about the various shops. There was an odd tension between them that even she could see, and wondered if there was something between them.. ‘But Mei is married, right? Is Hana sleeping with her husband or something? Maybe they’re-‘

“Kari?! KARI! Stop walkin’, lass! We’re gonna go into this store!” Skye yelled, stopping Kari from continuing to walk passed the shop that they were already going into.

As her face turned red, Kari hurried over to the steps of the shop, and apologized for spacing out. Skye smiled cheekily at her as she asked; “What were ya thinkin’ about? Or should I be askin’ who?”

Kari grinned, but didn’t reply as they went inside. Skye was referring to Klaus, which was who her mind usually dwelled on, but he wasn’t what she was thinking about at the time. Since Kari’s job was to protect both Skye, but mainly Mei; she was curious if Hana would become problematic if any dire situations arose.

The shop was cozy, and beautifully colored dresses and fabrics lined the walls and racks. There was a section for needles of all shapes and sizes, sewing machines, and other clothing-related items. The walls and floor were the same dark-beige color, but outlined in white and gold.

It was a pleasant little shop with only a few women inside, so they didn’t worry about running into any issues. As the group began to split apart, a young woman a bit older than Skye came out from the back, and greeted them. As she lifted her head from her bow, she grinned with delight when her eyes fell upon Mei.

In a heavy accent indicative to northern Sai, the woman said; “Lady Zhao, it is a pleasure to see you again. Have you come to see our new fabrics? Ranmaru was going to bring the samples to Lord Laos’ castle tomorrow. Is your special visit due to your foreign guests?”

The woman looked at Kari without a second glance, but when her eyes met Skye’s golden ones, she hesitated before scanning her. After flashing the princess a haughty glare, she turned back to Mei with a snide expression..

“She’s an odd one, isn’t she? Her eyes are strange.. I don’t like the color. And she’s far too big. But I suppose most foreign women are, at least the ones that I see. They usually need dresses let out, it is Such a hassle-is that why she’s here?”

Mei’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of her head. Skye not only understood their language, but could speak it fluently. Glancing at her sister with a leery expression, Mei waited for Skye’s signature surliness..

But nothing happened.

As the woman started to speak again about the new fabrics that they had just gotten in, Mei wondered if Skye had heard the insults hurled at her. Not wanting to agitate the situation into a problem, Mei led the woman away with the possibility of a large commission.

As the two went from rack to rack, Hana turned to Skye, and spoke in Alcon’s language; “You handled that well.”

Skye let out a deep breath before she replied; “Oh, and it was bloody hard to.. The audacity of that woman! Just cause she Thinks I dinna ken Sai’s language. If I wasna sent here as a diplomat, I’d kick her arse.”

“Why? What did she say?” Kari asked with anticipation all over her face.

As Hana told her the specifics of and behind the woman’s words, Skye wandered over to the fabric section. Beautifully embroidered silks with unbelievably intricate designs sat on roll shelves, to make it easier if the shopper only needed a smaller amount. The shelves next to the rollers had stacks of the fabrics, which corresponded to a number on the rolls; in case the customer wanted to examine the fabric up close before purchasing.

There were three that she was eyeing when Mei and the woman made their way over to her. The woman explained where the fabric had been made, what kind of weave they used in making it, and the origin of the silk that the creators had used. Skye thought that maybe her earlier surliness might have been a passing mood, but the comments that followed her explanation had Skye gritting her teeth.

The woman had been talking to Mei, expecting her to translate for Skye. But when she had said nothing to her in Alconian, the woman’s demeanor turned haughty again..

“I suppose it is pointless to explain it to her. Foreigners just ‘want the pretty fabric’, and don’t really care for much else.. Her taste is terrible, too. But with her skin tone, I can’t imagine that she looks good in much. She’s so big-no wonder she hasn’t married yet..”

“Ms. Fang, that’s not-”

Mei had tried to stop her, but the woman cut her off; “Poor woman.. She’s obviously too old to wed now. Is she your uncle’s new mistress, perhaps? I know that he was gone for a while. Maybe she’s pregnant, and that’s why she is so fat-”

“Okay, I think I have held my tongue long enough now,” Skye stated in Sai’s language, shocking the shop attendant into silence while Skye tore into her.

“I don’t give a damn if you think I’m fat, and my husband loves me no matter what I look like. Just because I’m not a stick drawing like you doesn’t make me fat, or anyone else for that matter. Do you think so poorly about yourself that you feel compelled to tear down others? Or are you just naturally a judgemental bitch?”

As the woman stood gaping at Skye, Mei looked back and forth between them with an anxious expression. Skye wasn’t fat by most standards, but the ones set in Sai for women caused much death. From health issues to miscarriages and birth defects; it was all connected to the poor health of the mothers.

In most cases, the women were blamed for the consequences brought about by them adhering to the beauty standards of Sai. They were branded as ‘bad breeders’, and cast aside by their families. Children born with birth defects were abandoned along with their mothers, and isolated to avoid bringing shame upon their name.

It was so ingrained in their culture that even women reinforced it. By doing exactly what the shop attendant was right now..

Skye’s blood boiled at the thought of young girls being shamed into starving themselves. The woman before her was quite beautiful herself, but her attitude made her a hag in Skye’s eyes. When Ms. Fang started to snap back to reality, she first blushed a deep red color, then unleashed her fury.

Crossing her arms over her chest, the shop attendant lashed out at Skye, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she spoke; “How Dare you speak to me that way! Why did you hide the fact that you speak our language?! ”

Skye huffed; “I hid nothing. You assumed that I couldn’t speak your language. You know, when you assume to know a stranger, you make an ass of yourself..”

The incredulous expression that covered the woman’s face made her look like a surprised owl to Skye as she said; “How Dare You! You are Nothing but a foreign lowlife! You-”

“What is all the racket about?! Fang! How dare you talk to customers in such a manner! Go to the back! I’ll take care of them,” an elderly woman said as she came out of the same place that the first woman had.

As soon as her eyes fell on Skye, the old woman’s jaw dropped. She spoke so fast that Skye could barely understand her as she glared at Ms. Fang, then started to swipe at her. As she smacked at the young woman, she screamed; “You FOOL! Do you know who that is?! Look at her hair color! Are you trying to get my shop burnt to the ground?!”

As confusion and fear covered the young woman’s face, the old shop owner screamed; “That’s the woman who was riding the Dragon yesterday!”