Page 52 of Muse

“How long have you been a muse?” she asked me.

“About fourteen or fifteen years,” I guessed. It was hard to remember exactly when I had started, since I had been so young.

"Oh, that's right. Soren mentioned you were a child muse," Serena said. "I did some musing when I was younger, but I was still twelve when I started."

“I didn’t realize you hadn’t always been an enchantress,” I commented.

Sometimes, muses moved on to enchanting, but not often. It was a much different skill set, both in terms of magik and performing. On top of that, warlocks and other enchantrices were slow to accept a muse in that position, making it a very difficult transition.

“Nobody is always anything,” Serena said dryly. “Our mother was a muse, but she retired when she married our father, who was a wealthy barrister. But he fell ill and died by the time I was twelve. His protracted ill-health had burned through our inheritance. Mother’s skills were rusty, and the shine had faded off her star, so I went into musing to make extra money for the family.”

Serena gave me a sympathetic smile over her shoulder. “Being a muse is hard work, especially when you’re a kid, and I gave it up after only a few years.”

Until then, Zinnia had been mostly silent, other than occasionally muttering about inches and numbers, but she let out an audible scoff. "Serena talks as if she were sent off into battle alone and unprepared. Her mother, Lysandra, wasfierce.”

“You know what creeps some of the enchantrices and royal nobles can be, so demeaning and so demanding,” Serena expounded on Zinnia’s claims.

"With some of those folks, leaving a baby muse with them is like leaving a lamb in a lion's den," Zinnia went on, talking as she moved around, measuring and remeasuring my body. "And Lysandra Tomoleo was a damn lioness."

“Zinnia was my mom’s best friend,” Serena told me. “But she’s not wrong.”

“I never am,” Zinnia retorted, indignant.

“How did you get into musing, Isadore?” Serena asked. “Was it something you always wanted to do?”

This wasn’t the first time I had been asked this question, but every other time, I had lied and said,Yes, I always dreamed of being a muse.

Instead, I found myself telling the truth: "I never considered doing anything else because I always knew that I would never be able to do anything else."

Zinnia stopped measuring long enough to look up at me, one eye oversized behind her monocle, and she made an indecipherable sound in her throat.

"I've got everything I need," Zinnia said, and she held out her hand, shaking mine brusquely. "It was nice meeting you, and I will be back two days before Samonend for a fitting."

“Thank you,” I said, and she was already starting for the library door.

“Don’t thank me until you see the dress,” Zinnia said.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” Serena said, and the older woman raised her hand absently as she left the room. “Have Soren make you a cup of tea.”

After I got dressed again, Serena came over. She put a gentle hand on my arm, her dark eyes reminding me so much of her brother’s.

“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” she said, her voice low and very serious.

I had to suppress the hysterical urge to laugh because she was clearly speaking out of concern and kindness. It was just that I couldn't remember anyone saying that to me my entire life. This was my first time working at something because I wanted to, andnow, someone was concerned.

“Performing at the Samonend with Soren is my choice. Iwantto do this,” I assured her.

A smile crept up at the corner of her mouth. “Good. I just had to be sure that Soren wasn’t running over you. He can be hard to contain when he’s excited.”

“What we’re doing is a true collaboration,” I said.

Her smile deepened. "I can't wait to see what you create together."

As soon as both Serena and Zinnia had gone, after gratitude and goodbyes from both Soren and myself, he turned to face me. With an apprehensive tone, he asked, "Serena wasn't too horrible to you, was she?"

I laughed. “No, she wasn’t horrible at all. I think she was trying to look out for me.”

"She tends to do that," he said, but his tension didn't seem to ease. "Did she try to warn you away from me?"

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