merchants who operated here on the artisan streets tended to play up that hierarchy.
“ Look, look!” Ele had run ahead and was standing at the street corner, just beneath a small yellow signpost that marked the Street of Yellow Artisans. His face was alight with uncharacteristic awe as he called back to her. “It’s so beautiful!” Elena’s pulse quickened, but she maintained a dignified pace next to her mother as they made their way past the storefronts.
It wasn’t just beautiful. It was a painting, a sculpture, a song and a home all at once. Not a speck of dirt marred the surface of the street, and the few small homes and outer buildings that ran along either side of the street were a uniform light stone, but Elena’s attention was arrested at once by the giant studio that lay on the other end of the street; the workshop of Master Bernardo De Luca. Its tall walls of white stone seemed to shine out light instead of just reflecting it, every line of its arches and embellishments speaking of its purpose.
Even with her mother walking beside her, Elena couldn’t help but let an undignified skip slip into her step.
Finally, after so many months! she thought, I’m so close to meeting Master De Luca, it barely even feels real! She didn’t notice the other people that filled the street, and she wove her way around carts and crates without really seeing them.
“ Elena, look to your left,” Ele interrupted her reverie. “It’s a Rhetor!” Even with the studio in front of her Elena turned to look. The woman was surprisingly normal, tall and delicate with pale skin and golden hair. If not for the contraption of black metal that covered her mouth, she might’ve passed for a regular human.
The mask she wore was thin. It covered the entire lower half of her face and was strong enough to hold her mouth shut firmly. Her vibrant green eyes, the only feature that could be seen, seemed to shine with mystery and secrets. Elena realized with a start that the woman was staring right at her, and a shiver went down her spine. If it wasn’t for the Rhetorguard who stood close by, identifiable by the armor that matched her mask, Elena would be terrified.
True, he was speaking to someone in front of the house, not paying attention, but if he wasn’t there, what would prevent the woman from taking off her mask?
“ Her eyes are pretty,” Ele remarked as they walked past the woman and her Rhetorguard. Elena stopped herself from rolling her own eyes. When they were next alone she would have to tease him about finding a Rhetor attractive.
It happened in a single instant, so quickly that Elena almost missed it. The Rhetor turned her head towards the pair and winked at Ele. Ele froze in the middle of the street, staring in a mix of shock and horror, and Elena felt as if someone had poured ice-water on her.
There had been no one walking behind Ele, no one even in the general direction. In all her life, for the past eighteen years, no one had ever been able to see or talk to him. Elena had decided she was mad many years ago, simply accepting her friend as a part of her madness and living her life with it as best she could. The Rhetor’s green eyes were fixed on her now, and even with the mask it was clear that the woman was smiling.
“ Are you well, miss?” Standing in the middle of the street, Elena had gained the Rhetorguard’s attention. He seemed friendly, but his gaze flicked back and forth between her and his Rhetor, his hand resting casually on the hilt of his sword.
“ Elena, come along.” Her mother was fixing both the Rhetor and Rhetorguard with a contemptuous stare, but for once Elena didn’t mind her mother rushing her. She hurried after her mother without answering the Rhetorguard. Her mind was suddenly occupied with much more than her upcoming appointment.
***
When they entered the studio, the overbearing autumn heat melted away, as did all of the noise from the outside. Walking into the cool quiet of the