“I’ll walk from here,” Elene said, and the soldier in front of her, disguised as a commoner, opened the door of the carriage for her. She had left behind the Imperial uniform in favor of a simple dress with two long slits on the sides in case she needed to move quickly. She couldn’t carry her sword without ruining her inconspicuous image, but she had a dagger attached to each thigh, a small knife in her boot, and two sharp pins in the loose braid she had thrown her hair in. She even asked the maid assigned to her to help her put on some makeup so she didn’t look like herself.
The carriage moved forward, old and unmarked as she requested, so she joined the lively street, trying to blend in.
Despite the black banners and the armbands signifying the mourning of the Empress’s death, despite
