Elend turned, watching the disorganized soldiers make way for healers to care for the wounded. “A test,” he said, glancing at Clubs. “My guess is that we didn’t do very well.”
Clubs shrugged. “Far worse than we should have. Maybe this will scare the lads into paying better attention during drills.” He paused, and Elend could see something he wasn’t expressing. Worry.
Elend glanced out over the wall, watching the retreating army. Suddenly, it made sense. It was exactly the kind of move that his father liked to make.
The meeting with Straff would take place as planned. However, before it happened, Straff wanted Elend to know something.
I can take this city any time, the attack seemed to say. It’s mine, no matter what you do. Remember that.
He was forced into war by a misunderstanding—and always claimed he was no warrior—yet he came to fight as well as any man.
26
“THIS IS NOT A GOOD idea, Mistress.” OreSeur sat on his haunches, watching Vin unpack a large, flat box.
“Elend thinks it’s the only way,” she said, pulling off the top of the box. The luxurious blue dress lay wrapped within. She pulled it out, noting its comparatively light weight. She walked over to the changing screen and began to disrobe.
“And the assault on the walls yesterday?” OreSeur asked.
“That was a warning,” she said, continuing to unbutton her shirt. “Not a serious attack.” Though, apparently, it had really unsettled the Assembly. Perhaps that had been the point. Clubs could say all he wished about strategy and testing the walls, but from Vin’s standpoint, the thing Straff had gained most was even more fear and chaos inside Luthadel.
Only a few weeks of being besieged, and the city was already strained near to breaking. Food was terribly expensive, and Elend had been forced to open the city stockpiles. The people were on edge. Some few thought the attack had been a victory for Luthadel, taking it as a good sign that the army had been “repelled.” Most, however, were simply even more scared than they had been before.
But, again, Vin was left with a conundrum. How to react, facing such an overpowering force? Cower, or try to continue with life? Straff had tested the walls, true—but he had maintained the larger part of his army back and in position, should Cett have tried to make an opportunistic attack at that time. He’d wanted information, and he’d wanted to intimidate the city.
“I still don’t know if this meeting is a good idea,” OreSeur said. “The attack aside, Straff is not a man to be trusted. Kelsier had me study all of the major noblemen in the city when I was preparing to become Lord Renoux. Straff is deceitful and harsh, even for a human.”
Vin sighed, removing her trousers, then pulled on the dress’s slip. It wasn’t as tight as some, and gave her a lot of room to move through the thigh and legs. Good so far.
OreSeur’s objection was logical. One of the first things she had learned on the street was to avoid situations where it was difficult to flee. Her every instinct rebelled at the idea of walking into Straff’s camp.
Elend had made his decision, however. And, Vin understood that she needed to support him. In fact, she was even coming to agree with the move. Straff wanted to intimidate the entire city—but he really wasn’t as threatening as he thought. Not as long as he had to worry about Cett.
Vin had had enough of intimidation in her life. In a way, Straff’s attack on the walls left her feeling even more determined to manipulate him to their own ends. Going into his camp seemed a bit crazy on first impression, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it was the only way they were going to get to Straff. He had to see them as weak, had to feel that his bullying tactics had worked. That was the only way they would win.
That meant doing something she didn’t like. It meant being surrounded, entering the enemy’s den. However, if Elend did manage to get out of the camp safely, it would provide a large morale boost for the city. Beyond that, it would make Ham and the rest of the crew more confident in Elend. Nobody would even have questioned the idea of Kelsier entering an enemy camp to negotiate; in fact, they probably would have expected him to come back from the negotiations somehow having convinced Straff to surrender.
I just need to make sure he comes back out safely, Vin thought, pulling on the dress. Straff can display all the muscle he wants—none of it will matter if we’re the ones directing his attacks.
She nodded to herself, smoothing her dress. Then she walked out from behind the changing screen, studying herself in her mirror. Though the dressmaker had obviously sewn it to retain a traditional form, it didn’t have a completely triangular bell shape, but instead fell a bit straighter down along her thighs. It was cut open near the shoulders—though it had tight sleeves and open cuffs—and the waist bent with her and gave her a good range of motion.
Vin stretched a bit, jumping, twisting. She was surprised at how light the dress felt, and how well she moved in it. Of course, any skirt would hardly be ideal for fighting—but this one would be an enormous improvement over the bulky creations she had worn to the parties a year before.
“Well?” she asked, spinning.
OreSeur raised a canine eyebrow. “What?”
“What do you think?”
OreSeur cocked his head. “Why ask me?”
“Because I care what you think,” Vin said.
“The dress is very nice, Mistress. Though, to be honest, I have always found the garments to be a little ridiculous. All of that cloth and color, it doesn’t seem very practical.”
“Yes, I know,” Vin said, using a pair of sapphire barrettes to pin the sides of her hair back a bit from her face. “But … well, I’d forgotten how much fun these things could be to wear.”
“I fail to see why that would be, Mistress.”
“That’s because you’re a man.”
“Actually, I’m a kandra.”
“But you’re a boy kandra.”
“How do you know that?” OreSeur asked. “Gender is not easy to tell in my people, since our forms are fluid.”
Vin looked at him, raising an eyebrow. “I can tell.” Then she turned back to her jewelry cabinet. She didn’t have much; though the crew had outfitted her with a good sampling of jewelry during her days as Valette, she had given most of it to Elend to help fund various projects. She had, however, kept a few of her favorites—as if she’d known that she’d someday find her way back into a dress.
I’m just wearing it this once, she thought. This still isn’t me.
She snapped on a sapphire bracelet. Like her barrettes, it contained no metal; the gemstones were set into a thick hardwood that closed with a wooden twist-clasp. The only metal on her body, then, would be her coins, her metal vial, and the single earring. Kept, by Kelsier’s suggestion, as a bit of metal she could Push on in an emergency.
“Mistress,” OreSeur said, pulling something out from under her bed with his paw. A sheet of paper. “This fell from the box as you were opening it.” He grabbed it between two of his surprisingly dexterous paw fingers and held it up for her.
Vin accepted the paper. Lady Heir, it read.