The tea steams gently beside the blue silk, and the shop settles into a hush of cloth, breath, and careful hands. X Zavior trims a seam while Princess Shiva leans forward, studying every fold as if it might answer her.
Princess Shiva
You make uncertainty look elegant, X Zavior.
Liza Honeycrumb gives the faintest snort, though her shoulders stay looser than before. The tension in her stance has not vanished, only softened into watchfulness.
Liza Honeycrumb
If anyone can hide a message in plain sight, it is probably him.
X Zavior’s needle flashes once, then stills. The folded silk lies open like a small, bright sea, waiting for a secret to be tucked inside it.
Princess Shiva
Tell me, X Zavior, do you ever grow tired of carrying other people’s truths?
✓ Quest Accepted
Earn Princess Shiva’s absolute confidence
“That's a fair question, one that I truly haven't come to terms with. I never grow tired of the coin it brings, that's for sure. Let's out a light hearted laugh a tips his bolero”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -3)
X Zavior
X Zavior lets out a light, polished laugh and tips his bolero with two fingers. “A fair question. I have not made peace with it, truly, though I never tire of the coin it brings.”
Princess Shiva
Shiva’s mouth curves with relieved amusement, and she studies him over the rim of her cup. “That answer is honest enough to be useful.”
The shop stays warm around them, tea scent mingling with dyed cloth. X Zavior’s feather brushes the lamplight as his hat settles, and the small motion costs him a loose thread from the seam, which falls to the counter.
Liza Honeycrumb
Liza’s eyes narrow for a heartbeat, then she exhales through her nose. “Good. A man who admits to profit is easier to read than a saint.”
Princess Shiva
“I do not need a saint,” Shiva says softly. “I need someone who keeps what I place in his hands from ever leaving them.”
X Zavior
The stitching is fine enough to hold a secret fold.
Princess Shiva
She sets her cup down with care and leans in, voice lowering. “Can you promise me that, X Zavior, without dressing it in pretty language?”
“Points to a small rack located in the corner of the shop. On that rack is the armour worn by the bodyguard of the last royal marriage. It suits you well Liza, you may wear it to the wedding if you like. Looks to Shiva and winks”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +0)
X Zavior
Liza, that armor suits you. If you like, you may wear it to the wedding.
X Zavior lifts one elegant hand and points to the small rack in the corner, where the old royal bodyguard armor hangs polished and patient. His other hand rests on the blue silk, and the shop seems to hold its breath.
X Zavior
And you, Shiva.
He turns the wink to Princess Shiva, quick as a stitch slipped inside a hem, a private signal tucked into plain sight.
Liza Honeycrumb
You keep surprising me.
Princess Shiva
A hidden note, old armor, and no questions asked. That is a rarer service than silk.
Princess Shiva
He understands exactly what must remain unseen.
Liza Honeycrumb
If this man keeps this promise, I will stop looking for knives in every smile he gives us.
Princess Shiva
Then let us trust the seamstress with the secret.
“When the whole kingdom sees my elegant fabrics adorned by a beautiful princess and her loyal bodyguard, my shop will produce enough coin that I no longer will have to sell secrets”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -1)
X Zavior lets the silence settle on the steamed tea and the blue silk, then sets the thread-spool aside with careful hands. The little pause makes his point for him.
X Zavior
A house built on secrets keeps paying for them. A house built on cloth can be seen by the whole kingdom.
Princess Shiva studies him over her cup, and the tension in her shoulders loosens into something brighter, almost relieved.
Princess Shiva
Then let the kingdom see me in your work. Let them see that I choose my own grace.
Liza Honeycrumb
If his hands bring coin to this shop, and not trouble to your door, I will call that a fair bargain.
Shiva reaches for the loose thread on the counter, twines it once around her finger, and smiles as if she has already decided where the story ends.
Princess Shiva
You have my confidence, seamstress. When I wear your work, I will wear your discretion with it.
Quest Complete
Earn Princess Shiva’s absolute confidence
Fault Removed: Feared Reputation