7th May 1563

Amaranta returns to the theater, focused on just the work. This was still her first month. Any conclusions were premature, no matter how much information told her otherwise, she should stick to it.

She took out a dress, one that she altered from the old sketch, putting it on the table.

Hagne, with her light blonde hair, bright smile, entered right inside the room. Amaranta wasn’t certain about the work.

Sabina assured her subordinate. “Show it to her, the dress is fine.”

Amaranta put it right before the actress whom takes a moment to inspect.

“I like it, you have good taste and well, I didn’t want to specify everything,” Hagne said, taking the dress from her. “Thank you, for making this work.”

Sabina only returned with a smile. “You’re always too kind, Hagne.”

“It’s not an issue, it’s not as though I’m too occupied at practicing my lines just yet.” Hagne gave a wink.

“Except you’re doing it now, acting like a kind, pleasant girl, except that you’re not interested in marrying the man because of his usurious nature and not charitable,” Sabina answered.

“I find it remarkably easy to do so.” Hagne left to put on the dress.

“Has she done this often?” Amaranta asked, curious.

Sabina nodded. “Well, she is more dedicated than a lot of actresses I have seen. A fantastic person to work with, makes me want to make her costumes with more effort and help her if she requests.”

Although given the dress, Hagne should require help. But the customers did not move to help her, instead leaving her alone.

“Is there a reason?” Amaranta asked.

“She puts her costume on by herself, she prides on not needing our help, which is a good thing,” Sabina said. “All of those actresses had little help in obscurity, but the moment they became leading actresses, it changed.”

Amaranta nodded, noticing a slight mistake. “I forgot to give her the coat which is the finishing touch.”

“That is usually on us, so don’t worry,” Sabina said. “They don’t need until they get onstage, since such coats are rather warm. And well, we only put them on during any scenes of winter and we remark that it’s winter.”

Amaranta put back the coat. “She really feels different from most actresses in terms of how they treat the staff backstage.”

“You have no idea,” Sabina answered. “We’re serving actors, they get to where they are because of their good looks.”

“Or through backstabbing others if they are poor. And through the money if they aren’t,” she said. “I’m sure there are many people born with good looks.”

The cruelty that came with their cutthroat profession resulted from luck playing such a large factor in success, in Amaranta’s honest opinion.

Every performance was a gamble, make them a massive icon, or push them into humiliation.

Hagne left the room, as Amaranta noticed, coming towards them. Dressed a daughter of a wealthy lord who bought his way into it through money while she was a charitable soul, concerned with being a good and dutiful daughter, faithful and kind.

“Honestly, how do you feel about being decked out in this?” Amaranta asked her.

“Good, but honestly, I would like to help them out. That would make me feel far better,” she answered, entirely in character.

“Well, you’re doing a lot better in convincing me you are your character,” the costumer said.

She gave a curtsy. “I’m going to have to do this all the time during rehearsals. Might as well start it now.”

“And it looks good, just one little thing.” Sabina moved to the actress’ back, adjusting a little, doing it like a familiar friend.

“I’m just adjusting a slight issue with the binding.” Sabina left Hagne, who moved to the mirror to observe the slight difference.

The woman came with a slight happiness right now, too. “Thank you, I will note that next time.”

Before Hagne left, joining them for her first rehearsals. “Just tell me how it feels for today.”

Amaranta noticed it. “I thought that most theaters didn’t have them this early.”

“We do it as early as possible, since the theatre is famed for the skill in acting. She enjoys doing it early, says that it gets her more used to the gestures. Besides, she has to return it once the day ends.”

Sabina had a wide smile until two actresses entered the room. Then, she only put up a slight smile, the standard she gave to all.

One was the familiar Signorina Ferida, with her light blonde hair. Her icy blue eyes, not seeing anyone in the room. She was slender, even taller than Amaranta had been. With her eyes staring at no one, looking regal.

The other was different, her wide eyes suggesting innocence. She was shorter than Signorina Ferida by a great deal, with dark hair and deep grey eyes. Her face was a little rounder, her nose smaller and resembling a button.

“I assume you don’t like either of them,” Amaranta said.

Sabina leaned in. “If any of them tried to do what Hagne did, I would flat-out reject them,”

Amaranta knew Signorina Ferida, but she didn’t know who was the other woman.

Sabina, ever so helpful, told Amaranta, “That’s Signorina D’Angelo.”

And considering the coldness that Sabina treated her, she doubted that it could get any icier. She didn’t even want to look at it.

Signore D’Angelo came forward first, staring right at Sabina. “I must apologize, I haven’t showed up initially, as I was too busy with the performances and the lines.”

“Is there a reason Hagne is wearing a costume right now?” Signorina Ferida asked.

“Unfortunately, only Signorina Leone’s dress is ready so far,” she said, as polite as a courtier speaking to his liege.

Then, Sabina leaned in, lowering her volume. “It’s because she can put up with inferior work and wanted the dress done first.”

Before they had the chance to admit it for what it was supposed to be so far, too. There was plenty more.

“I see.” Signorina Ferida nodded.

Sabina looked to Amaranta. “Fetch me the fabric catalogue, please.”

Amaranta went to fetch the book, putting it right before them, opening it to the first page. They used this, for there were shades and fabrics that changed. That was not including any embroidery or patterns.

Sabina stretched her hand out, widening her smile “You can choose what suits you.”

Signorina Ferida easily chose her cloth, fine black wool, and also gold thread. The gold thread was an embellishment, while the black wool would make up the entire dress.

“Thank you,” she said. The woman left the room.

Before she took the moment. Then there was Signorina D’Angelo. “This is the sort of design that they say would suit me best.”

“Thank you,” Sabina said. “I’ll come up with a design for you and show it to you when I’m done. Anything that you’ll want to include, you can tell me here right now.”

That was a little strange for Amaranta to hear, mostly to keep the woman far, far away.

“Can’t it be any faster?” Signorina D’Angelo crossed her arms.

“I have to think about it, since you’ll like a new dress, and hence it’s always something new,” she said. “Hence, I need time to think about the structure because it still must follow the others’ dresses.”

Signorina D’Angelo pinched her lips together. “I see, what about two weeks, is it possible to complete?”

“No,” Sabina said. “It cannot be done, even if Signorina de Moreni and I were to work each day. It’s more likely that the pattern would be of worse quality.”

She tutted. “Fine.”

Then the actress left the room. Amaranta could only feel nothing but relief. She was a nightmare to work under.

“I guess you understand why by now,” Sabina said. Amaranta nodded. “Although that inconsiderate personality is why she plays villains in play. Since she is so detestable, and so good at playing them since she doesn’t need to get into character, and often interprets them as the heroes of the story. Most value her because she remain unaware that she is the source of problems.”

“And perhaps, less will play them, even when you have a face for it,” Amaranta said.

“And it takes remarkably little work to get her into action,” she said. “But at least she has gotten less insufferable. Perhaps after she made a call boy cry, which meant that she almost got her fired.”

“Do you talk to Cecilio a lot?” Amaranta asked, noticing that she was chatty.

Sabina chuckled. “One of these days, we got to invite you to what we do during the nights. We just drink and talk a lot about our suffering. It’s necessary, since there is no other way to deal with what we put up with.”

“I think I can get inside,” she said. “I’m seventeen, and I’ll be eighteen next year.”

Sabina raised her eyebrow. “I see, I thought you were older.”

“I get that a lot,” she said. “It must be my style.”

“You don’t dress like your age, then again, the more youthful shades don’t complement you better than all these deep colours,” Sabina said.

Amaranta knowing that pink didn’t seem that suited to her. Blue, neither unless she went for the darker shades, lavender was the only pale colour that could suit her.

“Shouldn’t we have the chance to say no to unreasonable demands?” Amaranta asked.

Sabina smiled. “It helps us actually, allow them to think that they have input. It means that I can offer to delay them if I can, and give myself time to finish the work for actresses who have less say, and are less particular.”

There was more that Amaranta observed. “It doesn’t matter, if you displease them, they could make your life difficult. And so, give them choice, and let them make the mistakes if they insist, it’s no longer your fault once they go against your advice.”

“Precisely,” Sabina said. “The management loves these two actresses, I learned a long time ago to accept it. Hagne is a lot more straightforward and less likely to play the game, probably explains why it took her this long to rise. But she’s the nicest.”

Sabina looked at the thick black wool that Signorina Ferida requested, setting it aside. And of course, marking the status for Signorina D’Angelo’s costume. “That’s all we have to do. Once I finish the dresses for this performance, I would take leave to marry. I already postponed it for year, and thankfully Cecilio could find you so I don’t need to postpone it once again.”

Amaranta found her interest piqued even further. “Does it happen a lot?”

Sabina took a pause, hesitating, but then answering. “Incredibly, Gina stayed with us for months. Until she found herself fired, I could never know why. But it was a decision from management. Their benefits are generous, but they are strict in terms of so many things. They fired many apprentices long before me. We don’t have a lot of backstage workers for that reason.”

“I find it strange, I thought it was the actors who pushed the boundaries?” Amaranta asked.

“But they have the chance to earn more than us, they would never worry for it. If they did what they needed to do, they would be fine,” Sabina said. “However, many of their former actors had left upon the completion of their contract. With plenty of new recruits finding the place suffocating.”

“It’s different for us,” she said.

“Exactly, it’s a lot more swift. For actors, they know whether they want to stay within the year. We have lifelong benefits, and that is one thing that does it. Sometimes, I wonder whether it is worth it.” Sabina looked at the work before her. “Gina cried at being let go, she begged them for forgiveness. But they made their mind up. Even if she admitted that she couldn’t even understand what she saw.”

“Is this a warning for me?” Amaranta asked.

“Yes,” Sabina said. “Just walk and go out, you have the look that suggests that you’re not here just because you want the money. In fact, the moment that I could understand you, you inherited loads of it, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” she said. “And you’re about to get engaged, from the ring.”

She gave a slight chuckle. But Amaranta still could not understand just what she told her. “What told you?”

“That dress from a day ago, it was made of satin. It wasn’t shimmering, but I could see the material, oddly enough I could even find satin as a stock," she said. “Obvious that you came from wealth, and this job wasn’t a necessity for you. That’s why I warned you more, since you’re used to getting your way.”

Amaranta gave a slight smile. She knew it had been clear for them to understand it too. Before she took the moment to look. Sabina was like an older sister, looking out for her.

“Have you heard what happened to her?” Amaranta asked. She could not find herself any more curious about the current situation for them to understand too.

“Well, I heard that she could find work again. As a seamstress, helping to mend others on her own. And so far, they have been helping her. But she missed the current work and only wished that she never decide to wander.”

Amaranta took the moment to think that this was a cautionary tale. There was something here that she was telling her, done out of good faith. “Thank you, I’ll try to stay out of trouble.”

“I like to see you around, you’re a good costumer, and reliable worker,” Sabina told her.

Amaranta could barely contain her elation, grinning.

It took a moment before they returned to work. Sabina handed Amaranta another old dress. “This dress is for Hagne’s friend, I think her name was Giada. Lovely girl, she needs a simple, rough woollen dress alongside the cap too.”

Amaranta got to work, finishing the work without a hitch.

Once complete, Amaranta brought the dress in front of her superior. “How does this look?”

Sabina nodded “A rough dress that should work, as it suggests we just make sure that it is comfortable for them to wear.”

Amaranta noticed Sabina was looking at a different catalogue for embroidery patterns.

“Did you learn to do embroidery?” Sabina asked.

Amaranta nodded. “I did, and I’m quite good at it. Although I prefer to make clothes. But I can make good patterns and follow them.”

“Unlike most, I never really did a lot,” Sabina said “Thankfully, none of this have a lot of frills in terms of the length. There are just a lot more patterns on the dress. I’ll like you to work on a dress, once the structure is there.”

Amaranta felt excited, even if it was her least favourite part of sewing, but she could appreciate its beauty.

“I’ll love to.” Amaranta spun a little, excited at the chance to work on something different. Once she was done, she returned to Sabina, who stared.

“You can leave now,” Sabina said. Amaranta nodded, giving a wave.

She took up her hat, more than happy to try. She remembered the warning that Sabina gave her, she would do her best to heed it. At least she had someone who was looking out for her, and the work was making this a worthwhile challenge for Amaranta.

However, if Sabina took a vacation, there was little for her to look forward too. Perhaps she should quit. Her line would have gotten up and running by that time.

It seemed like a good idea, given that her doubts didn’t dissipate. She trusted Sabina, and with her temporarily gone; she wasn’t sure it was worth it any longer.