12th May 1563

Amaranta dreaded to go back to the opera theater. Deep down, she knew there was nothing wrong with the theater. But she should plan her leave; enough for her to write a resignation letter.

However, she gulped at the thought of tendering her resignation. But best to write it, despite leaving it undated for later use, stuffed right into her pocket. Amaranta’s doubts were strong, she knew it too, but she wasn’t resolute enough to destroy her chances of employment in the theater for the future.

Inside the theater, she hurried to find Sabina, not wishing to once again run afoul of their caution and secrecy, straight to her workspace. Hagne was inside there, along with Sabina.

Amaranta got ready to start, grabbing the rulers and the needles into her hands, she stood by Sabina, smiling, eager to start the day. “Is there anything that I can help with?”

“None, Hagne was just asking me to fix a slight problem within her costume,” Sabina said. “But after that, she can mark this costume as complete.”

Sabina had asked Amaranta to make a few costumes, mostly for the supporting actresses. She was grateful, not having to deal with Selena, who disdained her with everything, the moment she found herself on the wrong end.

“I need you to send Signora D’Angelo these samples of the dresses. Make sure that she gives you a straightforward answer. If there is even the slightest tinge of her being reluctant, turn back and tell me.”

“Why?” Amaranta asked, wondering about Sabina’s order to her.

“She is fickle in her tastes. And she settles for nothing but the absolute best and well, she also gives no one a response until she is happy. I got a lot of trouble when I didn’t read her mood right,” Sabina said. “She should be at the stage now.”

Amaranta nodded at the words, wrinkling her own nose for a moment. Then, she was ready to put it all behind her, and get back to work. She inquired with a colleague, making sure she headed in the right direction. She wouldn’t repeat the mistake of getting lost. Once getting her answer, she moved to the stage, and meeting her assistant just to be sure.

The actress had light blonde hair, curls piled into a squarish hair, a few shades lighter than Signorina Ferida’s, deep blue eyes, a gown made of the finest material she could afford.

“You are Signora Mazzaro’s apprentice?”

“No, I work under her as a costumer.” Amaranta gave an awkward smile.

“You do have very intriguing eyes, such a beautiful shade, reminding me of emerald,” Signorina D’Angelo said.

Amaranta was a little lost why, but held herself back from stepping back in their position, letting them know of her discomfort. She hid a little chill going up her spine.

“I’m here to deliver a particular idea, from Signora Mazzaro.”

“You dress rather well, but I assume most costumers have a wonderful sense of style. If a little antiquated, but Sabina had many stellar outfits,” she said.

Amaranta dressed from the previous decade, still finding more gems, with minor additions from the new styles.

“I’ll like it if you give me something to work with for your costume,” Amaranta said.

Signorina D’Angelo looked at her, her eyes looking down, making Amaranta feel small. “Of course, I forgot, I have a rehearsal to get to soon, so you can tell Sabina to come back with a better idea to present to me.”

Signorina D’Angelo left, leaving Amaranta taken aback, frozen as they entered the stage.

Amaranta didn’t have any other choice other than to return.

Amaranta took in a deep breath, understanding just why Sabina held such a disdain for her, and also her orders in such a situation. She went back to find Sabina.

Amaranta entered the room. “She told me that none of them are acceptable to her.”

Sabina nodded. “I know her to well, so don’t worry too much about it. I have worked with her for years, so I know what her character is. But let me get to it, later.”

Amaranta moved, going to look at the clothes that Sabina finished, and hers at one pile. Most of it was altering older costumes or clothes before them.

“Are all of this finished?” Amaranta asked.

Sabina nodded. “They’re ready, I have made a list of all that remains.”

She could see it, the list included, mostly the costumes for principal characters. “Is there a reason you put these to the last?”

“More devotion, it’s easier to dedicate your time if it is the last, besides they are more picky, and I need to review the requirements before I start,” Sabina said. “It’s to not waste material, and theirs are the most expensive. Besides, they are the most used and hence, moving in a costume is usually the least of their problems. Besides, they would have enough time to get used to it.”

Amaranta nodded. “So, that was why you asked me what she wanted?”

“She’ll never tell you what her requirements, only having a yes or no. And when she wants it, she’ll make you give up her time. She can be rather forceful. Tell me when it happens to you, because that is against any rules.”

The actresses all came, asking each just what they were intending to get. Sabina answered all their queries, dealt with perhaps their frustration, their doubts coolly.

This was a job that Sabina was used to, more than just creating costumes, there was also the aspect of dealing with people. Actors who wore her creations, and managers who gave her the provisions regarding the materials.

Amaranta and Sabina handed all the finished costumes to their wearers, mostly polite, most of whom gave them eager smiles and warm thanks for their work.

“I wonder, do they change as they rise the ranks?” She asked.

“They do, Signorina Ferida, once just plain Selena, was one that helped me out, since I gave her a lookout should she need to go back to see her siblings,” Sabina answered. “It didn’t turn out well for our relationship once she got higher. The less said about Signorina D’Angelo, the better.”

Sabina sighed, before turning again to Amaranta. “None of them were to her liking, but did she say anything which one she would like most?”

“She just told me to ask you to scrap this and give her a new idea.”

Sabina rolled her own eyes, not at Amaranta which was clear.

“She likely wanted something a little more different. These are all more typical, for the period so we have to look beyond the traditional costumes,” Sabina said. “Give me a moment, or it might be the colours. I must ask her later.”

“I can follow you.”

Sabina nodded, taking Amaranta’s offer, agreeing that this was likely right for her at this point.

“How about we think about it now? They would be unlikely to ask us unless there are any wardrobe malfunction and I’ll just ask them to set it aside, and I’ll work upon it later.”

She nodded. They thought a little, realising that they were guessing. Amaranta could see why Signorina D’Angelo was such a nightmare. Since they had to guess her preferences, exert effort into ideas that could prove a waste of time. Unable to get any major grasp.

Sabina turned to Amaranta. “Help me find all her old costumes. There’s a place for these drawings, since paper has become cheaper to use.”

She nodded, understanding what she needed. She went to the archive room for costumers; the room contained all the old costumes and designs. Her eyes went to find the files. They could use them as inspiration, trying to guess hers.

There it was, they moved into the massive stack of files all neatly piled up, Amaranta didn’t know where to start. Sabina kneeled down and started searching, before giving her orders to go beside her.

She started right behind her, with a question lingering in her mind. “Is there a time when all you wanted to do was leave?”

“Plenty, and this actress has made me think about it several times,” Sabina said. She remained thoughtful gaze, holding something back. “Sometimes, I do, most definitely, but there’s a light from this. It’s paying for a pleasant home, even as I was the last apprentice the previous theater costumer had.”

“An apprentice?”

“Yes, that was how they found replacements. It worked until they united the kingdom, when new regulations came into effect,” Sabina said. “I was still under the old system, and they benefited from it. You’re one of the first that they hired that went outside the traditional system.”

Sabina stood up, intending to return straight to work. Amaranta followed her. 

“So, it has something to do with the new educational system.”

Sabina gave a smile. “It’s a better system I can’t get work in anything else even if I tried, so I stick around because I don’t have a choice unless I wish to ruin all my chances of future employment.”

Sabina returned to glancing at all the previous work. Until she started putting some of them back. “Take these files back, Signorina D’Angelo would not want something any older than the last half century. Just take the best costume that you think exists.”

Amaranta nodded at the orders. Sabina sought her ideas from what was old They are rather intriguing to note. There was a great deal of accuracy back then, but still pales into the devotion they had for it now. Hence, there was some of it that was accurate—plenty more was not.

Amaranta could put them together, to search for an outstanding dress.

“Is there a similar role done before?” Amaranta asked.

“It’s a reprisal. This old play was written back when they were still new, and it was this play that propelled them into popularity and renown.”

The title of the play, ‘Arrival of the storm’, a story based on a triumph. Back when they had a real menace right inside the country. Against heretics, which they were successful, but it also strangled what made Itoro a powerful and innovative place.

“Back under the Grand Duchy, they considered it their greatest accomplishment, at least in Itoro,” Amaranta said.

She remembered the lessons she did in school, especially history, for it was a favourite for plays as a genre.

“Is there a really famous costume made by it?”

“For the principal character, yes, but not for the character Signorina D’Angelo is getting. Except that she could stretch it further. She can allow this to go on if she wanted,” Sabina said. “But there is famous, insisted upon by a different actress. A woman that I now remember as her favourite idol.”

Sabina moved towards an older box. Amaranta followed her. “I guess she likes to go back a lot?”

“She is the only one who makes me do this.” Sabina admitted, bringing out a box. It was much older. “It’s easier to build upon the records of those who have come before.”

From there, she could get one. She opened the folder for the year 1545. “The last time they performed it.”

“Seems odd for the timing,” Amaranta commented.

It was just before the unification, something that Amaranta was more than familiar with as part of her education.

“Budget issues. They never gained the sort of crowds they had back in the previous decade. That was something my former mistress told me was the reason for their sudden fall,” Sabina explained.

Sabina put a single piece of paper on it, a portrait containing a much older dress. “Now this is something that I can use as the basis. She wants to combine it with the wide, rich sleeves which was more common just half ”

It was a common trend, with the inner layer and an outer layer, both of which were wide, with the inner layer present in the outer. “Is it the colours?”

“Probably, but it’s a little later,” Sabina said.

Amaranta nodded. “But it looks a lot better. The dress is more voluminous, and hence more regal.”

“I see, this is something a little more of a later fashion. And hence, she isn’t following the classic costumes according to the period.” This was something that they were proud of.

“And most of them had the chance to go into the gallery and ask for references. We may get nothing, other than the sleeves, but there may be some for the skirts.”

Then, Sabina’s eyes lip up, already grasping just what she needed. “I figured out what my idea for this dress is.”

Sabina moved towards the table and then working on the picture. She drew them as a concept, something that they did plenty of times to manifest the idea, a way to visualize before they made it.

“Could you find Signorina D’Angelo and give her this as a dress?” Sabina asked. “Insist on knowing the ideas she has for fabrics. She is perhaps one of the best in picking them, most of the time, if she is playing such a character, she is particular and tasteful in picking them.”

“And also why she is well-regarded in her performances.”

Costumes may not enhance a terrible performance, but detracted an exceptional portrayal.

“Also, before you leave, walk straight ahead, you’ll see a picture of an older theatre. That marks the entry into the actresses’ apartments, go inside there, and then you’ll see the apartments. She is in the first turn right, so go inside and find a room with her name on the outside,” Sabina told Amaranta she was to go inside.

Amaranta listened, focusing, and giving a nod when needed. This was serious, they guarded their secrets zealously. She took the concept and left to find the woman.

She walked down the empty hallway, alone. Inside here, into the same place she had been before. Straight to the picture. This time she knew where to go, and for a reason. She stepped past this, into a different wing.

A maze that she would have to navigate until there was a name. The first was Selena Ferida, the woman that found her first. She passed it even deeper. Until there was another name, Ellera D’Angelo. This was the name that she would have to.

Amaranta knocked on the door and waited for it to open from her assistant. Once she looked at the woman, with her dark eyes and black hair, her face plain.

“I’m here to deliver an idea for Signorina D’Angelo,” Amaranta said, with a smile.

The woman went inside to check, opening the door for Amaranta. Inside the room, Amaranta moved to find the actress.

“What do you think of this?” Amaranta put it in front of Signorina D’Angelo.

“That was what I wanted. Took you both long enough,” she said, giving a smile. Amaranta nodded, knowing that she can’t do anything.

“I’ll tell Signora Mazzaro,” she said.

Amaranta left, more than eager to not return.

Then, there was some talk going on in the background. She could hear it, even as the rooms should be soundproof. She realised that it wasn’t entirely in the room, but across, and she could hide. Amaranta leaned against the wall.

“Is everything going according to plan?”

“Yes, so far, everything is. The play can continue, for her majesty has agreed that she would come for that play alone. I hope all the preparations are there for her entry.”

Then absolute silence. Amaranta’s heart pounded as she didn’t know what to do. Other than to lean against the wall and pray they didn’t find her out. They don’t even turn, thankfully.

She moved after a moment, getting herself straight back to the room, the only thing that she could feel safe about. The words were innocuous, but she felt that she heard something that was not meant for her.