An Uncomfortable Turn of the Conversation

Zari reached for a knife, and started slashing at a dun-coloured linen dress that was far too short for Astra. Astra thought that she was cutting the dress to make patches, but then saw that there was a symmetry to her cuts. She scurried to a chest and opened it. Inside were all sorts of silks, of different colours and patterns. Zari stared at the chest for a few seconds, and looked at Astra. She removed a bundle of white silk and placed it in Astra's hands.

"This will go very well with your hair. What do you think?"

"A white ribbon might look nice, but shouldn't you be getting me a dress?"

"This will be part of your dress! I let out the area under the arms and across the back and under the neck."

"But this silk is very fine. You can see right through it!"

"Your point being?"

"Surely the satrap will object to such immodest dress. And I fear that I will attract unwelcome attention on the roads."

Zari smiled, and was relishing her work. "Wait until I finish. You will be perfectly presentable then."

Zari placed the cut blouse on Astra, took out a needle and thread, and started sewing. Astra was amazed at her speed, and her steady stream of uninhibited talk.

"Ah, Astra Khanom, you seem to be callow in the ways to the world, especially as treats us women. We are not allowed to carry swords or practice battle, nor rule, nor attend the great places of learning, so we have to protect ourselves in some way. We have to use our wits to have a chance in this world. Men who would not be swayed by the sword or the scepter are remarkably distracted by a thin sheen of silk. Use it to your advantage."

Astra held her tongue, and just nodded. While she had contempt for this way of thinking, with its duplicity and acceptance of a submissive role, she did not wish to offend Zari.

Zari then took what looked to be a man's overcoat, and within a few minutes, after a few cuts and tucks, made a comfortable doublet that covered most of the silk patches. While she was cutting, the stream of conversation continued.

"Now, Astra, are you married?"

"No, Zari Khanom."

"Are you betrothed, then?

"No, no."

"Do you have a suitor, then?"

"What?" Astra could not quite believe that Zari was asking these questions.

"Just curious. A fine looking woman like you should have lots of suitors. You aren't a farmer, I can tell. Your feet and hands are soft. You are not really a merchant's daughter either - unless maybe a poorer one. Your arms look like they are used a lot - you have muscles of a farmer, but not the hands."

"Ah, yes, well. I was an orphan. I do not know where I was born, but I always remember being in Gana. I had to earn my keep, so I was apprenticed."

"As what?" the ever-curious Zari asked, who by now was busy working on adapting an robe for use as a skirt.

Astra was terrified. Her first instinct was to say fuller or weaver, as these were well-known trades that accepted women, but Zari would find her out on that lie very quickly. She had to answer quickly, though, to keep Zari from suspecting anything, and reporting it to Gorbeh!

She blurted out the first job that seemed half-way plausible to her.

1. Blacksmith
2. Actress
3. Priestess

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