"You are rather an interesting person," Nareen said with a light laugh.
She turned and began walking toward the embroidery hall, but after a few steps, she glanced back once more.
"Oh—by the way. My mother says the butterflies you embroider are especially beautiful. Will you teach me someday?"
"…Of course."
And just like that, that strange conversation was over.
In the days that followed, Caelith began to feel—more than once—that she was being constantly watched.
The first time was when she went to the rear courtyard to fetch silk thread. As she walked beneath the corridor, a sudden chill crept along her spine. She turned sharply, but saw nothing. Only a few embroidered panels hung from wooden poles, swaying softly in the wind.
She stood there for a moment, then dismissed it as imagination and continued on.
The second time was on her way home after work. She walked beside Yvaine, when suddenly she stopped and turned to look behind them.
