A Brother's Price

appointments, that it was the first time the younger sisters visited the palace.
    “My, my, my, what a pretty little brother you have here.” The eldest tailor circled Jerin. “Certainly makes my job more pleasant. Nothing is worse than trying to make an ugly toad of a boy into something someone would want in their bed.”
    “Someone bedded their mothers,” Eldest said.
    “Fathers are bought, not mothers.” The tailor grinned at her own wit. “I’ll enjoy making this one radiant. I could even use him to set the next rage.”
    “Rage?” Eldest asked.
    “The most popular fashion at the moment,” the tailor explained. “They’re started by the powerful or the beautiful. The rage this season is to dress the family in a theme, say a dark blue silk.” She snapped her fingers. One of the younger sisters thumbed through her stack of fabric swatches to select out several shimmering blues. “A shirt for the boy, a vest for the Eldest, trousers for the Mother Elder—that sort of thing. In a glance, you can see who belongs to who.”
    “If this season is just starting,” Summer asked, “how do you know what is the rage?”
    A chorus of twittering laughter broke out from the flock of younger tailors, silenced by a look from their eldest. “Oh, orders for clothes start as early as the end of last season.” She took the blue silks, and examined each carefully in turn. “Normally a rage starts the last week or so of a season and hits full force at the beginning weeks of the next season. The ladies of Avonar started the family-theme rage the last season while courting for a husband, and one could not have asked for a better starter of a rage. Powerful and beautiful in one package.”
    “You recommend a blue?” Eldest asked.
    “This one would be perfect.” The tailor held a swatch of cobalt-blue silk stamped with a shimmering design to Jerin’s chest. The intimate touch of a complete stranger made him blush, especially with so many people watching. “To bring out his eyes, not that they don’t jump out and grab you already. Landed gentry you might be, but I think you’ll find no end to offers.”
    Eldest also seemed bothered by the tailor’s encroachment. She rested a hand on Jerin’s back. Jerin more felt than saw the gaze his older sister directed over his shoulder at the tailor.
    Summer drifted closer. “Are there ever brothers stolen?”
    “Oh, yes.” The tailor backed off unhurriedly, perhaps well used to possessive sisters. “Not out from under the Queens’ eyes, I would think, but a number of boys are snatched each season. Oh, it’s not the peers you have to watch; they aren’t the desperate ones. It’s those poor of resources: street vendors, house guards, maids—”
    “Tailors,” Summer added to the list.
    The tailor laughed, unembarrassed. “Yes, there was at least one case of such.” She sobered then, and looked levelly at Eldest. “Some boys end up in a crib, whored out to father children for the desperate. Disease runs rampant in those houses; there’s a reason the gods forbid us from sharing our husband with the less fortunate. Even if you find the boy and free him, most families won’t run the risk of a disease taking out wives and children in the future. Guard this little sweetie well.”
    “We always have.” Eldest glowered at the tailor.
    “Well”—the tailor turned away—“there is much to do, so let us start. It will take several days to prepare a wardrobe for your family: until then, you will need something suitable. Princess Odelia advised us on your build, and we’ve brought some clothes that should fit with some alterations. The peers of the realm—” She shook her head. “They order clothes and then change their mind, usually after they see the bill. Funny thing is, money is never the reason for them. No, no, the color is wrong, or the cut, or the fit; they’re always too proud to say they cannot afford our clothes.”
     
    Raven waited for Ren at the palace stable.
    Ren swung down off her horse, and threw her reins to her groom as a grin bloomed on her face. He’s here! Jerin’s finally here !
    “I wish I could believe that smile was for me.” Raven nodded in greeting to Ren.
    “I’m glad to see you too.” Ren swatted at Raven. “How is he?”
    “He’s fine. The trip went well. No attempted kidnappings and only one offer to stud him out—which was politely but firmly refused. You might be interested to know that they’re planning to