"Alone"

ESMERALDA

After my little tryst with Vincent I returned to the house, feeling calm and refreshed. As soon as I entered, Vivian called me to the kitchen. There I found her and the rest of her orange-haired family, the women working to prepare lunch, and the little boy working on making a mess of things and getting in the way. When Vivian saw my face she sniffed at me and wrinkled her nose, but said nothing. That was the problem with most of our kind. It was impossible to hide anything from our noses.

"Esmeralda, would you mind taking my mother to madam Baldwin's shop after lunch? She's going to need a ball gown for that graduation ball. I'd take her myself, but it's a bit of a walk."

"Of course."