Finale (Caraval 3)

“You will.” The Assassin inclined his hood toward one end of the alley, which appeared to lead to the Satine District. It was just as fancy as in the present day and full of people to match. Everyone who passed the alley wore vibrant coats lined in dyed furs. Some even carried fur parasols that looked as if they’d been made from leopard pelts.

“It’s going to start snowing,” the Assassin grunted. “As soon as it does, your mother will walk by on that sidewalk. Follow her and steal her clothes, but whatever you do, do not change the past. Today she’s learned that she’s pregnant with you. You cannot mistakenly prevent yourself from being conceived, but if you alter the past, other parts of your world might be undone.”

“Like my sister’s birth?”

“Yes. Be careful, princess. Follow your mother and observe her until you’re able to steal the dress you need to deceive Gavriel. Then leave as quickly as you can. I’ll be waiting for you beneath the broken lamppost.”

There was a tiny scratching sound and then the Assassin was gone.

Scarlett hurried to put on the clothes he’d given her. Her scorched shoulders burned whenever fabric touched them, but the cold air and the rush of time travel had dulled much of the pain.

The first snowflake fell a moment later and Scarlett started toward the mouth of the alley, where icy bricks turned into neat lanes covered in crisp flakes of white that glinted like the start of something new, something that she hoped would be quick and simple.

When she’d first proposed the idea, she’d imagined going back in time to spy on her mother and steal a dress from her would be like when she was very young and she would sneak into her mother’s closet to try on her fancy lace slips—a little risky, but not in a way that could cause real damage. Scarlett wasn’t going to change the past. She was just going to observe her mother, take one of her gowns, and maybe a bit of her perfume along with it. But that was it.

The hard part was supposed to be convincing her father she was the Paradise of the past once Scarlett returned. Seeing her mother walk down the snow-covered street was not supposed shake Scarlett’s world, or make her forget how to breathe. If anything, seeing her mother as Paradise the criminal was supposed to ease some of the guilt that Scarlett had been carrying around.

But as Scarlett followed her mother down the street, for the first time Scarlett saw her not as she’d been in Scarlett’s memories or imaginings. Scarlett saw Paradise as the woman who Tella had always believed her to be.

Paradise glided over the street in a skirt that was such a pure shade of white it made the freshly fallen snow look gray. She smiled at everyone she passed, tipping her head and making her red feathered hat bob. These people must not have known she was a criminal, or they all liked her so much that the ones who did know kept her secret. She looked the way Love might have looked if Love looked in a mirror, infectiously happy and radiantly beautiful.

She skipped inside a fanciful

dress shop with a pretty purple awning, and Scarlett didn’t even think before following her. There was a display of imported hats in the corner and Scarlett darted right to them, hoping to hide from anyone’s notice. Not that she needed to worry. The eyes of the women in the shop went directly to Paradise. There were only three of them, but Paradise commanded their attention like a queen ruling over her subjects.

The lady setting up a display of ribbons dropped a spool. A plump woman who’d been about to step into the back snapped around. And the young girl who’d been spinning in front of a mirror froze.

“Hello, Minerva,” Paradise called to the plump one who’d been about to leave. “Is my order ready?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, darling.”

“Yes, you do. Gavriel ordered a dress for me. It’s supposed to be a surprise, but I found out about it, so I plan to surprise him instead.” Paradise clutched her chest dramatically, reminding Scarlett a bit of Tella. “I’m going to wear it tonight and ask Gavriel to marry me.”

“You’re asking a man to marry you?” cried the girl who’d been spinning. “That’s forward.”

“I’d rather be forward than backward.” Paradise spoke far faster than Scarlett, as if she wanted to cram as much as possible into every moment of life, an observation that Scarlett tucked away for her performance. “In my line of work, life is often very short, so I don’t want to waste any of it waiting for a question that I could easily ask myself. I’m also rather certain he’s going to say yes.” She winked.

Even from Scarlett’s position behind the hats she could see the head of the young twirling girl exploding with thoughts. Her brief conversation with Paradise had just splintered the way she viewed the world, opening up a door that the girl hadn’t even known existed.

“But,” Paradise added, “if he’s afraid of marriage, or of me, I’ll know it’s time to move on.”

“To Marcello Dragna?” said the lady with the ribbons. “He’s very handsome and rich.”

“Then you should marry him.” Paradise laughed. “He’d probably be much happier with you than he’d be with me. Marcello only thinks he could handle me. I believe he wants to tame me, like a caged tiger at a circus, so he can show off to his friends.”

“That sounds sort of like what you’re trying to do with Gavriel,” mused Minerva.

“No, I like Gavriel outside of his cage, and I don’t have any friends to show off to, except for you, Minerva.”

Minerva muttered something too low for Scarlett to hear before slipping back into the door she’d been about to go through as Paradise had entered. A moment later she reappeared with a creation in her hands that was far too extravagant to be called a gown. It was a riot of cream and black and rose and pink with splashes of flowers and lace and stray gold leaf. Long sleeves attached to a decorative bodice that was fitted through the hips, until the skirt flared out in ruffled tiers that ended in a train of gold and rose flowers with lacy black leaves.

It didn’t look like Scarlett’s idea of love, but she could see how it could have been her mother’s, and Gavriel’s.

Paradise gasped. “It’s sublime.”

“Each of these layers can be easily removed with a quick tug, if you need to run.”

“Or if I want to have some fun with Gavriel,” chimed Paradise.