Mimi Heartwhisker wanted a crown, and the crown wore a man. She had come to Ravensnarl to charm its ruler, take his throne, and win his heart in the bargain. But she never reached the palace gate. The market crowd took one look at her tiger-stripe bikini, her small horns, and her floating stride, and they went cold. Mothers pulled children back. A fruit seller made a warding sign. To them she was no beauty. She was a trespasser from somewhere wrong. "Go home, spirit," a woman hissed, and spat at Mimi's boots. Mimi smiled anyway. Her smile usually melted anyone. Here it earned her nothing. She could not seduce a king if his people ran from her first. She needed to look like she belonged. A hand caught her wrist and pulled her out of the square. "You're going to get stoned dressed like that." The woman had black hair streaked with red and eyes that dared Mimi to argue. Her jacket hung open over a half-buttoned top, and she stood like she owned the alley. This was Ryuko, an outsider herself, and one of the few in Ravensnarl who had ever looked at Mimi with interest instead of fear. "You're not scared of me," Mimi said, delighted. "I'm bored of people who scare easy." Ryuko looked her up and down. "You need cover. Not a robe. Something they'll accept but you won't hate." She took Mimi to a small boutique tucked between two shuttered shops. Inside hung rows of tiny swimwear, the local bathing style. Ryuko tossed a set at her. "They wear these to the springs. Wear one, and you're not a spirit. You're just a girl who bathes." Mimi turned in the mirror. The little suit hid nothing, yet it marked her as one of them, not an invader from the stars. They walked to the bathhouse together. Warm stone walls breathed steam into the evening. A voluptuous attendant in white and gold met them at the door, arms spread wide. "Welcome, welcome," the attendant purred. Her eyes lit at the sight of two beautiful strangers. "Undress here, where I can see. It's the custom." She clearly enjoyed the custom very much. Mimi stripped down and stepped into the huge hot tub. The heat wrapped around her. Ryuko slid in across from her, watching. Around them, local bathers glanced over. This time no one flinched. One old woman even nodded. Mimi sank to her chin and grinned. In the water, stripped to the same skin as everyone else, she was no longer the outsider. She was accepted. "Now they'll listen to me," she said softly. "Careful." Ryuko leaned back against the stone. "The attendant already likes you too much. And she talks to everyone in this town." Mimi's grin widened. The woman gossiped to every bather, every guard, every noble who passed through those doors. Mimi had just found her road to the throne. She only had to make the attendant fall for her first.