Féonie was from a very, very poor part of inland Mgunai. Her family had nothing: she was the only one who had ever been more than ten miles from home, bar two cousins who had gone to the city and never been heard from again. [10%]
Short story about Féonie, a minor character in The Hands of the Emperor and its sequel At the Feet of the Sun, and very much a major character in her own life. The plot is simple (Féonie, custumier to Cliopher Mdang, is grateful for the universal stipend and determined that the Lord Chancellor will be perfectly costumed for a forthcoming ceremony) but Féonie's history -- growing up in poverty, sacked due to her employer's husband's unwanted advances, helped by Lord Conju and Ser Rhodin, making friends amongst the Palace guards -- is woven through the story without ever feeling intrusive. Being in the audience for Kip's fire dance makes her determined to research his culture and his family, and gives her the courage to approach the Emperor Himself for help.
Lots of delicious detail here, including the guards' romantic book club and the general consensus that His Radiancy and the Lord Chancellor are very much in love: and Féonie, aged nineteen, negotiating with a living god. (Or two.) I bought this on a whim and now want to reread everything that Goddard has written: her work is such a delight to me, and so much of it is about kindness and positivity.
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