-=- -=-   She had been cleaning her shoes when her mother entered, a thick veil covering the features of her face. Isabel paid no mind, abandoning her task to give her mother a proper welcome back to their home off the Orenian canal. Kisses were peppered across her face through such lacy fabric, giggles echoing off the walls of the entrance hall.    “Amaranta, would you like to go to a party? It will be at your Zia’s house, but first we must make a short stop.”