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It took seven years to get the letter right.
Scarlett’s feelings came in colors even brighter than usual. The urgent red of burning coals. The eager green of new grass buds. The frenzied yellow of a flapping bird’s feathers.
“Donatella!” Scarlett plunged down the steps into the barrel room in search of her younger sister. The familiar scents of molasses and oak snaked up her nose, but her scoundrel of a sibling was nowhere to be found.
“I am being serious. If Father catches us, I’ll just find a way to blame it on you.”
So, that Tella will be punished?
The hazy glow of a lantern caught the metallic edges of the paper, making them blaze a shimmery gold, the color of magic and wishes and promises of things to come. The address on the envelope lit up with equal luster.
But wedding a man she’d never seen frightened Scarlett far less than the thought of staying on Trisda.
Scarlett’s father had been secretive about the exact date of her wedding, but she knew it would not be in less than three days.
“This doesn’t concern you.” Scarlett waved him away with her hand. Julian looked at her strangely, as if a girl had never dismissed him.
this is a crazy way to meet your future husband
Julian might have had a charming face, but he also had that Southern Empire accent, and everyone knew the Southern Empire was a lawless place.
Whatever you’ve heard about Caraval, it doesn’t compare to the reality. It’s more than just a game or a performance. It’s the closest you’ll ever find to magic in this world.
Scarlett always saw flashes of color attached to her strongest emotions, and for an instant goldenrod desire lit up inside her.
I think this is called Synesthesia and apparently it's one of my favourite things to read about.
A beautiful, ridiculous fantasy.
“Don’t disappear on my account.” Governor Dragna finished his descent, the sharp odor of his heavily perfumed suit spoiling the pungent scents of the barrel room.
He wore his plum-colored gloves, the shade of dark bruises and power.
“Good to meet you, sir. Julian Marrero.”
“It was Scarlett,” Tella broke in. “I came down here and caught them in the act.”
With a sharp shake of her head, Tella mouthed the name: Scarlett.
Every time Scarlett or her sister disobeyed, Governor Dragna did something awful to the other as punishment.
okay, genuine question. do we think tella realises that every time she blames scarlett, she will get the punishment and that's why she does it? bc it's pretty obvious but Scarlett doesn't seem to think so... I'm honestly not sure.
Your wedding will be ten days from today, at the end of next week, on the twentieth. If anything gets in the way of it, more than your sister’s face will bleed.”
Scarlett could still smell her father’s perfume. It smelled like the color of his gloves: anise and lavender and something akin to rotted plums.
I think Stephanie Garber has Synesthesia too. This is such a beatuiful way to view the world. Well, not this specific scene but you know what I mean...
Scarlett was often annoyed by how impulsive her younger sister was, but she also knew that when Tella finally set her mind to a plan, there was no changing it.
“If he’s such a gentleman, then why is he so secretive? Why have you only been told his title but not his name?”
Sometimes Scarlett felt all of Trisda was under a dome, a large piece of glass that trapped everyone inside while her father looked down, moving—or removing—people if they weren’t in the right places. Her world was a grand game board, and her father believed this marriage would be his penultimate move, putting all that he wanted within his grasp.
No matter how much wealth he amassed, regents and nobles from the rest of the Meridian Empire ignored him.
yeah bc he sucks
and of course it would give him more power as well.
aww shucks scarlett i had no idea what an incredible coincedence said no count ever
“Anyone can sound like a gentleman in a letter. But you know only a vile person would make a bargain with our father.”
facts
the Elantine Empire’s capital city of Valenda—a place where their father’s hands could not reach.
unfortunately not true
“Tella, if we try to leave on our own, Father will hunt us to the edge of the world.”
father of the year
And if their father caught them running like this, he’d not hesitate to have their feet whipped.
Before her mother disappeared, seven years ago,
Like her father, Scarlett’s mother, Paloma, had not been religious. But after Paloma had vanished from Trisda, Scarlett and her sister had felt desperate, and with nowhere else to go they’d come here to pray for their mother’s return.
It was the kind of night where she could smell the moon, thick candle wax dancing with the salty scent of the ocean, full and glowing.
“If you ever do something like this again, your sister will suffer the same fate,” her father warned.
a bluff? surely bc if he killed Tella he would literally have nothing over Scarlett
The night dyed his long coat an inky black, while shadows lined his cheekbones, turning them sharp as two knife-edges.
“When I get married I plan to take her with me.” “But does she want to go with you?”
“I can’t tell you his original name,” said Nana. “But, I can say, like all great—and terrible—stories, his started with love.
Only Legend was shamefully turned away, because of his lack of talent.”
that is genuinely hilarious oh my god
He said he wanted his performances to be legendary. Magical.”
“Its magic was fueled by Legend’s true desires, which were powerful indeed. The witch told him his performances would be transcendent, blending fantasy with reality in a way the world had never witnessed.
Tella’s twisted at the word villain, but Scarlett smiled at the mention of Legend’s magic.
Tella's a dark romance girlie for sure
“Relax, Crimson—” “It’s Scarlett.”
people died. i'm people.
Where Trisda was black sand, rocky coves, and sickly looking shrubs, this bit of earth was lush and alive.
gee, why isn't tourism booming?
The colors here were brighter, thicker, sharper; in comparison, every hue she’d seen before seemed thin and malnourished.
A child who’d yet to realize that most fairy tales did not end happily.
“There was nothing romantic about my letters. I just wanted to experience the magic.”
Crazy that if Tella had never written and Legend had never replied, both the brothers would never have met their future partners.
When I was younger, I wanted to experience Caraval. Now I just want my sister and me to be safe.”
“I may not know her well, but I don’t think she has a death wish.” Scarlett disagreed.
There was a scent in the air Scarlett had never experienced. Trisda always stank of fish, but the air here was mostly sweet with a bit of tangy citrus.
But Paloma had simply vanished, taking nothing with her. She’d disappeared like a broken star, leaving the world untouched, save for the bits of missing light that no one would ever see again.
Yet despite everything, Scarlett always thought of her mother as a magical person, full of glittering smiles, musical laughter, and dulcet words; when she’d been on Trisda there’d been joy in Scarlett’s world, and her father had been softer.
