““Actually,” the chief guardian said in a calm voice, “you have no rights at all. But I am going to tell you the decision so that there will be no misunderstanding. “The orphan girl Kira will stay. She will have a new role.” He gestured toward the Singer’s robe, still spread out on the table. “Kira,” he said, looking at her, “you will continue your mother’s work. You will go beyond her work, actually, since your skill is far greater than hers was. First, you will repair the robe, as your mother always did. Next, you will restore it. Then your true work will begin. You will complete the robe.””
![“Now,' [her father] barked. She stiffly followed, still fully dressed in the elaborate navy-and-white gown she had worn all evening. It was hard not to feel as if the bare walls and surfaces she passed had been bled, leeched, into the cloth encasing her. Stripped paint and sacrificed heirlooms…” quote by Anne Mallory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/eb7/anne-mallory-9907_parenting_now-her-father-barked-she-stiffly-follow_774145.jpg)
