They had her stand on the tile of her sitting room, trying on this and that, as they held up earrings and necklaces, and occasionally having girls run to their wing to get something from their own stock. As the sun made its path across the sky Yenni’s mood soured. No matter how she loved her sisters, nothing would convince her that getting dressed was meant to be such a production. How did they all stand it every day?

At last the twins settled on a vibrant green gown, the material sheer and layered, the sides accented with yellow beading that emphasized Yenni’s figure, and it did not escape her that green and yellow were Gunzu colors. They sat her down among a pile of printed cushions and had her young cousin Bisini, the maid with the nimblest fingers, oil and rebraid her hair.

“Why must my hair be perfect if it will just be under a wrap?” Yenni said, wincing as her maid pulled her hair against her scalp.

“Because that is what’s proper,” said Ifeh.

Finally Yenni’s hair was done, twisted up in thick braids to a small cone on top of her head that would help hold her head wrap in place.

“You have such nice, healthy hair, but I wish you would stop cutting it,” said Jayeh. When not wrapped up Jayeh’s hair fell in neat locks down to the middle of her back.

“It’s better for training,” said Yenni. Her sister frowned, but the other twin gently took Yenni’s chin. “Hmm, I think it suits her.” Ifeh preferred to shave her hair close to her head. It was how most told the two apart. But Yenni found both styles too much upkeep—most of the time, Yenni preferred a row of neat braids that fell just below her jawline.

They put on the final touches: a sparkling gold chain that draped from a hoop in her ear to her nose, thick gold bands on her arms, and an ostentatious royal head wrap in gold and green, to match her gown. Her sisters beamed at her.

“You look like, well, like a princess!” cried Ifeh.

“Is it over?” asked Yenni. “I’m starving.”

“I suppose this will have to do,” Jayeh teased, then clapped her hands. “All right, everyone! Let’s give them an entrance to talk about!”

Yenni’s sisters knew how to throw a party. They had overseen all the preparations, and the celebration started off with a sumptuous feast featuring Yenni’s favorite foods: fragrant chunks of goat in gravy with rice; hot pepper soup; cassava, boiled and sweetened; spot-beans with thick pepper sauce; sweet stewed chicken; breadfruit; coconut; and the juiciest mangoes she’d ever eaten.