__Magic Earth__ (_Getting Caught_) Copyright Tina Hall **** -Nel- ____0001____ day bunker Nel would have liked to step up to the shadowed walls and examine the frescoes and tapestries that covered the thick metal, but his gaze was fixed on the Shan. A single, faint glowlight picked out Arentus' pale face, the sharp nose and angular features, but the dim light made it difficult to tell where his dark hair ended and his equally dark suit began. He seemed uninterested, occupied with something beyond Nel's comprehension, filled with the power that enabled him to rule this city, the power that sheltered it from the wilderness outside. Nel was a mere gardener, keeping the yards near the hills neat and tidy, the patterns intact. Being dragged into the Shan's presense terrified him. His fear was heightened when Arentus turned his head and fixed Nel with his dark eyes, and then smiled. "You work your task well." the Shan said. His voice was quiet, yet it boomed through the vast hall. How could the guards stand it, living with that every day? Nel swallowed, then remembered that he might be expected to reply. "Yes Shan. Thank you Shan." he whispered, yet his voice, too, was carried to the remotest corner. Not booming, though. "I'd like for you to work in my garden. Two Brocades a moon." That was more than Nel earned in a year. More than half again as much. But Brocade were not of much use to him, fraying too easily. Arentus seemed to see his thoughts. "Leather, then, two a moon. What do you say?" What could he say? 'No' wasn't an option, not with the Shan, whose power alone kept their city from falling into the ocean at the next earthquake, or even before, with all that water so near. Nel's current employers wouldn't object for the same reason. "Yes, Shan. It is an honour, Shan." Nel replied. Arentus smiled and nodded, as if to an equal, then turned his head away again to ponder things beyond Nel's comprehension. Nel had received such nods before, but this time it didn't seem to be mocking. It looked genuine, as if the Shan was glad to have him working in his garden and expected him to make a true difference. "Come on, old man. Don't dawdle." One of the guards gave Nel a shove and brought him back to the present. Being more dragged than led outside didn't eraze the faint smile on his lips. The Shan liked his work, he had respect. He would have no use for gentle maids as his personal bodyguards, efficiency was more important than manners. Nel was prodded along the same wavy and dimly lit passage that they had taken him on the way in, then up another, different, steep and just as wavy corridor leading back to the surface. Here too, he wasn't allowed to dwell and examine the tapestries. Brocade. Taken down and cut into notes, each would be worth a fortune large enough to buy one of the houses near the hills where he had worked before now. But then, the same could be said about the guards' black leather uniforms. Not simple hides treated and sewed into plain clothes or armour, but artfully decorated with red thread, worked with magic, to assist the flow of magic, strengthen their own and ward off anothers' if directed at them with hostile intent. The floor, too, was covered in patterned carpets of the same make, though with the guards' heavy boots, they would not last long before having to be replaced. Arentus, the Shan of Solid city, was a very wealthy man. Nel had always worked for wealthy men. Skilled at drawing the patterns but unable to weave them just as well into cloth, he tended their gardens, making the sight pleasing as well as useful. It was a task that took time, with little reward from the people who looked upon the result only, often with scant understanding of the real effect the patterns had. Pride had them employ a gardener to tend the sandy ground, rather than just paving their yards with sheets of patterned rock. ** .Nel. ____0001____ .. garden Nel looked up and after the man storming across the Shan's garden, destroying half a day's work in the progress. The man seemed unaware of even Nel's presense, and certainly was of the marked paths. He sighed and went to work again, smoothing out the fresh footprint in front of him, and then started redrawing the waves in the sand that the man had destroyed. Arentus' garden had turned out a mess of footprints and wheel tracks, the rocks meant to mark ways of passage randomly strewn across the entire flat area above the Shan's bunker. The guards had led Nel to a shed just beneath the surface near an outer exit, and then walked back down again with hardly a comment. Much unlike the garden, the tools in the shed were well maintained and plenty. Nel had set to work at once, gotten the little push-wheel with basket, collected the patterned stones, cleaned them, and laid out new passage ways in the shape of a fife-armed star around a circle at the center that held the main entrance to the bunker. He had then flattened the sand in small patches each, clearing it of small pebbles and any stray plants that had taken root, in preparation for the drawings. But if people simply ignored the marked paths, the garden would always be a mess, even if he worked from sunrise to sunrise. He could go to the guards and demand they do something about their visitors' behaviour, he supposed, but he prefered to do the things he could himself. And in his mind, this now was as much his garden as it officially was the Shan's. Imposing as he was, far down in his bunker Arentus could well be far up among the stars as far as Nel's thoughts on the owner of this garden were concerned, especially when he was occupied with the task he took pride and delight in. After finishing the patch he worked on, Nel walked around and checked the alignment of the stones marking the edge of the entire fifth, then went to the middle of the side facing the main entrance. He took what looked like a solid-stiff, low quality brown leather note out of a pocket in his smock, knelt down, and placed it on top of the stones, the pattern on its surface aligned with that of its support, then concentrated on his magic. He wanted a transparent barrier along the chain of marked stones, repelling anyone who mindlessly tried to step across them. It would be easy to pull down for anyone with as little magic as Nel had, but more effort than simply walking around it. People knew what the stones were there for, the Shan's visitors simply ignored them, and this would change that. With a slight hum that quickly abated, Nel's barrier snapped into place. The note itself, carved rock rather than actual leather, would serve as a lock-through that allowed Nel to pass. As he put it away again and rose, he spotted a short, wiry, middle-aged man approaching him from the main entrance, black, plain silk suit rustling and swishing. "The Shan will like this solution." the man said. "Would you believe it, the last gardener wanted to put up a fence!" He sounded incredulous. Nel shook his head, dismayed at the idea. "Fences are ugly, and not much use." He looked back down at the stones marking the path, satisfied with the slight shimmer above them, the waves and patterns engraved on the stones seemed to move, flowing with faint magic. "I am Caes." the stranger said, drawing Nel's attention back to his presense. Nel turned to see him bowing, and returned the formal gesture, supplying his own name. "The guards think I'm a spy." Caes continued with a mischievious grin. "For whom, they're not sure. Which is why they don't mind me wandering about here." In truth, Nel hadn't wondered who this stranger was, or what had happened to the last gardener. It was of no concern to him, and he had work to do, so he started walking to check the stones in the next fifth. Caes kept him company. "You see, some of them think I'm working for big old Arentus himself, so kicking me out might annoy him mightily. They always stand that little bit straighter when they think I'm watching, too. No doubt they've told him about me snooping around and he hasn't ordered them to chase me away." Nel glanced at the stranger, then turned his attention back to the stones. There were all sorts of things he could reply, from asking why they simply didn't ask Caes what he was doing, to maintaining that the Shan would only hire efficient guards that knew what they were doing. Instead he squatted down and straightened one of the engraved stones that must have been scuffed by a boot from someone who had actually taken the path. Curiosity had never been one of his strong points. Keeping the garden in his responsibility tidy was. "Did anybody tell you about the canteen?" Caes asked when Nel obviously wasn't interested in discussing the stranger's presense. Nel shook his head, rising. "I bring my own food." "It's free for all who work here. You should consider saving a few Flats." Caes pointed out. Nel already didn't know what to do with all the money he now earned, but that was no reason to waste any of it. "Would you show me after sunset?" he asked, walking along the path again, eyes on the stones. He could work with a light, but keeping a magic one stable while drawing was distracting, and oil lamps were frowned upon. Only the poor and unskilled, and those disliking magic used them. Often those two groups were the same, not by coincidence. "With pleasure." Caes replied. "I'll come out here at today's last ray of our very own star." Nel looked up to see the stranger smile and turn round. He frowned after Caes as the little man walked back to the main entrance. That had almost sounded like one of those nuts believing stars, the moon, and the other planets in their system had and gave all magic, and did other things to influence the life of man. More than just causing tides, which was bad enough. Word had it that this city's Shan didn't mind those folks, so they were tolerated by the populace. As a result, Solid city had a rather large proportion of them, had pretty much turned into a refugee for the stargazers, sundancers, and other nuts following one religion or another, one weirder than another. Nel shook his head and went back to work, hoping he didn't have to listen to one of their sermons while eating his supper. ** .Nel. ____0001____ evening canteen Caes was true to his words and turned up just as the sun disappeared behind the ocean. He took Nel inside through the entrance at the center and down a straight, unadorned passage, all gray concrete, to a large common room, chatting all the while about a woman apparently also employed here that seemed to have completely taken up all his thoughts. What her exact position was, Caes didn't say, and Nel didn't ask. He also wasn't really interested in learning her exact physical proportions and colouring, the way she laughed and the way her voice resonated, or how she smelled. Nevertheless, he learned all those details anyway. It was not that he wasn't interested in women, he just never found the time to seek them out, wherever those interested in a more permanent relationship might be found. He knew where to find the whores, not the scum from Underside but those with some skill and pretend interest, but he didn't much like the whole setup of visiting them. Someone to come home to, for company rather than just a brief sexual encounter in exchange for money, was what he had in mind. His neighbour did his laundry and housekeeping, asking only a couple of Cotton a moon. It wasn't much work, and she could use it well to feed her three kids without their father, or maybe fathers --the children had neither likeness to her nor to each other-- around to take care of them. As far as he knew she did the same for the whole neighbourhood, helped by the oldest daughter, and lived well enough. He hadn't enquired about her story when she had moved into the small house next to his own three-room hut, and when she had enquired, he had agreed to let her do the work because it would leave him with time to follow his own interests, mainly engraving flat pebbles and shaping Mesh. Not high quality, but good enough to help keep small change from vanishing. "You're not the talkative kind." Caes accused him as they entered the common room, filled with people, voices, and smells of spices, heated vegetables, and crusty meat. There were guards and those wearing other kinds of uniforms as well as plainly dressed people eating, serving maids winding their ways between the smooth stone tables, holding trays filled with steaming bowls, mugs with coffee, and chilled glasses, yet without the raucous laughter and occasional clap to a maid's rump that might be found in a tavern. The people here were well behaved, Nel noted with approval. A few people glanced at Caes, then pretended they hadn't. Others smiled at Nel, or regarded him with curiosity. Most ignored both of them. "People are rarely interested in my work, and I'm interested in little else." Nel said to his odd companion. Caes nodded understanding and led the way to a small table in a corner near the door to the kitchen, where they sat down. The menu was artfully embroidered on pieces of stiffened cloth, another sign of the Shan's wealth. Before picking them up, they both wiped their hands above the bowl beneath the table, next to the wall, using magic to remove any dirt from them and from beneath the fingernails. As soon as they had studied the menus and put them down again, a serving maid appeared and asked their wishes. After ordering their meals, Nel regarded his companion. With the thin face and pointy nose, he reminded him of nothing so much as a rat. One that returned the inquisitive gaze. Not that he had seen any real rats, few made their way into the city from the wilderness beyond, but he had seen pictures. Nel knew that his own features, flat face with a small nose and slitted eyes, all too well said that some time in the past his ancestors must have made their way across the ocean from the west, bringing silkworms with them. And not just his own ancestors, but enough of them for the distinct features not to vanish completely among the populace. There were said to be long, thin islands close to a huge continent stretching further west than even their own sizable landmass stretched east. But whatever had moved his ancestors to make their way across the water must have been lost in the intermediate generations. Nel couldn't think of a single reason to go anywhere near the ocean, never mind travelling across it. Their food arrived, and a quick probe didn't find anything in the food and the juice that shouldn't be there. Nel hadn't really expected it, but there was only one chance to be missed, and he didn't want to take it. As they ate. Caes took up his chatter again, this time about the old gardener, the one before the one that had wanted to put up a fence, and others that hadn't met the Shan's requirements, who died of old age a few moons ago. He had had a habit of following and stopping anyone who dared step off the paths, berating them no matter their status, and short of physically removing him there was nothing they could do to evade the lecture, and the visitors wouldn't dare do that to the Shan's gardener. At one time he was said to even have chided Arentus himself, on one of those rare occasions that he went outside. The Shan, it was said, had apologised for his thoughtlessness, bowed as he left, and raised the gardener's pay. That tale didn't match with the rumours circling the workers' district, of a man to be afraid of, but it did match his friendly attitude when he had hired Nel. **** -Kelsan- ____0001____ evening hideout "Hiya buddy. Made any new discoveries?" Kelsan asked as he closed the lightweight stone door behind him. Like a couple trusted friends, he had a lock-through for Ranes' litte hideout, tied to his conscious, calm, and most of all free thought-patterns. He wouldn't come down here if he was running from someone, but he needed some way to get in, not only to bring the groceries and the odd tidbits Ranes asked for. And often enough his older brother wouldn't notice someone knocking on the door. Ranes was sitting on the floor near a tangled pile of his strange devices full of little wheels, metal bit sticking out, shaped rock, cloth, and the material he called 'fake' for some reason. He turned round now, focussing on Kelsan, pupils slowly appearing in the silver, then the silver faded completely to reveal the more normal but still unusual gray of his iris. Instead of pointing out once again that he didn't make any discoveries, just viewed them, Ranes grunted and shook his head, then rose and went over to one of his creations, or copies as he called them, and made it produce some mediocre coffee. Kelsan walked to the far end of the stone counter it stood on and watched it spluttering and wheezing as he always did, expecting it to explode any moment in a spray of hot water and the sparks that gave it power, never mind that his brother maintained that it was quite safe. Not that Kelsan could brew coffee using magic, he didn't even have the minimum possible skill with magic, could only probe his food with difficulty, almost as if Ranes had used up more than their parents could muster together and he had ended up with a void. He didn't mind. He liked looking after his brother, who all too often was too distracted to pay attention to the mundane aspects of life. And Ranes supplied the wards that kept Kelsan safe and untracked, so he had his share, even if it wasn't part of himself. Ranes also insisted that all the little devices he built could make life for people like Kelsan much easier. Some of them even gained widespread, if hidden, popularity, like the little round metal box on a chain that told one what time it was by the little disk and pointers inside, rather than just looking at the sun or moon. Until the Shan or one of his sneakes somehow learned of it. They were quite adept at rooting out and destroying that which would make the life of the less skilled people easier. So far, they hadn't rooted out Ranes, and their friends that knew about him and the hideout were careful, wouldn't carry any of his devices themselves. Devices not approved of by the Shan were against his decrees, to concentrate on and further the use of magic, and rarely any ever did gain his approval. Those who did not like the Shan's decrees were free to leave the shelter of Solid city. The downside was, the other sheltered areas and cities were ruled by Shans with similar opinions on these devices. Ranes said that with his tools, people could live out in the wilderness and build their own cities, even right next to a river, without a Shan sheltering the place from the effects the loose liquid had on magic. But few people would listen to such ideas; no one wanted to live unsheltered near even a little spring, never mind a full, wildly flowing river. The ocean next to which Solid city sat made everyone queasy, but at least it was kept quiet and still as long as the earth wasn't moving, and the interference warded. The Shan saw to that. And no one wanted to annoy him enough to cause him to withdraw his protection. Well, almost no one. And Ranes had once mentioned that the city stayed sheltered even when all the other wards the Shan worked disappeared. How, only Ranes knew. All that magic was pretty much a complete mystery to Kelsan. When his brother's coffee maker quieted down again, he went around the counter and began unpacking the groceries. Ranes filled two of his stone mugs from the pot, handed him one, and dug into the cloth bags with curiosity. He came up with a caramel cane, looking disheartened. "Little Boni still not turned up again?" he asked, his thoughts jumping past several sentences as usual. Kelsan shook his head. "Shayna has given up on the boy ever returning. She said maybe he's found a home somewhere." "No doubt about that." Ranes returned with some acid. "The question is whether he likes it." Ranes' theory was that the kids that went missing were grabbed by those that weren't satisfied by the teenage whores that could be found in Underside, which was something Kelsan didn't even want to think about. He shrugged. "Shayna said that he might not tell any of his old friends so he can't be traced." Secrecy was second nature to the folks in Underside. He always spread the change around the street kids, too. That way, even if a Flat or Mesh was marked to trace him, it wouldn't lead anyone to Ranes. His brother made his own Cotton, of good quality, and the sellers all liked to make business with Kelsan, who paid with the notes with their common value while they could exchange them for a lot more than that. It also ensured that they weren't too keen on remembering who exactly had paid with just those notes. And their own curiosity was easily explained by his official 'job'. "Shayna is a hopeless optimist." Ranes returned. "She still thinks one day a rich customer will take her out of Underside to a life of wealth and status. The question of how a rich customer would find his way to her in the first place doesn't seem to enter her mind." "There's nothing wrong with dreaming." Kelsan returned. "You're dreaming of a life outside in the wilderness." "It wouldn't be wilderness with lots of people living there." "We wouldn't have to dream about living in the wilderness if we got rid of that bastard." Dayta said while she closed the door behind her. "Ah, another dreamer." Kelsan smiled at their friend. He received a peck on the cheek before she moved round to give Ranes a kiss on the mouth. "At least my dreams are realistic. I've seen it." Ranes pointed out, preparing another mug with coffee for his girlfriend. "Now you only have to convince enough people to give up their lifes in comfort for one of hardship without any reliable magic, out in the wilderness." Dayta returned, then glanced at the caramel cane on the counter. "I think I've seen Mirena on Merch street in the workers' district. She looked good, happy." Mirena had been a street kid gone missing two years ago, along with a few others. Shayna, at thirtyfour the oldest, and the only adult of the 'street kids', had kept half an eye on her, much like she did with the other beggar children and teenaged whores. She and Ranes both had suspected that the girl had likely gotten herself into trouble with her habit to snoop around and ask questions that people didn't want to answer. She never let on any of the things she dug out, but the wrong customer might not want to take the chance. "I didn't approach her," Dayta continued, "but walked past without giving a sign that I know or even noticed her. She looked relieved at that." "If you tell Shayna, it'll just feed her plan to be taken away by a rich customer." Ranes said with a grin. "How's your plan to become a rich guy going?" she asked. "Buying the whole freaking city and kicking Arentus out is your secondary plan, not mine." Ranes pointed out. Making notes took time and effort, even for someone with Ranes' skill. And his main talent, and interest, was farseeing; viewing that other earth, that was so similar and yet so different to their own. "Well, we've got to get rid of him somehow." "Do you think you're the first to think that is the solution?" Ranes asked. Not for the first time. Kelsan shook his head and stopped listening. Instead he took the sealed leather bag with their waste and garbage and went outside. These discussions always went the same way, as if repeating them changed any of the facts. Sure, there had always been people who wanted to promote a life without magic, too. Sure, now there were devices available that could make life really easy, if anyone trusted them enough to give up what people knew worked. Worked for most at least. But Kelsan wasn't too keen on living out in the wilderness, either. The farthest he had ever gone was to the outlying farms, still considered part of Solid city as they, too, were under the Shan's protection. He went up to and through his own room and on to the ground level, then sat outside on the short flight of stairs leading up to the front door of their run-down apartment house, waiting for the cleaner. Ranes disposed of his own and the more unusual garbage himself, but not having any waste at all would be suspicious, so they made sure to have enough common refuse for the cleaner to take care of. The cleaners were employed by the Shan, but despite that were regarded with respect by everyone. Garbage undisposed of would spread sickness. Piling it up somewhere out of sight wouldn't really remove it, so the Shan paid highly skilled cleaners to walk the city at regular intervals and remove all waste. They even came to Underside, for a plaque started there would soon spread to the finer areas of the city even with healers tending the sick. "Hiya Kelsan." the voice of Aynen came to him, one of the kids from the families living up on the first floor. Kelsan turned round to see the eight year old burdened with the duty to take out the garbage. Never something the kids were happy doing. Kelsan, reminded of Boni, regretted not taking part of the caramel cane with him. Here among his neighbours, the whole cane would have been suspicious of course; few people in Underside could afford more than breakoffs, but a couple of splinters would not be anything out of the ordinary. And the kids knew that Kelsan often had sweets about him. Apart from receiving a smile in return, it would help making them forgetful if anyone ever decided to ask questions. They never saw Ranes either, only Kelsan, with less magic than the kids themselves had. Ranes had dug out the hidout directly beneath Kelsan's own, hardly used room, and connected them by a hidden stairwell. As far as their neighbours were concerned, Kelsan lived alone, helped out by his more gifted 'cousin' Dayta, both making a living at thieving, though only she did in truth. She had told him enough about the profession for him to be able to talk about it. And no one expected him to reveal the secrets of the trade. It would need the Shan himself to detect the subtle wards Ranes had put up to stay hidden. Maybe staying down in their cellar apartment most of the time was the real reason Ranes wanted to go and live out in the wilderness, Kelsan sometimes thought. His brother grinned at that, and pointed out that he could go out any time he wanted, if he was careful. And he had spent an entire year alone in the wilderness. Kelsan shrugged, returned the greeting, smiling at the boy now seated next to him, and lifted his bag. "Dayta chased me out again, saying I get in the way and should make myself useful while I'm at it. At getting out of the way, that is." Aynen laughed. "We drew lots. I could swear Sanja cheated when she found she had the charred lint. Momma would have none of it. Pa said I should learn to cheat better than her if I ever want to get out of Underside." Before Kelsan could think of a reply, the boy rose and pointed up the street. "There he is." Kelsan turned his head in the indicated direction and saw the familiar figure in the spotless, unadorned white linen suit, pushing his wheeled, equally white and spotless barrel without touching it. Kelsan wondered sometimes why wheels, used as support for transport, were allowed. Skilled people could simply levitate their burden, after all, or even themselves. Maybe pushing was easier for them, too. The cleaner stopped and waited while the people living up the street came out to empty their bags into the barrel, chatting with them, enquiring about their wellbeing. But as friendly and respected as the cleaners were, one had to be careful what to say to them, for any or all of it could, and would if warranted, reach the Shan's ear. A side-effect of their employment. Dayta's earlier comment about 'getting rid of that bastard', even while not exactly rare in Underside, would get them all into trouble. Even if there was doubt to whom she was refering, simply 'getting rid' of people was against the Shan's decrees. That, at least, was something Kelsan agreed with. If only every so often street kids from Underside didn't simply go missing without anyone ever doing something about it, despite the Shan's decrees and threats of punishment for anyone who dared assault a child. Kids from the workers' district or the finer folks didn't go missing, not even those that had a home in Underside. And if one was temporarily lost, there would be a horde of investigators turning the whole city upside down until it was found. No one seemed to care what happened to the street kids from Underside. Ranes would probably say that Shayna had put a flea in Kelsan's ear with her worry about Boni, but he had decided to find the boy, if only to see that he had indeed found a home, as soon as he had figured out how and where to start looking for him. Kelsan didn't gain any new insights watching the cleaner slowly making his way down the street. As the white-clad figure halted at the foot of the stairs, surrounded by the small crowd of people that had come out of the nearby houses, Kelsan rose and picked up Aynen's bag as well as his own, then followed the boy down. As little as the kids liked to take the garbage out, they all liked watching it disappear with nothing but a faint, varying, smell left behind. If the cleaner was in a particularly good mood, and plenty of children around to watch, he would ask them what kind of smell they would like. They usually decided on some kind of flower or another, food just reminding them of what they all too often didn't have enough of. When it was his turn, Kelsan emptied both bags into the barrel. "Found anything of value lately?" the cleaner asked him with a smile. 'Found' was just another term for 'stolen' in this case, they both knew. The subject was safe, too. By the Shan's decree, anyone who didn't ward their belongings sufficiently deserved losing them. All to further the use of magic, of course. Kelsan grinned and shook his head. "All the really valuable things are hidden behind some funny magic that has no liking for me." "Sanja has started hiding all her things, and sometimes mine, too. Even Momma can't find them." Aynen interjected. "She can't wait to go to school to learn to do it properly, because it all turns up again after a day or so." "Your sister is what, now, five?" the cleaner asked the boy. "Your parents might like to consider sending her to Arentus' school. There's none where she'd get better education, and it's free." Aynen looked sceptical, clearly regretting his words. "It's practically at the other end of the city." Kelsan provided an excuse for the boy's hesitation. "Kids go missing all the time." one of the neighbours added gruffly. A big, sturdy man that Kelsan didn't know too well. "Your parents could apply for an escort. Talent shouldn't be wasted." the cleaner stated. "Like this." he added, waving his hand at the barrel for effect. The contents disintegrated, leaving nothing but a salty tang of the sea behind. The boy wrinkled his face at the smell, likely wondering that he would get into trouble for mentioning his sisters' skill to the cleaner. "What about funds for an escort of their choice?" Kelsan asked on a sudden impulse. The Shan's school hadn't done Ranes any harm, only vanishing out of Arentus' sight afterwards had been difficult, and included a change of name, features and, Ranes had insisted on this, the shape of his hands for Kelsan, as well as breaking contact with their parents. Not to mention Ranes leaving the city for good for an entire year, trekking about who knows where on his own. Officially, they had both left and never returned. His voice was still the same, the same as Ranes' Dayta had once observed, but that had changed on its own, growing up. "That, of course, is a possibility." the cleaner replied with a smile. "We can't expect Marja and Feras to hand their girl over to a stranger, even if he is a trusted guard of our Shan." "I'll talk with them." Kelsan said with a nod and bent down to pick up the empty waste bags. How he was going to convince them without mentioning his brother, he had no idea. But the cleaner was right, talent shouldn't be wasted. He knew too many people that hadn't been trained properly and ended up with little more ability than he had, like some witch in the wilderness. Sanja's mother was one of them. Maybe he could work that angle. ** .Kelsan. ____0002____ day school It hadn't been easy to convince the girl's parents, but Marja had eventually given in to the possibility that her daughter would get taught properly without the hook her own parents had feared. Aynen's scolding had been put off, too, until after his parents had had a look at the school and decided whether it was a good idea. They had also decided that, since it was all Kelsan's fault, he could just as well take up the role as escort. They knew he was careful and had a good eye. The lack of magic ability did little to lessen his qualification for the job; the presense of an adult alone would discourage anyone with ill intent. And Sanja herself could cause quite a ruckus that would draw attention, once someone she knew she could trust made her aware that the situation warranted it. With the right kind of attention, whoever approached her with ill intent would find themselves facing the Shan, and that was discouragement enough. In an emergency he could still spring the wards Ranes had supplied him with, too, and then wonder how to explain it. Kelsan wasn't particularly happy about being drawn closer to the eye of the Shan, but had no grounds to refuse that he was willing to name. Marja and Feras were good people, friends, that knew him willing to help out if he could, and his official 'job' said he could use every extra Flat. Not being involved, with the cleaner knowing he had convinced the parents, might be suspicious, too. Better act as if he had nothing to hide. So now the three adults trekked through the city to have a look at Arentus' school. The kids had been left with their neighbours, who had wished them luck. The possibility of one of their middle escaping Underside filled them with pride, even while they viewed the means with scepticism. Aynen was more looking forwards to 'the little pest' being away for most of the day, though. Dayta, after Kelsan told her and his brother about it, had called the whole idea insane. Ranes had pointed out that there wasn't anything wrong with him and agreed that proper training would be good for the girl. Dayta had returned that there was nothing wrong with private schools run by parents. "And who taught you how to pass your hand through a ward created by someone with the same skill as you?" had been Ranes' reply, which had earned him a frown but ended the argument. The teachings at Arentus' school were indiscriminating. They didn't hold with girls learn girls' stuff, boys learn boys' stuff. Whatever a pupil was able to learn, they would teach, if there was any way at all to do it with magic, though no doubt did the Shan keep a few tricks all to himself. Private schools often inserted their own ideas of what people should know, and which things were better forgotten, because it simply didn't agree with their idea of how magic should be used, or because something couldn't possibly be used for anything other than ill intent, according to their idea. That that also made it difficult to ward against just those things seemed to be secondary. And Dayta just opposed anything to do with the Shan, on principle. Kelsan glanced at Marja and Feras walking beside him along the paved streets. Marja was nervous but determined, Feras was nervous and determined to hide it, emanating calm. He made a living at burglary, mostly private houses of which the owners had gotten too careless because they lived in one of the finer districts. He was used to entering the puma's lair and staying calm and efficient, but this was different. Normally, the owners of those lairs were asleep, not showing him around, trying to get him to leave his daughter in their care for much of the day. And there was no doubt that the people at the school would try just that. The school's grounds, bordering the flat area above the Shan's bunker, were impressive. The large mansion drew the eye at the same time as it was repelling it, appearing more like an overblown toy house, with frescos and frills sticking out in an apparent random fashion, painted in an equally seemingly random manner in all colours of a pasteel hue. It looked unreal. No sane adult would want to be seen even near that house, Kelsan thought, but kids would enjoy it. He used to when he was little, always looking forward to the days his mother or their maid would take him along to pick up his brother. The mansion was surrounded by greens designed for kids to play in. The winding pathways and labyrinths, staked out by knee-high walls and dotted by clusters of trees, were enlarged versions of the patterns that could be found drawn in the richer people's gardens, as well as on all currency. There were caves just beneath the surface, and 'secret' pathways, themselves labyrinths underground, probably laid out in designed patterns, too, but Kelsan hadn't stopped to consider that at the times he was allowed to investigate them. As they approached the premise, Kelsan gawked appropriately, making sure not to reveal the fact that he knew his way around. "Sanja will adore this." Marja said wonderingly as they stopped a short distance from the inlet to the main pathway, staring. Feras glanced at his woman, probably wondering when the issue had been settled already. "It's certainly..." Kelsan trailed off. "Frilly." Feras finished the sentence. A young woman in a long, sleeveless, light beige linen robe that had been talking to an equally dressed man approached them, beaming, seeming to shine with an aura of welcome, without actually emitting any light. Kelsan suppressed a smile, remembering how his eyes used to give a similarly odd impression whenever he looked at them in a mirror, before they had been changed to the common dark brown. Without that, anyone who knew him would recognize him at a glance, different face or not. "What can we do for you, good people?" she asked. Feras frowned, suspicious. Their dress, despite digging out the best they each had, plainly marked them as residents of Underside. Kelsan looked at the woman with a slightly unsure expression. Not difficult; anything to do with magic, and quite a lot of other things, simply puzzled him. For some reason he was reminded of Ranes' 'coffee maker'. This woman seemed unlikely to explode in a shower of hot water and sparks, but with that aura she was just as mystifying. "One of your cleaners suggested that our daughter would do well to go to your school." Marja burst out in a rush. "We'd like to, um, see what that would mean, first." she continued more slowly, not wanting to say outright that they didn't think much of the Shan and his institutions. "Certainly." the woman replied, unperturbed, though no doubt aware of the general populace's opinion. "My name is Firghey Cook." she said with a formal bow, revealing that she came from at least the workers' district, if not the finer areas, and people who took pride in keeping a last name attached to their own. Someone who merely kept one to fit in with the finer folks wouldn't mention it in these circumstances. To Kelsan it revealed more than that. The Cooks had lived not too far away on the street he had grown up on, and insisted that their only daughter, a spoiled brat the same age as Kelsan, be allowed on the school, despite not fully meeting the requirements of being among the most skilled. Kelsan hoped his surprise was covered by the bow Sanja's parents and he gave in return, along with their single names. He wouldn't have recognized Firghey without hearing her name, and now wondered whether coming here had been such a good idea. She had changed a lot, and merely growing up and nine years since Ranes had left the school and went into hiding didn't explain half the inconsistencies between this woman and the still spoiled thirteen year old brat he remembered. She wouldn't have worn something as plain as this, for one, or stand on the street waiting for visitors, never mind greeting 'her inferiors' with anything but a sneer. And there had been no hint of the aura, shiny presense, about the girl he had known. Firghey turned round now, not seeming to have noticed the startlement on Kelsan's face, and walked towards the inlet to the main pathway, looking back over her shoulder and waving them on encouragingly, still smiling warmly. Feras had noticed, going by the quick sideways glance he gave Kelsan as they followed the woman. Firghey led them around outside first, explaining how the children would play on the grounds during the day, on long breaks, being supervised but left to spend the time as they wished. It was one way to find out where their interests and talents lay, the supporting of which was the main goal of the school, though they would be taught all else they could grasp, or weren't bored out of their wits with, she added with a laugh. Mid-morning, one of those breaks began, and they were led inside to have a look at the now mostly empty classrooms. For the smaller kids, it was playrooms, where they were taught in games. For the more grown children, the rooms were stark in comparison to the rest of the grounds, offering little distraction, for earnest lessons. Afterwards, Firghey took them down to the canteen, empty now as even the dawdlers had finished with their meal. "The food and drink is safe, of course." she said. "They're only children, after all. But probing is the first thing they learn, and parents are encouraged to supply their kids with their own food until the little ones have mastered that, and know not to forget to do so." Feras nodded at that, the question being obviously on his mind. Firghey nodded as well. "It is good that you see the necessity." She sighed. "Some people are just too careless, think it's just a myth, and pass that idea on to their children." Kelsan had encountered that attitude as well, people asking why he bothered with what for him was a long and difficult procedure. But his parents, and even more so his brother, had taught him to be careful. Marja, for some time now beaming to rival Firghey's expression, turned to her man, an arm stuck beneath one of his. "So, convinced yet?" "You obviously are." he returned, then looked at Kelsan. He shrugged. Whatever had happened with Firghey couldn't be found out here and now, and might not have anything to do with the school. "I'm not exactly an expert on magic." he said with a smile. "My point stands, anyone who has a major gift should be taught properly to use it, too. And this is the best place for it." "Allright then, we'll give it a try." Feras said to his woman and Marja rewarded him with an especially bright smile. "If you would follow me then, to take care of formalities." Firghey said as she turned to lead the way out of the canteen. They did, and were led along a narrow passage heading further downwards. The more important a room or office was, the more solid ground was around and above it, at least in the finer districts of the city. Houses on the surface were just for show, or for the poor to moderately well off. Permission to dig out cellars beyond the foundation cost extra as well. Not that in Underside anyone bothered to check. "Does the Shan come here often?" Marja suddenly asked. Firghey missed a step and halted, turning round with her never wavering smile. "Only on festivals and to greet new pupils." she replied. That matched Kelsan's memory, too. "You mean he'll want to meet our daughter?" Marja asked, a little apprehensive, but trying not to show it. "Of course. There's no one better to gauge potential." Firghey said. "He has last say on who is taken on in the school, as well." She paused, then smiled again. "If the location here makes you uncomfortable, he could come and visit you in your own home." "No!" Feras burst out, much to Kelsan's relief, and no doubt to the relief of the entire neighbourhood, if they were aware of the possibility. Except for Dayta that is, who, as far as Kelsan knew her, would be waiting expectantly, with knifes, and traps hidden all over the place. He sighed. A slight frown appeared on Firghey's forehead, as much at the voiced protest as at the memory of her parents opting for that possibility with pride, Kelsan suspected. "How about somewhere in between, a quiet restaurant in the workers' district, perhaps." he suggested. "That way, both parties save a little of the distance to travel." It was a lame excuse, but should be accepted. It's not as if Firghey wasn't aware of the distrust, if not outright dislike, that they had towards her employer. She smiled again. "Yes. Our Shan will be happy to obliege." Now, how to keep Dayta and her knifes away, Kelsan thought as Firghey turned round again and continued leading the way down. She halted in front of a door, waiting patiently until it was opened from within without anyone touching it, and waved them on inside, staying in the hallway herself. Behind the door was a comfortable office with sofas, shelves, another small, plain door, and a desk behind which sat a tall, broad-shouldered, elderly man in a wide black robe, embroidered with thin, spaced out, wavy, vertical lines in all colours of the rainbow. He rose now and bowed, then indicated the sofas while sitting down again and the door slowly swung shut. Going by his colouring, his ancestors must have come from beyond the ocean far in the east. They had come in a sudden rush, a few hundred years ago, but it was still told of in tales for the wonderous uses of magic they had brought and spread across the continent. Few of them had made their way all the way to the west coast, so the sight of skin as dark as the night was still unusual. Most people here were tanned in one way or another, though the Shan was said to be as pale as a bleached linen sheet, sometimes with scorn blamed on him hiding out in his bunker all the time. A fact that Ranes had confirmed to an inquisitive little brother long years ago. The dark man now fixed them with a stare, then spoke in a deep, resonating voice. "I know you're not too fond of Arentus, and unlike most in this city, I don't mind speaking the truth. I'm not too fond of him myself, and no you don't have to agree, or object, and if you feel you have to, you can report my speaking ill of 'our Shan' to anyone you like, my name is Naguhn, not that I'm easy to mistake, and nothing is going to happen for it. What I do support is training people properly, and I know how to do so, which is why I head this school, despite all the bad-mouthing of that slug that I care to spread." All three of them gaped at that, then closed their mouths again more or less slowly. Kelsan's parents hadn't mentioned anything of this sort, but they wouldn't to a toddler. Or maybe the man hadn't been in that position back then. "Now, I don't spread it among the pupils, but the parents should know where I stand." Naguhn pulled a partly written on sheet of cotten closer and picked up an inked quill. He must be very skilled indeed, Kelsan thought, to be able to write that way without having the ink just become blurred smudges on the cloth. But then, he was the head teacher at the school and it seemed only fitting that he would write the way those from the finer districts did if they could do it. Naguhn asked their ages, profession, the age of their children, what tricks Sanja had come up with so far, when the parents would be willing to send her to school, whether to wait another year or two or start straight away, and Kelsan's role in the whole matter. Feras and Marja answered truthfully, giving burglar and caretaker, as caretaker of their apartment and the children, as professions. Kelsan of course stuck to 'thief'. "Back where my people are from, they would hang you both upside down and skin you for taking other peoples' possessions." Naguhn grumbled after filling out the form. "Arentus and his filthy decrees, there's just no sense of community." So much for wondering whether the school's head would get well on with Dayta. Naguhn looked up and at Marja. "You're not too old to learn, you know. We've got a school for adults that you could attend while little Sanja learns to use her skill here." Marja blinked at that. "Yeah. Few people know about that, and fewer want to know. All because no one in his right mind trusts that slug and his intentions. But the institution is the same as here, no hook. If you trust us with your daughter, you can trust them with yourself. You can save half the money for the escort in the morning, too. Their lessons start at the same time and end at noon, because often the pupils there need to work at least half a day. Your burglar man can take his nap in the afternoon and look after your boy in the morning." "I'll think about it." Marja replied slowly, after a pause. "Good." Naguhn nodded. "Now, when and where do you want to have your daughter meet our illustrious oppressor?" They agreed on a time and place, and then rose. Naguhn led them to the door, with a friendly smile for Marja, and frowns at Feras and Kelsan. Firghey waited for them outside. "You do know that he tends to voice unpleasants thoughts about the Shan?" Kelsan asked her, just to be on the safe side, after the door had been closed. Firghey sighed and nodded. "No amount of reporting will do any good. The Shan just won't do anything about it." she said, briefly losing her happy expression. She opened her mouth to say more, but then turned the gesture into her former warm smile. "I'll show you back to the outside, now. No doubt the lucky girl is waiting impatiently for the news." With that, she turned round, and acted true to her words. ** .Kelsan. ____0002____ afternoon hideout "That is our chance!" Dayta burst out after Kelsan finished reporting the events of the morning. "The bastard never comes out of his hole, but now he does, and we know where and when!" "If it were that easy, someone would have not only tried, but succeeded as well." Ranes replied, shaking his head. "No doubt enthusiasts have tried before, and were never heard of again. Call me egoistic, but I'd be rather upset if something happened to you." Dayta pulled a face at him. "You must have slept through your charm lessons. This isn't working." Ranes scowled. "Just because I can take possession of your free will doesn't mean I would ever do it. Not even to prevent you from doing something foolish." "Why can't you just catch Arentus, then?" Ranes fell back onto the bed he sat on, laughing. It was Dayta's turn to scowl. Kelsan sighed. After a while his brother calmed down again. "Maybe you should go there, just to have a look." Ranes said, by all appearences talking to the ceiling. "See for yourself the strength of that guy. Once you actually know what you're up against, you might come up with some real plans. This isn't your only chance, you know. He comes out for all potential pupils, as well as other reasons. It wouldn't be difficult to simply go down into the bunker and walk straight up to him, either." Dayta rose from her chair and sat down next to Ranes, looking down at him. "You're strong, and if not willful then at least very stubborn." "And I'm still just a sandgrain compared to a mountain. And I'm not exaggerating." "That bad?" "How do you think does he keep the entire city plus the farms stable during the earthquakes? Or do you think they're just a myth, just because you haven't experienced the earth moving? My grandparents have, that one was too big for even him to quieten completely. Of course some say he deliberately let that one partially go wild, but that would only mean he's even stronger." "Are you sure that was the same Shan?" Dayta asked. "From what people say, he should barely be old enough to be your father. If he started very early." "Yes. If any of those people you talked to had actually seen him, they'd have told you that he is a lot older than he looks. I wouldn't be surprised to find out he founded the damn city right on this spot just so he could scare people with the earthquakes, and found it he did. Back then perhaps using the quakes as threat against misbehaviour, claiming he could cause them." "Why would people follow him to settle here in the first place, then? The ocean is certainly not a very attractive neighbour." Ranes sat up with a puzzled expression. "Just how much history did they teach you at that private school?" "You mean history as in what that bastard has his teachers spread?" Dayta returned. Ranes waved that off. "There are enough hidden, certifiably very old records if you want to search for them, as well as the same history known in the other cities. Or do you suppose they all agreed on the exact same lie and stuck to it over thousands of years? Even the Shans that don't get on, when there's no danger of their citizens encountering each other because no one would travel through the wilderness?" Anyone but Ranes. Kelsan smiled. Dayta scowled, not liking to admit defeat, but curiosity won over. "So what happened then, according to those agreeable histories?" Ranes smiled at the play on words. "Floods are what happened, and wars, though the histories are unclear on which came first and perhaps the floods were just one way of warfare-" "People raising water with magic?" Dayta asked, incredulous. Ranes nodded. "That's one version. What all versions say is that it was a crazy time, those wanting to unite the tribes against those wanting to be left alone, enraged folks against their chieftains. It was mad and draining. In the end, everyone just wanted to go home and life a life in peace, but no homes were left, and nowhere felt safe, until the Shans errected their protective areas in return for people living by the rules they decided on. Those areas developed into the city states we now know and hate." "And what caused it all?" Ranes shrugged and lay back down. "There are more versions than the night provides time to tell even only half of them. What's more interesting is that the rules changed over the years. They used to be a lot more people-friendly. If you look at the whole picture, it all looks planned from the beginning. As if a bunch of magicians sat down and stuck their heads together several thousand years ago, coming up with a scheme that would give each their little patch to rule as they pleased, with a little patience, and of course knowledge on how to stop ageing. I have no doubt that those we now know as the Shans, Magi Shans in some tongues, played a big part in causing the mayhem that made everyone feel unsafe in the wilderness. They must have been pretty powerful even back then, compared to normal people." "And that's what they teach at Arentus' school? That the bastard planned it all from the start?" Ranes chuckled. "No, they make the Shans look like saviours from madness, of course. You always have to take into account who tells the tale, not just what they tell you." He poked her. "Thieving used to be forbidden, with dire consequences when caught. Not immediately deadly, but deadly nonetheless, by bloodloss or infection, if you didn't know someone with a talent for healing. And those were few and spread far. Not like now, where even Underside has a bunch of good healers that exchange their skill for a few meagre Flats or even no fee. Not few of them went to Arentus' school, too, you know." "You almost sound as if you like that bastard." she accused him. "I just don't like that it all has to be magic, when there's no reason to not make things easier for those without." Ranes said, rising up to his elbows and looking at Kelsan. Kelsan shrugged. "If that means having to deal with your 'copies', I'd rather just leave things as they are." he replied with a smile. "Traitor." Ranes grinned. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to spend some more time, in private, convincing this pretty girl here to not do something foolish when Arentus comes out of his hole." "No problem." Kelsan said, rising. "I wanted to get some more fresh air, anyway." And see whether he couldn't find some trail to Boni's whereabouts. **** -Kaymen- ____0002____ evening bunker "My, you're a skinny lad." Kaymen said, kneeling in front of the boy, hands easily circling his arms, clad in the rags he must have worn for a good part of his life. "That's why they call me Boni." he replied. "Don't you have a proper name?" The boy shook his head enthusiastically. He looked almost normal. If she didn't know the signs too well, and was well paid to ignore them, she could easily think he was just another kid. Fending for himself on the street, but free. She sighed. Being paid was only the first step in securing her loyality. The second was certain to catch, and that was something she much rather avoided even just thinking about. The poor boy needed a proper name. "How do you like the sound of 'Chesen'?" she asked. The boy shrugged. "'S allright." "Chesen it is then." Kaymen decided. "Now, Chesen, let's get you properly cleaned up." she added to a sceptical look from the boy. "You're not smelling too well, you know." She demonstratively wrinkled her nose, grinning. "'S the smell of the street. A fine lady like you wouldn't know." Chesen said, but complied with being undressed. She didn't use the magic that would make one look all warm and welcoming, her honest, friendly manner was enough. Kaymen laughed, pulling what once might have been a shirt up over the boy's head. "Actually, I do know. I wasn't always such a 'fine lady'." At least the boy, Chesen, would be well fed and well dressed now, with a clean place to stay, but if she were asked, she would trade all that for hungry, ragged freedom on the street. Not because after more than ten years those memories were faint, but because life at the whim of a madman was a lot worse than that. Chesen probably didn't realize it yet, surely didn't remember what had really happened. False memories that were only withdrawn as punishment, right now they covered that still. She would be here when they were removed, to give comfort. It was all she could give her children. She was glad, and in a way grateful, that Arentus had relented when he had picked up on her desire, right from her thoughts, to care for the kids in the same situation that she had once been in. Caught off the street and caught for life. "I grew up in Underside until I came to live here, like you do, now." she continued. "You don't look like someone from Underside." Chesen objected. "You won't either, after a few weeks here." "I don't know whether I want to stay that long. I only came here for the meal, but my friends will worry if I don't turn up for that long." "Wouldn't you like a warm meal every day?" "If it's free, my friends would like one, too." "Hm." she grunted. Disagreeing with the idea would draw punishment for her for sure. Agreeing could trap other kids just as surely. Caes poked his head in the door. He gave her the creeps, and knew it, too, but he rescued her from the subject. Fortunately, he had so far refrained from asking favours of the Shan that she couldn't refuse to comply with, though no doubt was he in a position to do so, as well as free. Maybe his tastes went in another direction, though he certainly seemed to have an interest in her ever since she had become caretaker of the kids. "How's our new guest?" he asked, his stare ignoring the boy, and going a lot lower than her face, too. "Getting ready for a proper cleanup." she replied. "Want help?" he asked, actually meeting her eyes this time. "You're a caretaker, now?" Kaymen returned with a slight smile. "I'm a spy." Caes said, stepping inside, standing straight and proud in a parody of a little man wanting to look important. "You're not a very good spy if you go around telling everyone." Chesen pointed out. "Ah, that's what you call double bluff." Caes explained. "But no one thinks you're anything else, no matter what you tell them." Kaymen said. Caes grinned as if he had succeeded at a particularly well thought out and complicated trick. Kaymen rose and walked over to him, turned him round and pushed him out of the door. "Go bother someone else with your mind tricks. Other people have work to do." She knew that Caes would take it with humour, or at least pretend to. She had no idea what he really thought. But the fact that he was allowed to do as he liked meant he was someone better not offended. She closed the door behind him and turned round, smiling at Chesen. "You'll see him sticking his pointy nose in anywhere. Don't even bother trying to figure him out, it'll just put your brain in knots." she said, returning to her task, using magic to clean the dirt and stains off the lad's skin, as well as heal small scratches and bruises, and inspect his teeth to see whether they needed special attention. "Wow. You're a healer." Chesen observed, impressed. Kaymen smiled. "Not really. Once you're taught properly, you should be able to do much better tricks." "You mean I have to go to school?" "Of course. It is important that you know how to use your magic." If the boy had had a better idea of that before, he wouldn't be here in the first place. He certainly had magic strong enough to one day become a cleaner. She told him the last bit. "You mean I could make things disappear?" Chesen asked enthusiastically. "If you study well, sure." Kaymen replied, relieved to have found something that sparked his interest. It would be easier if there was something he liked, something positive to look forward to while dealing with the rest. ** .Kaymen. ____0002____ night girls' bedroom After Chesen had been cleaned, dressed in new clothes, fed, and put to bed for the night, Kaymen had gone back to the girls' bedroom where she would spend hers, taking a leather-bound roll of cloths on obscure uses of magic with her. Arentus was certainly never stingy on educating material for his 'employees'. They could never know too much, as far as he was concerned. As there was no way to get out once they were caught, anything they learned would just improve their ability to serve him. Not much later, while Kaymen was reading, Firghey Cook came in and slumped down on her own bed with a pout. "I had to show some scum from Underside around today, grinning silly all the time. I hope their snotty brat is handed to the guards as soon as she forgets where she is. I didn't sign up for this." She dropped her sandals and massaged her feet. "Yes, you did." Kaymen returned. "You weren't just a child, too hungry to think who offered the food, or unable to probe it. You were old enough and skilled enough to know better. You just didn't think at all." Firghey Cook shot her a dark look, but said no more. That was just as well. Kaymen suspected that much of the motivation for catching Firghey Cook had been spite. No one liked her attitude now, and it was unlikely that she had been any better before. She wasn't paid, either, or allowed any personal belongings. The only thing she could keep without anyone taking it away without causing suspicion was her silly last name, and she fiercely hung on to it. Kaymen could, if she wanted to, now buy a neat house near the hills and employ a whole flock of servants. She just saw little point in doing so, and prefered to stay near the children, while quietly spreading most of her pay out on Underside's streets through paths that she hoped couldn't be traced back to her. Money with any connection to the Shan wasn't trusted. She sometimes wondered whether she was something of a favorite with him, maybe because she never complained and always tried to make the best of the situation. The friendly, sometimes humorous attitude with which she treated the kids, Caes, and most other employees, even the guards, had become second nature to her. It made her feel better to draw joy out of small things in a dire situation wherever she could. Mopping about in self-pity would only make things worse. Firghey Cook suddenly put her sandals back on and rose, smiling at Kaymen as if she had just had a splendid idea. "The day was long and dreary. I'm going to have some fun. Want to come along?" she asked. Kaymen lifted the sheets of cloth she had been reading and shook her head. "Studying is more important than fun." Not that Firghey Cook would have any, not with someone else steering her movements, speaking her words, unnoticable to any but an experienced eye. "Good night then. Sweet dreams." Firghey Cook shot her a last smile, waving as she left. Kaymen watched her vanishing down the hallway, then resumed her reading. The silly girl, five years her elder, would never learn. She could think what she liked, but openly complaining only brought punishment. Though telling Firghey Cook that she had caused her situation by being trapped in her own pride was apparently allowed. **** -Kelsan- ____0004____ day restaurant