If I kept busy, I'd not be able to think about my horrible luck.

At least, that's what I told myself as I cleaned up the banquet's leftovers.

Passing a large barrel, the smell of it made me glad that I wasn't strong enough to lift it. Otherwise I might have been the one chosen to carry it out and clean it.

I hated that smell.

“Wonder what they're eating right now...” Marli's envious voice drew my attention to her, and the rest of the children gathering up the plates and scraps alongside her.

“Probably wonderful things,” one of the boys said.

So wonderful that he couldn't even think of a name for them, huh?

“It could be dangerous,” another said.

“Ha! Dangerous. I heard some Markith soldiers talking, and supposedly if that Line wanted to conquer us, they could do it in the time it takes for sand to get hot. People that live near the thing say they can see the magic radiating from it even during the day,” one of the older women said.

The news made me pause in my gathering of cups, and I hoped to hear more... but Marli and the rest of the children instead chose to start talking about what kind of animals the elders were most likely eating.

Carrying the dirty cups into the kitchen, I silently went to cleaning them.

Although I hated the smell of the wine stained cups, I did enjoy cleaning them. Since after all, for once in my life I didn't need to do so with sand.

Just like the banquet, and the barrel of wine that had come from the Line, our kitchens were also full of things not normally found within.

Lots of clean water, was the most notable of new additions.

The great tub I and two other women were using was full of water. Not just any water either, but soapy water.

Just like Bormor's baths.

Except here, in the House of Derri.

“Stop it!” one of the women shrieked, as another splashed her with water.

The happy laughter that erupted as the many women began splashing each other was thunderous. And I couldn't avoid any of it.

Getting drenched wasn't that big of a problem, in fact it was welcoming in the day's heat, but the laughter was one thing I couldn't stand.

It made me sick to my stomach.

So sick, that I actually had to leave.

I barely made it far enough out of the building before releasing the contents of my stomach. Unluckily, I had just eaten.

Luckily, I was still covered in enough water to easily clean my mouth off.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“Derri,” I cursed, and hated the sound of it.

At least no one had followed, and no one seemed to have noticed.

From within the building, I could still hear the sound of happy laughter and voices. And even past them, somewhere else in the building, I could hear the sound of men as they happily talked of their newfound hope... of their newfound wealth.

For a long moment I considered going back in, to return to my duties... but I realized I didn't need to.

No one would notice.

The elders were gone, as were most of the guards...

And the rest who were left, were either drunk on wine or stupor from our new found wealth.

No one would notice me.

With heavy eyes, I looked to the nearby wall... the one that rounded the entirety of the Derri complex. Like most walls that protected Houses, it was large... too large to scale. At least not on my own, without assistance.

But... if there was no one guarding the exit... then...

Then what?

Where would I go?

There was nowhere in this city I could hide.

And the wall surrounding the city itself wasn't something I wanted to pass either. Nothing was beyond that but sand.

At least, nothing I could reach with my own two legs.

With a heavy sigh, I felt the squirm of my stomach again.

I wasn't actually sick, as a healer I knew full well that there was nothing physically wrong with me.

I hadn't eaten rotten food. Nor had I drunk tainted water.

No...

I had simply done the one thing that I vowed never to do.

I had helped the House of Derri.

Even though it hadn't been willingly... my body didn't seem to care. My heart didn't see the difference.

With heavy feet, I walked over to a hidden wall. One not near any doors, or windows. One that I could sit back against and not be seen... at least for awhile.

The hot sun, like always, didn't care that I wasn't feeling good. If anything it seemed to relish in my pain, and became even hotter.

It didn't take long for my body to dry, and it didn't take much longer for sweat to wet it again.

“A bride...” I whispered, staring at the sands around me.

To who? One of the men, surely... but why?

A sign of power? To show off to the other Houses that our house, the House of Derri, was whole again?

Just like that great banquet we just had last night... one where every member, even the lowest and youngest, had been allowed to eat and drink their full.

It wasn't out of magnanimity or kindness... nor was it because they finally could.

It was to show that the House of Derri was once again a proper House.

A house capable of feeding its children. A house capable of caring for its young, and nourishing them into sons and daughters worthy of the House's name.

That was probably all they wanted from me.

To show off a wedding of importance. To put on a giant play, for the entire city to see.

So every grain of sand could see that the House of Derri was back on top.

Covering my face, I refused to allow a cry to escape as I sobbed.

I kept quiet, and I was good at it. Every child of the House of Derri knew how to cry silently.

We all did.

But that was why this time it was so hard...

Because I was now a pawn. Now I was one of the reasons that such a thing would continue.

The House of Derri would return to its prosperous state... it would rise back up into the ranks, rejoining the top Houses.

And it would be my name that they would associate with it.

The House of Derri was now truly my house.

My house.

My sin.