The magical catalyst glowed and continued to grow warmer in my hand.

Little lights of different colors emerged within the orb of glass, and although I was worried over what it was doing... I was also fascinated by it.

It was beautiful, and strangely mesmerizing.

“Good colors. Seems you're healthy,” Kana said, studying the glass orb's contents.

“It can tell that easily?” I asked.

“Yep. It can't tell us what exactly is wrong, but if you were sick or diseased it would let us know. None of those colors are there though, you have very healthy colors,” the healer woman said, and took the orb from my hand.

“Magic isn't all powerful after all,” the large woman nearby said.

Rubbing my hands together, I noticed that the warmth from the catalyst had lingered. Magic felt weird.

“I would have loved one of those,” I said.

“Oh... Your people didn't have any medical catalysts?” the healer asked me, and I noticed the way she spoke. She had interpreted my words as me being forlorn over not being able to save people.

“I'm a healer as well. It would have made my job easier,” I explained.

“Huh? You're a doctor?” the large woman asked, stepping closer.

“Nothing compared to Kana, but yes,” I said.

The two women looked to one another, and then laughed at me.

Although a little embarrassing, I didn't let it bother me. It was true after all... there was no way I was anything compared to her, especially since she had such magic at her disposal.

“You don't fit at all!” Kana said, laughing as she went to put the glass orb away.

“Fit? It fits fine...” I said, looking down to my new set of clothes. They had provided it, supposedly at the request of the Lord of the Line.

It wasn't as fancy as the dress I had been wearing, but it was still far cleaner and nicer than anything I usually wore.

Far nicer than anything the House of Derri possessed… maybe even any House.

I now looked like one of them, and it was a strange thing to see.

“Huh? Oh I meant Noth. You don't fit him,” Kana said from her nearby desk.

Frowning at her words, I wondered what she meant by that. “So in your House, healers are lower as well? Must be like that everywhere then,” I said softly, somewhat sad over it.

“Lower? You mean as in status? No... By no means. She means he's unsuited for you. You're educated, and your profession is a proper one, unlike him,” the large woman explained.

I didn't know what to say to that, let alone what they were actually trying to imply. Maybe it was just a culture thing.

Surely the Lord of such a powerful Line was as proper of a status as one could attain? What could possibly be higher...?

After a few moments I decided to just let it be. For all I knew they were simply making me the topic of their teasing.

“Well... you're healthy, and you've changed and bathed. You can go back,” Kana said from her desk, writing on something.

Did she have one of those neat pens as well? The one I had taken from the Lord's office was firmly hidden in the waist of my clothing, but there was no way such tools were common and everywhere... even if this was a Line.

Right...?

“I stunk that bad, you think?” I asked, standing from my seat.

“Hm? No I don't think so, why?” Sarley asked.

“For him to order me to bathe and change...” I said, looking up to the large woman.

She smiled, and her chuckling reminded me of Jamthi. Were all of them like this?

“It's just protocol. You clean wounds before you tend to them right? It's the same thing,” Kana said from the other side of the room.

“Ah. I see, you were worried I was carrying diseases.”

That made a lot more sense, and relieved me.

I hadn't really cared if I had smelled bad... but it had worried me that they were cleaning and dressing me for something else... something sinister, or unkind.

After all, I was now in a way his possession. Practically a slave. It wouldn't be that surprising if I had to not only act like his wife in front of others, but in the bedroom as well.

“I'll take her back. Thanks Kana,” Sarley said with a wave.

Kana said nothing back as Sarley led me out of the room, and I followed her down the many bright hallways.

We had walked quite a distance from the original office of the Lord. It had taken us quite awhile, especially since the two women had gossiped and queried me with many questions.

Most of the questions had been harmless... but they were also strange.

Their many questions concerning what I thought of Noth, or his appearance, had been foolish. What was there to think? At the moment he was my supposed husband... there was nothing else to think.

“Is my husband married?” I asked as we walked.

The large woman suddenly stumbled, nearly tripping on her own feet. She had to catch herself on the wall, and it was shocking to see such a woman fall in such a way.

“Are you alright?” I asked, worried. If someone as big as her fell, it would probably hurt.

“I'm fine!” she laughed, quickly gathering herself. “Noth is not married, no. Or well, yes? To you?” she spoke hastily, through fits of laughter.

The way she laughed made me smile, since it was so pure. I couldn't quite tell why it was so humorous, but she found it absolutely hilarious... and that made me find it funny as well.

“Was just wondering if I should apologize to anyone, while this goes on,” I said.

“Ah... you're fine. We all understand. In fact we love it, please keep it up,” she said as she went up a stairwell.

Following her upward, I was once again amazed at how many floors this place possessed.

When we had descended originally, it had almost felt nauseating... We had gone down so many floors that I wondered if somehow, maybe, we had gone into the earth and sand itself.

Going under sand wasn't a smart thing to do... Sand buried you faster than anything. And was cruel enough to keep you buried.

But there was no way we were going into the earth, since after all the Line floated over it a little. Unless there was some strange magic that allowed one to do so.

Climbing however was not as bad as descending. If anything it felt relieving. It made me feel as if any of the next floors would reveal the sun, and it was a comforting thought.

“Married,” Sarley mumbled, snickering to herself.

Still laughing over it? Maybe I had said something foolish.

“The elders are there I think. Though I'm not sure who they are, or what House they belong to. Are you going to be okay with them, or would you rather wait until they leave?” Sarley asked as we left the stairwell and headed down a familiar hallway.

“If they're there, I need to see them. I'm to show myself with your Lord as much as possible, especially in front of other Houses,” I said.

“Ah. Alright then. Want me to stay with you?” she asked.

“Hm? No, it is alright?” I said, while also asking myself the same question. Was there a purpose in her staying with me...? Or was I supposed to give her permission? Maybe she couldn't enter the Lord's office without such a permission being given...

“Aw,” she groaned, but said nothing more as we neared the office door.

She was disappointed?

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Sarley knocked on the large door, and I was glad she did so. The large metal door was probably too heavy for me to open leisurely. I could barely open the decrepit wooden ones back at the House of Derri.

“Enter!” I heard Jamthi shout.

Sarley opened the door, but didn't enter the room. Instead she smiled to me, and allowed me to enter.

I thanked her, and noticed the strange way she stared at me and the room as she closed the door. She had done so slowly, as if she had wanted to study it for as long as possible.

Oh... maybe she had wanted to meet the elders, and I had just made it impossible for her? Maybe I had been rude by not asking for her to stay with me...

“Welcome back, young lady,” Jamthi greeted me, and I noticed he was sitting to the right of Noth's desk, and he had a pleasant smile on.

Sitting in a small row before the desk, were three elders. Two of which I recognized, and one of them was just as shocked to see me as I was him.

“Telleya?” Bormor asked, his voice cracking as if he had been shouting.

With Bormor's statement, the other two elders turned in their seats to look at me. I took the opportunity to perform a small and proper bow, but not too lowly.

After all, I was now the wife of a Line owner... not a simple daughter of Derri.

“Greetings, Bormor. And you the elders of the House of Hombil. I am Telleya, of the House of Derri,” I said to them.

Bormor's eyes dug into me with a strange look as I rounded the three elders and approached the Lord of the Line, the man who was supposed to be my husband.

“May I join you, husband?” I asked him.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jamthi smile and I had to force myself from smiling alongside him.

“You may,” Noth said. His voice just as stoic as his face, as if he had no emotion at all.

He must be angry... not that I could blame him.

I rounded the large desk, and with all eyes on me I went and stood to Noth's right. I did my best to ignore his strange glare, and Jamthi's barely hidden laughter.

“Nervi, this is Telleya. I've known her since she was but a child,” Bormor said, and I noticed the strange tone in his voice.

He was shocked.

“I see. To be honest, Lord Noth... I had not believed it,” Nervi said as she studied me.

“It's as you see. A fulfillment of a long ago pact between my House and theirs. Not that uncommon, I'm sure,” Noth said calmly.

“Indeed... it does indeed occur,” Bormor said, his eyes still on me.

Although I was standing still, and looking as collected as I could... I was far from it.

These three were the epitome of power. They represented the wealthiest House in the city, and the largest of numbers. I've known Bormor for a long time, but I had myself never met this Nervi, nor the man who sat in-between them.

Out of everyone I had to prove myself to... these three were the most important.

If they didn't believe this was real, then this plan would fail. And I would be blamed.

And if I'm blamed, the House of Derri would resort to even the most underhanded of methods...

“So... you come to our city, for this? Why then did you not say so upon your arrival? Did we warrant such little respect, that you wouldn't even tell us?” Bormor asked the Lord Noth.

I shifted at his words, and was somewhat startled by the man before me. Bormor all my life had been a gentle old man, if a little brunt. Yet now he was nearly spitting in anger, and glaring at me as if I was an enemy.

Maybe I was.

“Actually, I made it clear upon my arrival I wished to meet with the House of Derri, and that I had a previous arrangement with them,” Noth said.

“You had said it was a simple personal matter, not that you came to retrieve a bride!” Bormor shouted.

With his shout... I realized I had just lost his trust and his compassion.

No longer was I the little Derri girl whom he occasionally offered his kindness... now I was a prominent enemy of another House.

It was somewhat painful to realize this... but I couldn't outright blame him.

After all, that's what I was now.

“I fail to comprehend how a bride is not a personal matter?” Noth asked not just the elders, but even me and Jamthi.

“It is pretty personal,” Jamthi agreed, unafraid to join in on the conversation.

I was not as brave as them, so I remained silent as Bormor shook his head, looking as if he was about to stand and yell and protest.

“Please, elders. I have invited you here, not to insult or cause disputes but to imitate trade. Real trade, between us and your House. What is the problem?” Noth asked.

“Trade? After you parade all that wealth and fortune through our streets! To the House of Derri no less? What are we to trade for? Their scraps?” Bormor shouted, standing.

“Lord Bormor I believe I've told you before that we possess more than enough to trade evenly. We've had this conversation before, and your continued complaints are quite unsettling,” Noth spoke evenly, unaffected by Bormor's shouts.

“Bormor, please,” Nervi started, but Bormor flung a hand through the air to silence her. It was an act that was common amongst men who believed themselves to be far above the woman they were silencing.

“No! I'll not put up with this. Neither will any other House! You've insulted us, Linesman, and your people and Line are the brunt of the insult! Your own people marched goods through the city; I saw it with my own eyes! You filled their stores to the brink, and did so without any approval! Your Line is as coarse as the sands it rode in on!”

I wanted to step back a little... to put Noth's chair in-between me and the raging man. But I couldn't get my feet to move. I was frozen in place. I felt as if the man's anger was directed entirely at me, even though he was pointing at Noth. It didn't help that he had gone a deep red in the face. His sunburned skin barely hid any of it, and he seemed to growing even angrier.

“Bormor!” the other male elder tried to stand, but Bormor didn't pay him any attention. He only stepped closer to the desk, slamming his fist down upon it with rage.

The act could have been seen as the initiative action to hostilities... and the other elders knew it. Nervi and the other man stared at Bormor in pure terror, and their faces had lost all color.

“Our House is the wealthiest! And we deserve to be treated with proper respect! Each day, and all night, I've watched your Line and your people! You parade about, scattering the sands, unknowing of your place, and,” Bormor's voice rose even higher, and I couldn't take my eyes off him. I had never seen him so angry, nor had I thought it possible.

Was this even the same Bormor that I've known all these years?

“Enough!” Noth’s shout interrupted Bormor's tirade, and suddenly the world shook.

Shocked by both his outburst, and the sudden shaking of the floor, I yelped and grabbed onto the side of his chair for support.

A strange rumbling sound resonated throughout the room, as if the metal itself had begun to scream. It wasn't just loud, it shook me to the core... it was as if the sound itself was tickling my bones.

“This is a matter between the House of Derri and myself. A private affair. A personal matter. I am more than happy, and willing, to trade with all of you and plan to do so! But I will not tolerate any insults to my Line, or my people, least of all within my very halls!” Noth's voice raised alongside his body, somehow able to stand even when the rest of us had nearly been brought to our knees.

How I could so clearly hear him was strange, how did his voice carry over the loud shaking?

I didn't have the time to ponder such a thing, nor was I able to even figure out what to do next. Just as quickly as the shaking appeared, it left.

The shaking quickly subsided, and I found myself on one knee and clinging to the armrest of his chair. A layer of strange sweat covered my body, and I felt exhausted... as if I had just ran through the hot desert.

A man coughed, and I recognized the sound. It came from Jamthi. “My Commander apologizes, and means no insult. Please understand that he is newly-wed, and his emotions are prickly from the occasion,” Jamthi said with a calmness unfitting of the moment.

Slowly standing, I kept my hands on the chair just in case the shaking returned.

Like me, the other elders had fallen to the floor. Bormor's chair had even fallen over, and the three of them were looking around in pure panic.

Only Noth and Jamthi looked calm and collected, staring down at three elders with an uneasy stare.

“It's alright; nothing dangerous is happening, nor will. I apologize for the Line's shaking, the Front-Line acts up occasionally,” Noth then said, his voice suddenly becoming quite normal.

He no longer sounded angry, or annoyed. In fact he now sounded... almost pleasant.

“Why did it shake?” Nervi asked, her strained voice making it sound as if she had hurt herself in the fall.

Maybe she had.

It took me a second to steady my feat, but once I did I quickly rounded the desk as to help the elder woman up. She more than welcomed the assistance, and I noticed the slight shaking that encompassed her body in the process.

Old age, or terror, I couldn't tell... but something told me it was both.

“Thank you dear,” she said once she got back to her seat.

“All Line's occasionally shake... sometimes the magic just becomes unruly. I apologize, but don't worry, it is perfectly fine. There is nothing to be weary of,” Jamthi said.

I didn't need to assist Bormor or the other elder. The two men quickly composed themselves and righted their chairs. To save face, or maybe too scared to do anything else.

All of the red rage that had built up in Bormor had been extinguished, and the strange difference somehow made him look years older. He almost looked sickly now.

“I promised you, all of your Houses, that I would trade with you. And I shall. The goods I have given the House of Derri, were but small gifts to my new wife's House,” Noth said, gesturing to me.

All three of the elder's eyes focused on me, and I did my best to not let them see my own sweat and concern.

“Although I have taken a wife from the House of Derri, I myself cannot be controlled by them. I shall fulfill my promise, I always do. We shall trade, and you will be more than pleased with the results,” Noth's voice somehow became even softer, as if he was speaking to a child who had just got done crying.

Noth leaned forward, placing his hands on his desk and suddenly appeared gentle... and I wondered how much of it was an act, and how much of it wasn't.

“Elders, please. Allow me to showcase just how unwarranted your concerns are. I shall send the three of you home with gifts, and just a taste of what we shall offer in trade. Let all see and know that we, the Front-Line, are friends of the House of Hombil, and will more than happily trade with you,” Noth said with a pleasant smile.

The smile was somehow scarier than his earlier outburst, but I kept such a thought to myself as the three elders looked to one another.

“We could ask for no greater gift, Lord Noth. We are eternally grateful, and shall more than welcome trade with you and yours,” Nervi said to him.

Noth nodded, and waved to Jamthi. As he did so, the office door opened behind us.

“My people will begin immediately. Please comply with their needs, as they shall with yours. If you have any more concerns, my quartermaster will address them,” Noth explained.

Even these elders recognized such a blatant a dismissal, and quickly complied with it. All three stood, and gave Noth respective bows.

“May the Sands rest easy upon you,” Bormor said, and then with a glance to me he turned and left.

The two others followed, and I was left standing by the chairs as they left the room. While they parted, I gave them a small bow. I doubted that they had noticed, but it was still proper.

Watching the three elders go, I stayed still with my head bowed. Chances were showing such fealty to them as the supposed wife of Noth was an insult to him and his Line, but at the same time...

I was still a daughter of Derri. The last thing I needed was to antagonize the most powerful people in the whole city.

Right as I raised my head, I watched as the door to the office slammed shut all on its own.