Chapter 14:

Finally! It was off day! It was finally off day! Thank the rock-god, Mayah’d thought it would never come. She was so sick of painting badly. Yesterday Shanti had told her that after the off day they would switch to dancing and Mayah wasn’t even nervous about that, that was how tired she was of painting terribly. Right now, in fact, all she felt was excited. Today was off day! Today was the day she and Oshta were going to the library!

Mayah was up and out of bed as soon as the electric lights flickered on. The daysclock was blinking HOUR 1-21 :: DARKWAKE. “Wake up,” she whispered. “Oshta, come on, let’s go.”

“Mmm.”

“It’s off day!”

Oshta yawned. “I’m tired.”

“Come on, you said you’d go with me to the library.”

For a second Mayah was afraid that Oshta would say no, never mind, I’m not going, you go by yourself. Technically Mayah knew the castle better now, so she could maybe show her papers at an elevator and make her way alone to Zone 17, where the library was. But Mayah didn’t just want to do research. She also wanted to make friends with Oshta! And how could she do that if Oshta didn’t come?

But then Oshta yawned again and sat up. “Okay, okay, I’m awake.”

“Where are you going?” Shanti called out from her bunk above Oshta’s.

“To the library,” Mayah said. She made sure not to say anything else. Short answers were best with Shanti; otherwise she’d find a way to find something wrong with what they were doing. And even short answers didn’t work sometimes. Yep, there was Shanti hanging over the edge of the bed, frowning. “I guess that’s okay, but only if you’re going to the library to read about the Eternal Queen Sarana.”

“You shouldn’t hang over the edge of the bed,” Mayah replied. “What if you fall and get hurt?”

Shanti pulled back right away. She seemed upset, but she didn’t say anything. Mayah was glad for that at least. When Qat had told Mayah that Shanti was bossy, way back when Mayah first came, Mayah hadn’t understood that she meant Shanti was really really bossy. The only thing that worked was to boss her back. At any rate, it seemed like bossing each other around was what Rajas did all the time anyway.

Oshta was still yawning when they left the dorm. Mayah had to lead her towards the lift. Two levels down to the cafeteria floor, to eat breakfast super quick, and then another level down to where the elevators were. When they got closer to the elevator bay, though, Mayah slowed down and let Oshta go in front of her. “You first,” she said to Oshta. “I have to get my papers out.”

It was the first time Mayah’d gone into an elevator since she’d come to the castle. She was a Rajas now, and she knew the Eenta soldiers guarding the bay wouldn’t hurt her. The Eenta soldiers she’d seen since had been really nice to her, actually. But Mayah still didn’t want to go up to them first. She didn’t want to go up to them second, either, but if she wanted to go to the library, she had to. Trying hard to breathe like a normal person, Mayah gave the soldiers her papers. She had to look up so they could check her face against the cameragram but at least that meant she didn’t have to look at the big spear one of them was holding, just like the one that had hurt Sukren…

She let out a big breath when she and Oshta were finally in the elevator. There were some other people there, too, a regent and two doctor-priests, as well as two senior Rajas. The Rajas were kissing; Oshta stared openly at them. Mayah tried not to make a face. “Come on, let’s sit down,” she said to Oshta, pointing to the velvet-lined bench alongside the wall. It took about six tugs before Oshta actually sat down. Then, after they were both seated, Mayah noticed the regent looking at them.

“Where are you two headed so early in the morning?” he asked.

Mayah looked at Oshta. “We’re going to the library,” Oshta said.

The regent blinked. “That’s a three-hour trip, you know that?”

Mayah shrugged. Regents confused her. They weren’t servies, but it still wasn’t okay to talk to them too much, and sometimes you had to listen to them, but they couldn’t do anything to you. And Mayah wasn’t even sure what they did. They seemed kind of on the same level as doctor-priests, but doctor-priests helped sick people, while regents, well, they did a whole bunch of things from sitting at desks to taking cameragrams to teaching classes. It was one more thing for Mayah to figure out at the library. She had a whole list!

The regent didn’t say anything more. Mayah started to get bored. Oshta was still just staring and staring at the senior Rajas. Maybe Mayah should try to talk to her? But Oshta didn’t seem to want to talk. And Mayah didn’t really have anything to say either. She yawned, got up and got some water, then sat back down. The elevator doors opened, then closed, then opened again, then closed again, over and over. Mayah began singing a village song in her head. The rice is in, the rice is in! What was the next part? Mayah couldn’t remember. The rice is in, the rice is in!

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When the elevator doors opened to Zone 17, Mayah ran out. She stopped at once, her eyes wide. “It’s so beautiful!” she cried out. She almost said Sukren’s name before remembering that it was Oshta who was with her. “Oshta, it’s so beautiful! Look at the shelves – they’re growing out of the floor! And the carpeting, it’s so colorful, it’s like every color is here! And the lights are so pretty!”

It was like looking into the night sky, except even more vibrant. The shelves were made of dark wood, almost black, and the rugs everywhere were red and yellow and purple and green and blue, and she could feel under her flex-soled shoes how soft they were, and the lights inside the hanging lanterns looked almost like real fire, just like in the village, just like Mayah had always grown up with, just like it!

Mayah’s heart was pounding. It hurt almost, looking at those lights, but that was weird, why would it hurt? Why was Mayah thinking about the village now? Why was she thinking about Ajante and Beia? Oh rock-god, she missed them so much, she missed all of them, all of it, she missed it so much!

“I guess it’s pretty,” Oshta said from somewhere behind her. Mayah heard the princess yawn. “Well, we’re here now, what do you want to look at?”

As fast as she could, Mayah rubbed the tears out of her eyes. She was here to make friends, she couldn’t forget that, that was the point. “Let’s go find out which Houseparty I went to. And – can you also maybe show me where some books about the castle are?”

Oshta shrugged. “I don’t know how to find books. We’d have to ask a regent for that.”

“Okay,” Mayah said. Oshta seemed kind of upset. Maybe Mayah shouldn’t bother her for a while. “Let’s just go in.”

Together they went down the aisle between the first few shelves. It opened up into a huge circular lounge with hanging chairs and sack-seats. To the right of the lounge, oh, was that a tea-nook? Yes it was! With tables and chairs and senior Rajas sitting and talking and drinking tea and eating something creamy and puffy. Oshta made her way towards it and sat down at an empty table. Mayah followed, a little anxious that Oshta might be mad at her.

Or maybe Oshta was just nervous herself. She kept looking around like she felt guilty about something. “This place is only for senior Rajas,” she whispered to Mayah.

“Let’s pretend we are,” Mayah whispered back. When Oshta grinned in response, Mayah felt better. Mayah could find her books later. She really didn’t want Oshta to be mad at her. Mayah waved her hand at a servie standing in the corner with a tray of tea. She held her breath. Was he going to ask for their papers? No, he was giving them tea! As if they were senior princesses! Oshta looked so happy picking up her teacup. That made Mayah feel happy too. It was a lot of fun giggling and drinking tea and the best part was that Oshta seemed like she really liked Mayah now.

“Just try harder!”

Mayah froze. She could see Oshta had stopped moving too. Then at the same time, both of them looked at the lounge where the shout had come from. It had been empty before but now there were a bunch of Rajas in it. There was a princess pointing her finger in another princess’ face. Other princes and princesses were gathered around them. They all looked like junior Rajas to Mayah because their clothes were like Mayah’s – senior Rajas wore much prettier clothes that fit them better – but Mayah could tell they were a little older than she was.

“What’s going on?” she whispered to Oshta.

Oshta didn’t say anything. Her eyes were wide. She looked really scared which made Mayah scared too. Even the senior Rajas around them were glancing over at the princesses and princes in the lounge.

“I am trying, I promise!” The princess in the middle was crying. “I can’t help it, I can’t!”

“You’re fifteen,” the first princess, the one who had shouted was saying. One of the princes started jeering. “You should have your cycle by now. If you don’t, it’s because you’re not trying to keep your purity levels up. You aren’t eating right, you aren’t doing your exercises.”

“But I am! I am!”

“No, I don’t think you care. I think time in the box is what you need.”

“No! Please!”

“Look, we have to keep ourselves pure, or you know what will happen!” The first princess gestured around at the gathered mob. “Isn’t that right?”

Their cry of assent roared through the library. Mayah’s hands were shaking. She managed to grab Oshta and pull her down so that they were on the floor underneath the table. Oshta’s eyes were still wide. Mayah tugged on her arm. They crawled away from the lounge to the other side of the tea-nook. From there they followed the wall to the shelves further into the library. Mayah didn’t know where she was going, but she knew she had to get away from those shouts and – and that wail – oh rock-god –

Holy Sarana, she meant. She meant holy Sarana. Holy Sarana, holy Sarana, holy Sarana. That’s what she meant.

“Let’s shut up about it,” Oshta was mumbling over and over again. “Let’s shut up about it. Let’s shut up about it. Let’s shut up about it. Let’s shut up about it!”