They reached Anita’s apartments without further incident. Anita gave the guard on the doors clear instructions not to disturb them and closed the doors.

This was the first time Akna had ever seen inside an Arnorin noble’s personal living space. It was huge. She knew the palace was big, and she’d seen many of the large rooms in it, but somehow she had expected personal quarters to be...not small, she supposed, but not so big. Something bigger than the guest room she was staying in, but not much. This room was six or more of Akna’s rooms put together.

Only then did she realise this was just the sitting area. There was no bed or wardrobe. Anita’s use of the term apartments was plural for a reason. This was only one of several rooms. Multiple doors led from it to other areas.

Anita strode past Akna towards a fireplace with a blazing fire. A servant came over to her and curtsied. “Please give us privacy.”

The servant curtsied again and went through one of the other doors.

Anita turned to face Akna. “You can come in farther, you know.”

Akna took a couple more steps into the room. “It’s so big.”

“I suppose it is. You should see my father’s apartments.” She gestured to a large, thick rug on the floor in front of the fireplace. “You said you needed floor space.”

With a nod, Akna walked over to her.

“I figure the rug will be warmer than bare floor,” Anita said. “Though if you need bare floor, we can move over there.” She gestured to the other side of the room, where several chairs and couches were arranged. “We can move things out of the way if you need.”

Akna shrugged. “This should be fine.” She sat on the rug and crossed her legs. With the fire burning nearby, it was warm like Anita had suggested, and much more comfortable than most other places in the palace. “I don’t really know a lot about meditating. The priests in Ninifin encourage meditation, but I never really took to it. All I know is what I read yesterday recommended a floor instead of a chair. But the rug is nice.”

“Good.” Anita smiled broadly, and tried to sit in front of Akna. Her smile soon turned to a look of strain as her skirts got in the way and she nearly fell over.

Akna stifled a laugh. “Do you need any help?”

“No, I’m fine.” Anita continued to struggle for several seconds. At last, she managed to lower herself to the floor and sit, her skirts splayed out around her. “They’re not really made for anything more than sitting in a chair or squatting. Sitting on the floor is very...undignified for a lady.”

Akna couldn’t contain her laughter any longer.

Anita’s cheeks dimpled and reddened. “Be nice.”

It took Akna a moment to get her laughter under control. “You want me to wear one of those?”

“I’m just not accustomed to siting on the floor.” Anita patted her skirts, trying to flatten them down. “Honestly, I don’t know how you go around in such a short skirt. And just the one. Don’t your legs freeze?”

“No.” That was a lie. Her legs got cold a lot in this place.

“Really? How remarkable. Still, you realise your bare legs are what scandalise most of my family, don’t you?”

Akna shrugged. “I need the mobility. I’d never be able to fight in one of those things.”

Anita blinked. “That would be because you’re not actually supposed to fight in them.”

“You never know when you might need to fight. They can happen without warning.”

“They never happen to me.” Anita broke into laughter. “I have the strangest conversations with you, Akna.” She paused. “Akna. I like calling you that.”

Akna smiled.

“Should we get started?” Anita asked.

Akna nodded and removed the necklace. She held it in her hand, separated the larger bead at the centre from the one beside it, and took a deep breath.

Anita patted down more of her skirts. “What are you doing with the necklace?”

“Counting.”

Anita gave her a blank look.

“Something like that. The idea is I’m supposed to say a bunch of mantras as part of my meditation and I use the beads to count them. Something like that. Now that I sit down to do it, I’m forgetting half of what I read.”

“Just take your time. I’m sure it will come back to you.”

Akna sighed and closed her eyes, did her best to ignore the image of Chica. “I suppose I’ll start with some prayers to Ninussa. I think I remember a couple the priests taught us in the Youth Guard.”

“Ninussa?”

“Queen of the gods.”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Anita giggled. “Nonsense. All-Father is king of the gods. There’s no Ninussa.”

Akna opened her eyes. “Your religion isn’t the only one, you know?”

Anita gave her another blank look. “I don’t understand.”

“Different places have different beliefs.”

“How is that possible? The gods are the gods. They’re not going to change because the place is different. The gods are everywhere and all powerful.”

Akna shook her head. “Never mind.” She held back the desire to admonish Anita, remembering how much she had thought she’d known about the world when she first left Ninifin and how wrong she’d been about most of it. It was kind of endearing to see the same naïveté in someone else.

“You are ever so strange, Akna.”

“Perhaps.” She closed her eyes again. “Now, just watch to see if anything happens.”

“Should I say anything if it does or wait?”

Akna though for a moment. “Wait. Saying something might ruin the effect, and you might miss some of it.”

“All right then.”

Akna took a deep breath, then began to recite a prayer to Ninussa in her head. It had been the first one she’d learnt upon joining the Youth Guard, and was short and simple.

Grant me strength, Ninussa,

Strength of body and mind,

Grant me strength to protect the Queen

And those under my charge.

Grant me strength.

She slid the first small bead over to touch the larger bead.

It didn’t take long to go through all the prayers she knew, and there were still dozens of beads left on the necklace. So she went back to the first and repeated them all. Staying focused and concentrated was a lot harder than Felitïa made it look. Felitïa meditated every day and made it look like a breeze—except, of course, when the Staff was bothering her, but that was different. Felitïa managed to ignore all the other distractions that Akna found she just couldn’t. The crackle of the fire. Anita shifting positions and patting her skirts down. Anita lightly clearing her throat. The warmth of the fire against Akna’s skin. The tickling of the hairs of the rug on her legs. All the kinds of things she had been trained to pay attention to, so she could be alert to dangers. How was she supposed to ignore them now?

“You never did pay much attention, did you?” Inhuan said.

As always, images of her dead friends flashed through her head while she kept her eyes closed. Though they didn’t usually speak to her. Presumably, it was a product of her distracted mind distracting herself even more, her sleep deprivation getting to her even more. Or it was something like with Chica.

Inhuan lay on the ground, her body pierced by spears. “The point isn’t to ignore them. The point is to let them all in. Experience everything.”

As Akna thought about it, that was what she’d been taught years ago. It was nice of the images to give her advice and remind her of that—nice of her own mind, she supposed.

Chica walked up to her. For a change, her face didn’t explode. Instead, she looked at Akna with sad eyes. Akna couldn’t say exactly where they were. She was still sitting on the fur rug. She could feel it. Yet Chica had walked up to her and their heads were...not level, but at exactly the difference they were always at when standing due to Akna’s three extra inches of height.

“You haven’t tried to find me. Why?”

“Find you?”

“I asked you to find me. Remember?”

She remembered. She still didn’t fully understand it, but it had to have been her mind playing tricks on her.

“Stop using that as an excuse!” Chica snapped. “Just because you’re tired doesn’t mean you’ll hallucinate like that. You saw me, remember?”

Akna blinked several times—except she never opened her eyes. “But that...I mean… That was Felitïa. She said—”

“Felitïa has no idea what she’s talking about. Stop listening to her. Look what happened to me as a result.” The spear burst through her face, spraying blood, bone, and viscera over Akna.

Akna stumbled back several steps, still seated and motionless. “But that’s the point! You died! How can I find you when you’re dead? Where are you?”

“I’m right here, Akna.” Her face had gone back to normal. “In front of you. Can’t you see me?”

Akna merely nodded.

“So what are you going to do?”

“I...I’m not sure.”

Chica was several feet away from her now and getting farther away, though neither of them was moving. “Oh wake up, Akna! Stop putting so much trust in Felitïa and start thinking for yourself!”

Akna’s lips quivered. “I...I will.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“Find you and go to you.”

Chica smiled. That wonderful, dimpled smile of hers. “Then come to me.”

Akna ran towards her, threw her arms around her. “I’ve missed you, Chica.” She grabbed the back of Chica’s head and kissed her, pulled her in tight, drew in the scent of her.

Hands pushed at her arms. Their lips parted. “Akna, what are you doing?” The hands pushed them apart. “Akna!”

She opened her eyes. The hands were Anita’s, and Akna was trying to pull her back closer. Oh gods! What was she doing? She crawled back several paces. “I’m sorry. I didn’t...that is…”

Anita stared wide-eyed. “It’s not that I don’t want to...or that I’m not interested. Just...you could give me warning. Do you always kiss so...so violently?”

Akna looked away, shaking. The prayer beads dropped from her hand and she scrambled to her feet. “Gods, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She ran for the doors, fumbled with the latch.

“Akna! No, don’t go!”

The doors opened finally, and she stumbled into the hall. A startled guard stepped out of the way. She wasn’t sure which was the right way; she just chose one. It didn’t really matter.

“Akna, wait! The necklace!”

Akna ran.

“Wait! Don’t you want to know? It worked! It glowed!”