The Thousand Steps

by Helen Brain

  “Shorty, please help me write a note to the High Priest.”

  He beams. “My pleasure, Miss Ebba.”

  I dictate to him and he writes:

  Dear Righteous Poladion,

  I wish to apologise for my ungrateful and inconsiderate behaviour to you and your family and to the Council. Yesterday you helped me see how wrong I have been, and how selfish I was, putting all of us in the settlement in danger. I am truly sorry, and I hope you will forgive me.

  Yours faithfully,

  Ebba den Eeden

  “Could you help me with another one?” I ask. “This one’s a bit embarrassing.” I look around to make sure that no one else can hear me. “Please, Shorty, tell me what I should

  say.”

  He leans forward eagerly. “Yes, Miss Ebba. I’ll help any way I can.”

  “It’s just … It’s just that yesterday morning I was swimming in the pond, and Hal saw me … without my clothes on.” I put a sob in my voice. “Now Hal thinks I’m immoral, and I don’t know how to put it right.”

  His eyes gleam. He clasps the quill in his podgy fingers. “Ah, let me think. Try this: Dearest Hal, I love you. Only you. I love you more than all the gold in the world. Please come back. I want to be with you, forever. Your darling, Ebba.”

  I swallow. It’s a bit much. How far should I go, playing the innocent girl?

  Shorty is peering at me, his blue eyes are big and round. “Don’t you like that? I think it’s lovely.”

  “It’s just … won’t he think I’m a bit forward? What if he doesn’t love me back?”

  “Hmmm. I’m sure he loves you, Miss Ebba.” He pats my hand. “Alright, how’s this: Dearest Hal … Is ‘dearest’ okay?”

  I nod.

  “Dearest Hal, I’m so sorry about yesterday. You mean so much to me, and I miss you. I’ll try to behave in a way that makes you proud of me. Please forgive me.”

  “That’s better.”

  “How would you like to end it? Yours lovingly? Yours faithfully? What about Yours forever?”

  “Yours forever, Ebba.” I say. If I’m going to lie, I may as well be bold about it.

  He gives a satisfied grin and begins to write. He finishes the letter and passes it to me. I painstakingly write out my name in sprawling letters, and draw a heart after them.

  Shorty is beaming. “That’s lovely, Miss Ebba. It’s a lovely gesture. I’m sure he’ll forgive you.”

  I seal the letters in envelopes, Shorty addresses them, and I put them in the basket, ready for the morning.

  THAT NIGHT I’M about to drop off to sleep when Aunty Figgy taps on my bedroom door. “Come to the kitchen,” she says.

  I pull on my gown and hurry through. Jasmine, Micah and Leonid are sitting at the table, grim-faced. Jasmine is winding a lock of her hair around her finger, something she only does when she’s very upset. She won’t look at me.

  Oh no, I think. She’s complained about me. She’s told the others how terrible I am. Our friendship has truly rotted away. There’s nothing left, just misery and anger.

  Micah pats the chair next to him. “Sit down, Ebba.”

  No. He’s taken her side. But when he begins to speak my heart stops.

  “We’ve received information,” Micah says. “The High Priest has planned another sacrifice for Friday.”

  I grab his arm. “They’ve had a sacrifice this year. Why would he hold a second one? Are you sure?”

  “I’m absolutely certain.”

  “The High Priest is doing this to teach me a lesson,” I say, despairing. “He’ll go straight for Fez and Letti. I should just give him the amulet. Then he’ll elevate them.”

  “Never,” Aunty Figgy spits. “It’s holy. If he gets his hands on it we’ll never, ever defeat him.”

  Jasmine exchanges glances with Leonid. I know she’s thinking what a bitch I am, and how crazy Aunty Figgy is.

  “Giving him the amulet is a short-term solution,” Micah says. “You might get your friends released, but what about all the other kids inside the bunker? He is going to cull them as soon as they outlive their usefulness. What will you offer him next time?”

  We sit quietly, all lost in our own thoughts. Micah is right.

  “So what do we do?” Leonid asks.

  “We infiltrate the colony and rescue them,” Micah says.

  Jasmine stops twisting her lock of hair. “Do you think it’s possible?”

  “How did you get out, Micah?” I ask. “Could we get in the same way?”

  Aunty Figgy and Leonid stare at him, open-mouthed.

  “You were in the colony?” Leonid asks. “You escaped? How?”

  “There’s a maintenance worker, Chad. He was part of Darius Maas’s cell during the resistance, and after the Calamity he got a job working in the colony doing repairs. He noticed me when I was a kid because I asked questions and didn’t accept the things they told us.”

  “I remember, that” Jasmine says. “You were always in trouble.”

  “He was sure they were going to try to kill me. When the soldiers came for me he was ready. They whipped me, then dragged me along one of the ventilation shafts and threw me out. He found me half dead on the mountainside and carried me to a cave. He’d set it up with food and water and blankets. He tended my injuries, and I stayed there for three months, until my wounds had healed. Then he came for me one night and we trekked over the mountain to the Longkloof and across to the harbour. He had a boat ready to take me to the mainland.”

  I imagine Micah lying injured and alone in a cave. I could never survive that length of time on my own, especially if I was in pain. My admiration for him grows even more.

  “Could we get in through the ventilation shaft?” Jasmine says.

  “Chad will get us in,” Micah says. “We’ve been working on an emergency plan. He’ll disguise us as maintenance workers. We find Fez and Letti, we get to the storage chamber, hide in the sacks, and one of Chad’s guys will load us onto the wagon that goes to the harbour. From there we move them across to Silvermine Island.” Jasmine starts to look more hopeful. “You mean there are people out there who care about the kids in the colony?”

  “Of course. The resistance didn’t die with the Calamity. It’s stronger than ever. Leonid is one of our most valued members.”

  Leonid? Grumpy, chip-on-his-shoulder Leonid? He rubs his hand through his curly hair, looking embarrassed at the praise. “Micah is our leader,” he says. “He and Miffy McKenzie run it.”

  That’s what he’s been doing all these years – running the resistance. But who is Miffy McKenzie? Is Miffy a boy or girl?

  “So you take them to Silvermine Island,” Jasmine says. “Will you be able to find people to look after them there?”

  “That won’t be a problem.”

  “Can’t you bring them here to the farm?” I ask. Before the words are finished I know it’s a stupid idea.

  “First place they’ll look,” Leonid says. “Tear the place apart. When they find them, they’ll kill them, and us. Well, you’ll be safe – you’re a citizen.”

  “That’s not true,” Aunty Figgy says. “They killed Ebba’s mother. Ebba’s in even more danger because of her sacred mission.”

  Jasmine rolls her eyes. “The only sacred mission involves rescuing real, live human beings,” she says.

  Aunty Figgy is about to give her a piece of her mind, but Micah taps the table. “Let’s stay focused. So we’re agreed then? We’ll infiltrate the colony?”

  “Agreed.” Jasmine and Leonid nod. I notice they’re holding hands under the table.

  “They’ll never believe I’m a maintenance worker,” I say. “I’ll stand out a mile because of my skin.”

  “You can’t come anyway,” Jasmine says. Her voice is like acid. “You’re one of them. Micah may trust you, but I bet you’ll tell your precious Hal all about it and then we’ll all be back inside. Except you of course, Little Miss Rich Girl.”

  I blink back my tears. I’m not going to
cry, not now. How can she be so mean? I’d never do anything to hurt Letti and Fez.

  “Jasmine, there’s no place for that sort of nastiness,” Aunty Figgy says firmly. “We have to work together. Of course you can trust Ebba.”

  Micah nods. “Ebba, it’s not that we don’t trust you. But you’ll stand out too much. They’ll notice you straight away. Jasmine and I will go.”

  “I’m coming too,” Leonid says.

  “No. They’ll notice if three of us are missing from the farm. You stay here and act like everything’s normal. Aunty Figgy, can you concoct some mixture that will put Shorty and Victor out of action for a few days?”

  “Of course,” she cackles. “It would be a pleasure.”

  Micah gets up. “So that’s arranged then. Jasmine, luckily you’re really small. You can pass as a young boy if we cut your hair short. The maintenance depot is near the shrine. We can travel through with Leonid tomorrow morning when he delivers the hamper. And with any luck we’ll be back on Saturday afternoon. Sunday morning at the latest.”

  CHAPTER 9

  We’re up before dawn. The kitchen is filled with the fragrance of freshly baked bread. The hamper for the High Priest looks amazing. I’ve picked fresh herbs and vegetables, and even a bunch of yellow and orange nasturtiums. Aunty Figgy sits Jasmine down at the kitchen table and cuts her hair close to her head. She binds up her breasts with a bandage so she looks flat-chested. She finds her a servant’s tunic and pants like Leonid’s, and by the time she’s finished, Jasmine looks like a twelve-year-old boy.

  I sweep up the hair that is scattered on the floor. It feels like I’m sweeping away the last remnants of our friendship. If she really believes I might betray them to Hal, then there’s nothing left between us. She doesn’t trust me, and after last night I don’t trust her anymore either.

  “Come and help me pick mushrooms,” Aunty Figgy says to her. “Let’s leave Micah and Ebba alone for a while. Ebba, make sure you don’t eat any of the mushrooms at breakfast. I’m going to cook some poisonous ones.”

  “We don’t want to kill them,” I say, grabbing her sleeve. “That will really get me in trouble.”

  Aunty Figgy laughs. “Don’t worry,” she says, handing a basket to Jasmine. “I’ll just choose the ones that will put them out of action for a few days. We don’t want them asking where Jasmine and Micah are.”

  Then Micah and I are alone in the kitchen. “I wish you didn’t have to go,” I say softly. “It’s so dangerous.”

  “It will be okay,” he says gently, wiping a tear from my cheek with his thumb. “I’ve been training for this for the last two years.”

  As he winds his arms around me, my heart wants to tell him again that I love him, but he didn’t answer me the last time. I don’t want to make the moment awkward, so I swallow my words and rest my cheek on his shoulder. “I’m so scared the soldiers will catch you.”

  “Come on,” he says firmly, giving me a little shake. “No point in getting upset over something that might not even happen. We’re going to be fine. You’ve got a job to do too. Put a smile on your face and pretend that everything’s fine. You’ve got to stop Shorty getting suspicious.”

  Leonid brings the buggy around then and it’s time to go. Micah gives me a quick kiss. “You’re more powerful than you think. Don’t let anyone say otherwise,” he says as he jumps inside.

  I sniff back my tears and wave them goodbye. “See you at lunchtime tomorrow,” I call as cheerily as I can.

  Aunty Figgy squeezes my shoulder. “Come inside. Let me make you some toast.”

  I don’t feel like eating, but I don’t want to be alone. I follow her into the kitchen. Micah’s mug is standing on the table. I pick it up and cradle it in my hands.

  What if he never comes back? What if he never drinks from it again?

  “Here, light a candle and ask Theia to protect them,” Aunty Figgy says, giving me a lighted twig from the wood stove.

  I watch the wick catching alight, and the sweet smell of honey rises up from the beeswax candles. The flame burns straight and strong. “Keep them safe,” I pray. “Bring them home unharmed, and find a place for my sabenzis to live in peace.”

  I don’t want to think about Fez and Letti moving in with strangers far away and trying to make a life in this harsh world. I have so much, but I won’t be able to share any of it with them. It’s so wrong.

  Aunty Figgy is chortling as she chops the mushrooms. “A nice plate of these with sausages and eggs,” she says. “They will be vomiting for a day and a half. Make that two days for Shorty – he’s so greedy.”

  I sit at the table and watch the candle flickering. “Tell me more about the Goddess,” I say. “How is my necklace linked to her?”

  “Well, when the Goddess Theia was born,” Aunty Figgy tips the mushrooms into a frying pan, “her parents, king and queen of Celestia, gave her dominion over all living and growing things. Then they invited all the other immortal beings to a party to welcome her. The four most important gods and goddesses brought her amulets, each imbued with special powers, to make up a necklace.

  “She grew up to be beautiful, with deep-red curls, skin like alabaster and a gentle spirit. She watched over all the plants and creatures of Celestia, making sure that all could thrive.

  “Suitors came from near and far to claim her hand but she turned them all down, until one day, when she was wandering among the mangroves, she met black-browed Prospiroh, the god of wealth and abundance. He was newly returned from a long war against the sky creatures. It was love at first sight.

  “Theia fell pregnant. Too hot and heavy to walk the green valleys of Celestia, she needed something to play with. She decided to create a little world where all living things could live together in perfect balance. She called her planet Earth, and she spun a filigree cocoon of spells around it so that none of the other gods, especially the mischievous ones, could interfere with it. She watched over it and it was beautiful.

  “Her baby daughter was born, and she and Prospiroh named her Bellzeta. She was as black-haired, passionate and quick-tempered as her father.

  “Now Theia’s days were taken up with watching her little Earth and caring for her baby. Prospiroh liked to be the centre of attention and he felt left out. He grew more and more jealous. He decided to steal the baby and take her to the land of the sky creatures, where her mother would never find her.

  “But Theia learnt of his plan just in time. She had to find somewhere safe to hide the baby, so she bundled up some possessions, and using the powers of the amulet necklace, escaped to the one place she thought Prospiroh couldn’t enter, Earth. She chose a village in a beautiful wooded area called the Forêt de Soignes.”

  Aunty Figgy turns to me. “It’s all underwater now, of course. Anyway, Theia built herself a human life as a wise woman, a healer who knew which plants could cure which illnesses, and which herbs could heal a broken heart. She had a little cottage, and she loved her simple life among the people she had created. Bellzeta was not so happy. Like her father she always wanted more – more things, more love, more wealth, more attention. She was jealous of the attention her mother paid other people. She wanted her all for herself.

  “Now, after a few years, Theia fell in love with a woodcutter, a kind man who loved her deeply and who took

  Bellzeta as his own child. They had a baby, a happy little girl with a sunny personality they called Laleuca. She loved to hear her mother’s tales of Celestia, the land of the gods, and would often beg to wear the amulet necklace.”

  “I’m getting muddled with all these names,” I say.

  “Just remember the two children – Bellzeta, who was Prospiroh’s child, and Laleuca, who was the daughter of the human woodcutter.”

  “So Laleuca was half god and half human, but Bellzeta was a full god?”

  “Not quite. Prospiroh is the child of the king of Celestia and a water nymph, so Bellzeta is three-quarters god.”

  The mushrooms are sizzling away, an
d Aunty Figgy pauses the story while she adds some sausages to the pan and a handful of parsley. “This will disguise the bitterness,” she mutters. “Anyway, where was I? Ah, yes. When Prospiroh discovered where Theia and Bellzeta were hiding, he was determined to find a way to break through the cocoon Theia had woven to protect Earth. Finally he found a way in – through his daughter, Bellzeta. He could make contact with her mind and her heart, although he couldn’t enter Earth. He filled her heart with anger at the woodcutter and jealousy about her little sister.

  “By the time Laleuca was seven, Bellzeta was a teenager and a beauty with hair like jet, and flashing dark eyes. She was passionate and rebellious, and her mother had no control over her.

  “Bellzeta became pregnant by the mayor of the village, a married man. Theia was very angry when she found out, and they had a terrible fight. Bellzeta’s anger at her family brewed.

  “One day when Theia was busy in the village, Laleuca was playing with her mother’s amulet necklace when Bellzeta called her. ‘Come and pick mushrooms,’ she said. Laleuca hid the necklace under her dress. Bellzeta took her little sister deep into the woods and when they had reached a deep ravine, she tricked the child into going right to the edge of the cliff. Then she pushed her over.

  “Back home, she told her mother that a pack of wild animals had attacked them and killed Laleuca.

  “Her parents were grief-stricken. The woodcutter suspected that Bellzeta had harmed her. Theia was torn. She did not want to believe that her eldest daughter could be so wicked, so she believed her story.

  “The marriage broke down under the strain. Theia sat in her cottage and wept. Not only was her daughter lost, but the precious necklace was gone too. The woodcutter searched for his daughter day and night. He was sickened by the sight of Bellzeta and her growing belly. Finally the baby was born, but Bellzeta was not interested in him.

  “‘I want to go back to Celestia,’ she told her mother. ‘Use your powers to take us home.’