by Maggie Platt
The lesson continued as the two women touched the various stones. BiBi held up several raw diamonds and sapphires for Tovi to examine, and they both let gold nuggets pass through their fingers. As they explored, BiBi kept talking. “These lovely things will get even better when refined and shaped. A sign that you are prospering is that you desire these things, longing to touch them and make them yours. It is very similar to what Rhaxma taught you yesterday about Perfection. You should discard the junk,” she said, gesturing to a pile of plain rock that was destined for repairing homes in the Bottom Rung. “And you should seek out the very best for yourself. Hold out your hands.”
Tovi obeyed and held both gloved palms up. BiBi placed a sparkling ruby in one of Tovi’s hands. She placed a crumbling, chalky piece of rock in the other. “See what I mean? Who would want that rock when you can have rubies?”
Tovi gave a noncommittal shrug of the shoulders, and BiBi’s stomach twisted into a tighter knot. This wasn’t sinking in. She was doing a terrible job, and she was less and less confident that today’s lesson would be successful. Why had she brought Tovi here? She thought the gold and stones could turn her head, that the pretty things and glitter would be an easy sell.
Her mind whirled with thoughts of failure—and what that would mean for her future—as she watched Tovi set the ruby and ugly rock down. Tovi’s hands grazed over the pile, and her eyes looked far away. She fingered the raw, unpolished rocks and then held one up close to her eyes for inspection. It was a fist-sized white stone with iridescent flecks of purple and teal.
“Interesting choice, Tovi. That’s an opal,” BiBi said. “It’s very rare.”
“Can it really make you happy?” she said in a strange, distant voice. “These rocks. They make people happy?”
Understanding dawned in BiBi like the pale yellow rays of morning that creep along and illuminate the world inch by inch. “Yes,” she whispered. “I know what it’s like to grow up unhappy. The answers are all right here. The fix . . . the solution . . . the way out . . . This is it. This will fill you in all of those empty spaces.”
“We don’t have money in Adia. We don’t have gold and stones,” Tovi said, still concentrating on the opal.
“Perhaps that is why you have been so unhappy, Tovi. Perhaps your life can completely change, just like mine. You just need the right things.”
Tovi blinked several times and looked at BiBi. Louder than before, she said, “You’re probably right. Maybe this is what I’ve been missing.”
Sensing the serious moment was over, BiBi took the stone from Tovi, tossed some coins to a guard, and walked toward the arched exit. “Now, let’s get up to the Halo for some real fun.”
They walked back through the Bottom Rung and up through the neighborhoods toward the courtyard. But just as they were reaching the streets near the cobblestoned square, BiBi led Tovi down a road to the left. It was just on the other side of the large homes that sat near the palace.
“Stop and take this in for a moment,” BiBi said, leading by example and taking a big breath as she glanced along the street. White buildings lined the road. They were the same height as those in the Bottom Rung, but they were clean and almost sparkled in the sunlight. Instead of sagging balconies, there were ornate iron railings. The ground floor of each building was made of mostly glass, showing off the dresses, jewelry, vases, and other wares. Everything was pristine, and so were the well-dressed citizens who walked along and popped in and out of the stores.
BiBi glanced at Tovi, whose eyes were wide and shining. She seemed to be enamored and maybe a bit overwhelmed. That was understandable. The girl had experienced so many new things in such a short amount of time.
“This is the Halo,” she said, finally breaking the silence. “It is where we shop and eat and play. I think our first stop will be right over here.”
They entered a shop to their right, and a small bell tinkled above the door. BiBi approached the counter where an elegant old man with a monocle greeted them. “How may I help you today, Miss BiBi?” he asked warmly.
“Good morning, Mr. Hector! I have a special project for you,” she said, placing the raw opal in his hand. “It’s for Tovi. What do you think?”
He looked the opal over carefully, and then he turned his attention to Tovi. His eyes flitted from her hair to her neck to her ears and back to her neck. “I know just the thing,” he said.
“It’s all yours,” BiBi said. “We’ll be back after lunch.” She led Tovi back out of the store.
The next several hours were spent perusing shops, trying on clothes, and drinking fizzy wine handed to them by shopkeepers. Tovi seemed to be enjoying herself, and she had already spent about a quarter of King Damien’s bag of gold on clothing and accessories like a set of diamond-encrusted hair combs and her own custom padding for her chest and hips.
BiBi discovered that Tovi wasn’t gabby the way most of the women on the mountain were. Tovi was polite and responded to questions, but she didn’t fall for any of BiBi’s usual methods for drawing someone into friendship. She seemed to have no complaints about life in their courtyard home, and she couldn’t be prodded into talking about men. What else was there to talk about other than Adia? And BiBi knew that talking about Adia was a terrible idea.
Despite the lack of gossip, BiBi felt hope bubbling up. Tovi’s eyes shone brighter and brighter with each addition to her collection of belongings. They had already sent several boxes and bags to be delivered to the house, and Tovi remarked that she still had plenty of gold left in the bag. “I think I could buy anything I wanted with just this gold,” she said in awe.
“I think you are right,” BiBi laughed, linking arms with Tovi as they continued down the street. She stole a glance at Tovi’s back, and her spirit sank a bit. Still no diamond below Rhaxma’s scales.
As the afternoon grew hotter, BiBi led Tovi back to the first shop they had entered.
“Hello, girls!” Hector greeted. “I think you’ll be very pleased. Come right this way.” He led Tovi to a blue cushion, where she sat and faced a long oval mirror. Hector retrieved a black box approximately the length and width of her forearm. He pulled something from inside and draped it around Tovi’s neck.
Even BiBi—so used to all things that sparkled—was in awe. What once was one large, raw opal had been cut and polished into more than a dozen teardrops. A delicate silver chain linked them together, with small round diamonds in between each droplet.
Tovi leaned forward to get a closer look in the mirror, her eyes bright and fixated. “It’s so lovely,” she said. Her face melted into the biggest smile BiBi had yet seen on her new friend, and suddenly Tovi looked relaxed and much younger. Her eyes swung up to meet BiBi’s in the mirror. “Is it really mine?”
BiBi sneaked a glance down. There it was: a diamond etched on Tovi’s skin. She had done it. She had taught the Adian. She sighed deeply. “Yes, Tovi. It is yours forever.”
CHAPTER 26
Meira stood at the wash basin in her room at the HH headquarters in the Bottom Rung, the only light coming from a feeble candle in the corner and a beam from the moon shining through the window. She wiped the grime from the mines off her skin with tired fingers. She spent every day the same: Mornings and afternoons deep in the mines, and evenings gathering information and plotting the safety and survival of all her brethren with hearts in their palms.
Every day was a challenge, but today had been exceptionally difficult. That morning, the mining crew had divided into their teams and headed to their assignments like normal. The vast majority mined the bottom of the pit, making the cavern inside the mountain ever deeper. A few, including Meira, were managers and inspectors, watching over the work, the pace, the methods, and the morale of those who spent so much time in this drudgery. Then, there was a small special team that Meira sent out each day.
To everyone else, this team was surveying the outside of the mountain, making sure all was safe, secure, and sturdy as the digging continued downward. Reali
ty was very different. This special team was assigned to do something far more extraordinary, and only Meira knew that each of their hands was marked with a heart. Only she knew their real assignment. Her role as an inspector inside the mine was only a cover so that this team could continue to operate on Silas’ orders.
Today, one of the regular, sweat-covered and dusty miners voiced his aggravation. “Why do they get to go outside everyday while we work in here?” he asked gruffly, slamming his pickaxe into the rock and leaving it there. “Why are they so special?”
“Yeah, why don’t we get to rotate? I think it’s our turn to go out there,” said another. Discontent rolled through the crew rapidly.
Meira jumped up on a nearby ledge so she could be more easily seen and heard by the crowd. “Listen up!” she called. Only those closest to her quieted. “I said, listen up!” she shouted louder. Now she had about half of their attention. She glanced around, groping for ideas.
A basket only half full of debris sat on the ground near the mob. She jumped off the ledge, landing inside the metal container. She tugged on the chains once, rose in the air above the crowd several feet, and then tugged again. The basket stopped with a jerk and swung slightly. “Listen up!” she shouted again, but she really didn’t need to. Her antics had won their attention.
“I hear you. It doesn’t seem fair that we are inside while they get to be outside in the fresh air. Work hard for His Majesty today, and I will see what I can do to get us a holiday soon when we can all be outside and not work for a day. As to the task of that special crew, it is specialized and needs additional training. If you want to go through this rigorous training, talk to me after today. His Majesty may be displeased with you for wanting a new assignment, but I will do my best to present your concerns to him in a way that will not anger him. Now get back to work.”
She could see her words had hit their mark. Their once-angry faces were now deep in contemplation, weighing whether fresh air was worth the potential of incurring King Damien’s wrath. The day had gone by without further incident, but she could feel mutiny bubbling just below the surface.
Now, in the relative safety of headquarters, she was glad that she was so exhausted. She would sleep well, unlike the nights when she still had energy and her mind tossed from one thing to the next.
A throat cleared behind her, and she crashed backwards with a gasp, upsetting a basket of threadbare but clean towels. “Shhh . . . ” the man said with a finger against his lips.
“Silas!” she whispered. “What are you doing here? I thought you didn’t want them to see you yet.” She jerked her head to the side, indicating the rooms nearby which were filled with members of the Hidden Heart.
“I had to come see you tonight. It’s urgent. And none of them will know I’m here,” he said with a sad smile. “Soon though. I’ll meet with them soon.”
Meira’s pulse was finding a steady rhythm again, and she wrung out her wash rag and left it hanging on the side of the basin. “Why have you come?”
“There are three on the mountain.”
“Three?” she gasped. “Three? Which twin is here?”
“The girl.”
Meira nodded, taking in this information. “Does this mean it is almost time? You have said when the four are united—”
Silas interrupted her, “No, it is not time yet. That is why I have come, to give new instructions. The boy is in a cave to the north, a prisoner to Leeto. Soon Leeto will want to bring Tali to the mountain, and this must be stopped. It is not time for all four to be here.”
Meira’s heart started thudding again, but it was different than the quick bursts when she had been surprised and frightened. Now it was the heavy drum beat that warned of coming adventure. “What do you need me to do?”
“I’m sending you to rescue the boy. Take him to your mother.”
A buzzing filled her ears. “I get to go see my mother?”
It had been years since she had left her mother, since she had left their little hut made of dried palm fronds and fallen sheets of palm bark. It had been years since she had walked in the sea and breathed salt air and stared into a purple and orange sunset while sitting on soft, warm sand.
She shook her head to release the images that tugged so painfully at her soul. “But I’m needed here. We are doing such great work. The mines are nearly ready, and we are discovering more hearts every day. They need me, Silas. The people in those rooms need me to lead them.”
Silas put one rough hand on each side of her face and spoke with urgency. “Meira, this place has changed you, and I need you to remember exactly who you are. Your mother and the sea will remind you of that softer light that once shined in you. You have done great work here, and I am so pleased with how you have taken charge and turned my plans into reality, just as I asked. Now it is time for you to leave the rest up to me. Go, and be reminded of the girl who played and sang and twirled without the weight of the people’s fate bearing down on her shoulders. That is the girl—now woman—I need for the next step. Your story is not over, but it must continue at the sea. It’s time for you to go.”
CHAPTER 27
For the third morning in a row, Tovi ate breakfast with King Damien, overlooking his garden of hedges and statues. This time blonde-haired, purple-eyed Xanthe was with them, silently pushing her fruit around her plate while Damien did most of the talking.
“Really, Tovi. This is precious. I can’t even mention the love between a man and a woman without you turning such a darling shade of red. It’s charming, really.” King Damien laughed. “There’s no reason to be embarrassed. It’s part of your nature. But, don’t worry. That’s not all we’re talking about today. Pleasure involves all sorts of things. Really, it’s anything that gives you a thrill. It’s anything that brings your life excitement. It’s anything that you want more and more and more. You’ll know it when the wanting keeps growing.
“Doesn’t that make sense? A person should desire more of what makes them happy. It’s logical. It’s science. It’s nature. Don’t ever be content with a little when you could have much more. So, Tovi, what brings you pleasure? What gives you a thrill? What leaves you wanting more?”
She thought about it for a while, and her mind travelled back to Adia. “Exploring with my brother. Tea talks with Ganya. Building something with Avi . . . ” her voice trailed off as her heart constricted, and she looked down at her plate.
In a softer, more comforting voice, King Damien replied, “Now, Tovi. You say that makes you happy but look how sad you are. You are not understanding what true pleasure is. What you mentioned are old memories. What do you have in your life right now that excites you? In the last few days, what has made your blood rush? The wine? The food? Anything?”
He paused, and he seemed to be waiting on her answer. Her mind was blank, and she looked into his eyes that were staring straight into hers.
After a while, he continued with his prodding. “What about Calix? Do you remember how you felt dancing with him behind that hedge?”
Tovi blushed even deeper. How could he know about that?
He continued, “If you want to feel like that again, you have to chase after it. Feel free to pursue even more of the pleasure that you desire. Now, before my next appointment gets here, why don’t you two get started with your lesson? Xanthe is an excellent teacher, and she will help you with any questions you might have regarding this topic. But don’t be long, girls. I have some surprises waiting for you when you return.”
Tovi rose without a word and followed Xanthe into the garden. They walked in silence until they were deep in the ten-foot-tall hedges where they couldn’t be seen or heard from the palace. Suddenly Xanthe turned and grabbed Tovi by the arms.
“Is it true? The stories of Adwin—is any of it true?” Those violet eyes that were normally so dull and lifeless were now shining with desperation. She let go of Tovi as if she had just realized she was holding onto her. “You have the heart in your hand, don’t you?” Xanthe
asked, her voice trembling.
Tovi didn’t know what to do. Was this a trap? Should she lie? Why did Xanthe want to know, and what had come over her so quickly?
Seeing the hesitation in Tovi’s face must have been enough of an answer for Xanthe. She was wearing short gloves with a single pearl button at the wrist, which she freed with shaking fingers. She pulled the glove off and turned her hand so Tovi could see her palm.
And there it was, the untidy brown heart so familiar to Tovi. “Xanthe!” she cried in dismay, grabbing hold of the girl’s hand to cover the symbol. “You could be arrested for that. Why did you show me?”
“You have to tell me everything you know. You have to tell me if any of it is true. You lived in Adia, and they say Adwin does, too. Is it true?” Her voice was frenzied and fearful.
“I don’t know him, but everyone else says they do,” Tovi said.
Xanthe looked incredulous. “I have been waiting for so long to ask an Adian that question, and that’s all you have to say? You don’t know him?”
Tovi’s anger flared. “How do you think it makes me feel? I don’t know why I’m the only one who has never met him. I feel like everything I have ever known has been turned upside down in the last few days. Maybe he is real. Maybe he isn’t. I have no idea what I should believe and what I shouldn’t.”
Xanthe began to pace. “I used to believe everything that His Majesty, my parents, and my teachers told me. I believed Adwin was evil. I believed that he was a tyrant who eventually abandoned us.” She walked back toward Tovi, looking softer than she had before. “Then, about six months ago, there were some changes in my life. Damien ordered me and several others to go to Adia for one of his assignments. I . . . um . . . met some people who made me think about Adwin . . . in a different way . . . that maybe he was actually good. Then I started hearing whispers about people in the Bottom Rung who believed in him. I had to know more. So, I disguised myself and went to find them. It was difficult at first, but at last I was able to speak to people who know different stories about the old king. One of them even claimed to have met him.”