“Quick!” said Azrael. “Get up! We have to run.”
Rani scrambled to her feet and took off after Azrael, as they ran toward the Supply Center. If they could get there before the guards, they’d be able to blend in with the other women. Yet another advantage of the long dresses and veils.
“Come on!” called Azrael, willing Rani to quicken her pace. She wasn’t used to running in the Round, she supposed. Perhaps she’d never run anywhere before. If the guards caught up to them, they were done for. They were getting far too close.
The temptation to leave Rani and save herself swelled in her gut, however, she couldn’t bring herself to do it. They’d come here together. If the guards were going to release them into the desert, they could do that together, too.
“Leave me!” Rani said to Azrael, seeing the futility of their situation. She was puffing and clutching her side. “I can’t do it.”
Before Azrael had the chance to answer, a gloved hand took hold of her arm and squeezed it so hard she was surprised it didn’t fall off. Her feet stopped running and instead, her heart picked up the pace. Rani was beside her, trapped in the grip of the other guard.
Their actions had forced the guards to touch them. The law had been broken and there was only one punishment for that.
Release.
RANI
THE BEFORE
Rani wasn’t sure what hurt more. The pounding of her heart? The heaving of her lungs? The sharp pain piercing her side? Or was it the band of agony gripping her arm?
“Let go of us immediately,” hissed Rani, pulling her veil away from her face with her free hand. “Do you know who you have hold of?”
“Princess Rani!” The guard released her arm.
“And the other girl,” she said, lowering the pitch of her voice in an attempt to sound assertive.
The other guard let his hand fall and Azrael stepped aside.
As shocked as the guards were, Rani felt certain she was more surprised. Not that they’d been caught, but that the guards had listened to her. Sometimes it wasn’t what was said, it was how it was said. Now that she’d found her voice, she intended to keep on using it. Who knew she had all these words trapped inside her?
She cleared her throat and prepared to hold her ground. If the people in The Sands of Naar believed she had power, then let that work for her.
“I could have you both released for putting your hands on me,” she said, straightening her back and covering her face with her veil to hide her smile.
“Please forgive us, Princess,” said the guard who’d held Azrael.
“Since there was no harm done, and no witnesses, I shall see fit to offer you mercy.” She straightened her back trying to make herself taller. “Now, be on your way and speak of this to no-one and I will see that no harm comes to you.”
“Yes, Princess.” They bowed their heads and stepped back.
Rani nodded at Azrael, whose mouth had fallen open, and together they continued on.
“That was so impressive,” whispered Azrael, despite nobody being close enough to hear. “I thought you said you don’t have any authority in this kingdom.”
Rani shrugged. “I don’t.”
Azrael stopped, turned to her and burst out laughing. “I’ve never cried so much or laughed so much in my life as I have on this turn of the sand. It’s been both the worst and the best of my life.”
“Same,” said Rani, stopping beside her and shaking her head. She’d done more living in this one turn of the sand than all her other turns put together. To think that if she’d let herself fall from her window, she’d have missed out on it all.
“When the guards grabbed us, I really thought it was all over,” said Azrael.
“Why didn’t you run off like I told you? That was really dangerous!”
Azrael shrugged her boney shoulders. “Because that’s not what friends do. Friends never leave each other behind.”
Rani blinked back tears. Friends. She’d waited her whole life to have a friend. Sharma was more like a mother to her. If she’d known having a friend was like this, she would’ve left the palace many Shinings ago.
“Thank you,” said Rani. Then with a shaking hand, she reached out and touched Azrael on the bare skin of her forearm, where the sleeve of her dress had slipped up.
Azrael jumped back as if she’d been struck by lightning. “What are you doing?”
“I don’t know,” said Rani. “I just wanted to…”
What were the words to make this right? To wipe the frown from her new friend’s face? To explain what couldn’t be explained? How to tell her that she’d been so drunk on the feeling of power and new experience that it’d gone to her head?
“I just wanted to know what it was like,” she said, settling for the simple truth. “I’m sorry.”
“Three times.” Azrael shook her head. “All in one turn. First in the Conception Center. Second by the guard. And third by you.”
“I really am sorry,” said Rani, meaning it. She should’ve thought of Azrael here, too. It hadn’t just been about her and what she’d needed at that moment. “I’m no better than whoever touched you at even-time.”
“Don’t say that,” said Azrael, stepping back to her, a frown crossing her face like a black cloud to replace the lightning. “Please don’t say that. It’s nothing like the same thing.”
“I should go back now,” said Rani, her legs feeling weak as she noticed the sun getting lower in the sky. “If I’m not at dinner my father will look for me.”
“But you didn’t see the Supply Center. It’s just there.” Azrael’s voice was formal, not the same as how she’d spoken before.
“Next turn of the sand?” asked Rani.
“Just a quick look,” urged Azrael. “I’m thirsty and I haven’t collected my full ration of water.”
“As long as we’re quick,” said Rani, unable to resist the temptation of filling her eyes with more new sights.
As they set off, Rani cursed herself for ruining what had built between them. “Are you upset with me?”
“No!” said Azrael, throwing up her arms. “Please don’t think that. You just took me by surprise.”
Rani nodded, hoping she was speaking the truth.
Azrael led her into a large tent that made up the Supply Center, and Rani came to a stop, feasting her eyes on the sight before her.
There were tables lined up in rows, loaded with all kinds of supplies. Her mouth watered at the aroma of food and she realized she was hungry. She really did have to get back to the palace. Dinner must be soon. It was so hard to tell without having the Orbs of Time as a reference.
“How do you know what you’re allowed to take?” she asked Azrael.
“See the people behind the tables? They have books controlled by the Supply Master. Everything you take is marked off. If you take more than your ration, you’ll be released. No questions asked.”
Rani thought she was starting to see why life expectancy was shrinking so rapidly in her kingdom. People were being released for the most minor offenses. Not only that, there had to be a growing number of people offending on purpose in order to be released from their misery. The oldest person Rani had ever heard of was forty Shinings, but Sharma had told her that people used to live until eighty Shinings or more. It was hard to imagine someone that old. Nobody had died from old age for many hundreds of Shinings now. When the body began to fail, it was released. Simple. Or perhaps not.
She followed Azrael to a table that held glasses of water.
“Where does the water come from?” she asked, having never thought about this before.
“We collect the condensation from the skins of our tents in the cool night air. And any rain that falls, of course. There’s the river, only it’d be impossible to collect water from there and make it back alive.”
Rani had never heard of a river before but didn’t want to appear foolish by asking what it was. She’d embarrassed herself enough earlier with that hideous baby. S
he could ask Sharma later.
Azrael gave the worker her name and was handed a glass of water. She offered it to Rani first, but Rani shook her head. “No, I can have plenty at dinner. This is your ration.” It felt wrong to take something from someone who had so little, despite how thirsty she felt.
“Your lips are cracked,” said Azrael. “Have a sip at least.”
Rani took the cup, seeing it as much as an act of forgiveness from Azrael as the gift of water itself. She drew in a sip, swishing the water around her mouth before swallowing and handing the cup back to Azrael. “Thank you.”
Azrael drained the rest of the cup in one gulp and put it back on the table.
“I really have to get back,” said Rani, worried about what would happen if her absence was noticed. She wanted to do this for all the turns she had left, not spend them locked inside her bedchamber. “Perhaps we can come again on the next turn.”
Azrael nodded. “I’ll walk you to the archway.”
Rani smiled, pleased that Azrael genuinely didn’t seem to be upset with her after the way she’d so thoughtlessly put her hand on her.
“Do you think it’s true?” asked Rani as they stepped out of the tent into the setting sun. “You know, that touching causes disease?”
Azrael shook her head. “I don’t think any of it’s true. Every law in this kingdom is a lie.”
“Me too,” said Rani.
Despite what they’d just agreed, she decided never to touch Azrael again. It was like all the freedom she’d just experienced had gone to her head. If she was going to get the most out of her life for the next fourteen turns, she needed to be more careful than that.
Which made her sad. Because now that she’d just started living, she realized she didn’t want her life to end. But what other choice did she have? The next fourteen turns were just going to have to be enough.
SHARMA
THE BEFORE
Sharma had never felt so worried. Rani was missing. She’d been gone since just after even-time and now the sun was about to disappear from the sky. It wasn’t like Rani. She never went anywhere. If the Emperor discovered her absence, he was going to be furious. If the Board discovered it, then it’d be even worse.
She paced the length of Rani’s bedchamber, looking out the window at regular intervals, hoping to see her running across the Round as she hurried home.
When Sharma’s legs began to ache, she sat down and rubbed her belly. This was her least favorite part of pregnancy. The part where she was unable to deny there was a child growing inside her. She could feel its tiny feet and fists as they pummeled her. Right now, the baby’s head was pressing against her navel. A head she’d never touch that would grow hair she’d never comb.
The door opened, and Sharma turned quickly, letting her hands fall to her lap.
“Emperor,” she said, bowing her head as she pushed down her panic. What was she to tell him?
“Sharma. How are you?” He looked at her with affection she didn’t deserve. “What are you doing here.”
“I’m well, thank you,” she said, preferring to answer his first question.
“Where’s Rani?” he asked. “She’s late for her dinner.”
“She’s… not feeling well,” said Sharma, pointing toward Rani’s washroom. “Totally normal for a girl having her first time.”
“Oh.” The Emperor looked away and shuffled his feet, clearly not wanting to discuss this further, which was exactly as Sharma had hoped.
“Perhaps her dinner could be sent to her bedchamber, just this once?” she asked.
“I was hoping to discuss the heir’s siring with her.” He sighed, clearly not looking forward to that conversation.
Sharma nodded, wondering if she should tell him that Rani already knew. It seemed wrong to keep that from him.
“Have you seen her since the meeting?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, not wanting to lie.
He crossed his arms. “You told her, I suppose?”
She nodded, realizing she had no choice but to come clean. “She asked me about it. I apologize if you wished to do it.”
“How could I wish to do that?” He raked his fingers through his hair and Sharma was shocked to see the makings of tears stinging his eyes.
“I’m afraid she didn’t take it well,” said Sharma.
The Emperor went to the door and closed it. “May I speak frankly with you?”
“Of course.” She was surprised he’d even asked. He always spoke frankly with her.
He lowered the volume of his voice, glancing toward the washroom to make sure Rani wasn’t about to emerge. “I’m not pleased about the Chairman’s decision. It doesn’t feel right. I’ve checked our book of laws and can’t find a single one he’s breaking.”
Sharma nodded, having done the same thing after leaving Rani sobbing at the news of her fate. She wondered if she should tell the Emperor about his daughter’s lie. He’d have no idea her time hadn’t come. However, it wasn’t her place to tell him that. The best she could do would be to encourage Rani to tell him herself. Although, lying was a serious offense in this kingdom. Rani could be even worse off if she admitted to what she’d done.
“I apologize for my vote in the Boardroom,” she said. “You know I had no choice.”
“I know that.”
“What can we do?” she asked, keeping her words brief.
“Nothing,” the Emperor said. “The best we can do is try to convince Rani that this is for the best.”
“Yes, Emperor,” she said, despite knowing this was an impossible task. Rani would never see what was to happen as best.
“Will she be long in there?” he asked, tilting his head toward the washroom.
“Perhaps you’re better to leave her in my care for the moment,” she said. “I’ll let her know you wish for her to seek you out at sun-up.”
He nodded. “Yes. Perhaps you’re right.”
Sharma let out a breath, hoping Rani would return before then. If she didn’t, then Sharma would be caught out on a lie of her own and this mess would become even worse.
The Emperor went to the door and opened it. “I’m sorry, Sharma. Really, I am.”
She nodded, unsure as to which of his sins he was sorry for. Not that he was an evil man. The Chairman filled those shoes well enough on his own.
He left and her waiting resumed. Come on, Rani! Where could she be?
Sharma went to the window and leaned out, her eyes scanning the Round in the fading light.
The grass was vacant, with everyone having returned to their homes before nightfall. Nobody wanted to walk through that archway into the desert at night to find their way home. It was difficult enough to tell the tents apart when the sun was in the sky.
Sharma had grown up on the other side of that wall and had hated it. There was no greater way for a kingdom to express how little its people meant than to have them live outside the wall that protected all it held dear.
The Growing Center had been a tedious upbringing, with its never-ending lessons and rules. Life in the tents had been the complete opposite, as she’d tried to find her place in the village. Everyone had to find a way to prove their worth to the kingdom. If a woman was with child, then some compensation was generally granted. Everyone had to report in with the Job Master to be assigned a task, of which there were plenty. Women were needed to work in the Growing Center, distribute rations at the Supply Center, weave fabric, or collect water. There were hundreds of possibilities and all of them difficult. The men were required to tend to the animals who provided the bulk of their food, build new structures, and explore ways to grow crops in their kingdom’s impossible terrain. And then there were the guards and timekeepers, chosen from the strongest and most loyal citizens. Everyone worked hard. And if they didn’t, there was only one place for them.
The desert. A place of certain death.
It was sometimes hard to tell if this was a punishment or a reward.
A flash of mo
vement caught Sharma’s eye and she leaned out further from the window.
Two girls were running through the archway. One had her face covered, although she had no doubt it was Rani. Sharma knew the shape of her. But who was the girl with her? And what had they been doing on the other side of the archway?
The girl with Rani called out something Sharma couldn’t hear, and Rani waved to her, as the girl turned around and went back out the archway.
Rani scurried through the Round, keeping her veil tucked over her face and Sharma let out a deep breath. She was safe. For now.
RANI
THE BEFORE
Rani opened the door to her bedchamber and tried to ease the clenching of her stomach with deep breaths. The sun had set and dinner would’ve been and gone. She had no idea what the fallout of her absence would be. Was her father angry? Worried? Or completely calm? She’d never missed dinner before to find out.
As she stepped into the room, she sensed rather than saw that she wasn’t alone.
“Father?” She squinted in the dim light as her eyes adjusted.
“It’s me,” said Sharma, standing so Rani could see her heavily pregnant silhouette in front of the window.
“Oh, I’m glad.” Rani went to her bed and fell onto it, while Sharma fiddled with a lantern, filling the room with soft light.
“Your dinner’s here,” said Sharma, pointing to the table.
Rani’s eyes widened with pleasure and she scrambled to the table. Tearing off a chunk of bread, she dipped it into what looked like mutton soup and brought it to her lips. It was cold, but that was of little concern. It was food and after what she’d seen today, she knew how lucky she was to get so much of it.
“Are you okay?” asked Rani, noticing Sharma was wincing as she rubbed her lower back.
Sharma nodded and took the seat by the window. “I’m fine. However, I told your father you’re unwell. Where were you, Rani? I was so worried about you.”
The Kingdoms of Evernow Box Set Page 48