by Jane Yolen
So much for freedom. Akki supposed certain rules became habit after a while. Maybe freedom had to be learned, slowly and with great effort.
"I'm here to see Dr. Henkky. She's expecting me."
Without saying a word, the girl did her quick curtsy again and disappeared through a door, shutting it quietly behind her.
Akki looked around. Before she could react to the wild colors of the inside of the house—overwhelming orange and pink, purple and red wallpaper—the hatchling unwound its tail from her arm, chittering loudly. Pumping its little wings, it stretched its neck out toward the sound of splashing water.
As Akki watched, the dragonling flew to a fountain, where transparent pipes in the center of the room carried water in and out. The hatchling dove in and began splashing delightedly until water flooded out onto the tiled floor. Akki gasped. She was not used to such lavish use of water. It had been over a year since she'd lived for a short time in The Rokk. In the desert, every bit of water had to be conserved.
Hurrying over to the fountain, she tried to get the hatchling out of the pool. Suddenly she blushed as she realized the water pipes were shaped like a man and woman embracing. And then she noticed that the pictures on the wall were all filled with couples in compromising positions.
"Oh, a pig indeed, Senator Golden. And what appalling taste you have."
She hadn't heard a door open, but a familiar voice answered her. "That's not the real Golden, but the public face. The sexy party thrower, epicene and charming. Come into the hall and I'll show you what I mean."
Turning, Akki saw Dr. Henkky in the doorway, her deeply tanned face full of amusement.
"Oh," Akki said, startled. "But the dragon ... let me clean up..."
Henkky laughed some more. "It's only water. The poor little thing must be absolutely parched after the journey. Senekka can mop it up later. And you, too, must need a drink. Come on."
Senekka must be the curtsying girl. Leaving the hatchling to play in the water, Akki followed the doctor toward the hall, where Golden's house began to take on a more settled air. Though the walls were still brightly painted, orange on the right, yellow on the left, the pictures were more subdued—landscapes with dragons. One picture in particular, of the two moons chasing across a night sky, made Akki stop to look more closely. The painting was so realistic she could almost feel the cold of Dark-After coming next.
"Lovely, isn't it," Henkky said. "And so restful after the Great Hall."
Akki nodded.
"Here," Dr. Henkky said, opening a door in the orange wall.
When Akki stepped through, it was as if she were in an entirely different house. The room was extremely comfortable-looking, with three whitewashed walls and the fourth supporting a floor-to-ceiling bookcase packed full of books. There were books on history, geography, folklore, betting systems, a book on furniture, and several atlases—of Austar, the Protectorate planets, a sky atlas, and one labeled simply FEDERATION. There were dictionaries, a shelf of medical books, a shelf and a half dedicated to natural science, and a shelf of slim volumes of poetry. She recognized a few titles: Red Flight, The Sullen Green, and Dry, Engaging Bones. Books even spilled onto the carpeted floor. Akki had simply never seen so many books in one room before. She bent and picked one up. On the Raising of Dragons, by Master Arland. She recognized that one. It was on her father's bookshelves back at the nursery.
Overhead was a spinning sky globe. A small fire burned in the hearth, just embers, really. In the center of the room a large sofa and two easy chairs shared space with a low table between them.
"Sit," Henkky said, pointing to one of the chairs. "We have takk on the boil, springwater, or a cooler flavored with a bit of grape."
"Grape, please," Akki said, sinking into the chair.
Henkky turned to a wooden desk by the bookcase. Rolling up the top, she disclosed a serving bar chockablock with mugs and glasses, a stack of dishes, a small sink that Kkarina would envy, and about a dozen different bottles filled with liquids. She chose one and poured out a light green drink into two glasses.
"After our drink, I'll find a cage for your Beauty somewhere. Can't have her dropping fewmets all over Golden's house. Senekka is fine with cleaning up water on the floor, but she absolutely draws the line at fewmets. She used to work in a nursery and hated every minute of it."
Akki gulped half the contents of the glass, before saying, "Not a Beauty, a hatchling."
"Oh, my," said Henkky. "We'll have to make a dragon pen for her then, out in the back garden."
"You have a garden?"
"Golden's pride. There are only a few of them in the city. We have a greenhouse, too. I think it's why Senekka remains, actually, the lure of all those exotic fruits and veg."
Akki looked down at her hands. "I'm not actually staying that long," Akki said quickly. "Just long enough to..."
Henkky looked confused. "But the run-up to the election begins tomorrow and the election itself is not for a month from now. Golden has planned for you to be here the entire time. We're expecting your Jakkin as well. Golden told me so only a few days ago. Or have I gotten that wrong? Sometimes, I admit, I only half listen to him. He does run on."
Putting the glass down with great care on the table next to the chair, Akki said, "Well, I have no plans to be a part of Golden's election. And frankly, I'm surprised that you are. I remember how often you warned me against him. As for me, I'm here for two reasons and two reasons only. And neither of them has to do with any election."
Henkky sat down heavily on another chair and stared at her. "Damn that man. This time I actually believed him. Perhaps because I wanted you to stay. I could use the help. He said you'd agreed."
"I haven't agreed to anything. In fact, I didn't know till this morning that he was bringing me here."
Henkky shook her head. "That man breathes cabals, conspiracies, and intrigues for fun." Her mouth twisted. "I'm so sorry, Akki. But you're here now. And obviously I can't get you back any earlier than tomorrow afternoon. I'll have to find a driver. We have the first of three debates in the evening, so we can't possibly drive you there ourselves."
Akki nodded. "But if you can help me, I'll stay. Not for him, though."
"And you say that you have two reasons?"
Leaning forward, Akki told her, "Number one: I need to finish my apprenticeship as doctor and vet. I owe that to the nursery."
"Yes," Henkky said, "of course. I already guessed that. Sarkkhan wasn't only Golden's friend, you know, he was mine as well. And that nursery is still such an important part of our future. The future of Austar IV. Those owners who've closed their doors because of the embargo are shortsighted. The embargo won't be forever."
"Fifty years, he said."
"Hardly that. We ... Golden has plans. They will take years off the embargo."
Akki leaned in. "He said something about rebuilding the Pit. And what else?"
But Henkky held up a hand. "Not for me to say." This time it was Henkky who leaned in. "Ah, yes—and the second reason?"
Akki closed her eyes for a moment, trying to think of the best way to frame the request. Finally, having made up her mind, she opened her eyes and stared right at Henkky. "This has to remain between us. No one else can know. Especially not Golden."
"I don't understand—"
"There's a problem with the dragons," Akki said. "Something I have discovered with..." She hesitated. "With their blood." Not entirely true, but not entirely false either. "I have to sort it out. It may be the only way to save all of them."
"Save them!" Henkky gasped. "Are they in danger? Without them, Austar will wither away."
"Terrible danger," Akki said. "So I need to be able to use your resources. Will you help me?"
"Tell me what the problem is and you can have the run of the laboratory I have downstairs," Henkky said.
"You have a laboratory? Golden said it was a hospice." Akki sat back in the chair, unbelievably relieved.
"Then, what's the danger?"
>
Akki's face closed down. "I can't tell you. Not yet. I need to do some experiments first. Trust me, if the secret gets out before I have a solution, all our dragons are at risk." Just as she spoke, something stirred by the hearth.
"Danger?" The sending was ringed with a soft violet halo.
She turned, expecting to see the hatchling, though how it had gotten into the room without her noticing was a puzzle. Suddenly, coming out from behind the other chair, stiff-legged and stretching, was a thigh-high Beauty, yellow with a spattering of red freckles on its nose and a smattering of red around its neck, like a jeweled collar.
"Down, Lib," Henkky said to the dragon, making a swift cutting motion with her hand.
The dragon dropped, quivering, onto the rug. "Danger?"
"No danger," Akki sent, sorry to lie like that. "Not to thee, little one." That much was true. No Beauty could breed. No breeding, no bloody egg chamber.
Lib stopped quivering, and lay quietly.
"Sorry for that," Henkky said. "Actually, she's a good girl and will leave us to our talk. Afterward, we can let the two of them, Lib and your dragon, out into the back garden for a romp. What's her name?"
Akki suddenly realized she had no idea. She'd just been calling it the hatchling. Then a snarky thought came to her, the perfect name. "Aurea," she said at last.
Dr. Henkky's head went back and she laughed so loud and so long, little Lib stood and quickly went behind the chair and didn't come out again. "That's the name Golden was going to give you, the female equivalent of an old Earth word for 'golden.' His little joke."
"I know," Akki said. "We girls can play games as well as the boys!"
"Then let's give you another name. Let's give you something to show you're free."
"But your name still has double ks."
Henkky's lips drew down into a thin line. "I'm spelling it with one k now. But for you—how about ... Argent. Another word from Earth."
"What does it mean?"
"Silver."
Akki smiled. "I like that. And it sounds stronger than Aurea."
"It is, though not worth as much to the Feders."
"What do they know?" Akki said. "Except to spend money and rule with a heavy hand."
"What do they know indeed, Argent."
Akki put her hand out, then gave Henkky's small, strong hand two long shakes. She felt the first bit of real hope for the dragons that she'd had since coming home.
"Now," Henkky added, "let's do something just for us. Something with your hair. It looks as if it has been cut with garden clippers by a drunk."
"Close," Akki said, and laughed. "Very close."
24
AKKI SAT on the double bed in the bedroom Dr. Henkky shared with Golden. Henkky drew a pair of surgical scissors from her pocket and proceeded to even out Akki's cap of black hair, though the fringe over her eyes was left jagged.
"There," Henkky said, picking up a hand mirror from a bedside table. "Now it looks like a real haircut, not something chopped off with a knife."
"It was a pair of shears," Akki said.
As the two of them were close enough in size, Henkky gave Akki two dresses—one green and one blue—and a pair of elegant heeled sandals.
"You can try these on later," Henkky said. "I was going to give them to Senekka. She likes my old clothes. And these are quite old—from my childhood! But you'll need to look presentable at the debates tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Akki was stunned. "But ... but I'm not going..."
Henkky frowned, picked up the scissors, made one more snip on Akki's hair. "You'll be introduced as Golden's niece."
"Argent. But I'm not—"
"Well, that's a story that will need to be firmed up before we get there, don't you think?"
"So I am going?"
Henkky nodded and then they laughed.
When Henkky held up the hand mirror, Akki stared at herself. "It does look good."
"And it changes your face, emphasizing the planes. You've lost weight, and now with this haircut, you look younger and more innocent."
"How do you know this sort of stuff?" Akki touched the fringe. "You're a doctor."
"You'd be surprised what someone can learn hanging around with the baggerie girls." Henkky set the scissors and hand mirror down on her dresser.
Akki thought for a moment. "Is that a good thing?"
Henkky shrugged. "It's useful. Like right now. And I can promise you that no one who has known you before will know you now."
"No one but the two of you know me here."
"How about the girls in the baggeries you helped treat last year? The members of the rebel cell you joined? Your father's old friends?"
Akki shrugged. "The girls paid no attention to me. The rebels have all been rounded up and sent offworld. And my father's old friends looked on me as an annoying little girl."
"Don't be so sure," Henkky told her.
Akki picked up the mirror and looked again. Maybe she's right—but I don't recognise me. Still, she wanted nothing to do with Golden's senate race. "Do I have to go to the debate?"
Dr. Henkky put her hands on Akki's shoulders. "We must do everything we can to get Golden reelected. His election's necessary—for Austar, for the dragons, for Sarkkhan's Nursery, for everything we hold dear."
"Good haircuts, fine dresses ..." Akki couldn't disguise the bitterness in her voice.
"Now, my girl, there's dear—and dearly bought. You have to learn the difference. I know I have, though it's taken this last year for me to see it. Golden can help us—master and bonder, freemen and freewomen all." Henkky's face was unreadable, but there was a slight twitch under her left eye.
Akki hesitated, before saying, "I believed that once. Entirely. When Golden came to my father's nursery as Ardru. When he helped Jakkin give his dragon a fighting chance in the pits. When he was my father's friend. When he helped us escape from the mountains. But now ... How can I trust him now? He's lied to me. He's manipulated me."
"And me," Henkky said. "It's his nature." She turned away, almost as if she didn't want her face to deny what her mouth said. "Whatever you think of him, he stands between us and total chaos. If I'm to keep working as a doctor, if you're to save the dragons, if we're to keep the rebels from our throats..."
Akki stared at Henkky's back. "I thought the rebels were gone, the worst ones sent offplanet, the innocents transformed into model citizens— freed model citizens."
Henkky whipped around. "Who told you that?"
"Golden did. In the truck. Today. Though I'd already heard it in the nursery from ... well, from everyone. I mean, it's common knowledge. All the men in the nursery have been talking about it." Looking at Henkky's furious face, Akki took a deep breath. "I guess they're not to be trusted, either? Boys and their games and all that. Like Golden."
Henkky smiled slowly. It didn't change the anger in her eyes. "The men were repeating what they'd been told. But not all the worst rebels have been caught yet. Or sent away. And believe me, Golden's not to be trusted. He'll charm you out of your last copper. Or into another of his lizard-drool schemes. But even eyes-open and knowing he's not to be trusted, you go along with him. You have to."
"Why?"
Henkky looked down and said nothing.
"Because you love him?"
The doctor's answer spread across her cheeks in a red glow.
"You love him," Akki repeated, suddenly thinking of Jakkin. Even when she was angriest at him, she loved him. Sighing, she sent out a fall of soft gray rain with his name running through it in dark blue. Just in case. Just in case he'd managed to follow her to The Rokk.
Immediately, she received two sendings.
"Danger?" It was a soft violet aura, instantly recognizable. Golden's Lib.
"Danger?" It was brighter, more pointed, not an aura but a zigzag pattern of light reds and pale blues. The hatchling. Aurea.
Akki took another deep breath and sent back reassurances in the shape of a rainbow that incorporated both L
ib's violets and Aurea's reds and blues. But though she listened with all her might, opened herself to the faintest of sendings, there was nothing from Jakkin. Not a signal, not a sending, not a sign.
"Fewmets! Where are you?"
She didn't trust Golden. She could not now entirely trust Henkky. She guessed that she was really on her own.
***
THEY ROUNDED UP the two little dragons and led them out of the back door into the garden.
Akki had never seen anything like it. It reminded her a bit of Jakkin's oasis, where she'd helped him train Heart's Blood. There was a miniature pool, rimmed with reeds, and some high tufted grass in the background, as tan as the reeds. Patches of leafed-out burnwort were wreathed in smoke near the tufted grass.
To one side of the pool stood a wooden structure with various flowers twining over its poles. She didn't recognize any of the flowers. Offworlders. Like Golden. A one-and-a-half-story greenhouse, with glass panels and wooden shutters, sat against the far wall, the sun flooding into it. It was filled with gourds and beans and other things she couldn't name.
A swath of cut grass, green as the eyes of little stinging insects, lay like a rug under a wooden table and chairs. The grass was all so perfect—and so perfectly astonishing—Akki was afraid to step off the walkway for fear of leaving crushing footprints.
The two dragons had no such fear. They galloped onto the green, Aurea banging into and overturning one of the chairs. Then they dove together into the pool, emerging to shake themselves dry. The water drops sailed across the grass to puddle near Akki's feet. The dragons then began to munch happily on the wort. Lib ate daintily, one leaf at a time. But the hatchling grabbed up an entire cluster of leaves all at once. She looked so silly, with several smoking leaves hanging out of the sides of her mouth, that first Akki and then Henkky laughed aloud.
The noise startled the dragons, and they bounded away, back to the pool, where they started the whole performance all over again.