promise,” she mumbles and gives me a hug.
I hug her back, stroking her back and a wave of her jet-black hair. Suddenly, I take a step back.
“Anna, where did you get this dress?”
She looks agitated and I don’t like it. I hold her by the shoulders and she tries to escape my grip but I’m stronger, so she yields.
“Anna,” I repeat sternly.
“I’ve bought it,” she says uncertainly.
“We don’t have this kind of money! What is that? Serat silk?” I gasp feeling her sleeve. “It must have cost a fortune!”
She seizes the opportunity and breaks free. She runs a few feet and turns back to me.
“Don’t be mad, Agatha. It’s just a gift.” She tries on that sheepish grin of hers again but I know better. This is too big.
“Who is rich enough to give you such a gift?” I ask her.
“It… it doesn’t matter…”
“Yes, it does!” I run up to her and grasp her elbow so that she can’t escape again. She’s still shorter and thinner than me but she runs faster. It’s a pity she does it in all the wrong situations.
“Was it a man?”
She bites her lower lip and this childish habit gives her away.
“You didn’t! He… How… How could you…” I struggle to get the words out, incredulous, unable to calm myself this time.
I look around to make sure there are no witnesses and drag her into the nearest room. She doesn’t resist and obediently shuffles behind me, lifting the skirt of her dress, which tangles around her feet. I double check the room is empty and lock it from the inside. The place is dark and dusty but I couldn’t care less. I put my hands on my hips and turn to Anna, cutting her off from the door too, just in case.
“Who is he?!”
Anna refuses to look at me again and dusts off her sleeve instead.
“His name is Arian, he’s the Prince of Serat.”
The breath I was unconsciously holding escapes in an exasperated sigh.
“Anna, you know it will never lead to anything! And a prince…”
“I know I’ll have no husband!” she snaps suddenly.
I am speechless for a moment. It’s the first time she has dared to speak to me like that. I didn’t even know she could. She notices my confusion and her boldness is gone. Her shoulders sink and she lowers her head again.
“I know,” she repeats, “but why is it so wrong that I want a little bit of love? It’s not forbidden, is it?”
“It’s not that, Anna. He’s a prince. The path of politics is paved with razor-sharp knives. If someone learns about you, you could be in danger. If the king decides, for instance, that a Mara is not worthy of his son and your affair is tarnishing the Crown…”
I suddenly feel exhausted and sink into a wooden chair. It’s beautifully carved, but blanketed in dust. Anna comes up to me and I take her hands in mine.
“I’m only nineteen, sister. I can try to protect you from evil spirits lurking in the woods and under the water, but I can’t protect you from political intrigues, let alone a broken heart. And if you love him, your heart will break. It will break the moment you’ll have to part. Does he love you?”
“Yes,” she says with a serious expression on still a child’s face.
“And do you?”
“I love him, too.”
“Oh, Anna…”
She smiles at me and starts stroking my hair, not as shiny as hers but just as black.
“Don’t worry about me, Agatha. I have never been so happy! If you could just see his smile… it’s so charming. And his hair is like gold, and when you feel it, it’s even softer than Serat silk! I’ve never seen anyone so handsome…”
A dreamy smile is playing on her lips, but my smile is rueful. I don’t know what I’m feeling anymore. I’m angry with her and I worry like crazy, but maybe I’m also jealous. Everything seems to just fall into her lap. She will even know love, however fleeting, and I’ve only been loved by my parents and have already forgotten how it feels.
“Alright, sister, so be it. I won’t interfere with your happiness or try to talk you out of this madness. It’s beyond my powers.”
Anna is beside herself with joy. If I wasn’t holding her hands, she would start twirling. But I give her hands a squeeze to get her attention back.
“But I want you to introduce me to him.”
“You won’t go threatening him or anything, will you?”
“Maybe just a little,” I say with a straight face and she believes me and shoots me a frightened look. I let out a laugh but then put on a serious expression again.
“There’s one more condition.”
“Oh no…” she moans.
“I’ll keep silent and won’t tell the sisters anything as long as you start working hard. I want you to get really serious about your training.”
She knows it’s a trap. She’s breathing noisily and tries to find a way out. But there’s none, so I try not to look too smug.
“Okay, okay, I promise,” she finally gives up.
“He must be really handsome.” I laugh and dodge when her hand lashes out at me.
7
Yarat has sprawled.
It is my first thought when we climb the hill and the city stretches out before us. Yarat sits on a plain on the north-west of Araken. But the city is growing and I catch myself thinking that in a few decades it will probably swallow the gulf port too. The heavy clouds are blocking sunrays and the city seems gloomy. High spires of temples and the gilded roof of the royal palace look duller. We are still far away and all the houses are tiny, like children’s toys, with the palace standing out against them. It has several storeys and it’s longer than it is wide. However, it takes up a huge area and the adjacent square looks enormous even from where we are standing.
I am used to the life of an isolated temple, so I’ve never liked big cities, let alone capitals. I’ve only been to the capital of Serat once. But even then, I didn’t have time for sightseeing, I dashed through the city and the only thing I had time to take note of was a somber palace faced in grey marble. I’ve visited Yarat a few times, and it leaves me unimpressed. But I’m sure this trip will be especially unpleasant.
I turn my gaze to the Quiet Gulf in the distance. Its waters are always calm thanks to the three islands in the bay that break any ocean waves.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Daniel trots up to me on his steed. Morok falls back, but only by a few feet.
They still don’t trust me. And they are right,