“Shadi is newly pledged, with a busy schedule. I would like to get her settled in before I start putting little sisters her way.” Mistress Parmina sat still for a few minutes. A small smile stole across her lips. “I do have a suitable candidate in mind,” she said. “Let me talk to a few other mistresses and see if she would happen to be available.”
“There is a formal ceremony for such things,” Althy explained to me. “In older times, most asha used to have only one sister to guide them through their apprenticeship until they make their debut. There aren’t as many of us as there used to be, however, and there is not always time to attend to a novice, especially when you serve as a bodyguard or have a patron several kingdoms away. The three-sisters system was developed for this. Lady Mykaela, Lady Polaire, and I often mentored girls together in this way.”
“But since Mykkie is indisposed, you will be one of those rare apprentices with four sisters sharing the responsibilities,” Polaire chimed in.
“We shall schedule the ceremony in a week,” Mistress Parmina decided. “You are right, Polaire. We shouldn’t wait.”
After the meal, I snuck away to look in on Lady Mykaela, who was still asleep. I watched her tired face, looked at her empty heartsglass. I looked down on my own and touched the glass with a finger. It rippled for a few moments, blue and yellow heartbeats that soon faded into its usual silver. In the excitement, I had forgotten to tell Lady Mykaela about the attack—but whenever I tried to, a voice in my head would rise up, insistent. It told me that Parmina would curtail my freedom and ban me from leaving the asha-ka ever again, and I knew in my heart that it spoke the truth. And so I held my tongue. Lady Mykaela had other more important concerns to worry about.
? ? ?
Lady Shadi made her debut a month later, throwing the Valerian into chaos. I was not allowed to take part in all the preparations, as I still had to prioritize my lessons and the rest of my training, but for three days before her official coming out, there was a constant flux of people rushing in and out of the asha-ka. Kana and Farhi spent a whole day cleaning the house from top to bottom. Rahim popped in and out at all hours of the day and brought three of his assistants whenever he visited, all armed to the teeth with piles of cloth and patterns. Chesh was also a regular guest during those days, her hands full of hairpins and combs, and sometimes she brought Likh with her, who watched the proceedings with wide eyes. “This is only the third asha-ka I’ve ever been to,” he admitted to me, envious. “It’s a different experience every time.”
“It doesn’t sound like you’ve been punished much,” Lady Mykaela told me, laughing as we watched the preparations from the safety of her room. She sat up on her bed, still looking tired but noticeably perkier.
“I’ve been wondering about that. Why wasn’t I? I must have caused so much damage—”
“Don’t think about it,” she interrupted. “And don’t feel bad either. When you live in a district full of asha, most Ankyons learn to shrug things off. Reparations have been made, and if anything, you’ve actually bolstered ours among the people. Mother would only have punished you if she hadn’t gotten some substantial profit from what you’ve done. Why do you think she decided to speed up your novitiate?”
Other visitors came and went. There were people from gift shops, some of the subordinate mistresses from the dance and musical schools, an elder asha representing the Willows association, people from dry goods stores and specialty food shops, and vendors from the Ankyon market.
Anoush, the owner of the Dawnbreak, the tearoom that the Valerian did the most business with, also called on Mistress Parmina. I woke up one morning and walked into the dining hall where Polaire and Althy already sat only to trip over a trio of ducks that had been wandering around the table. One of them, taking offense, promptly bit me. My screams and Polaire’s laughter brought him and Lady Shadi running.
“My apologies, Lady Tea,” Anoush apologized, scooping up the ducks. “Mistress Parmina wanted to have a look at the ingredients we will be using for the party.”
“The party?”
Lady Shadi smiled at me. “After my debut, the Valerian will be hosting a party at the Dawnbreak later that night, and close to three hundred guests will be invited. There wouldn’t be enough room here to accommodate everyone.”
“But why would Mistress Parmina need to see what she’ll be eating?” I scooted as far away from the fowls as I could.
“She likes to stick her nose in everything in the belief it makes things run more smoothly.” Polaire licked the panir off her fingers before taking another bite of bread. “Still, without the meddling on her part, I would not have been made privy to such marvelous entertainment so early in the morning.”
“You have cheese on your cheek,” I told her sourly. Both asha had been staying at the guesthouse so they could check up on Lady Mykaela, who was more or less confined to her room and forbidden to take part.
“Are you all right, dear?” Althy asked me. “I could put some flyjelly on the bite to ease the pain if you’d like.”
“No thank you.” I stalked out of the room with my appetite gone, my hand over my rear end, and Polaire’s laughter still ringing in my ears.
Even though I was a member of the Valerian household, apprentices were not allowed to attend a new asha’s debut, so I remained at home with Kana and Farhi while the others were at the Dawnbreak to celebrate. For once, Lady Mykaela was allowed to leave the house, though kept under close watch by Polaire and Althy. Farhi still refused to speak to me and tried to stay away when she could. I couldn’t really blame her. Kana was friendlier, though sometimes I caught her looking at me expectantly, like she was waiting for me to raise a dead bird or rat. Fox had business to attend to, though he wouldn’t say what it was. His limping had grown pronounced as of late, but he always grinned in response and told me not to worry too much.
With the Valerian almost empty and Fox away, I felt lonely. I kept to my room and practiced the day’s lesson and then the other previous days’ lessons when I grew tired of repeating the same dance over and over again. The rest of the party wouldn’t return until early in the morning, and the only highlight of the night was when some of the Dawnbreak’s attendants arrived to give us some of the leftovers. The maids were delighted at the change of cuisine and ate as much as they could. I sat and stared at the head of a roasted duck, not feeling very hungry. It was probably the same duck that had bitten me, but for some reason, it didn’t feel like retribution at all.