Anyhow, proceed.Chapter 2: Dagger.
The banging woke me. It echoed around inside my head and made my ears hurt. I rolled over, turning my back on the door and stared at the mirror. Green and white glinted back at me. I sighed.
“Zia, are you up?” It was Harmony. This was the second time this morning that she had called out to me. I ignored her. What use did I have in being a Priv? It didn’t sound like a life I wanted... “That’s it,” she said from the other side of the metal door. “Igra, open it.”
The door creaked and I watched the mirror as Igra stepped into the room, Harmony close behind him. I watched Igra closely as Harmony gathered up my discarded clothes and passed them to the grey-clad girl from before.
“Zia,” Harmony said waving the girl away and turning back to the bed. “Up. We have much work to do.”
Igra shifted slightly. He was uncomfortable being in a girl’s room... My room now, I guess. I noticed that Igra’s eyes were on my face reflected in the mirror. He smirked and deliberately ran his eyes over me. I shot upright as he moved towards the bed and span to crouch down on the bed facing him, my hand automatically curling around an imaginary dagger’s handle.
Igra stopped short and stared at me. “This one is a warrior,” he said.
Harmony paused, taking in my hand and face. She nodded and waved the Warp back.
“I see,” she said and frowned, tilting her head to one side as she considered me again. It reminded me of last night, of how she and the boy, Flame, had stared. “I’ll be fine, Igra. It’s not like she’ll hurt me.”
I dropped the hand that held an imaginary dagger and frowned. “What is going on?” I asked standing and stepping off the bed. “You wake me up and scare me half to death, and it’s not even noon?”
Harmony chuckled. “We have work to do,” she said and looked me up and down. “Starting with a bath and fresh clothes—the dress you wear. It’s very pretty, isn’t it?” I gave her a blank look. “I shall have it washed and repaired for you. It’s too beautiful a blue to waste.”
I glared at her and planted my hands on my hips. Igra laughed and turned towards the door while Harmony scrutinized me more closely. I watched the Warp, ignoring Harmony for the moment.
Igra shot me a longing look when he turned to close the door. I suddenly wished I had a dagger. “I wish I had a dagger right now,” I muttered and Harmony frowned at me. I smiled. “So I can slash that smirk of his off his face.” I waved a hand towards the door Igra had just closed.
Harmony sighed and rolled her eyes as she walked around behind me and then back into view.
“Don’t mind him,” she said and stepped forward to grip my chin in one had. “With Shadow around, Igra won’t touch you—unless you invite him in, that is. These lines?” she asked, switching the subject. “They do come off, don’t they?”
I sighed and turned my attention back to her. “No, they’re tattoos. Permanent, I can’t remove them.” I pulled her hand away.
Harmony clicked her tongue, disappointed, and stepped back. “It will have to do.” She turned towards the door. “Come.”
I quickly followed her as she pushed open the metal door and vanished through the doorway. Harmony led me down a couple of halls then took a sharp right and pushed open a set of double doors—wooden doors.
“This is the bathing room,” she said and pointed to the large pool of water in front of us. I stared. I had seen one of those before...but where? “You have new clothes through that door on the right and soft towels on the bench near that door.” I looked and sure enough there were a couple of dark red towels sitting on a bench to the left of the doorway.
I nodded and pulled my dress over my head. Harmony gasped and averted her gaze. I handed her the dress and stepped into the pool.
“You are strange,” she said just before she left the room with my beloved blue dress.
I watched her go and waited until the door was closed before fully submerging myself in the cool water. I was alone again and it gave me time to think.
Flame had made me a Priv—but what did it mean? He had also made Shadow one of the Privileged; I had to wonder why? They all seemed to know him and upon seeing him for the first time acted like they had seen a ghost... What secrets did these people have hidden in their pasts?
I broke free of the water and wiped at my face. I looked around and sighed. How could I fit in if I didn’t—and couldn’t—remember my past?
It was pointless, thinking over it again. I wouldn’t remember. I was lucky to even have a name and I vaguely remember a much older woman... I assumed her to be my mother. She always had jewels on her forehead, above—and one between—her eyes.
I sighed remembering her eyes—a much duller green than mine. I sighed again and swam towards the edge closest to the towels.
I checked the room to see if I was alone before climbing out of the pool and grabbing a towel. I wrapped it around me as I stepped into the other room. I stared at the dark blue clothes laid out for me. A dress, slightly different than mine lay beside little pieces of fabric I had only seen once before, a very long time ago. The words came to me slowly; Underwear. Bras. Panties. I frowned. Why would I remember what these were? I picked up the underwear and stared at them. It was odd.... And suddenly I remember how to use them and put them on slowly.
“Huh,” I muttered and turned to the dress. It was beautiful and heavily embroidered... How did I know what that stitching was? I was scaring myself with the random fragments of memory that kept popping up.
I shook my head and picked up the dress, twisting it this way and that to see how it went on. Ah, over your head. I pulled it on and smoothed it down over my stomach and hips. There were little ties down the left side of the bodice and a slit right up to mid thigh on my left leg.
I smiled. I liked this dress, but not as much as my old one—the one my Mother had given to me before she left.... I shook my head, trying to shake off the memory. I did not need an old ghost haunting my mind in the present.
“Venezia?” someone called. I turned towards the bathing room. That was Shadow’s voice.
I moved forward slowly and peeked around the doorjamb. Shadow stood just inside the double doors. He was scowling and had one hand on his hip. In the other was a sheathed dagger.
I stepped out of the room and walked towards him. “What?” I asked, shooting him a glare.
He stared at me for several minutes as I joined him by the double doors and looked up at him. He was only a few inches taller than me and I was tall.
Suddenly he shook his head and held the dagger out to me. “I heard about what you did earlier,” he said and dropped his gaze to the floor. “I thought you might need this.”
I took the dagger off him and smiled. “Thank you,” I said and slid the dagger free. It had one word carved into this side of the blade; Bray. I frowned and turned it over. The carving on this side was half worn away and I could only just make out the word; Brady. My frown deepened and I slid the blade home.
Shadow sighed and looked up at me. I half-turned away and pulled the skirt of my dress out of the way so I could strap the dagger onto my right thigh.
He cleared his throat and averted his gaze. I grinned and covered the blade and my leg.
“Sorry,” I said and smoothed the fabric over the concealed dagger. I couldn’t even tell that it was there just by looking at the dark blue fabric.
“It’s nothing,” Shadow mumbled and turned towards the doors. I watched him as he stopped with his hands on the wood. “Coming?” he asked and pushed opened the doors.
I nodded and followed him from the room. He led me down several corridors—I got lost after the fifth turn—and then into the room from last night. I took notice of my surroundings this time.
Flame sat directly opposite the door, Harmony on his left and there were two empty spaces to his right—between him and Igra. The Priv boy turned his head towards Harmony and I saw a flash of silver at the corner of his right eye, just above the eyebrow—a silver lightning bolt. I took notice of Harmony now and saw that she had one as well, but just under the corner of her right eye.
I hesitated, watching the others now staring at me. All had a silver lightning bolt at the corner of their right eyes and a mark of their own—usually a black line through the other eye. Some had pink or red.
I looked at Shadow. He still had the black line across his eyelid and the one down his cheek but now he also had a silver lightning bolt beside the line down his cheek.
Flame turned his head towards me and I saw silver over his left eyelid. Harmony leaned towards the girl beside her and whispered something in her ear. The girl frowned in my direction and replied.
“Venezia,” Flame called, “And Shadow—back from beyond the grave, I see. Welcome, come and sit.” He placed a hand on the floor to his right. I noticed that everyone sat on the same level, equals.
Shadow moved to Flame’s side and sat down. I quickly joined him, not wanting to appear rude or anything else that could offend them.
I felt the leather thigh holster dig into my leg and rearranged my dress so that it hid the dagger. Extra caution couldn’t hurt, could it? I tried not to show my discomfort as Harmony stood and came over to me, a small box in one hand.
She knelt before me and tilted my head to the left then reached into the box and pulled out a silver tube. She removed half of it and then flicked a small lump up. A strange, solid silver substance that looked a lot like the markings on their faces shot out and she smiled.
“Ready, Zia?” she whispered and I nodded.
Harmony’s smiled wider and she pressed the silver tip to my skin and drew it down, across and then down again. She took the silver stick away and flicked the small lump back down, the silver vanished. She replaced the other half and put it back in the box then removed a small hand mirror from it and handed it to me.
I raised it up to look in the mirror and found the lightning bolt below my left eye, exactly where Harmony’s was. I smiled and looked up.
“Welcome to the Privileged, Zia,” Flame said and everyone around us cheered. I turned to look at Flame. He smiled at me.
I handed the mirror back to Harmony who returned it to the box and then returned to her seat. The girl beside her took the box and gently placed it on the floor beside her.
I saw Shadow’s attention move to the door opposite us from the corner of my eye and looked towards the door as well. It seemed like all eyes were on the two figures in the doorway. One was the boy I had seen in the forest, the other was a girl I had never seen before. Her markings were like the boy’s—only silver-white. And she too had feathers in her hair, like the boy.
“Zora,” Flame called, smiling at the new comers. “What a surprise! To what do we owe this visit?”
The girl slowly approached Flame and Harmony, giving up her spear to a nearby Warp as she passed him. She appeared to be no threat without the spear but I knew better. I knew she had another weapon on her—I could see the knife hanging from her belt, it was disguised as a piece of drift wood....
“Yesterday, Dan told me that he saw Shadow heading back to the Privs and that he wasn’t alone,” she said and her eyes moved away from the dark-haired boy to rest on me. She stared at me. “I see now that he was telling the truth and I see now the girl that was with him.”
Harmony and Flame exchanged looks. Harmony gave Flame a nod and they returned their attention to the girl before them.
“You have a problem with this?” Flame asked sitting up straighter.
Zora raised her chin and glared at him. “I have a problem with your Warps in my forest.”
“Ah,” Flame said and stood up. The boy behind Zora, Dan, backed off. He looked scared. “Igra, why were the Warps in the forest?”
“I saw a girl,” Igra said. I felt his eyes on me. “She was quite beautiful. I thought you, Flame, would like to meet her so when she ran, I followed.”
Zora glared at the Warp and Igra smiled back at her. The room went quiet as they stared at each other. Igra was grinning at the Barb girl and Zora was glaring back.
Suddenly the boy stepped forward and spoke, “You had two other Warps with you!” He said rather loudly. Flame turned his blue gaze on the boy. “The agreement was no more than two in the forest at any time,” he continued ignoring Flame’s gaze. “Unless you were going to visit, there should only have been two in the forest yesterday.”
I sighed. So the boy had not only seen me with Shadow but had also seen the Warps chasing me. The boy turned his furious gaze on me.
“And you,” he hissed, narrowing his eyes at me. “You don’t even look or act like a Priv!”
There was a split second of silence before Flame roared, “Quiet!” And the boy jumped, hiding behind Zora. Harmony stood and placed a hand on Flame’s arm.
“Flame,” she said in a low voice. “Please don’t scare him.”
Flame sighed and rubbed at his left temple. “I’m sorry Harmony,” he whispered just loud enough for me and Shadow to hear. “I don’t feel so well.”
“It’s okay, Flame,” Harmony whispered back. “You just need some rest.” She looked at Shadow. “Shadow, can you handle this for us while I get him settled?” she asked, still in a low voice.
Shadow nodded and stood up. He moved to Flame’s side and placed a hand on the older boy’s shoulder. Flame sighed.
“You should rest,” Shadow told him in a low voice before turning to face the two Barbs before us.
Zora watched as Harmony led Flame out of the room. She took the back door by the looks of it. Dan was watching me.
“Is that all, Zora?” he asked and she nodded once, “Very well. Would you like to stay for lunch?” He asked but Zora was already shaking her head.
“No,” she said and half-turned back towards the door. Dan still stood staring at me. “I have to get back to my tribe. Who knows what the younger ones are getting up to while I’m gone?” She shrugged and pushed Dan back a step. “Come on, Dan. Let’s go. You can shoot something on the way back if you like.”
Dan hesitated, his eyes on me. Zora dug her nails in and Dan finally tore his eyes off me. They vanished through the door, Zora taking back her spear as she passed the Warp who held it. A Warp closed the door behind them and Shadow sighed.
“Gwyn,” Shadow said and the girl who had been sitting next to Harmony looked up. “I’m going to check on Flame. Take over for me.”
Shadow turned to see her face and the girl nodded. Shadow gave her a fleeting smile and followed after Flame and Harmony. Igra watched Shadow go before joining the Warps at the door opposite us.
Quite suddenly, I found myself in a room full of people I didn’t know and they were all staring at me.
“Lunch,” Gwyn announced and several grey-clad boys and girls entered the room carrying trays. They set them down in the middle of the space in front of me and then left again.
Everyone but Gwyn turned their attention to the food and grabbed a plate. I stared at the food. There was fruit and vegetables, and even meat there.
Gwyn got up and took two plates of food from the middle and came and sat by me. She handed me a plate, which I took, and smiled.
“I’m Gwyn,” she said and picked up her red apple. “I have never seen anyone like you before.”
I looked up, startled. I had been staring at the food but what she had just said put me on the defensive.
“How am I unlike anyone you’re ever seen before?” I asked and picked up a green grape. I examined it closely before popping it into my mouth.
Gwyn leaned closer. “I know you have a knife on you,” she whispered and looked around. The others were too busy talking amongst themselves. “And I know that you don’t like Igra either.” She grinned at me and leaned back. That second bit was teasing, I could tell.
“How did you...” I trailed off, watching as Igra sat back down beside me.
He snatched a piece of meat off my plate. “Thank you,” he said and started tearing it apart. I stared at him for a moment then looked at Gwyn. She shrugged and took a bite out of her apple.
“Right,” I muttered and put the plate down. “So, what was all that about?” I asked. Igra paused, mid bite while Gwyn just stared at me, frowning.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Flame’s headache,” I replied and took the apple off her.
“Oh, that,” she said. “Flame has been getting those for a few weeks now. So far it’s only been a few nasty headaches. The first time it happened, his nose bled.”
I stopped eating her apple and handed it back to her. She put it down on her plate.
“Flame has been good these past four years but lately he’s been throwing tantrums just as bad as back then,” Igra put in and licked his fingers. He was finished with the meat.
“What?” I asked and Igra shrugged. “I’m sorry; I can’t really remember the last ten years of my life. Everything is vague and blurry, and it’s had to focus on the past in the first place.”
Gwyn nodded and sighed. She looked past me and towards the door opposite us.
“You can’t remember what happened?” Igra asked in a quiet voice.
I shrugged and pushed the plate away. Igra was being nice to me now? What was going on now?
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I muttered, the image of my mother coming back to the surface again. I shook my head and looked at my hands where they lay in my lap.
“Igra,” Gwyn said absently, “Aren’t you supposed to be on patrol in a few minutes?”
Igra swore under his breath and stood up. “I’ll see you ladies later, hmm?”
Gwyn rolled her eyes. We watched him cross the room and disappear through the door. Shadow came back moments after the door slammed shut.
“Igra seems angry,” he said as he sat down next to us.
Gwyn smiled. “He had to go on patrol.”
Shadow nodded and picked up my plate, leaning between us to reach it.
Gwyn suddenly looked up and frowned. “Where’s Harmony?” she asked.
Shadow sighed and leaned back. “With Flame,” he said and picked up the green apple sitting on the plate. “He’s not doing so well,” he said lowering his voice. “He passed out not long after we got him back to his room.”
“Has his nose started bleeding again?” I asked in a rush, suddenly remembering my mother and her bleeding nose. She had been leaning over me and another child—a boy, my brother. I had a brother.
Shadow gave me a strange look. “No,” he said and bit into the apple. He looked away from me and frowned.
I sighed and leaned back onto my elbows, watching him and Gwyn as they talked. I was getting bored now and voiced that opinion making Shadow smile.
“Do you remember anything at all?” Gwyn suddenly asked with a frown.
I winced and turned my face away, an image of my mother flashing past my eyes. Why could they just leave it alone? I sighed. They were curious; of course they’d keep pestering me about it.
“Leave her alone,” Shadow whispered, glancing around the room. Everyone was still too busy eating and talking.
“No, it’s fine, Shadow,” I whispered. “I’ll tell her.” I looked at Gwyn and then down again. “My mother and my brother—not much really, just flashes of faces and other things.”
Gwyn sighed. I looked up, frowning. She was looking longingly towards the door Igra had slammed on his way out.
“Dan,” she said and dragged her gaze away from the door. “He’s my brother.” She put her plate down and stood up. “I didn’t get to talk to him when he was here.”
“Gwyn,” Shadow said but she was already walking towards the door.
“I won’t be long, Shadow,” she called. “Don’t tell anyone!” And then she was out the door, gone.
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