I flail sideways, throwing a hand to the wall to catch myself. A few of the girls titter.
“It’s… the shoes,” I mumble, righting myself. “I’m not used to them.”
“Of course you aren’t,” Madam Himura says. With a sigh, she turns, motioning for us to follow her. Even the snap of her cane manages to sound disapproving.
Aoki comes over as soon as she’s gone, lacing an arm through mine. “I’m struggling with them, too,” she whispers. “It’s weird to have your feet all squashed like this. My sisters would laugh so much if they could see.”
Most of the other girls have left, but Blue hangs back. “Perhaps it’s good you’re here after all, Nine,” she says silkily. “You make even little Aoki here look graceful.”
I make a rude gesture with my hands when her back is turned, and Aoki suppresses a laugh.
After some more stumbling, Aoki and I catch up with the girls. We’re taken to the same parlor we were in last night. A set of sliding doors has been opened, letting in sunlight and the sound of leaves rustling in the garden beyond. Madam Himura leaves us without explanation. We wait until the rap of her talons has faded away before erupting into anxious whispers.
“I wish I knew what the assessments are,” Aoki says, chewing her bottom lip. Around us, the other girls are speculating on the same topic. “Nothing too physical, I hope. I… I have some scars.” Her emerald eyes shimmer. “Lei, do you think they’ll send me home because of them? I can’t be thrown out before I’ve even met the King!”
I take her hand and give it a squeeze. “I’m sure you’ll be fine, Aoki. They chose you. They want you here.”
“But what if they’ve changed their minds? Maybe now that they’ve seen me with the other girls they’ve realized they made a mistake picking me. Maybe—”
“Tell me about the selection process,” I interrupt, realizing she’s on the verge of a meltdown. “How does it work?”
She blinks. “Haven’t you followed any of the selections?”
I shrug. “My village doesn’t pay much attention to the court. It’s just… so far away.” I don’t add the other reason—that we don’t want anything to do with it. That what the King gets up to isn’t important to us, as long as he leaves us alone.
“I thought everyone in Ikhara follows them!” Aoki exclaims, and seeming to forget her nerves, she launches into a thorough explanation.
I learn that the selection for Paper Girls begins on the first day of the third month each year. The process is split into two halves. The first, which runs for six weeks, invites families to bring their eligible daughters—Paper caste, of course, and at least sixteen years old by the time they would be inducted in the palace—to the court representatives in their province. The representatives evaluate candidates based on their ancestry, social standing, and nu skills, as well as their appearance. Scouts also travel throughout Ikhara to find suitable girls whose families didn’t put them forward. The number discovered this way is surprisingly high.
Or perhaps not so surprising. Most Paper castes aren’t exactly the King’s biggest fans.
Once the six weeks are up, the representatives put forward their recommendations, shortlisting one hundred girls. The King is shown the selection to allow him to rule out any he deems unsuitable, and occasionally, to highlight ones he particularly likes the look of. A final thirty girls are invited to Han’s capital for a presence with delegates from the royal court.
Aoki tells me her family are rice-paddy farmers in a remote part of eastern Shomu. The banquet was her first time out of the fields. “I wasn’t myself at all, which is probably why they liked me. My quietness must have come across as dignified. But really I was just keeping my mouth shut so I didn’t throw up! None of us could believe it when a royal messenger delivered my letter of acceptance—sealed by the King himself. I still can’t believe it,” she adds, her thick lashes tilted down. “I keep waiting for someone to tell me it’s all been a joke.”
“Don’t say that. You earned your place here. Just like the others.”
She grins. “You did, too, Lei! You’re extra special for them to make such a big exception for you.”
I bristle at the idea that I should be honored to be here. But the look she gives me is so earnest I swallow my retort.
Just then, the door opens, a maid announcing Madam Himura’s return. In an instant, the room falls quiet.
The eagle-woman waves a hand irritably. “Blue,” she croaks from the doorway. “You’re first.”
Blue rises to her feet with a look that says, Of course I am.
I didn’t think Madam Himura would take long to come back, but two hours pass before the next girl is called, and another two until the next. Maids come in to serve us lunch, which I practically wolf down without chewing. It’s been a long time since my last proper meal and the palace food is delicious. Some of the dishes are recognizable to me, if far more delicate than how I’ve tasted them before: steaming bowls of coconut rice jeweled with pomegranate seeds; marinated eel slices; a whole roasted duck glistening with dark sauce. But far more are unfamiliar, and even though my stomach rounds, I make sure I try at least one mouthful of everything.
By the evening, the superior-looking girl with the catlike eyes and I are the only ones left.
“Best till last, right?” I say when we’ve been sitting in silence for over an hour.
Cat-girl doesn’t reply, watching me with her haughty look before turning pointedly away.
Uncomfortable silence it is, then. Glaring down at my plate, I stab at a sugared glutinous rice-ball a bit too aggressively. The little cake skids off the plate and plops onto the floor.
A snort of laughter.
I look up to find Cat-girl watching, eyebrows arched, her lips tucked up. Then, seeming to remember herself, her expression returns smoothly to neutral. “The chopsticks here must be different from the ones in Xienzo,” she says coolly.
It’s the first time I’ve heard her speak. Her voice is lower than I expected, and husky. It carries the elegant intonation of an aristocratic family. Lilting vowels, slow pacing.
“Yes,” I mutter under my breath. “The ones here seem to be used as sticks up everyone’s—”
Her eyes glide back to me. “What was that?”
“Nothing!” I sing, and luckily Madam Himura chooses that moment to return, calling finally for me.
I leave without saying good-bye to Cat-girl. Madam Himura leads me to a small room, a high, bare table in its center. A tall figure stands beside it with his back to us, and I catch an animal scent, something musty and sharp.
Nerves ripple through me.
“Doctor Uo,” Madam Himura says, pushing me forward. “The next girl is here.”
I force myself to stand steadily as the doctor turns, fixing me with a beady-eyed stare. He’s a boar demon, Moon caste. Two short tusks grow from either side of a snoutlike nose. His skin is coated in tawny-colored hair, wizened with age, and a pair of jade spectacles perch at the end of his nose.
“Lei-zhi is the one I told you about, Doctor,” Madam Himura continues. “This year’s additional girl. Since she didn’t go through the official selection process, please be sure to inspect her even more thoroughly.”