Only about everything. But I don’t admit it.
“I have one,” one of the twins announces. After Mistress Eira nods, she leans forward and drops her voice a fraction. “Is it true that there is a Demon Queen?”
Murmurs ripple through the room. Nonplussed, I glance at Aoki. She shrugs. It seems the two of us are the only ones who haven’t heard of her before.
Mistress Eira waits for quiet. Then she answers, “Yes.” A pulse of expectant stillness falls over the table. “Most people outside the palace aren’t aware of her existence because she’s hidden. Kept in private quarters in Royal Court for the sole purpose of breeding.”
“My father told me there is more than one queen,” Blue says.
“Then he was misinformed,” Mistress Eira answers, and Blue’s face does a little spasm as she tries to look like she didn’t mind being wrong. “There is only one. The royal fortune-tellers and advisers couple her carefully with each new King when he takes the throne to ensure a union the heavens will smile upon.”
I swallow, glancing round the table. “None—none of us could become the queen, could we?”
“Certainly not. You are Paper castes. It is impossible for you to produce the Moon caste heir that would be required. In fact, each time you spend a night with the King, you will be given medicine to keep you from becoming pregnant.”
While I don’t know much about inter-caste procreation, I do know that although it is difficult for a man and woman from different castes to conceive, especially a Paper caste female and a Moon caste male, it’s still possible. I suppose the King wouldn’t want to lose his concubines to miscarriages. Or worse, give him a low-caste baby. In a coupling, the higher caste’s gene is usually dominant, but we’ve all heard the stories of couples being taken by surprise.
“Has the current queen given the King any children yet?” Chenna asks from across the table.
Blue’s eyes go wide. She shares a look with the short-haired girl sitting next to her.
Mistress Eira lifts a hand. “That is a private matter between them, not to mention a… sensitive issue. I strongly suggest none of you inquire into it any further.” She tilts her head, her face relaxing. “Let’s eat. You must all be hungry.”
As lunch is served, we chatter easily at the table. Maids duck between us to keep our plates and cups full. Perhaps Mistress Eira’s barley tea really does work, because halfway through the meal my nerves have calmed. I’m starting to enjoy the afternoon—the serene comfort of Mistress Eira’s suite, the food, the company of the other girls.
It’s the first chance I’ve really had to get to know them. Besides Aoki, Blue, and Wren, there is Chenna, who I learn is from Jana’s capital, Uazu, in the South and is the only daughter of a rich mine owner. I like her immediately. She comes across as reserved, though not shy. When one of the other girls asks her whether she misses her family, she says yes without hesitation.
The twins are Zhen and Zhin. Their delicate features and alabaster skin are so similar I can barely tell them apart. I overhear them telling Chenna about their aristocratic family in Han, which, judging by her reaction, is apparently well known in Ikhara. Of course it would be—aristocratic Paper caste families are rare. Enterprise and government are areas for Moon castes. Even Steels are mostly limited to industry and trade. Paper castes usually occupy the lowest roles: servants, farmers, manual laborers. Sometimes the caste lines are crossed. Zhen and Zhin’s family, as well as Blue’s and Wren’s, are testaments to that. But it’s uncommon.
And still, there’s always the knowledge that no matter how high a human might rise, demons will always be superior.
The last in our group is Mariko, a curvaceous girl with full lips and a perfectly oval face, enhanced by cropped hair that cups her chin in two winglike sweeps. Mariko and Blue seem to have become friends. They drop their heads together to whisper often, shooting me smug looks over the table. I get so fed up of this that the next time they cut their eyes to me I beam back, waving.
There’s a snort. I glance round to find Wren watching me, her eyes lit with amusement. But as soon as she sees me notice, the smile drops from her face. She crooks her neck round, shoulders stiff.
“What’s her problem?” I ask Aoki under my breath, scowling in Wren’s direction. “She’s barely said a word to anyone. It’s like she wants us to dislike her.”
Aoki leans her head close. “Well, you know what they say about the Hannos.” At my blank look, she goes on, “You know how most Paper castes hate them for being so close to the King? She must be aware of that. I can’t imagine it’s easy.”
It takes me a moment to understand what she’s telling me. That Wren may act like she hates all of us, but maybe it’s because she’s worried that we hate her.
After lunch, Mistress Eira takes us out to her small courtyard garden. It’s beautiful. The trees and bushes are strung with colorful beads, yellow flowers dotting the green like precious jewels. Gilded cages hang from the eaves. The twitters of the birds inside rise above the babbling pool that loops round a central island mounted by a small pagoda. Something about the place reminds me of my garden back in Xienzo, the slightly overgrown edges, or maybe just the sound of birdsong and the warm sunshine on my face.
Eyes stinging, I hurry away from the other girls, heading down a narrow stone path, suddenly wanting to be alone. I settle on a bench half hidden by a magnolia tree. Curling cups of pink-white leaves form a ceiling overhead. The afternoon air is rich and sweet, full of the scents of blossom and sun-warmed wood and the conversations of the other girls. I recognize the voices of Chenna and Aoki, just around the corner.
“So you’ve heard about them, too?” Chenna says.
“I thought they were only happening in the North. There was one not far from where we live in the East of Shomu, and I heard reports of others in the rest of our province. Xienzo and Noei, too.”
“I think it’s all the periphery provinces. We’ve had some in Jana, too.” “My Ahma told me the King’s patrols have always performed raids,” Aoki replies. “Especially on villages where Paper caste clans live. But there’s more now. And from what we hear, they’re… different. Even worse.”
“Has anyone you know…” Chenna’s voice trails off.
I imagine Aoki shaking her head. “You?”
“No. The court would never attack the capitals.” There’s a pause, and then Chenna goes on, “But on my way to the palace we passed a town near the northern border—or what was a town. There was barely anything of it left. My mother told me she had a friend who had family there. Kunih help their souls,” she blesses quietly.
“I saw places like that on my way here, too,” Aoki murmurs.
“Do you think it has anything to do with the Sickness?”
“I don’t know. But I do know that the Sickness has been getting worse. My parents told me our taxes have gone up, and more and more of our crops are getting seized by royal soldiers every year. It must be getting pretty bad in some places.”
They move away, and my thoughts drift with them. I don’t know what the Sickness is, but they were talking about the raids, like the one that happened to my village, and the ruined town I saw on my way to the palace. It must be happening all over Ikhara. General Yu said the one we saw in Xienzo had to do with a rebel group. Is that why other places are being attacked, too? And was that what he meant when he said to Mistress Eira that the kingdom is facing hard times? Increased rebel activity, and whatever this Sickness is?