The Threshold Child Part 9

Ravi watched this process with a thoughtful expression on his face. He did not speak until Adesina blew out the lamp and climbed into bed.

"Are you troubled, Ma'eve?"

Adesina sighed and pulled the quilt up under her chin. "No more than usual," she muttered softly.

Ravi sat up on his back legs and faced her, a strange shadow in the darkened room. His golden eyes glowed faintly in the dim moonlight, and his deep voice rumbled gently. "Speak more of these troubles."

For several moments, Adesina considered brushing off her words as nothing. But slowly, almost involuntarily, she answered. "At the end of each day I feel a vague sort of discontentment. I have felt it since I was young."

"Why do you think that is?"

Adesina shrugged, and even though the room was dark, the motion was easily discerned by Ravi's sharp eyes. "I do not know. I have never understood."

"Are you unhappy?"

This question caught her off guard. "I do not believe so. I always a.s.sociated it with some sort of self-dissatisfaction."

There was a meditative pause. "What did you do in your youth to dispel such feelings?"

A grim smile spread across Adesina's face. "I would resolve to work even harder the following day."

"And what of when you could work no harder?"

She glared at the ceiling. "One can always work harder."

She heard the soft sounds of Ravi settling back down. "So, what will you do in this instance?"

Once again Adesina felt uncertain as to how to respond. "I do not know."

Ravi dropped his head onto his paws. "Do not worry, Ma'eve. Tomorrow will dawn, and you will be shown your path."

Adesina didn't feel very comforted, but said nothing. The sound of Ravi's humming gently lulled her into a dreamless sleep.

Chapter Nine: Education, Old and New.

Adesina rose long before the morning dawned. She reviewed the papers she had already memorized, careful to make sure that she was not forgetting any small details. Ravi watched impa.s.sively as Adesina created a strange sort of morning routine. She grouped together a series of exercises that would keep her physically up to Shimat standards, which were done silently and thoroughly. Adesina also practiced her weaponry, but she wasn't sure how helpful it would be without a partner to challenge her.

When the morning sky began to lighten, Adesina hid away all traces of her other life and began preparing for the day. She washed her face and then confronted the arduous task of figuring out her new High City clothing.

There was no clear way to get into the simple brown dress. Every seam was st.i.tched up tight, and there was no sign of b.u.t.tons or ties. Adesina stood in her underclothing, staring at the dress like a frustrating puzzle.

A soft knock sounded at the door and Jelana appeared. "Adrie, it is time to awakeaoh! You are an early riser. That is good."

Adesina's irritation must have shown on her face, because Jelana gave her a sympathetic smile and walked over to the bed. Ravi flicked his tail out of the way just in time to save it from being trodden upon. Jelana picked up the dress and showed Adesina how to put it on. Adesina also allowed her to a.s.sist with the matching ap.r.o.n.

"This ap.r.o.n will be worn as long as you are in school. On the days you apprentice with Ha.s.s, however, you need not wear it. On those days you will wear the apprentice sash."

Adesina nodded and shifted her feet experimentally. She felt a bit stiff wearing so many layers of clothing. Jelana touched Adesina's hair with a wistful look in her eyes. "I do not wish to tell you how to arrange your hair, but in the High City it is only appropriate for young girls to leave their hair down. A simple knot is most common among women, but at your age a braid is still acceptable."

Jelana smiled again and turned to walk out of the room. "Hurry down to breakfast. You do not want to be late on your first day."

Adesina plaited her long silver hair into a basic braid and then twisted it into a knot at the nape of her neck, where she pinned it in place. She sat on the trunk and pulled on her new boots. "Ravi, what are you going to do while I am at school?"

"I will follow you. Do you expect me to stay here all day?"

Adesina pursed her lips in exasperation. "I am not accustomed to being followed by a giant invisible cat. How am I supposed to know the protocol?"

Ravi snorted mildly. "I am not a cat. I am Rashad."

Adesina rolled her eyes. "You look like a cat to me."

Ravi was completely unruffled by this intended jab. "Cats do not talk. Now go down to breakfast. I will meet you on the street."

She scowled in annoyance and walked out of the room with a sharp step. Breakfast was a silent affair, as all meals seemed to be. Fia was dressed exactly like Adesina, with her honey hair neatly braided. She smiled shyly at the young woman and was thrilled to get a smile in return.

Ha.s.s wished the two girls a good day as Jelana handed each of them a lunch pail and shooed them out the door. As promised, Ravi was waiting for them at the end of the walkway. Adesina wondered how he had gotten from her room to the street without her notice.

These thoughts were interrupted when Fia looked up at Adesina with imploring eyes. "Adrie, are you to be my sister?"

Adesina stared at this open devotion in bewilderment. "Iano, I am not your sister."

Fia's brown eyes opened even wider. "Oh, I know that, but can I say that you are my sister?"

The bemused Shimat was spared the necessity of answering by the approach of Gainor, Deasa and Rina.

Gainor was talking at full speed before the proper greetings were over. "Oh, Adrie, I am so excited for today! I do hope that you like our school. I do not know what kind of schooling to which you are accustomed, but my father says that ours is the best system he has ever seen."

They began walking down the street in the opposite direction of the Square. Gainor linked arms with Adesina and led the group. Ravi walked at Adesina's side as soundless as a ghost. Rina followed close behind, but Deasa hung back, taking Fia's hand with a warm smile.

Adesina focused her attention on Gainor. "Does your father run the school?"

Gainor laughed and tossed her head. "Goodness, no! My father is one of the three Governors of the High City! In fact, he is the youngest Governor to take office in a hundred years."

Deasa spoke with a smirk in her voice. "Well, he is certainly not the most influential Governor in a hundred years."

Gainor's mouth tightened, and she seemed to be biting her tongue against angry words. Adesina had a feeling that only Deasa could get away with saying such things to her. Gainor sniffed derisively and raised her chin a bit higher.

"Actually, he has done quite a lot for the High City. He keeps his mind on our city, where it should be. The other two Governors are up to their necks in foreign intrigue. Mama says the direction our government has taken is a perfect scandal."

Adesina shot her companion a sideways glance. "Foreign intrigue?"

"Oh, yes."

She tried to appear only superficially interested. "What do you mean?"

Gainor was more than happy to be urged to talk about something on which she considered herself to be an authority. "The High City is supposedly neutral, but all of us have taken sides in the silent war. The only reason we stay neutral is because we are so evenly divided. Each of the other Governors has taken sides against each other, and they are both trying to get Father to side with them. Mama says that he should just sit back and wait to see which side has a better chance of winning."

"Gainor," Deasa began in a warning tone, but Gainor overrode her, acting as if she hadn't spoken.

Her tone was dripping with enjoyment as she lowered her voice for dramatic effect. "Mama says that the politics of the High City are thick with all sorts of corruption."

"Gainor!" Deasa's voice was sharp with reproach. "You should not speak of gossip as if it were truth."

She looked pleased at the reaction she had caused. "I am only being honest."

Deasa glared at her friend. "Hardly."

Gainor's whisper to Adesina was loud enough to be heard by the entire group. "Deasa is just angry because the merchants play a large part in the city's politics."

A flush colored Deasa's dusky complexion, but she said nothing. Gainor, reveling in her victory, moved on to lighter topics.

Adesina barely listened to the new flow of conversation as she processed the information she had just received. Perhaps this was part of the reason she was here in the High Citya"to sway the citizens in favor of the south. She wondered how important the High City really was in the scheme of things. It was obvious that the citizens thought themselves very important indeed, but how much truth was in this belief?

They pa.s.sed through several residential areas, dotted occasionally by orderly little parks. The farther they walked, the more children they saw leaving their houses and hurrying along the streets. Everyone they pa.s.sed stared at Adesina with undisguised curiosity, and a few brave souls called out a greeting to her companions.

Gainor chattered nonstop until they arrived at the school. It was a large white building that was surrounded by a picket fence. It was four stories high with many windows, and the yard was barely big enough for the children to run around. Adesina looked at the school in doubt of its adequacy. Where would they do their physical training?

A matronly woman was standing just outside the doorway ringing a large bell. All of the children ran from the yard and into the school. Fia waved goodbye to Adesina and ran to join her cla.s.smates. Gainor grabbed Adesina's hand and tugged, urging her to walk faster.

"Quickly! We cannot be late!"

The woman with the bell eyed Adesina suspiciously, but said nothing as they pa.s.sed. They climbed three flights of stairs and walked down a long hall to their cla.s.sroom. Adesina watched Ravi weave through the crowd while miraculously avoiding physical contact with anyone.

The cla.s.sroom they entered was filled with desks, most of which were occupied with students their age. At the head of the room stood a man that looked very similar to Ha.s.s. Gainor nudged Adesina forward and then moved to sit at her desk.

The man spotted her and gave her a warm smile. "Ah, you must be the girl my brother is hosting. I am Master Nabil, and I will be your teacher this year." He pointed to a nice-looking young man standing next to him. "This is my apprentice, Colis, and you must not be afraid to ask either him or myself any questions you may have. Entering a school halfway through the year is a hard thing, and I do not wish for you to feel overwhelmed. Now, what is your name, young lady?"

All of this was said as if to a half-wit. Adesina couldn't decide if her intelligence was being insulted merely because she was an Outsider, or if that was just how Master Nabil treated students.

She gave him a forced smile. "Adrie."

He then turned to the cla.s.s, all of which were seated by now. "Quiet now, students. This is Adrie. She has come to stay with Master Ha.s.s and his family. Please make her feel welcome."

Master Nabil spoke to the others in the same way that he had spoken to her, but Adesina found that this did not make her feel any better. She just hoped that the subjects studied would be interesting.

The only desk open was next to the window, a fact for which Adesina was grateful. Seated next to her was a boy with chestnut hair and brown eyes framed in long dark lashes. He glanced around the room with a triumphant expression on his face, as if he had planned to be placed next to the Outsider. Glimpses of disappointment reflected in the faces of the less fortunate students. They would have to think of different ways to become known to this novelty.

As Adesina sat down, the boy flashed her an overconfident grin. "h.e.l.lo, I am Norshel. I believe that you already know my brother, Nordin. He was guarding the gate the day you entered the High City."

Adesina gave him an acknowledging half-smile, but chose not to speak. Master Nabil had already begun cla.s.s in his infuriatingly patronizing tone. As Adesina turned her mind to the instruction being given, she felt a wave of dismay. These were lessons she had learned when she was seven years old.

The hours pa.s.sed like an eternity.

Adesina contributed very little, not wanting to give away the degree of her former education. Master Nabil, thinking he was being kind, asked very little of her. Norshel kept whispering little hints, trying to be helpful. Colis also fixed a watchful eye on her, making sure that she did not fall behind. Adesina met all of this unwanted attention with a level gaze. Perhaps it would be necessary to show them how little she needed their help.

Ravi merely sat by her side, gazing around the room or out the window. Occasionally a look of amus.e.m.e.nt would drift across his face, but he said nothing. When the noon bell rang, all the students rose and hurried out the door to enjoy what time they could outside. Adesina gathered her lunch pail with a quiet sigh and followed them.

Gainor, Deasa and Rina were waiting for her at the door of their cla.s.sroom. They walked down the stairs and out of the building to a small shaded area of the schoolyard. There they sat down to eat their lunch.

"Well?" Gainor gushed, "What do you think? Do you not think that our teacher's apprentice is absolutely divine? Did you see him looking at me?"

Adesina found her thoughts drifting towards Kendan. Yes, there had been a number of handsome young men in the High City, but they all seemed to pale when compared to her former Shar. They lacked the spark and intensity that radiated from Kendan's dark eyes.

Deasa smiled patiently at Gainor's comment, but refused to be drawn in to that line of speculation. "How did you find your lessons?"

This brought Adesina's thoughts quickly back to the present. She hesitated over her answer long enough that Deasa went on.

"No one would think less of you if it took you a while to get caught up."

She debated whether she should risk being exposed by showing her advanced education. Still, she figured being advanced a single year would not be suspicious. Then, even if she was still ahead of her cla.s.smates, she would not be patronized by Master Nabil.

She shook her head. "No, that is not the problem. The problem is that these are lessons I already know."

This was met with some surprise. Adesina's friends looked uncertain how to respond. They had never seen this happen before.

Adesina gently nudged the conversation. "Do you think they would consider advancing me to another year?"

Such an idea was obviously new to them. Deasa pursed her lips. "Hmmmmaperhaps. I do not think it would be viewed as appropriate for a young woman, though."

Gainor looked mildly horrified. "Then you would not be in our cla.s.s! We would practically never see each other. How can I show you the ways of the High City if we are not in the same cla.s.s?"

Adesina had the feeling that Gainor's own social standing would suffer by not being intimate friends with the new Outsider. She did not voice this conjecture, but she guessed that Gainor viewed it as a more pressing issue than the one named.

Deasa, still looking doubtful, slowly shook her head. "I would not ask, if I were you. The school director might think that you consider yourself above your cla.s.smates. He would not treat you kindly."

They were interrupted by a teasing, masculine voice. "What? Strangers in our school?"

Adesina looked up recognized the guard called Nordin. He held a lunch pail loosely in one hand and his bow in the other. He was on the opposite side of the fence that surrounded the school, leaning against it casually.

Rina spoke up in Adesina's defense. "She is not a stranger. Master Ha.s.s and his family are hosting her. She is from the Northern Tribes."

He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Adesina couldn't figure out why everybody felt the need to specify that she was from the Northern Tribes. Every time she was introduced it was brought up, almost as if it was meant to rea.s.sure whomever she was meeting.

Gainor, who had been trying to appear demure, could keep quiet no longer. "How are you, Nordin?"

He shrugged in an exaggerated, offhand manner. "Fine. Just protecting the city from intruders."

Nordin smiled at Adesina, but her returning look was bordering cold. She was beginning to really dislike the presumptuous and impertinent way she was being treated by the majority of the males she had encountered. They acted as if she were both inferior and in need of their favor. Adesina was fighting the desire to return their condescending smiles while giving an impressive display of her Shimat skill.