Maia

"The god's in love with her, Tharrin used to say. That's why the crops thrive and the empire's safe. She's the sacred luck of the empire, and that's why she can do anything she pleases and take anything she wants."

"Yes, well, she did that all right. Listen. Zai and his men had been lodged to sleep in the hall with the men-servants: but I used to sleep with the women, of course. The buttery-maid had taken a likin' to me and I used to sleep in her room, along with two other girls a bit older than I was. Before I went to sleep the girls used to leave me and Zai together for a bit, so that we could pray to Kantza-Merada. That's what they did that night. We prayed, and then he kissed me and left me to go to sleep.

"I never saw Zai again. That night the Leopards seized the house, and Queen Fornis's men murdered Zai and the others, and took the jewels."

"But weren't they hidden?" asked Maia. "Like you said?"

Occula was silent. At length she said, "Yes; but they- found them: in the end. Any man talks-in the end."

"And-and you?" said Maia.

"I've often wished they'd killed me too. Next mornin' it was all over. Just the girls cryin' and sobbin' and each of them tryin' riot to be the one who had to tell me.

"They'd only killed Zai and his men. There wasn't anyone else worth killin', you see. The Leopards took over the palace, servants and all. I might have become a slave there, I suppose; but someone or other-the new steward, perhaps-decided that it would be best if I was sold. I dare say they didn' want a slave-even a chikl-who knew they'd murdered her father. Or perhaps the new steward just saw a way to make a bit of easy money.

"I wasn' sold in the market. It was a private sale. Domris bought me. She was on one of her trips from Thettit-Tonilda to buy girls for her house-the Lily Pool, it's called. It wasn' her house then, actually, though it is now: but she was helpin' to run it. She liked to buy girls very young and train them. I was a curiosity, of course-a black girl.

Hardly anybody'd ever seen one. I might as well have been blue or green.

"Domris was kind enough as long as you did what you were told. 'It's bad luck for you, dear,' she said to me, 'but seein' it's happened, let's jus' try to make the best of it, shall we? It's a hard world for most women, you know- for me as much as you. I doan' like it any more than you do, but you be a good girl and do as I say and I woan' cheat you.'

"And to do her justice she didn', the old cow. She was hard as rock and she's made me as hard as rock, but at least she didn' cheat me.

"At the start I thought I'd never be done cryin'. I doan' know why I didn' die of grief. But there were three or four little girls about my age who all had more than enough to cry about, same as me. And none of them had come alive through the Govig, so I decided I was better than them and I was still Zai's daughter even if he was dead; so I'd be the one that didn' cry.

"I learned the trade; and banzi, I turned myself into a one-girl fortress. The men were outside, and I was inside, with Kantza-Merada. They could get into me but they couldn' get into me, if you see what I mean. I learned to play the hinnari, to sing, to dance the Silver Zard and Goat in the Circle. They all told Domris I was the spiciest little piece they'd ever known in their lives-the dirty fools! You can build a wall round yourself, banzi, and live untouched inside it, believe me you can. You do as I tell you and you'll be all right.

"Domris let me keep quite a nice little bit. She liked me: I took good care to see she did-and I laid it out carefully; you know, clothes and make-up and whatever bits of jewelry I could afford. I had plans, you see. I didn' mean to go on being the mainstay of the Lily Pool until I'd been basted to bits before my time. Well over six years' hard work and I reckoned it was time for a change."

"She let you go?" asked Maia Wonderingly.

"Ah, it wasn' that easy, banzi. I had to make a bargain with Domris-talk her into it. It was one night about three months ago.

" 'Ever thought of sendin' me to Bekla, saiyettV I said. 'It'd pay you hands down in the long run.' "

"She looked puzzled and stuffed another sweet in her mouth. 'How can it-m'm, m'm-do that, dear?' she asked.

" 'Why,' I said, 'all sorts of ways. I could be your eyes and ears in Bekla, and the times are so uncertain that that might make a lot of difference one day-swift news in a pinch, you know. But better than that, I could buy for you. You lose the best of the Beklan market now, jus' through not bein' on the spot. You come up to Bekla once or twice a year and have to take what's to be had when you're there. I could save you all that trouble, and you'd do better into the bargain.' "

"But how could you do all that?" asked Maia, "just being a slave in someone's house?"