Folio Two, Page Sixteen (svegra mos itzkron tal-pirh)
When we reached the house, Nikis grabbed my arm and told me that Anumë and I would join her in the study. I had no choice but to follow her obediently, making dirty footprints on the downstairs floor, to the frightful room at the back of the house.
The desk alone gave me nightmares. The claw frame grabbed at the floor like one of the canyon beasts, and little scenes of demons and minor gods played along the wooden surface. I saw scenes from folk epics and mythological accounts of cities’ foundations, but never completely because Aunt Nikis always kept the large, white drapes drawn tight to protect the books. The side closest to me showed the War of Dancers.
(Nishet, if you have a chance, go to the Temple of the Singers in Amaron, a small city at the edge of the Labrys Region. It contains the oldest stone writings of the War of Dancers. The old pictoral script is lovely.)
Beside me, Anumë silently stared at the floor. I thought I saw satisfaction in the way her lips curled, but it could have been spite.
Nikis shut the door behind us. I felt like running. She turned the key in the lock and dropped it into her pocket before turning back to the desk. The deep chair engulfed her like a wide mouth. “Eràsis, dear, will you please undo the bindings on my dress?”
I nodded and stepped around the desk to help her without hesitation. She leaned forward in the chair. As my fingers worked at the bindings at Nikis’s back, I looked up at Anumë. That bitch could barely hold her laughter. I almost stopped but was so close to finishing that I just worked the string out and laid it on the table.
“Thank you. Now join your cousin.” She took in a deep breath and reached under the table for a clear vial of enra, an endocrine stimulant that older people take instead of alcohol. “Do you know how much of a disgrace you are?”
“Aunt Nikis, I tried to—”
“I meant you, too, Anumë.”
Anumë sank down to her knees and lowered her head to the floor. The sight made my heart pound, and I sank to my knees. Kowtowing would wait until our aunt singled me out for something. Kneeling ought to have been enough to show respect and deference.
Nikis took a shot of the enra and coughed. “Eràsis, you can be so polite when you’re under scrutiny.”
“Thank you, gasjana.” Gasjana is the formal word for matriarch, at least in the older style of Narahji spoken outside of Menarka proper.
“And yet you race from home to Menarka in your nightclothes, absolutely covered in filth, to interrupt one of the most important funerary processions of the decade. This is inconsistent. Don’t kowtow, girl. Look at me.”
I did.
“Why?”
“I woke up locked in a cupboard this morning with my hands—she bound my hands. I was so scared and I wanted to say goodbye to my mother. Please forgive me.” I lowered my head to the ground and breathed deeply to calm my heartbeat, but she didn’t chide me for disobeying her rules.
“Anumë, could you explain to me why Eràsis awoke locked in a cupboard? And the locks, Anumë—why do I have a message on my communication band from the police saying that our smart locks went off this morning? I remember stating rather explicitly that I wouldn’t have those in my house. Do you know why, Anumë?”
“I-I … Aunt Nikis …” Anumë cleared her throat and looked up. “I thought—”
“You think I’m a weak old woman, Anumë. The last time I checked, the family had not named you Matriarch. It shouldn’t matter why I ask you not to do things. They should just not happen. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Aunt Nikis.”
“Good.” She poured herself another shot of enra. “Now, you’re not a girl anymore. I won’t physically punish you. However, we will hire someone to retro the locks on our cupboards, and the expense will come out of your allocated funds. Please think about the consequences next time you try to do something to this house without my permission.”
Anumë’s face blanched. I remembered the web clippings on her room’s net screen: dresses, small technological gadgets, expensive endocrine drugs. She said nothing.
I looked up at Nikis. “Thank you for defending me.”
“I cannot fault you for wanting to escape and join your family, Eràsis.” Nikis looked at Anumë. “Perhaps Anumë should tell you why she locked you in the cupboard in the first place.”
My cousin now looked physically ill. “You wanted me to make her understand that she would not come to the procession. You left the method up to me. It is my cousin’s fault for not understanding what it meant—have you ever tried to tell her something she doesn’t want to hear? She would have kicked, screamed—I don’t know, she’d have broken something!—and I don’t see how you can fault me—”
“Anumë, I don’t want excuses for your behavior.”
My heart beat faintly in my chest. I felt like I would cry. “Why didn’t you want me to go?”
“For your protection. It was unwise to show you too much in public, especially now that the media thinks only of your mother. We needed to protect the family’s reputation. Of course, now that they know, there is no point in keeping you from it.”
“Aunt Nikis?”
“The two of you are cousins. I don’t know what to do with you. Start behaving like cousins is the only advice I can offer. When I die, you two will remain in this house. Please don’t pull the family apart over your prejudices. Anumë, Eràsis will now come to the reception in the courtyard this evening. Please help her dress and teach her the appropriate etiquette. We will have guests in high places.”
“Yes, Aunt Nikis, but—”
“Eràsis, you will make cakes for the ancestors at dawn tomorrow and honor them in the household shrine. Apologize for the harm you have done to our family name. That is all. Dismissed.”
Anumë opened and closed her mouth like a fish. I hid my face in a kowtow because I wanted neither of them to see me smile. Of course we would never make up, but I liked knowing that in the next few days, at least, Anumë would probably not acquaint me with any fresh antagonisms. Penance to the family’s ancestors seemed like a small price to pay for seeing her humiliated.
Of course, I was wrong. Now that my guard was down, Anumë could do whatever she liked.
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