The Portal

II 2.8 - Enemies

Hannah's last appointment of the day had been an endless sewing lesson, in which she actually learned something. Of course, she didn't know the first thing about sewing. For the gods, weren't these noble girls? They would never need to sew anything. But Hannah kept those thoughts to herself as she tried to jab the needle and make the right moves in order to do a good enough embroidery. As if it wasn't enough to be – by far – the oldest student among them, she still didn't know how to do anything that these lessons asked. In the History lesson, she couldn't open her mouth, because, of course, the history taught by the Rariff nobility was definitely not the history taught on the Island. Ah, Hannah knew history. For the gods, she was history itself, walking and breathing and if she opened her mouth to dispute something, she felt like she would never shut up, so she was very focused on not making a sound for long those hours.

In her dance lesson, she pretended not to know how to dance, after all who would a girl raised on the farm have danced with? The same happened at singing lessons. She hoped these young ladies didn't need to sing to win a husband, because they would all be lost. In Literature, she had even participated. Even a girl on the farm could have access to books.

At the end of all these extremely boring activities and without having had a pleasant conversation with anyone – none of the freshmen dared speak to her, not even the tutors – Hannah was exhausted and at the same time full of energy. Was that even possible? She felt she needed to vent. Back at the Island, she was used to a very exhausting routine. In the morning she had a long and weary training on the sand. She ran and then swam in the sea. Then she attended meetings with advisers, answered her correspondence, met allies. In the afternoon, it was time for her dance lessons, her class...

She had been in Shailaja for less than a month but already missed her pupils. From the age of 15, she taught the first dance steps to small children on the Island. What would the little ones say if they could see her pretending to have two left feet in Shailaja's lessons? She missed dancing, talking to other people, but especially her horse...

But soon it would be nightfall and she had already found her way to the stables. Hannah walked quickly, avoiding the nobles on their way to the tea room. The rays were already weak on the horizon and a lady couldn't go out alone... But she took precautions not to be caught. She took the path through the trees and, reaching the stables, chose the blackest horse she could find. That way, it would be harder for anyone to see her. She took off his saddle and set it aside. She touched the soft mane between its eyes as she made eye contact. Slowly, she ran a hand through his mane and with a slight leap, mounted. She watched as the rays set and slowly left until she reached the sand on the beach. She touched the back of its head gently and mentalized its strong thighs and legs and its hooves hitting the ground. Hannah wanted to run, and the horse ran until she felt tears from the force of the wind in her eyes.

Like any palatial, Hannah loved to ride. Her people had a special connection to horses and could control them as if they were an extension of their body. When she slowed down, the moon was already shining. The sound of the waves, although much more aggressive than on the Island, reminded her of home and she could almost imagine she was there. Almost. The icy winds made her shiver and she hated being cold.

She left the horse in the stable and walked carefully through the corridors. She could never be seen at this hour outside the Mavi Hall. It was totally against the rules for ladies. But even though it was after midnight, there were still men in the game room. She had to be careful. As she entered the hallway that led to the Mavi Hall, she wondered if there would still be someone in the common room, but she knew it was unlikely. Hannah opened the door slowly and saw the room completely dark. She sighed and was about to climb the stairs when heard a deep voice behind her.