UNALIGNED

Chapter 2

She expected that it must be loud, in fact, she had experienced how loud it was just a moment ago. Except now she could hear nothing but the deep drumming beat of her own heart and the huffing of Hinyana next to her. They had stopped a little ways away from the crowd and at this exact moment Ayala was deeply thankful that Koyoun's landscape consisted of a hilly mix. Had the landscape featured flat plains alone, she would not be able to witness any of what was going on considering the wall of people stood around Vaajh and his opponent. The distance and height at which Hinyana and her stood aided their view of the altercation.

She recognised the other person too, it was Bebil. Vaajh's 'cousin' as Hinyana had described him, although Ayala wasn't certain of their exact familial connection. Bebil had grabbed the collars of Vaajh's shirt, his stance menacing. It looked like he was saying something to Vaajh with gritted teeth, glaring into his eyes as he did so. Vaajh on the other hand appeared unconcerned, as if whatever was going on was of no interest to him. He didn't respond to whatever Bebil had said to him, the words not discernible to Ayala at this distance but she had a hunch that the closely surrounding crowd had not heard them either. They had looked like words that were spewed in aggression and only meant for their recipient's ears.

What was Vaajh doing? He was just stood there, not returning the physical or verbal aggression, not even glaring back.

He looked like he was idly observing the whole event, as if it weren't happening to him.

"Hurry, leave you all!! One of the trainers is heading this way!" A boy ran towards the crowd waving his arms in urgency, and the crowd seemed to have heeded his warning as people began to disperse quickly. Bebil let go off Vaajh, almost shoving him away in seeming disgust and muttering some final words as he walked away towards his group of friends who were waiting for him before they collectively cleared away from the courtyard. Vaajh was standing still where he'd been left, at the same spot that he'd allowed himself to be pushed to, pensively staring at the ground, or his shoes? She couldn't tell. She could feel Hinyana pulling on her arm, trying to get her to move away, but like him she was stood still too. All she could do was stare. Why had he allowed that to happen? Surely, he was more powerful, higher up in the ranks? Why did he let Bebil get away with disrespecting him?

And then he looked up. And looked right at her, as if he had heard all of her questions. For a tiny fragment of time, their eyes had met. She couldn't see their colour from this far away but she knew that they were a particular shade of grey, thanks to all the times she had surreptitiously tried to observe him. The sight of her must not have enraptured him the way that he did her, because having glanced at her, he had turned around and began walking away. His strides long and assured.

Ayala watched him walk away until he passed her line of sight; and then she turned to Hinyana, who had by this point given up on trying to get her to move and was now sat on the grass plucking at the small patch of daisies growing around the hill. It no longer mattered whether the trainer would arrive at the courtyard or not, since the main participants of interest had already vacated the premises, so the two of them could definitely stay without getting in trouble.

Ayala sat cross-legged in front of her friend, she was done with her classes for the day so didn't need to be anywhere particular anymore; and the two of them had to catch up on each other's lives. Their first week at Etessa had been too busy. "So, how was your day?"

At Ayala's question, Hinyana looked up from her daisy picking and just stared at her friend. "What is up with you, Ayala? You keep standing around lost in thought every time I see you around here. Is everything okay?"

Ayala wasn't sure how to answer that question, everything was okay but being at Etessa had just been jarring so far. It was a big change. They had never interacted with the Khena nobility before, let alone go to school alongside actual royalty as well. Even though many aspects of life at Etessa were segregated, viewing the entire hierarchy of their race in one space was an experience she was having difficulty getting used to.

"Things are okay, of course. It's just been weird, you know, finishing school and moving to Etessa. I think I'm still mentally adjusting to the change." Ayala made an attempt at putting her feelings in to words for Hinyana's sake.

"Are you sure that's it?" Her friend wasn't completely satisfied with her answer it seemed.

"Yeah, don't worry Hinyana. All is okay, I'm just going to need some time to feel like I belong here. But what about you? How have things been with you so far? We really haven't had time to just sit down and talk ever since we've moved here."

"All is okay with me too. The people in my dorm are really loud though so it's been difficult to catch sleep. I hope I get used to them soon. You know how at Upper School the dorm matrons used to be so strict about bedtime and noise? Well, I know I used to hate it at the time and complain about it but I wish they were here now. I thought I would like the freedom that their absence would provide here at Etessa but I was wrong. I need them so these noisy people can let me sleep." As, Hinyana detailed her most pressing woe for the last week, Ayala began to think about the Khena's education system, and the stages of education that preceded a Khena pupil's arrival at Etessa.

All Khena children from the ages of 7 to 15 went to what were known as Lower Schools, these were local establishments for people in their home districts so that children could remain with their parents whilst studying, and not have to move away. Both Ayala and Hinyana had attended the Lower School in Bihqa together. It was very unlikely for higher ranking Khena children to go to Lower Schools in any of the regional districts like Bihqa, as their families largely chose to pool around the power centres of Khenawa in places like Koyoun or the royal seat, Etaama. So, even though these schools were not officially segregated into different ones meant for the higher ranking and common people, the practical reality was such that until the age of 15, they had had no exposure to Khena nobility and royalty. At the age of 15, however, all Khena children must join Upper School where they stay until they are 18. The Upper Schools were different for common Khena and higher ranking Khena, although their buildings at all locations were built facing each other. Each of these schools were a lot bigger and so fewer of them were needed across the Khenawa land; this meant that most children had to move away from their families to attend them.

Hinyana and Ayala were separated for Upper School; where Hinyana attended the one near Koyoun, Ayala was allocated a place at the Upper School near Etaama. And it was there that she first saw Vaajh.

___________________________________

Author's note:

Thank you for reading! Please do let me know of any feedback you might have for this chapter. And thank you too, if you vote for the chapter.