Contract with a Star (On Hold, Possibly Forever)

Nari Learns from a Millennia Old Star

            As Rena got Nari out of the complicated dress, Nari looked at the bathroom with all its knobs and buttons. Rena sighed and helped her out with that, too.

            “Thanks. This place is kind of ridiculous. Why is that girl pretending she knows me?” Nari relaxed in the warm water and played with the fragile bubbles that floated around as she tried to remember the girl’s name.

            “Miya,” Rena put special emphasis on the name, “Is pretending to know you because she’s in a power struggle with her cousin. Having you as a friend is a good mark, so long as you behave. You’re an ally in this struggle because you come from another country and most people know very little about the Forest Country, so you could be very powerful.”

            “What did she mean by that ‘A tree is one among many in a forest’ thing?” Nari rubbed the blue soap into her hair.

            “Well, it’s a play on our country’s name. The one thing everyone in all the countries knows is that the people of the Forest Country are very close. So, if you have one ally in the Forest Country, then you have an entire forest of allies. This is a big social move on Miya’s part; no matter that it was a complete accident.” Rena sat down on the edge of the bath, pretending to blow the bubbles around, even if it was to no effect.

            Nari marveled at how stupid that saying was as she rubbed her feet clean. Then, she thought of something. “Hey Rena, how do you know all this?” Nari lowered her leg slowly.

            “I’ve been caught up in a power struggle before. Well, two, but I didn’t know what the first one was. When I was younger, only a few centuries or so, one of the queens grew jealous of my popularity. The silly girl, she believed I was popular because of my ageless face, instead of the years I had taken to know the people trapped in my invisible prison. She locked me away in a tower with orders to never show my face to her people again, but that just made everyone grow sympathetic and love me even more. When ‘her people’ died out, I was free.” Rena smiled bitterly, and she did not look Nari in the eyes, watching the bubbles.

            “What was the other one?” Nari whispered, subdued by the age in Rena’s voice. Nari could not imagine being stuck in a tower as everyone she knew died.

            “You know how there’s a new capital where Veret lives, an old new capital where Veret used to live, and an old old capital where the first Asnins lived?” Nari nodded, having had to sneak past both of the new capitals in her escape. “Well, the queen’s son blamed me for the hatred of the people, but could not punish me for fear of a rebellion. So, he did the smartest thing he could think of and moved the entire capital away from my tower. You know; out of sight, out of mind.” Rena shook her head in exasperation, “Thank the powers above that his son didn’t inherit his stupidity.  He was a nice boy, even if he was too afraid to go against his wife to free me from it.”

            Nari would have tried to comfort Rena, but a maid came in at that moment with a huge bundle of black lace and ruffles and ribbons. Nari got out of the bath when she was alone and looked at the new dress lying beside the old dress. Sniffing the white one, Nari deemed it clean enough to wear and managed to dress herself this time. The dress smelled like apples and ash trees, the scent of a girl that often travelled around the forests of Green River Valley. It was stuck on Nari’s skin no matter where she went or how long she spent away.

            Nari knew she had made a mistake when she saw the annoyance on Miya’s face, but it was too late to go back and change. She had to sit down at the dinner table next to Miya with an oblivious smile on her face, like it was normal for Foresters to wear the same clothes over and over again. In reality, it was. They didn’t spend money on clothes until they showed more skin than cloth. It was obviously different in Onyx Country.

            “So, Narinx was it?” Nari turned to the woman addressing her. She was old, no matter how she tried to hide it with face paint and lacy veils. The people around the long table were watching Nari as they waited for the others to arrive. Nari nodded to the woman, nervous about the attention.

            “Who are your parents, Narinx?” The woman ignored the servants as they filled the glass in her hand.

            “Neverix and Everin of Green River Valley. Retired Guardians of Lady Ren.” Nari repeated after Rena. Nari had no idea what she was saying, because her parents were Tanya and Aiden. No one ever told her about the time before she was born, no matter when she inquired or who she interrogated. It was possible her parents were previous Guardians, and that irritated Nari that something that amazing hadn’t been shared with her.

            “Really, now? And why did they stop being ‘Guardians?’” The woman had no idea what a Guardian was, that much was clear.

            “Guardians are in charge of the highest people in our country. To protect them, the Guardians are given a high pay and only a few years of required service. My parents completed that service when their charge died of a childhood illness.” Nari was almost positive Rena was making all of these things up, but the girl did not hesitate and looked confident in the tale she wove.

            “How unfortunate. They retired to Green River Valley, did they? Where is that?” The fancy veil did not hide any sorrow over the mention of death because there was none on her face. Nari answered more questions for the better part of an hour, before the topic changed to people Nari had never met and would likely never meet. She spent the entire dinner watching the way everyone tried to pull the others down while pushing themselves up at the same time. Before Nari headed to bed, she managed to promise both her and Miya’s tomorrow to a ride in the countryside.