Sukina's Story

Chapter 12: Part 1

It was well after sunset when Charth dropped me off outside Faso's place. I walked through the door and into the living room, and my father immediately launched himself off his armchair and threw himself into my arms.

"Sukina, where have you been? I was so worried about you. There was an assassination attempt at the palace, Chizzini's place went up in flames? Blunders and dragonheats, Faso and I were about to file a missing person's report."

Faso was loitering at the back, with the butler automaton next to him. The machine was tarnished with black char marks. He stood assessing the situation cautiously but didn't say anything until my father released me. Then he approached. "Well, Sukina, I hope you have something to say for yourself."

At that, Butan spun around on him. "Oh, for wellie's sake, Faso, what in the dragonheats makes you think Sukina could have been involved?"

"For crying out loud, who else had access to the cake? Sukina, do you know what this has done to my reputation?"

"It could have been anyone in the factory," my father said. "I'm sure the king's investigators will uncover the source soon enough. Gordoni, you should be worried about the welfare of my daughter, not your stupid reputation..."

Butan had advanced on Faso now and looked as if he was about to thump him. I ducked in between them before fists could fly. "Stop it, will you, both of you! Butan, I just had to go away for a while for a walk. And Faso, what the dragonheats are you talking about?"

Faso studied me for a moment, carefully assessing me for any hint of deception. Fortunately, I was a better liar than he was a detective.

"Someone made an assassination attempt on the king today," he said. "A bomb in the butler's cake. And now King Cini is never going to trust these automatons I put so much work into."

"Not another assassination attempt. Oh my!" I feigned the surprise, of course.

"Just tell me, where've you been Sukina? Tell me you know nothing about what happened today."

"I just needed to get out for some fresh air for a while. Faso, there's been a lot going on lately, but I swear, whatever this bomb in the cake thing is, I had nothing to do with it."

"The king has a lot of enemies," Butan added. "And I have no idea why you think it might be Sukina."

"I don't, necessarily," Faso said. "I just wanted to know..."

I put my hands on my hips. "And you thought, even for a minute, that..."

He lowered his head in shame. "I'm sorry, I just had to check the facts. It's been a long day. I'm sure the police will get to the bottom of it."

"I'm sure they will." Although I knew like last time that Alsie would already have the matter contained. "Butan, what was this you said about Chizzini? Is she okay?" It was hard to play the role of complete ignorance about someone I cared so much for.

"Sukina, I don't know how to tell you this. But Chizzini... She was killed in the fire."

And the memories came flooding back to me. Trying to wrestle with the firemen to break through the smoke. The melted eyelids and charred face on her corpse. "No, Butan it can't be." And given how upset I was, it wasn't difficult to feign complete ignorance. "Chizzini..."

My father took hold of me and clasped a hand behind the back of my hair. "We don't know what caused the fire. Only that it was some kind of accident."

"There's an investigation into that as well," Faso said. "I'm sure the police will learn more in due time."

"I hope so." Although I knew that they had as much chance of finding out that Alsie was responsible as finding a diamond in the Caprio Mountains. I looked at the bedroom door. "I'm sorry, Butan, Faso. I'm going to have to call it a night, it's been a tough day."

"Okay," my father said. "Rest well, Sukina."

Faso said nothing and I didn't wait for him to reply. Instead, I went to the bedroom, collapsed on the bed and cried alone. Then, I remembered what Charth had told me, about distancing my thoughts. So, as I lay there, I let everything that had happened play out once again in my mind, while keeping myself removed. I went from the death of my mother and the dragons to the assassins in Ginlast to my first and second assassination attempt to Chizzini's death and then to the argument on this present day. It felt like reading a novel and watching myself as the protagonist. And by the end of it, I didn't feel remorse and despair, but instead empathy for the person who had witnessed these events. This person, I knew, could still change for the better.

With my mind thus refreshed, I eventually drifted off to sleep.