I spent a restless, hungry night. It was dark and chilly in the room. I couldn't sleep. I stared out the window at the dark and wondered what it was like outside. Hot and so humid you could barely breathe, if I remembered from the short time I'd spent outside the flitter when I arrived. I hadn't seen rain, though the windows occasionally misted over on the outside. Inside it was cool and slightly dry. The air smelled recycled and refrigerated. It wasn't unpleasant, not really, it was just a bit stale.
I paced my square of floor. Was Shomies trying to kill me with boredom? She hadn't followed through on her threat of feeding me so much I got fat. Quite the opposite. My stomach rumbled. I did my best to ignore it.
There was nothing I could do except pace and worry. The lights didn't come on for me, unlike everyone else. It wouldn't have made much difference. I'd felt the collar, looking for seams or controls or something, but found nothing. It was a smooth band around my neck. I didn't see any sign of the invisible fence, either. There had to be wires or a field generator that kept me penned in and triggered the collar when I tried to leave the prescribed area. I had no idea where it was. The carpet and the flooring looked unbroken, seamless. The ceiling looked the same, smooth and free of any cracks or openings that might hide such a thing.
I finally gave up and sat on the floor, watching the dark night slowly turn into another rusty red day. The filters on the windows changed the color of the red dwarf star's light to a more normal yellow.
The light in the room grew brighter. I watched it creep across the floor near the windows. The filters cut most of it to a diffuse glow.
The lights in the room came on, blotting out the early morning light. I wouldn't be alone much longer. Not that it mattered. I was mostly ignored by everyone. I sat and waited.
Rivian was first. He came slouching down the stairs, yawning and scratching. He shot a single bloodshot look at me before ignoring me. I watched him anyway. It was something to do.
Rivian banged pots for a while in the kitchen. The aroma was enough to make my stomach growl again. He finished, setting several plates in a warmer. He didn't eat anything solid for breakfast. He poured himself another glass of amber liquid. He leaned on the counter and drank it, staring moodily at his feet.
Time passed.
I was slipping into a doze when the stairs creaked over my head. I jerked awake. Rivian smirked at me over his glass. He glanced at the stairs. The smirk and the glass disappeared.
Shomies plodded down the stairs and crossed to the table. Rivian bustled around her, setting out her dishes and utensils and pouring her a drink. He fetched a plate from the warmer and slid it in front of her. She began to eat without saying a word.
She was joined a few minutes later by Nione. The woman looked as mean as ever. She gave me a long, measuring stare before joining Shomies at the table. Rivian repeated his performance, serving food to Nione with only a slightly less servile attitude. I wondered who the other plates were for. I didn't have to wait long.
"You have it?" Shomies asked.
Nione nodded. I couldn't see what she handed Shomies.
"Bring me another plate," she ordered Rivian. He fetched another plate and slid it in front of her. "Your cooking is pleasing," Shomies purred at him. "You will let me know what you require."
It was the closest Shomies had come to acknowledging Rivian's existence. He shuffled his feet and fawned near her. She ignored him. He slowly slunk back to his kitchen.
"Were the tests affirmative?" Shomies asked Nione.
Nione nodded again.
"Good," Shomies said. She got to her feet with effort, her fat jiggling in the process. She picked up the second plate and came towards me. It was like being in the path of an ore freighter and not being able to move. I couldn't help wondering if she required help to stop. She was nothing like the slender, biosculpted woman I'd met on Dadilan. Except for her eyes, those were still meaner than a wet sand cat. She swayed to a stop just outside of my area, her feet planted on the carpet. She held the plate above me.
"What would you give for this, Dace?"
I stayed sitting on the floor, my ankles crossed in front of me. I wasn't going to let her intimidate me. I wasn't going to beg. I wasn't going to humiliate myself for her amusement.
She chuckled. "Poor Dace, sleeping hungry again." She laughed as she bent to place the plate on the floor near me. I watched her suspiciously as she levered her bulk upright again. "Swear at me, curse me, whatever you want. It won't change your ultimate fate."
She turned her back, waddling back to the table. I looked at the food, wondering what the catch was. She wasn't just going to feed me, there had to be something else going on. I watched her as she settled in her chair at the table. Nione leaned forward. The two of them talked intently, but too quietly for me to overhear. I glanced at Rivian. He shrugged and turned his back on me.
I was hungry and the food smelled good. Poison wasn't Shomies' style. When she got her final revenge on me, it would be something spectacular and impossible to mistake for anything else.
I ate the food.
Shomies and Nione talked for a while longer. Rivian dithered around in the kitchen. Shomies and Nione headed for the basement after a while. Rivian watched them go, longing on his face so plain even I could read it. He heaved a sigh as he gathered their dirty dishes.
I watched him clean the table and then the counters. He had his back to me while he washed the dishes. He finally came over to collect my plate.
"Thanks," I said. "You're a pretty good cook."
He looked down at me, meeting my gaze fully. His eyes were dark blue, deep enough they looked almost black. The makeup ringing them emphasized the dark color. He studied me for a long moment. "You really think so?"
"You could make a good living as a chef, Rivian."
His eyes turned bitter, his face jaded and old looking in the artificial light. "Is that what you think? If you flatter me, I'll help you escape? Empty promises. Hollow lies." He turned his back on me.
The three girls fluttered downstairs. He was occupied for a while with feeding them. I watched, wondering if one of them might be sympathetic enough to help me. They never even looked at me.
After they ate, one of them brought out a music player. Rivian helped them work out a new dance routine. I watched out of boredom. They fluttered and twisted and twirled around each other for a while.
I was almost happy when they took their music and their twittering voices and went back upstairs. Rivian went with them.
I sat and watched dust settle until I couldn't stand it any longer. I stood and eased into my exercise routine. The space was big enough, barely. I did the full workout, pushing myself as hard as I could. Then I did it again. And again.
Twinges of pain through my legs told me I'd pushed hard enough for one day. I stretched out and washed up as best as I could in the bathroom sink. My shift was turning gray. I rinsed it out and put it back on wet. It clung to me, clammy and cold. It was marginally better than going naked. I left it on.
Nothing had changed when I came back out of the bathroom. The room was the same. The lights were the same. No one was waiting to talk to me. Or beat me up. Or rescue me.
I paced my square until my shift was mostly dry. That ate up most of the afternoon.
Shomies must have planned it. She must have known that doing nothing would drive me insane. It was torture, almost as cruel as starving me or beating me. But I'd had a lot of practice in dealing with things I couldn't change. She would never know how much I itched to be doing something.
Rivian came downstairs to prepare dinner. He didn't look at me or talk to me. I watched him chop things and stir other things into pots. I sniffed appreciatively.
Shomies came back for dinner. Nione stayed downstairs. The three fluttering girls came to eat with Shomies. They talked about politics. Shomies hadn't changed her views much. The girls were smarter than they appeared. Rivian was excluded from the discussion.
I watched him as he served dinner. He seethed with resentment. Rivian was acceptable as a toy and now as a lowly cook, but nothing more.
I listened to her work over the girls. She was training them to be her pet spies and saboteurs. I pitied the poor girls. They had no idea what they were getting into. They responded enthusiastically to Shomies's tutoring. Maybe I was wasting my pity.
Shomies got up from her chair, levering her massive weight with her hands splayed across the table. She turned to Rivian. He slid a plate across the counter to her. She had her back to me. I caught the sad look he gave me as she turned around. He looked away from me.
Shomies smiled at me as she crossed the carpet. "I can't have you underfed. Eat." She squatted and placed the plate in front of me. "Enjoy your dinner, Dace."
The three girls giggled as they fluttered over to help her back to her feet. They gave me sly looks, never looking at me directly but only through lowered eyelashes.
"Dance for me, my dears," Shomies said. She turned her back on me, sailing away with the girls swirling around her.
I looked at the plate of food. It was still warm. It looked very good. I glanced up at Rivian. He shook his head slowly, looking away from me. I ate the food.
Shomies was in a good mood. She rewarded the girls with extravagant promises of new dresses, jewelry, and lavish parties in the future. Rivian quietly cleaned the kitchen. He radiated envy the whole time.
The music was loud when he came to collect my plate. I was bold enough to grab his wrist when he reached for it. I had an opportunity. I wasn't about to waste it.
"It should be you," I said. "You used to be the one who danced for her. What happened?"
He looked down at the empty plate. He wasn't going to answer me.
"Help me, Rivian, and I'll help you."
"Like you helped Dysun Farr and the others?"
His voice was a quiet whisper but his words stung. Dysun Farr had sold me out, voiding my promise to help him. He was a pirate. He had beaten me up the last time I'd seen him.
Rivian twisted his arm free. He leaned forward, the plate in his hand. "I've heard all about you, Dace. You only help yourself."
"That isn't true."
He stood, turning his back on me. I slumped against the wall and put my head in my hands.
When I was on Dadilan, I was focused on getting myself out in one piece. At least at first. After I got involved with Tayvis, that changed. I'd tried to help him. I'd tried to help the people I could. I didn't care too much about the people who were trying to kill me. There were a lot of them by the end. Rivian had been talking to the ones who had wanted me dead, the ones who had ended up in prison.
Someone had let them all out, years before their sentences were up. I was very tempted to just give up. I had more enemies than I could even count.
Rivian wasn't going to help me. Shomies was going to kill me with boredom. I curled up on the blanket and went to sleep.