Sophie never left my side. We slipped into our home despite the fact that our neighbors were yelling for me to leave, to turn myself into Nito and spare them.
Iry had to return to his home, I suppose to tend to his slaves and harem. He promised he’d be back for the ceremony, but since he had graduated a level, he wasn’t permitted to live among us.
Before leaving, he did tell me, “I believe you are feeling lost without your new friends. Do they know your ability?”
“They know I have abilities.”
“Perhaps when all is quiet you should reach out to the leader. Let him know you made it back.”
I acknowledged his suggestion and then he left for the evening.
I would try to make contact with Davis later when the house was still and quiet.
After the evening meal, Sophie and I cleaned up and sat together on her bed.
“I missed you, Vala,” she said. “I missed you so much.”
I hugged her. “I missed you too.”
“Mother said you were lost.”
“No, I wasn’t. I was safe and fine and discovering the whole world out beyond Akana.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s different,” I told her. “Out there, everyone is different. They look different, act different... They laugh and sing and play music even when they are scared. They are not controlled by monthly ceremonies.”
She looked at me with confusion. What I said was a little over her head and she didn’t quite understand. She was only four years old.
“You’ll understand one day,” I told her. “Trust me. There is so much to learn, so many fun things. Boys on the outside… they dress different. Their hair is short.”
Sophie gasped. “Do the girls have short hair?”
“Some.”
Another gasp. “I want to keep my long hair.”
I ran my fingers down her golden locks. “You will.”
“Are we safe, Vala?”
“Of course.”
“Are bad things coming?”
“No. I will always make sure you are safe.”
“Promise?”
I leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. “I promise.”
“Why would Nito say you will make us hurt?”
“Nito is a fool…”
Mother must have been listening, because she gasped from where she stood in the doorway. “Vala! Enough. Let her sleep.”
That was the extent of the conversation. As if she were mad at me, she walked away.
What grudge would my mother hold against me?
I told a story to Sophie, one about a little furry man named ALF. After a hundred questions, she yawned and went to sleep. I tucked her in and kissed her.
After watching her a little while, I walked to the living area.
My mother again was pacing and looking out the window. She had done that all throughout the evening meal. She was nervous about the neighbors and she still really hadn’t spoken to me yet. She hadn’t welcomed me back, embraced me, or asked me anything.
“What are you doing?” I asked her.
“They’re watching the house,” she said.
“Let them watch. It isn’t like they are going to bring torches and burn the house to the ground.”
“You don’t know that.”
I laughed in sarcasm. “They are sheep to Nito. She doesn’t want me dead, she just wants me at any cost. Of course, this is something you already know.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
I shook my head and moved to sit on a chair.
“Vala, answer me.”
“People will do anything to make sure she gets me. Including my own mother.”
“I beg your pardon. How dare you talk to me like that. As if I would sell you—”
“Wouldn’t you?”
“No.”
“How about giving her your blood in good faith? Or taking bribes?”
My mother gasped. “Where did you hear such things? Iry? Did Iry say this to you? He makes up tales.”
I bolted from the chair and ran to my mother, taking hold of her arm, unfolding it to expose the blood withdraw wounds. “Do his ‘tales’ cause this?”
“V-Val, I-I did this to keep you safe,” my mother said, trembling. “I did this to keep her away from you.”
“Did you?”
“Yes. Or else she would have hunted you down.”
“Guess what? She did.”
My mother stepped back. “You are speaking differently. Where were you?’
Again, I laughed. “Finally you ask? You didn’t welcome me home, didn’t ask how I was. I’m going to bed. Since I will be chosen tomorrow.”
I wasn’t tired, however, I could tell my mother wasn’t being honest. I witnessed her betrayal of me, and yet, I couldn’t tell her. It hurt. She was my mother and I loved her, despite what she had done. I prayed there was an ounce of truth in what she said, that she really did give her blood as a distorted means to protect me.
“Where were you?”
I stopped. “With Davis.”
She blinked. “Davis?”
“You know, the man you left behind in Angeles City? The man whose child you gave to the Sybaris?”
“It was our passage for a better life. How dare you?’
“No, how dare you? You took his child.”
“I wanted you to grow up. To be a woman. To be safe. To not go hungry or be afraid.”
“So you sacrificed your own son?”
“I did so for you. For us. Davis could not provide what we have here.”
“You’re right. He would have done much better for us. I was there. They aren’t vagrants or runners, they live their lives. Much like we do, only they’re free and happy. It’s where I want to be and it’s where Sophie should be.”
“Do you really mean that?” my mother asked. “Is it better there?”
“Yes. It is.”
“Then we’ll go,” she said with a nod. “We’ll leave before the ceremony, we will go at first light. All of us, to Angeles City.”
“I can’t.”
“You said you want to live there.”
“I do. I want to live there without the threat of Nito, the other Ancients, the Savages or the Day Stalkers. That will only happen if they are all defeated by the rebellion. And they will be, with my help.”
“You give yourself too much credit, Vala. How do you plan on helping?”
“By being chosen.”
I suspect she didn’t understand, and the expression on her face showed that. I started to go to my room, but I paused, turned, and walked to her. I gently placed my lips to her cheek and said my goodnight. No matter what, she was still my mother.
She claimed she wanted what was best for all of us. I did, too. I guess in more ways than I wanted to admit, she and I were truly alike. Both of us selling out and sacrificing for the sake of those we love. Only, hopefully, I would do so without any further hurt to the ones I cared about.