Glimpse of a Fading Moon in the Dawning Sky (4)

Agaenaye Rukevwe's hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes darted quickly up and down the patio. She hastened to say, "I mean, the ministries and offices of the palace are still in disarray, so the Aye have left us in charge of the Omote. What is the matter?"

Agaenaye Adanna pushed Emeravwe forward, as if eager to stir the conversation in a different direction. "The Rode Aye have sent this girl to be trained as a palace Maiden. She is to be an Omote."

Agaenaye Rukevwe's eyes bulged, finally noticing Emeravwe. "A valued child!"

At her exclamation, the girls on the patio looked up. Some rushed over to get a better look at Emeravwe and the ruby in her forehead.

Seeing the impressive jewel, they too turned to one another with gasps of "A valued child!"

"What is a valued child?" a small girl in green asked.

"A precious child bestowed with a jewel in its forehead when it is born," an older girl in pink explained tartly. "Valued children are actually loved by their parents and do not have to enter the palace to suffer like we do!"

"What is a valued child doing here?" another girl in pink asked, her voice filled with scorn. "Is she here to taunt us with that gem in her forehead?"

Others joined her, voicing their displeasure at Emeravwe's presence among them.

Emeravwe shrank from the angry girls, her eyes brimming anew with terrified tears.

"Enough!" Agaenaye Rukevwe admonished the girls. "If you but step outside the palace walls, you will find the city is filled with valued children. You, yourselves, have siblings who are valued. It is us, palace Maidens, who are depreciated." She turned a disdainful eye on Emeravwe. "Now, why has such a valued child been lowered to our ranks?"

Agaenaye Adanna shrugged. "It is the Rode Aye's decision. You must honor it."

Agaenaye Rukevwe glared. "Wicked girl. You say that so easily because you will not have to suffer her."

With a sweet smile, Agaenaye Adanna bent her knees, cupping her hands before her. "I shall take my leave of you now."

Agaenaye Rukevwe returned the greeting, answering begrudgingly, "May you go in peace."

Agaenaye Adanna left Emeravwe beset by the glares and whispers of the girls on the patio. She backed herself to the railing, wanting to make herself smaller, invisible.

The sting of their scowls made her quake, so she avoided their eyes to abate her fear, but she could not keep the frightened tears from falling. She was alone and afraid, and the throbbing in her head intensified. The way the girls looked at her scared her even more.

"All right, get back to work, all of you!" Agaenaye Rukevwe ordered the girls. "The Aye want the inner rooms thoroughly cleaned and rearranged by this evening."

Slowly, the girls returned to their chores and Agaenaye Rukevwe turned her attention to Emeravwe. "I know not what family you come from, but here in the Sun's Court you will receive no special treatment because of that jewel in your head! Omote Oluwa," she called to a little girl in green who was stuffing a large sheet into a nearby bin with the help of other girls.

The girl rushed over and executed a clumsy greeting. "Yes, Agaenayeme."

"Take this girl to the Weavers' Department and let them know she is a new Omote-in-training," Agaenaye Rukevwe instructed. "Have her dressed in the proper attire and hurry back."

"Yes, Agaenayeme." The little girl turned to Emeravwe, saying abruptly, "Follow me."

Emeravwe remained sobbing on the patio.

The girl grabbed her by the arm and pulled her roughly. She took Emeravwe through a maze of buildings and out a different set of gates from those through which she had entered the Maidens' Compound.

The girl led her down a long, cobbled passageway, then through yet another set of gates into a smaller compound where the Weavers' Department was located.

There, as Emeravwe continued to weep, she was dressed in the cap-sleeve blouse, skirt, and matching sheer robe and headscarf that were the standard of all palace Maidens. The attire was light green in color like that of the Omote. The wide band of the headscarf arranged so it covered her forehead and the ruby embedded in it.

Thus clothed, Emeravwe and the girl returned to the Maidens' Compound. They reported to Agaenaye Rukevwe, who instructed her to join the other Omote in cleaning the rooms of the buildings.

Emeravwe tried to do as the Agaenaye asked, but she was confused and frightened by all that had happened. And her head felt ready to split from pain.

"Move!" some Omote commanded, ramming a bin they were pushing against the back of her legs as she stood nursing her headache in one of the halls.

She was slammed to her knees, and the girls maneuvered the bin around her, laughing.

"If you are sent to work in the palace though you have a gem in your forehead, are you still a valued child?" one of the Omote wanted to know as they walked away.

"No, you would be a worthless child!" another proclaimed, and they burst in laughter.

Emeravwe sat weeping in the hall, but soon other girls came to roughly shove her aside, and the older Agaenaye berated her for crying instead of working.

"You valued children are good for nothing but sitting at home! Licking your faces and stuffing biscuits!" an Agaenaye bit bitterly, brushing Emeravwe aside.

She found a corner to make herself invisible and cried herself to sleep despite her headache.

Later that evening, she was roughly woken by an Omote and told to assemble on the patio to greet the Aye as they returned.

The girls assembled on the patios of the buildings—a triplet of younger girls lined beside each of the older girls. They greeted the Aye in charge of that building as they walked up the steps, each escorted by a triplet of girls in pink.

The senior Aye in charge of Emeravwe's building was called Aye Omojewe. She was a woman with a round face and kind brown eyes.

"Oh? And who is this?" she said, immediately noticing Emeravwe, since she was the only child not lined beside an older girl.

Agaenaye Rukevwe stepped forward. "Ayeme, her name is Emeravwe. The Rode Aye sent her to be an Omote-in-training."

"I see." Aye Omojewe walked over to Emeravwe, who shrank fearfully against the wall of the building. The Aye smiled warmly, placing a gentle hand on her head. "Welcome, child."

She turned to Agaenaye Rukevwe, asking, "And what clan is she from?"

Agaenaye Rukevwe bowed her head. "May you forgive me, Ayeme. I do not know."

At this, Aye Omojewe paused.