The Rule of Things (1)

Emeravwe remained in the Palace Infirmary a few days after regaining consciousness. The nurses tended to her headaches while Agaenaye Uche, upon Aye Omojewe's instruction, stayed with her to soothe her anxiety.

But her distress did not relent.

She remembered nothing beyond the moment she woke to see the four women at her bedside. The Rode Aye told her her name and how they discovered her, but she was unsettled.

She longed for a warmth she could not remember, and was frightened because she could not comprehend all that had happened to her.

Everything and everyone around her was strange and foreign, and Agaenaye Uche's presence did little to console and relieve her fears. Emeravwe could only keep her anxiety to herself and cried herself to sleep each night.

Once she was discharged from the infirmary, she rejoined the other Omote and Maidens of the Maidens' Compound. They were on the last legs of refurbishing the apartments and offices of the compound, and Emeravwe was quickly put to work alongside the Omote.

"Work quickly!" The Agaenaye who supervised them barked as the Omote ran about their living quarters. "There are only a few more days of holiday before we resume classes. The sooner we get the work done for today, the sooner we can actually have a break."

Emeravwe stumbled down a hallway. Her arms ached with the weight of the vase she carried, and she strained to see past its bulk.

Two Omote walked toward her from the opposite direction. They hefted a low stool between them, and grinned wickedly at each other when they spotted her.

As they passed, the shorter Omote thrust her shoulder into Emeravwe's.

Emeravwe's heart leapt into her throat as she was thrown to the side, pulled by the weight of the vase. Unable to control her fall, she landed painfully on her arm.

The breaking of the ceramic pot shattered the air, jarring the Maidens in the hall.

"Ow!" The two Omote who ambushed her quickly fell to the ground, as well.

"What are you doing?" a lanky Agaenaye rushed over, face red with anger. "That vase is part of a set sent by the Bureau of Civil Works! How dare you break it?"

"Agaenaye Gènè, it was her fault," the dark-skinned Omote wailed, pointing at Emeravwe. "She suddenly bumped into Oluchi."

Emeravwe defended softly, "No, I—"

"Are your eyes for decoration? Or do you also have jewels for brains? Get up!" The Agaenaye dragged her up and pushed her to the wall. "Face the wall and hands up! Stay like that as punishment!"

Choked with sobs, Emeravwe turned to the wall. She raised her sore arms above her head, biting her lip to muffle her cries.

"Omote Oluchi, Omote Ngozi, are you all right?" Agaenaye Gènè asked, helping the two girls up.

Omote Oluchi stepped gingerly on her right foot. "Ahh," she whined, "I think I twisted my ankle."

Omote Ngozi seized Omote Oluchi's arm. "Agaenayeme, let me take her to the Palace Infirmary!"

The Agaenaye hesitated, then nodded. "Okay, but hurry back. There are still more chores to do." She turned and walked down the hall, stopping to bark instructions at other Omote to come clean up the broken vase.

Emeravwe heard Omote Oluchi and Ngozi snicker behind her. "Good thinking, Oluchi." Omote Ngozi sighed, "Work, work, work! Every day! It was killing me."

"Now we can take a break for today. And we got the valued child to take the blame." Omote Oluchi sneered, "Not so valued now, is she?"

The girls clapped hands victoriously behind her, and Emeravwe's heart shriveled with anguish. Her sobs broke through the barrier of her lips in whimpering cries.

"Ugh! Come on, I can hardly stand her!" Omote Oluchi said. She pulled Omote Ngozi down the hall. "We should go enjoy our break while we can."

"Why do we have to do so much cleaning and reorganizing every day, anyway?" Omote Ngozi complained. "I thought we were supposed to be training to be official Maidens?"

"I heard Agaenaye Rukevwe say it is because we just entered the new year. And also because of the Orodje's coronation. She said every time a new Orodje is crowned, the palace is cleaned and refurbished to welcome his reign."

"Just our luck!"

As the girls' voices faded down the hall, Emeravwe continued to stand with arms raised, her tears streaming. Through the mist of tears, she saw only the gray stone wall before her. And just so, the Maidens around her continued their tasks, her presence seemingly nonexistent.

It was when the palace began to settle down that the official education of the Omote began.

Each morning, after breaking their fast, the Omote assembled on the cobbled courtyard before their living quarters. They were then led by the Agaenaye to the other side of the compound, where the Maidens' offices and schoolrooms were located.

The Omote attended four classes each day: two in the morning and two in the afternoon.

In their morning classes, they were taught to read and write in Xxenen characters. In the afternoon, they were taught computations and attended the class, Etiquettes of the Court.

In this class, they learned of the Seven Ministries and Seven Offices of the Sun's Court (the official name of the royal palace). They learned the different levels and ranks of court officials, officers, Eunuchs, and Maidens. Then mastered how to recognize them by their attire and properly greet and address them.

They were also coached in the varying degrees of the female obeisance, called a butu*, and learned of the male equivalent, a digwe*.

Emeravwe found that girls like herself, who wore light green garments, were officially titled Égodo Orodje Omote. The older girls in pink were Égodo Orodje Agaenaye, and the women in deep blue were Égodo Orodje Aye.

She learned of another rank of girls, titled Égodo Orodje Aya, who resided in the Inner Palace. They were equal to Aye of the third order, and wore garments of pastel blue.

The Rode Aye, who were also title the Honored Maidens, she discovered, oversaw all palace Maidens. They normally reported directly to the queen. But since the young king was unwed, they currently had complete autonomy over matters concerning the Maidens of the palace.

The Omote's education continued for two years. During this time, Emeravwe was either shunned or harassed by the other Maidens. They called her a "valued child" because of the ruby in her forehead and ostracized her.

"We cannot share a table with a valued child! You might accuse us of lowering your dignity and have us sent to the Bureau of Corrections!" a girl would say when Emeravwe asked if she could sit with a group of Omote for supper.

They would laugh as she found her way to an empty table.

Then a group of Agaenaye would arrive only to sweep her food away with, "Valued child or not, a Maiden is simply a servant in the Sun's Court. And there are ranks among servants! These are the tables of the Agaenaye. Do you think you can sit wherever you want because of that jewel in your head?"

Emeravwe came to learn that though all palace Maidens and Eunuchs were from noble families, their foreheads were unadorned. This was because, as servants of the palace, they were not to consider class or wealth, but serve the king wholeheartedly. The majority, however, had siblings who were jeweled and had not been sent to serve in the palace. Emeravwe saw this through the years, on holidays when family members were permitted to visit the palace.

On such days, she lagged behind the Maidens, following them to the palace's entrance courtyard, the Court of Permeance. This was where they welcomed their families, and where she had supposedly been lost.

As she loitered at the back of the immense courtyard, she looked hopefully onto the crowd of people who streamed in through the palace gates. And she overheard many conversations between Maidens and their families.

"As Onorogu*, it is our duty to serve and support the Orodje," she once heard a father with a ruby in his forehead say to an Omote-in-training. "I do so as part of the Sun's Court. It is an honor to our family that you do the same as a Maiden."

"But I miss you and Mother and our home! There are so many rules and so much work here." The Omote sobbed, "Why did I have to be the one to come to the palace? Can I not switch places with one of my siblings? Do you not want me home?"

The Omote's parents looked anxiously around the courtyard. "Nneka, that is not true," the mother said as she reached down to try and calm the Omote. "It is your fortune that you were chosen by birth to serve the Orodje. Now hush, before anyone hears you! It is an honor to serve in the Sun's Court!"

Emeravwe came to see that the Maidens took their frustrations out on her. Even so, she could not understand them.

Though she was a "valued child," she was still a palace Maiden, and her life was no better than theirs. If anything, it was worse. For though she would wait for hours at the palace gates, no one ever came to visit her.

She tried to remember where she came from and who her parents were, but her mind remained blank. And though she looked hopefully at the faces that walked through the gates, she was never recognized.

As the years went by, Emeravwe stopped going to the gates on holidays. Because she always left with her heart in a knot and tears in her eyes.