Chapter Four

I knead the dough until it's light and fluffy. Then I plop it in a bowl and cover it with a clean towel while it rises. "How are you doing with that jam?" I ask, turning to look at Dakota, who is at the stove. He grunts a reply. I smile and set the timer for the rising dough.

The deal with Master Solbek is that we bake until noon, then Hal takes over and we get our training. We also got the name thing sorted out. I call him Dad when I'm not in training, and Master Solbek while I'm in it. At noon is our first lesson. I'm nervous and excited, as I should be.

I glance at the clock, ten minutes till noon. "If you keep watching that thing, you're going to go cross eyed, Gene." Dakota states, using my new and established nickname. I roll my eyes.

"I'm just excited, and time feels as slow as molasses. I could start quoting Shakesphere. 'If music be the food of love, play on.'" I sigh dramatically and check his jam. It's almost boiling.

"Twelfth Night," He says, taking the spoon from me.

"You know some literature! Try this," I close my eyes to compose myself. I smile, open my eyes, and recite from memory. "'Had I been in love, I could not have been more wretchedly blind. But vanity, not love, has been my folly. Pleased with the preference of one, and offended by the neglect of the other, on-"

Dakota interrupts, finishing it. "'-on the very beginning of our acquaintance, I have courted prepossession and ignorance, and driven reason away where either were concerned. Till this moment, I never knew myself.' Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice. I am a book lover, I confess. And Jane Austin was the best writer that was ever Fate Chosen." He tilts his head back and drapes the spoon free hand over his forehead dramatically.

"Well, I must confess that it is two minutes after noon." Master Solbek says, appearing from nowhere We both jump at his sudden presence. Hal comes in behind him.

"Mom's working the counter. I'll watch the jam and dough. Have fun Gene. I hope he has mercy on you two." He stirs the jam, shooing us away with a slight smile. We go upstairs to my room.

Once the door is closed, Master Solbek sits in the chair and gestures for us to sit on the floor, a grim expression on his face. "We will first learn the importance of patience. I know you can sit and meditate for hours to get to your Soul Drift state of mind, Genevieve. But Dakota, you have very little patience. I have studied you two over the day. You two are synced. Genevieve, you have patience, while he does not. Dakota, you love swordplay, while she does not. You complement each other. While opposites, you have a very large scale of what you guys can do, together. You can accomplish almost anything together. Remember this. Now meditate until you are in a place of calm." He finishes, with a sigh of relief.

I close my eyes and center my thoughts. I now remember something the High Mother said, many months ago, for some odd reason. "You can drift anywhere, if you want, but you must think you can, before you do." I shake away the idea, noting it for a later date in time.

I sync my breathing with Dakota's, his soft and long intakes of breath. In through the nose and out through the mouth. Just like when I'm running. The calm rolls through me in waves. Then I feel the sudden tug of my soul, much to my dismay. I give up, letting it pull me where it wants, giving into curiosity.

I watch as we leave town at a fast speed. I zoom into the jungle, passing by and dodging trees. I head towards some caves and, to my surprise, I go in one. The cave leads to a passageway behind a tarp, guarded by a girl wearing a red dog mask. Weird, but okay. My soul leads me through a series of turns that I won't remember later. After too many turns, we slow down and enter another tarp-covered entryway.

A lady with a long black braid and a silver raven mask is with another girl, who has curly black hair and a white bunny mask. The mask covers most of their faces, leaving their mouth exposed.

"How long does it take for someone to give me a report on how she's doing? I sent Sharp Claw to watch the girl until she is going to be registered. I am very impatient, White Ear." The one in the silver mask complains. I notice her eyes are two different colors. A green and a gray that seem familiar.

"Silver Raven, have you tried Soul-" White Ear starts, but Silver Raven interrupts her, pacing now.

"Soul Drifting? Yes! Only the One Who Watches knows how many times I've tried. I'm tempted to go there and have a look myself. I'm not sure I trust that curly red head, Sharp Claw. I would go, but my parents would recognize me in an instant. That would cause too much stirring and tangling in the Fate Threads. So I can't."

I get the feeling that Silver Raven is in charge here, as she paces the length of the room. "You are dismissed, White Ear. I will see you at the hunting party tonight. I swear upon my fifteen years on this earth, and my last two spent here." White ear puts her right fist against her chest and bows. When she leaves, Silver Raven sits down in a chair at her desk, head in her hands. I only then take in the contents of the room.

There is a big bed on a metal frame against the back wall. Next to it is a large cabinet. The desk is a beautiful oak piece, the top scattered with loose papers and scrolls. The chair she sits on is straight backed and plainly styled. The floor, walls, and ceiling are rock. Lanterns are bolted to the rock and hanging on hooks. When Silver Raven starts speaking, my attention is drawn back to her.

"I can't change her Fate at all, and it's driving me crazy, Lizzy. I wish you were here. I can't do this without you here. I'm not suited. I have a list of names here, right in front of me. Names of future members of the cause. I just don't know what to do. You left me, at fifteen, to the Gold Leader, and to help watch fifteen thousand, all scattered across the land. Watching for the future rebels. Now I must make sure my own sister gets here. I can't change her Fate, I've tried. It's too late. Her Fate is set in stone. I waited too long. It had to be done before she started her journey up that dreadful mountain."

She throws back her head, her braid hanging down the back of the chair, a smile on her face. "I'm glad I didn't have to wait too long to go up there. I already knew my Fate, so it was pointless. I created it, didn't I? I'm the Threader of Fates, but I can't bring myself to send a letter. I'm pathetic Lizzy. I need your help and guidance…" Silver Raven finishes the rest in silence. I feel the tug at my soul, wanting to go back. And for the first time, I don't want to leave. I don't want to leave a sad child, who is younger than me, but has gone through far more than I expect to go through myself. I saw it in her eyes. The look that is ancient. Though still young in body, she is ancient in mind, heart, and soul. I let my soul pull me away as she quickly wipes away the fat-forming tears.

I force my eyes shut as I drift back to the room. I open my eyes once I feel the lightness of traveling with my soul gone. I'm surprised by Dakota and Master Solbek, both staring intently at me in silence. Then I notice the other change in the room. It got darker. I glance at the clock. Nearly five already. I sometimes forget that in Soul Land, time moves differently than in the Land of Body.

"Why are you crying? What has upset you, Gene?" Dakota asks, not waiting a moment more. I touch my cheek and, sure enough, it's wet with tears shed. I guess that scene really touched me, like nothing else has before. I felt close to that girl, Silver Raven, just after hearing her talk to her missing, or dead, friend Lizzy as if she was there. I used to do that, talk to someone that isn't really there, but you want them to be there so much your heart aches uncontrollably. I talked to my mom.

"It's nothing. I need fresh air. I'm going for a walk, alone. I'll be back by pure darkness." I rush out of the room and down the stairs, wiping my wet cheeks on my sleeve. I leave by the kitchen door, making sure that no one can stop me. I come into an ally, but I keep my feet moving. They move, and I think, my mind traveling back to the Drift.

The girl seems so familiar, yet I cannot place it! It is at the tip of my tongue, but it refuses to come to the light. Then my thoughts travel elsewhere. I know that Dakota came to the orphanage at six years old. It was unusual. It was the first time I had ever seen a boy. We don't start going to the last meal until we're eight. I know his parents hid his existence in the Land. I don't know how, but they did. He has seen the big city, Exallium, in detail. He lived there.

Being Explorer and Assassin, I will only go there to record my kill with proof, or turn in my map of unexplored land. I just hope my luck turns out, because Assassins and Explorers have gone missing, killed by rebels. They leave no survivors when they hunt, so we know that the missing are dead.

I've been told that rebels are cruel and dangerous, ruthless and give no mercy. That they are mask-wearing demons. The girl, Silver Raven, didn't look like that at all. She looked stressed, upset, and hurt. A lot like me, actually, I can relate. I've known kids who got letters from family, pictures too. I never got anything, ever.

My feet carried me down to the empty Town Square. I sit down on the fountain's ledge, watching the sun set below the horizon. "You look like a girl doin' some serious thinking, Genevieve." A voice says. I whirl around and it's just Jackson, the guy who helped us when I Soul Drifted in the middle of the Square. He holds up his hands, a gesture of peace.

"I guess I am. I just had my first lesson. It was on patience. I kinda Soul Drifted while we were meditating. I need to control that. I also just met, and am staying with, my silent parents. They never wrote or sent anything. I'm confused about my Fate, and I'm confused about what I saw when I Soul Drifted earlier." I run my fingers through my braid, leaving my full and wavy hair lightly blowing freely in the wind. "Sorry to vent to you. I'm just a volcano of emotions."

Jackson shrugs and joins me on the ledge. "It's cool. I'm no better, if that helps any. I get it out by reading. I don't think we really introduced ourselves the first time." He holds out his hand." I'm Thomas Leo Jackson, sixteen, first son of traders."

 I take his hand, laughing. "I'm Genevieve Maluna Potter, sixteen, second daughter of potters and bakers. I'm Fate Chosen, and I like books too. Poetry mostly." I see a glint in his eyes. He kisses my fingers gently.

"'Your hand is like a holy place that my hand is unworthy to visit.'" He says, releasing my hand. I raise my eyebrows.

"I'm not going to finish that, mostly because I know how that ends, Mr. Romeo. That is what I like most in boys, Jackson, The love of reading," I add at his face of confusion.

"Why don't we recite it fully? It is wrong to leave a story of such importance as that left untold. If you can act, I will get the audience of my friends and peers to watch a lovely lady and a young gent finish a story best be told before people. Will you accept? I will bring you when I am ready, if you do." He looks hopefully at me. I don't know what propels me to say it. It might have been the look on his face, or how dedicated he is to poetry. But I said it.

"Yes, but you'll have to ask for permission from my parents first. I can't just leave the bakery in the middle of work or a lesson. If they say so, I will go. Farewell, Sir Jackson. Until next time I long for your company, for you amuse me." I give a theatrical bow and a small smile before departing.

I retrace my steps to the shop, trying, unsuccessfully, to stop smiling. I've never tried that before with the boys at the orphanage. I've seen some of the girls flirt with the boys, but I've never tried, thinking it was silly. Oh, how wrong I was. It fills my chest with an amazing feeling, it makes me feel light and free, just like what running does to me. I now know why the others did it. But will it turn into something more? Or will it just be silly flirtations? I had a small circle of friends at the orphanage. Dakota and a few quiet girls I traded books with, girls who were under fifteen and nice.

I'll think of all that when I encounter it. I hear a slight rustle of fabric as I cross into another alley. Slight enough that anyone without trained hearing couldn't detect it. I trained myself to hear the unhearable, smell the unsmellable, and see in the dark. My eyesight can detect the smallest changes.

I hear the rustle again, just as I am about to dismiss it as something else. It's coming from above, to the right. I look up, not moving my head. I see a cloaked figure keeping pace with me, red hair is streaming out from beneath the hood, flowing in the wind. I frown and stop. The figure stops with me. I melt into the shadows of a building and hold my breath. Who would follow me? I listen and hear the cloaked person land softly to the right of me, on the other side of a giant trash bin. Some things are useful for Puritans. 

I hear dainty and light footsteps, like a cat, almost silent. "Shoot! Silver Raven is going to kill me for losing sight of the girl." The figure curses once more, then takes a deep breath. Her voice is feminine and high pitched, like a little girl's. I hear a satisfied sigh and she climbs on the trash bin. She looks down at me.

"Found you kitten," She says. I stare at the mask that covers most of her face. It's a cat mask, shining brightly with silver.

"I don't know what the Silver Raven thinks you are good for. I will watch you day and night as a protector. I can give you lessons of my own. You will be prepared, by my word. Come back here as the clock strikes midnight. I will teach and watch, you will learn by the hands of two. I bid you a good night, Genevieve Maluna." She crouches like a cat and jumps to the roof.

I step out of the shadows and hurry home, shocked, feeling the eyes watching me. I go into the kitchen. Mother waits there, in a chair. I smile truly. "I've had the quiet to think, and I am happy now. My strange thoughts have been sorted. I am peaceful now."

Mom smiles back, setting her mug down on the counter. "I'm glad you have found peace. I bet you are a bit hungry. Here, I kept it warm." She pulls a plate of food from the oven. Ham, cornbread, and beans fill the plate. She pours a mug of tea for me and motions to the second chair, opposite of hers. I sit down and start to eat, my thoughts circling back to Jackson.

"So, who did you talk to, to make you this joyful?" Mom asks, making me choke on a bite of cornbread. She laughs, and hands me a napkin.

"I talked to Jackson, and he recited a quote from my favorite play. He asked if I could act. Oh, I can act. My roommates made me act out their favorite bedtime stories. I just don't do it in front of strangers, that's all." I drink from the mug, enjoying the lemon and honey flavor.

"Well, the best way to meet new people is to make them laugh and have a good play. My momma used to say that. She was an Explorer, you know. I was ten when she disappeared on a journey. She was only twenty-eight. I'm thirty-four now, so she would be fifty-two if she survived. The rebels leave no survivors, so I know she didn't" She smiles sadly.

I swallow the last of the meal and stand up. "I need to get to bed. Make sure to tell dad no more meditation unless he wants me to drift off. Goodnight, mom." I kiss her cheek and walk up the stairs to the living quarters. I go to my room and glance at the clock. Only seven, five more hours to go. I look out the window hole. It faces the alley.

The window hole would be covered during cold or rain, but is open to the summer night's air. It also proves a quieter means of escape to sneak out. I set my internal clock for 11:45 and drift off, wondering what in the world I'm really thinking of doing.