CITIES AND MEMORIES
"To the Lowercity." Muri declared as soon as they were seated in the hovercraft. The flyer hesitated with his hands over the controls. "Are you sure, d'avi?"
Muri shot him a cold stare. "Do you wish me to come over there and fly this thing myself?"
"No. D'avi." He replied quickly and soon the hovercraft was humming to life and descending into the lowercity. Thonda sat frozen to her seat. Why her mother wanted to go to the lowercity was no mystery to her, but why she was willing to take that risk all for some silly lesson was beyond her.
The Lowercity was full of Reeth's worst – witches, thieves, bounty hunters who sold their loyalty for coin and murderers. They had no money or status so they had to survive as best as they could.
"The people of the Lowercity are not evil." Muri told Thonda as though she could sense her fears. "I have lived among them for many moons. I should know. Yes, they may not be the epitome of virtue, but they do what they have to to survive."
Thonda sat unsure of what to do or say. Her mother continued anyway.
"The people of the Summit are scared of the Lowercity because they possess the willpower and courage that those decorated fools lack in great quantities."
Thonda bristled. She had never heard her mother speaking of Summit like that. Apparently, being closer to her roots brought out her true feelings.
"Why did you leave then?" Thonda asked. Her mother laughed in a way that let her know the question was not appreciated.
"Don't be foolish, Thonda. There's only so far you can go without status and power," She paused. "I was also fortunate enough to be paired with one of the most powerful men on the continent, your father."
Their conversation was cut short when the flyer announced that they had reached their destination. The announcement wasn't even all that necessary, Thonda knew the exact moment they descended because the entire hovercraft seemed to be shrouded in a darkness and with an aura so thick she felt she could sever it with a knife.
Muri stepped out without fear, hoisted her dress above her ankles and began walking down the closest path, obviously familiar with the layout of this place. She didn't bother looking back to see if Thonda was following.
"Stay here until we return." Muri instructed the flyer briefly over her shoulder.
"Yes, D'avi." He obeyed.
"It is not often a person from the lower city is paired with one from the Summit. Have you never wondered about that?" Muri continued their conversation as though it had never stopped.
Thonda had to run to meet up with her mother and was still trying to catch her breath. "Yes – Yes, I have wondered a bit."
"Good. Questioning everything, no matter how normal it may seem, is a sign that you are not gullible and therefore are not weak."
Muri stopped walking then and turned to face her confused daughter. "You must learn to be strong, Thonda. You are a Kareese. It is important to never show any sign of weakness. There are many who seek to use that weakness against you."
Never show any sign of weakness.
Thonda nodded once. "But don't be mistaken, I do not wish for you to have no weakness at all. It is not the absence of weakness that makes you strong, but your ability to embrace it and turn it into a strength." Her mother looked in her eyes, trying to make sure that she indeed understood. She seemed satisfied enough and they resumed their walk.
The pair were now nearing the gates of the lowercity and there were more people milling about. Curious glances and peering eyes met them at almost every turn.
When a stout, angry looking man with a bald head and beady eyes pointed his finger at her, Thonda nearly cried out. She quickened her pace and tried to avoid looking at the people longer than was necessary.
"Who goes there?" A guard yelled at them from the top of the gate where he stood watch.
Muri said nothing. She simply lifted her head and stared the guard in the eyes. It was all he needed to see.
"D'avi, forgive me. I didn't realize…" He trailed off, clearly confused. He fumbled around for the lever that controlled the gate, hands slick with sweat.
The gate began to creak open ever so slowly and Muri marched on with a trembling Thonda close behind.
"Mother?" Thonda called out meekly. "Where exactly are we going?"
Muri was silent. Just when Thonda was convinced she was getting no answer, her mother spoke.
"To the Bridge."
It was an answer made deliberately vague, and Thonda knew that. It was one of the mind games her mother liked to play – make you wait for so long before she answered a question. That way, whether you realize it or not, your mind is desperate for an answer because what you've heard is not enough. You become hooked on her every breath, watching her every movement. Then when she finally gives you an answer, it's empty. Not of information though, no. She would give you information, just in morsels like this one, because what in the seven hells is "The Bridge."?
It is at that point, when you can't decide whether you now know more or you simply know less, that she has won. A very splendid power play.
Thonda rolled her eyes. How very much like her mother. To Muri Kareese, every person was just another lowly subject – a pawn on her chessboard, except maybe her husband and the Celestials.
Well, Thonda wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of another question. Two could play this game.
Lifting her chin in the air, Thonda forged ahead, paying no mind to the mad frenzy around her.
They seemed to be nearing a marketplace of some sort. Thonda noticed different stalls stocked with different kinds of foods, apparels, spices and many other things she couldn't identify.
"Get your Syrtian robes here!" A trader yelled.
"Spices! All the way from Cadylus."
"The finest linen in all of Reeth!"
All around them, traders called out, advertising their wares. Several times, different items were thrust in Thonda's face, some of them foul smelling.
"It is our dresses," Muri explained. "They attract the merchants like insects."
Thonda looked down briefly at her dress. It was her simplest and least expensive dress made from a kind of tree sap and without any gold or lace trimmings. She thought it a proper attire for meeting a healer – brown and humbling, but apparently it still held some sort of value.
"I can understand your dress, mother, but mine is nothing appealing to the eyes."
Muri laughed. "Is that what you think, dear daughter?"
Thonda opened her mouth to respond when she felt a large hand clamp over it and drag her into a dark corner on the street.
"You think you're better than us, child? Is that it?" A gruff voice hissed into her ear.
Thonda's screams were muffled by the brute's hand. Her eyes were wide with terror and her arms flailed uselessly around, hoping to hit something.
Someone laughed from beside her. The Brute had friends it seemed.
"Look at her, trying to escape," She heard something wet hit the ground. Most likely an expression of the voice's disgust. "Pathetic."
"Beneath their finery, the people of Summit are just scared mice." Brute laughed, catching one of Thonda's arms before it could collide with his face.
"There's no escaping Beront," the voice came again. "He's got the strongest grip in all of the Lowercity."
Thonda screamed again, hoping someone would hear her and help.
"She's still screaming, Berant."
"Let her. You think anyone is coming to help her after parading our streets in her fine robes, mocking us to our faces?"
Thonda stopped screaming and swallowed the hard lump that had formed in her throat. The man was right – no one was going to help her, especially after seeing she and her mother gracefully walk past their markets, ignoring their suffering. But why should they blame her alone? She didn't even want to come to this gods-forsaken city.
"She won't be screaming once we slit her throat." Berant's threat was followed by the unmistakable sound of a blade leaving it's sheath.
For the first time, Thonda felt true fear for her life. She kicked and punched the air, not caring what she hit.
She didn't even see her would-be executor. The only sign of his presence was the cold steel at her throat.