8th August 1103

The horses nickered uneasily in their stalls as they entered the stable. Ana’s eyes slowly adjusted to the gloom, the warm scent of hay and horse manure tickling her nostrils.

“So… what do yew think?” she asked softly.

Mara only stared and Ana wondered if she even understood. Hepsie had asked her if she would be so kind as to play with Lady Inbar’s ward and she could never refuse dear Hepsie anything. And they were of a similar age. She had been desperate to get away from her bratty little sisters anyway, and jealous of Elere who was allowed to help Hepsie with her work since she was a big girl now. Ana thought she was pretty grown up now that she was nine but apparently it wasn’t enough to help with the babies. And Dessy, well she was never to be found these days. So she spent her time with Mara, who was even shyer than she. It was an awkward sort of friendship. Most of the time they barely spoke and when they did oftentimes they could not understand one another anyway.

At least the other girl had princess hair. That went a long way to earning Ana’s respect. And she could do the prettiest braids, more pretty than Ana had imagined in all of her daydreams. Ana had a secret hope that one day Mara might braid her hair for her, but it seemed only the Lady Inbar was granted that favour.

But that could be all about to change since she had found the secret hideout, in the back of the stables where nobody every came. Creeping behind the boxes she could almost pretend she was indeed a Princess, holed up in a fortress waiting for her Prince to come. She just had to make Mara understand.

“It’s being a place fer us, fer me and yew. We can hide here an’ no one will be finding us. Nobody ever comes here but Kel an’ he won’t tell our secret. It’s perfect.”

The other girl raised her dark eyebrows and stared at Ana, a look of vast concentration on her pale face. Ana thought her rather beautiful, her flawless skin and trailing raven locks. Ana’s face was always ruddy and freckled. Hepsie called it a healthy glow but Ana hated it.

She tried again, more slowly sounding out the words carefully, “Yew know Mara… secret. A secret. Just fer yew an’ me. To play here.”

“Secret?” Mara asked her brown wrinkling in confusion.

How was she going to explain?

She was saved the need when the door to the stables clicked open and two small shapes flitted in. It was Jabari, the medicine man’s dark-skinned son and one of the Manasa boys. She could never remember all their names. They both seemed so strange and foreign to her. Jabari most of all, who had heavy dreadlocks, coiling out from his head like snakes and birthright tattoos covering his face. And the Manasa boy slinking in, cat-like, his pale eyes glowing. They said his father had been a Talmasian from the great deserts of the West, where the nomadic tribes lived out their short and violent lives under stretched canvas and the stars.

“Greetings,” Jabari said in his strange accent while the Manasa boy scowled at them from beneath his wild, ruffled hair.

“What the hell are yew doing in here?” the Manasa boy growled at them, “This is our place. No girls allowed.”

She glared back, noting that his bare feet were dirty and his clothes were torn. Her own clothes had been neatly patched by her own hand. Hepsie had even complimented her on the skill of the stitching. Her feeling of smug satisfaction fled when she remember Mara’s many fine dresses.

“No no my kaibigan. Do not be rude to ladies. I am Jab, please to meet you,” the other boy said carefully.

“We met before, on the ship” Ana mumbled and Mara just stared.

“Yew can’t be here,” the Manasa boy said belligerently, ignoring his friend’s plea for courtesy, “this is our place. Boys only. We found it first.”

“But Lemeki friend, kaibigan. Surely can we not share?” Jabari asked congenially.

“No… no girls,” the other boy scowled, “Girls are stupid. They only want to do their hair and they cry all the time.”

“We don’t cry all the time!” Ana responded unable to refute the hair claim.

Suddenly, unaccountably Mara began to giggle beside her. She was a little shocked. The girl scarcely spoke and now she was laughing.

“Why she laugh?” Jab asked, confused.

“Oh, please excuse my friend Mara, she’s not speaking much common. I don’t know if she’s understanding,” Ana sent a sidelong glance to her friend who was tittering into her hand.

“I see… I also speak not good common,” Jab said with a solemn look on his face.

He bowed deeply, “I am pleased to meeting you Mara.”

Mara giggled even more, her shoulders shaking, her scrawny arms folded over her chest. The situation was getting out of hand. Ana mustered all of her faltering courage.

“We were here first an’ it’s no boys allowed. So yew’d better just scram if yew know what’s good fer yew.”

“Scram,” Mara repeated with a grin waggling her finger at them.

“No way!” Lemeki said, glowering at them, “We was here first!”

The stable door swung open and their argument was forgotten as a small scruffy figure burst in and barrelled into Lemeki poking at him with an outstretched finger.

“Now yer dead Leki. Dead. I’s killed yew I does,” the small boy squeaked in delight.

“Mori! What the hell! Get out! Leave us alone yew stupid runt.”

“I wanna play too… pwease Leki I’s big enough I is,” the boy whined. He was another Manasa but this time of a smaller variety. Same scruffy hair and torn trousers.

“Only grown ups can play here Mori,” Lemeki growled at his younger brother, “Yew have to be at least eight to play here.”

“Yeah,” Ana chimed in.

The only thing more awful than boys were little brothers and sisters.

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