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watched Celia and she watched me. Hannah was
watching all of us like a vulture perched in a tree, waiting for
its meal to stop wriggling. Celia and I had developed a way of
looking at one another without looking. I could see her in my
peripheral vision with what most would consider startling clarity.
All the while, our eyes appeared to be fixed upon distant
points.
    We did not smile; not even once. Actually,
this part was pretty easy, since every person at the table was
wound as tightly as bowstring; every person except Mistress Evelyn.
She’s the one who had us on edge. For her part, she was the epitome
of elegance and grace. If she felt she had anything to say to us,
then evidently there was all the time in the world for us to wait
to hear it. She was royal; a Daughter of the Malkind. She waited
for no one.
    It was during the dessert, after a grueling
five previous courses, that Mistress Evelyn finally addressed our
group. She did so without fanfare. There was no preamble, just the
shocking news.
    “I have decided that Celia will accompany me
on my return journey to Rainier,” Evelyn said.
    On her first syllable, every one of us girls
and Hannah stopped eating. We straightened and listened to every
word. When Celia’s name was mentioned, every girl at the table
opened their mouths in astonishment.
    Evelyn continued unperturbed. “She will
become bond to my son, Nathan, since Raven has proven herself
unworthy.”
    Hannah’s eyes were on me from across the
table. She knew how I felt about Celia. She was like a little
sister to me, the closest to family I had. Hannah likely expected
me to make some sort of outburst at Mistress Evelyn’s terrible
news, but I was no fool. The pain of my earlier punishment was
still fresh upon my skin.
    Inside my mind, however, I was screaming long
and loud. How could the mistress do this to Celia? She was too
young for this. Her training was not complete. All these things and
more I wanted to say to the woman, but I knew better. She wouldn’t
have listened anyway.
    Celia was reeling from the news. I could see
it in her eyes. It was as if Evelyn had struck her a blow to the
face. She was in a daze, not even meeting my eyes. Her breathing
became rapid and shallow. I wouldn’t have been surprised if she had
fainted, but Celia held on.
    When her eyes did meet mine, they were
pleading. Someone had to do something. This couldn’t be allowed to
stand. Hannah would not do anything about it. She would not brook
any argument whatsoever. I had to say something, anything that
might stop this.
    Then the last of Evelyn’s words replayed in
my mind. “Since Raven has proven herself unworthy.”
    My lips quivered, as I realized the awful
truth. I had done this to my beloved Celia. I had doomed her to
this fate all because I questioned matters which I should have
simply accepted in dumb obedience.
    Tears fell upon my cheeks and rolled down my
face, dropping onto my dessert plate. I should have known something
like this might happen. What a fool I was not to anticipate
Evelyn’s unalterable course. She required a bond for her son. When
I made myself troublesome in her sight, she was bound to turn to
the next girl in line, regardless of her age or depth of training.
This was the result.
    Evelyn sat at her dessert for a full five
minutes more, eating pudding as though nothing at all was the
matter. I could not help but notice the smirk upon her ruby red
lips. She was actually enjoying the misery her news had caused. Her
eyes flicked up to mine momentarily.
    “Why, Raven, you have hardly touched your
dessert,” Evelyn observed sweetly. “Is something wrong, dear?”
    My breath caught in my chest.
    I lowered my eyes again. “No, Mistress,” I
replied. “I’m not very hungry at the moment.”
    Evelyn swallowed her last dollop of pudding
and then placed her spoon down upon her plate, dabbing at her lips
with her linen napkin. When she stood, we all stood together in
respect. She smiled at us; a