Read Marie's Journey (Ginecean Chronicles) for Free Online Page B

chair out and sat, head lowered on the unpleasantly cold surface of the table. She had never liked marble. The pure breed cemetery in Trin was filled with rows and rows of marble headstones. It didn’t matter that the different colors or the veins crisscrossing every slate made them different; marble always reminded her of death.
    The next morning, the girl on cleaning duty woke her by unceremoniously poking her folded arms with the tip of the broom. “Partying the whole night, useless the day after. Don’t think for a moment you’ll be exempt from your duty.”
    “What…?” Marie could barely open her eyes, a series of images still playing in her mind. The girl poked her again viciously and Marie yelped. “No need for that.” She stood up and wobbled on unsteady legs.
    “How drunk are you?” The girl looked around, her expression disappointed when she couldn’t find the proof of her suspicion. “I got sorted to clean and I miss Donor Day when this idiot gets lucky,” she muttered under her breath.
    “I didn’t drink at all.” Do they also get drunk here? Marie steadied herself, planting her hands on the back of the chair. “I’m only tired.” Thank the Goddess I got to sleep some.
    “I don’t believe you.” The girl’s eye narrowed and Marie could almost see what she was thinking.
    I’m not going to convince you, am I? Marie waited patiently, knowing what was going to happen next.
    “I’ll go tell Madame Lana I found you hung over and out of your room.”
    Just say it and get it over with. Marie maintained her gaze on the girl, her mouth closed in a straight line.
    “Aren’t you worried about Madame Lana knowing what you’ve done?” The girl didn’t like Marie not cowering before her suggested threat.
    “I’ve done nothing.” Marie moved her weight to the balls of her feet, rocking back and forth to reestablish blood circulation in her legs.
    “Madame Lana won’t see it that way once I tell her.” The girl was getting angry at Marie’s attitude.
    Legs working again and the painful tingling gone, she looked at the girl. “What do you want?”
    “I won’t tell if you volunteer for me.”
    Of course. “I’ll do it.” She didn’t want to go to Donor Day in the first place, and what better excuse than being blackmailed for cleaning duty? She didn’t want to be present at the ceremony and face Verena if she got picked.
    The girl eyed her suspiciously but passed Marie the broom and instructed her on what to say if somebody asked. Marie memorized the message, repeated it for the girl, and then took possession of the broom. She started sweeping the floor, unable to hide the small smile tugging at her lips, but lowered her face before the girl could see her.
    Two hours later, she was far from finishing all the chores the girl had seen fit to bestow upon her, but the kitchen was still empty. A few minutes earlier, she had heard the bell calling everybody outside to gather in the courtyard to participate in the ceremony. Oh, Verena… A feeling of hollowness possessed her at the idea of losing her newly acquired friend to a terrible fate. What’s going to happen to you? Idra once had said that she would’ve killed herself before being touched by a man. Marie had nervously laughed at her words and told her not to be daft. The memory made her shiver. One look at the board where all her chores were appointed in neat writing and she groaned out loud. I won’t ever get done. Out of the blue, she felt a sudden craving for that piece of marzipan she had meant to smuggle the day before. I shouldn’t go back to the cellars. The more she said no to herself the more the aromatic sweetness called her until she was salivating at the mere idea of placing a piece of marzipan on her tongue.
    A last gaze at the board and the sheer magnitude of the chores waiting for her left Marie thinking ten minutes wouldn’t make any difference. “Nobody will notice I’m gone anyway.” She reassured herself with a