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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Merletta barely realized when she passed out of Skulssted and into Tilssted, despite the significant difference in the surroundings. She was too lost in thought, thinking about Jacobi’s upcoming test, less than two weeks away. She wasn’t as nervous as she had been about Sage’s test, of course, but she still felt a strong interest in the performance of her fellow first year.
Jacobi was clearly stressed about it. He’d looked so ill when he left the dining hall that morning, she’d almost felt sorry for him. She couldn’t blame him for his nerves. They were all on edge after the last test. Well, not Emil, of course. His final test for the program was the day after Jacobi’s, but he remained his unflappable self. With good reason—no one doubted the outcome of that test. But the two first years could hardly help being extra anxious.
She shook her head as she swam. It had been a couple of weeks, but she could still hardly believe that Ileana had failed. Speaking of people she never thought she’d feel sorry for…
There was no denying there was a vindictive part of her that had been pleased to hear of the poison-tongued mermaid’s failure. But she had the decency to be ashamed of it. Whatever Ileana’s intentions toward her, the thought of your life’s dreams being so completely shattered was sobering. And even thinking selfishly, she wasn’t really glad. Whatever inscrutable reason Ileana had for keeping quiet about the contraband she must surely have seen in Merletta’s satchel may no longer apply if she wasn’t in the program. Merletta hadn’t seen Ileana since she failed her educator test, the other mermaid having disappeared home immediately. But who knew what Ileana would do when next they met?
At least Sage was back from her break now, and into her third year classes. Merletta’s nerves had almost been rubbed raw after a month of enduring Ileana’s smug glances and sickly sweet greetings without a friendly face to break up the tension.
Merletta made her way quickly through the poorly lit streets of Tilssted, pleased to have her spear with her. She’d snuck out for night time wanderings many times as a child, and had never had the benefit of a proper weapon before. Not that it was night time now. It was barely dinner hour at the Center. But it would be fully dark by the time she returned.
She was glad her outing didn’t take her through her old neighborhood. Her mood was low enough already without being reminded of that place. The previous rest day had been the first time she’d seriously considered not even going to Vazula. She could certainly do with the extra study time. But she’d decided that the tension of wondering whether she’d been absent when the Valorian pair had finally decided to reappear would be worse than the disappointment of watching an empty sky all day. And at least when she was floating in the lagoon, she could mull over her various problems without any risk of interruption.
She rounded a corner, her destination in sight at last. Tish’s building was quiet, but a couple of the other stone towers occupied by the shellsmiths still rang with the bangs and scrapes of chiseling. They certainly worked them hard. It was a good thing for Merletta to remember any time she felt inclined to complain about the unrelenting schedule of the program.
Merletta slipped into the building as unobtrusively as she could, bracing herself for glares and muttering. The knowledge that visitors—while not forbidden—were generally discouraged, was the main reason she’d come so rarely. She hoped Tish wasn’t going to get too much of a hard time after she left.
But to her surprise, no one sent her so much as a nasty look. A mermaid floating through the building’s entry glanced at her, taking in the spear in her hand, and the band of a Center trainee on her arm. Strangely, the girl’s eyes seemed to light up, and she gave Merletta a tentative smile. Merletta returned it, bemused.
As she made her way up through the floors of the building, the experience was repeated several times. Finally, one floor below Tish’s, someone addressed her.
“You’re the girl from the charity home who got into that training program at the Center, aren’t you?” a mermaid with a particularly loud voice asked. “The first trainee from Tilssted in forever?”
Merletta acknowledged it, a little stunned that they’d heard of her.
“Good on you,” the mermaid said stoutly. “You show them what we’re made of.”
“I’m trying,” Merletta said, with a touch of humor.
The other mermaid gave an approving nod before drifting away. Glancing around, Merletta saw that everyone in sight was giving her the same approving look. Rattled by the experience, she hastened up to Tish’s floor.
“Tish?” She poked her head into her friend’s tiny room, not surprised to find the pale-haired mermaid bent over a large shell, even though her eyes must be straining in the dim light.
“Merletta!” Tish rose from her seat with delight clear on her face. “It’s so good to see you!”
“You too,” said Merletta, embracing her friend. “I’m sorry it’s been so long since I came last.”
“I understand.” Tish dismissed the apology with a wave of her hand. “You don’t have any more free time than I do. Except for your rest days, of course, and I’m not exactly available to spend those with you.” She waved the shell. “Do you mind if I keep working while we talk?”
“Of course not,” said Merletta, drifting over to the hammock in one corner, and settling on it to watch her friend. “Still working this late?”
Tish nodded, her head once again bent over the shell which she was working with a sharpened stone. “I haven’t quite made my quota for the month.”
“Even though—let me guess—you’ve been working hard from dawn till dusk every day this month, without a rest to speak of?”
Tish just shrugged one shoulder.
“It’s servitude, Tish.”
“Hush,” said Tish anxiously, looking over her shoulder toward the door.
“There’s no one around,” Merletta reassured her. “I checked. You know I don’t want to cause trouble for you.”
Tish visibly relaxed. “Of course I do. It’s just, you know how it is. The other apprentices are depressingly like the beneficiaries we grew up with. Always someone ready to tattle.”
She looked up, meeting Merletta’s eye. “I know it’s not nearly as grand as working in the Center, but I want to keep this job. It’s much better than being on the street. And,” she added dryly, “it’s not like I can apply at the Center, like you did, if this didn’t work out.”
