*there are two 'Chapter 2's because I added it in later and don't feel like renaming every other chapter on here :)*

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Lelani was my favorite. She was always so sweet. She was under Vivienne's care and seemed to have adjusted much more to the sanctuary while I was gone. She was like me. The child of parents murdered in a raid. Many of the girls here were, but I saw something in her that made me worry. I saw her desire to please Daya. Her desire to be like me. The oldest who evaded marriage.

She sat in front of me now as I painted a sticky brown ink over her skin. I had never been the best at Inking, but Lelani insisted it come from me. When I messed up the petal of a delicate flower, she watched with narrowed eyes to see how I fixed it. "Lelani," I started, "you seem much happier than you were when I left."

She nodded. "I am. Vivienne and I talked a lot. She told me that it's not too bad here."

"She is right. You should keep listening to her."

"I just don't understand why I should take their advice when you're the one in the best position around here."

I froze. The room was packed with girls. Everyone was getting ready for the patio. While the older girls had become efficient in dressing in gossamer silks and gauze, lining their eyes in kohl and staining their lips berry red, the younger girls were given time to relax. They all wore similar black or brown robes to make it clear to buyers that they were not to be touched, and we often did their hair or their Inking to calm their nerves. Even if they weren't allowed to be bought at this age, no little girl felt comfortable watching her sisters be sold off and bartered on.

Their voices were loud, and I assumed no one had heard Lelani's words.

"Don't say that."

"Why?"

I sat down the bag of Ink and brushed Lelani's fine black hair behind her ear. "You are in a much better position than I am, little one." She was about to argue but shut her mouth when I rose my hand. "Let me explain. The girls who are here? They are lucky. You of all people know this. To be with Daya is to be clothed and fed. To be with Daya is to be taught how to defend yourself, without anyone knowing you can fight." I gestured to Via, who was telling an animated story to a few others. "Via was taken in by Traders, but word of a camp reached Daya's ears in time for her to go there and bring all of the girls home. Now, Via knows she can defend herself if she ever needed to. Now, Via has a more choice in who she marries."

"That's a lie, Aumee. We aren't given a choice. We're sold off by contract. Vivienne told me."

"I know. But, don't forget that Daya finds the best men out there. Not all of them are rich, but they're often one of a few things: kind, rich, or young. Daya would never sell any of us off to anyone who would lay a hand on us. I've seen the men out in the Wayst, and let me tell you, they're rather nasty."

Lelani looked down to her partially Inked hand. I went back to it. She spoke very quietly, "I want to be like you."

"No, Lelani, you don't."

"You do stuff for Daya."

"Yes, but so will you. When you're married off, she'll keep in touch with you. And it is your job to keep that a secret. You won't tell him that you know how to fight. You won't tell him a word. She may ask you to do something for her, such as send her a map of your husband's, find some money for her, spread some rumors, those sorts of things. She has me do much darker stuff, Lelani, and that's why I'm still here. Because I'm willing to do the worst things for her, so that little birdies like you," I reached up and poked her nose, "don't have to. Understood?"

"Yes, Aumee."

Via started everyone off. "Alright everyone, we have to start wrapping things up. Some of you are still much too young, so don't worry about Daya selling you off today or any other day. She has you all join us on the patio so you can get used to the feeling of being stared at." At her words, the newer girls in the room shifted uncomfortably. I rose to my feet and made my way over to the front of the room.

"What Daya is doing for us all is amazing. It's important that we remember that. Other girls aren't so lucky to be housed, clothed, and fed. Other girls aren't so lucky to be taught self-defense-"

One girl, who I wasn't familiar with, raised her hand in a wave. "Why must we learn to fight? I thought we would just learn how to be good wives." Other girls nodded in agreement.

Via took over. "Daya considers it beneficial to everyone. If something were to ever go wrong, or if she needed you to do something for her, you all will have the skills to do it. If a nasty, ugly Trader tries to lay his hands on you, for instance, knowing how to defend yourself is going to be very helpful. Wouldn't you agree?"

The girl seemed satisfied with her answer.

Via sighed. "I know this may be your first time on the patio, but I promise it will go by smoothly. All you have to do is sit quietly on the pillows. Come now." She began helping to usher all of the girls out of their room, but as Lelani tried to pass me, I let her know I would finish her Inking later. I shouldn't have let myself get so distracted. She seemed excited at the prospect of having a visit later on, though, and so she bounced along to the patio after the other girls.

Before Via could head out, I touched her arm. "Can you and Vivienne work with Lelani more? She's idolizing me too much."

"Of course she is. She's a smart girl, and she knows that a lot of what we tell her isn't true. I mean, I'm still scared of contracts. To them, Daya is this savior, but they know how scared of her we are. We need to work on that, as well."

"You're not wrong." I leaned against the archway. "If Daya sold me off, I would never want to hear from her again. Being owned by one person is enough. I can't imagine being owned by two." Via nodded in agreement. I looked around the lounge, with cushions and jewelry and Ink thrown about carelessly to the ground. "They left this place a mess."

"They're children."

"We all were once."

"And?"

I huffed. "As much as we want to, we can't shelter them for too long, Via. They need to face the truth of it all. None of us were meant to live happy lives. Not in the Wayst, anyway. It would help with the disappointment if they learned that sooner. They would take it easier."

"Aumee, that's ridiculous and you know it. Don't you wish you had your childhood back?"

"I can wish all I want but it won't come true. I'm grateful I moved on when I did. I would rather be painfully aware of my lack of choices rather than naive and disappointed when things don't go my way." I picked up a doll on the ground and handed it to Via. "There's a reason why I keep my room empty. You can't dwell on the past."

"You don't mean that!" She tore the doll from my hands and poked a finger at my chest. "You're just saying that because you're blind to the fact that we all have to sell our lives away while you're sitting pretty in Daya's arms. You're lucky. The rest of us arent'."

I swatted her hand away from me. "Lucky?" I laughed. "You have a strange view of the world if you think I'm lucky that I'm ordered to kill people." Her anger fell from her face. "Or did you forget that I do what the rest of you don't have to? I do Daya's dirty work. I'm her wannfota. We both know you never put a full effort into fighting because you'd rather be married off than be a murderer. So don't you dare-"

"Enough!" She held her hands up, her lips pressed together and her eyes soft. "I was wrong to say you were lucky. But I am not wrong to say that you were out of line there. We are still selling ourselves. Our bodies aren't our own. You won't realize the gravity of it unless your name is on a contract, but we aren't living the easiest life either, Aumee. Please remember that." She pulled me into a hug. "My wish for happy childhoods may not come true, but the least I can do is help it along. You want the same thing. That's why you're still Daya's right hand. You're protecting these girls the same way I am."

I wrapped my arms around her, soaking in the heavy scent of grassy sweetclover mixed with rosewater. I sighed into her and squeezed. "I'm sorry."

"You need to speak with Daya. You're always tense until you do so. Just... keep it together."

Keep it together, Aumee.

#

Daya was playing some sort of game with me, I could feel it. I had done nothing on my first day back but lounge about. There was no debriefing session, no training, no discussion of secrets or lies to be tracking down. She had maintained her distance, occasionally stepping out of her office and onto the balcony above the patio to assure us that she was still watching. This had been going on for a few days, and even the other girls were beginning to get suspicious. She was planning something, we just couldn't figure it out.

Her balcony was on the back wall of the patio, closer to the roof than the floor. Dark green curtains hid her office from view, as well as any possible buyers making proposals. I forced myself to look away from the balcony and instead turned my attention to the patio. Many of the older girls in Daya's sanctuary were about, whispering with one another as buyers walked around the room. They had their notebooks and their quills, their assistants, and their secrets. Each one was shopping for a very particular type of bride-to-be, though it often wasn't for himself.

No one looking for an assassin would announce it, so they often sent others to do the bidding. Buying wives was commonplace in the Wayst-- an archaic practice but in place due to the lack of women in general-- but Daya had changed the game by training them to be more than just wives. She paraded the girls as secret protectors, a defense against anything that would harm the man, but in reality the girls continued to report to Daya. Daya made coin, the girls were given a nice life, and Daya had their service from there on after.

Yellow light painted the pale sandstone of the back patio wall a rich color as it beamed past the pillars, and heated up the mosaic tiles beneath our bare feet. The long shadows of the pillars cooled everyone's skin as we rested upon colorful cushions, lulling many into a sleepy state. The patio had a view of lower Arden from all three sides, but from the front, one could see more than just surrounding buildings. I could see the sun lowering itself towards the desert's horizon just above the skyline of the lower levels of the city. Lower Arden fell like a jumbled red and orange quilt over the bottommost region of the small orange canyon. The dilapidated buildings peeked up between the tall palms and cottonwood. Beyond it all, a strip of pale, flat earth.

While it wasn't the worst task I had had to do for Daya, it was also hard to simply sit.

Via lay beside me, stretched out on the blue and white mosaic tiles, singing lightly to herself, coyly feigning interest in the orientation of one of her rings.

I watched as a man crossed the patio, his eyes lingering on Via's bare stomach. He jot something down in his notebook and continued on with himself. "Four," I chuckled.

"Only four?" Via propped herself up on her elbows. Even I couldn't deny that she was too beautiful to only have had four men look at her by this point.

We had been on the patio for a few hours. All we were supposed to do was relax while prospective buyers walked through. Daya had made it clear that she had many appointments today, and was sure someone would get a contract by sundown. Now, she was wandering through the hoard of girls casually. Like a dragon down from its tower. She seemed to be in a good mood despite the pressure. How odd.

"It's because you're sitting there. I swear it." Via rose with a huff. She snatched the silky pink scarf from the ground and draped it over her shoulders before tossing it back down to the ground. "Why does Daya give you all the best clothes?" Via adjusted the golden sash that covered her hips and draped down in a see-through curtain over her thighs. Daya always let me have the red sash, and would drape it over my shoulders. She had a tendency to leave enough of my chest and stomach out to draw gazes from anyone, whether they intended to look or not.

"Because I'm her favorite," I said with a smile.

Tossing her dreads over her shoulder, she said, "Well, Daya's favorite, don't be so smug. She's coming over now. Perhaps you could do your friend a favor and tell her I can have some of your clothes when she finally sells you off."

I couldn't help but laugh at her words. Daya wouldn't sell me off. She hasn't even managed to find a replacement for me.

"What's so funny?" Daya halted in front of us, casting a look in Via's direction.

"Via was just reminding me of the time I spilled tea on one of your buyers," I lied. "She said I would be put out if I did it again, so perhaps I should do it again." I tilted my head back and closed my eyes. Daya wouldn't have come over here unless she wanted something from me. Despite the fact that I had been expecting it all day, I didn't want the peace to end.

"Her words and not mine, I can assure you, Madam Daya." Via excused herself with a smile, but I could feel her shooting daggers at me. "Aumee is..."

"Quite the character. I'm aware." Daya sighed heavily. "She's a bit of a handful. Which is why I'll be sad to see her go."

It took everything in my being to not snap my head back up and meet her eyes. Instead I crossed my legs and tilted my head to expose my face to more of the dying sunlight. "Go where?"

"To a buyer, of course. Don't be so dense. Look at me when I speak to you, dear."

I sat up and met her dark eyes. Daya was always a sight to behold. She stood against the sun, her head high and her hands behind her back. The brilliant fuschia scarf she wears outside to protect her half-shaved head from the desert sun had been tossed to her shoulders as if an afterthought. The kinks in her black hair fell just in front of her eyes, but they were definitely trained on me. This wasn't a test, it was a reminder.

"Yes, Madam."

"I know you've already bathed today, but I need you to find a few girls who can help make you presentable for tomorrow. It's an important day. Am I clear?"

"Crystal."

"Perfect."

With that, Daya spun on her heel and walked away as if the conversation were nothing incredible. What was she thinking? Who would be my replacement? Via was hardly trained enough, and had little to no experience in the field the way I did. None of the girls did. Many of them had never hurt a fly, so how would they be expected to use a knife the way I had been told to? With no questions asked? She had never ordered any of them to torture someone, or to bring them to within an inch of their life. She had never ordered any of them to take the life of another the way she ordered me to.

Via looked at me with wide eyes. "You don't think she's being honest, do you? We aren't ready to replace--"

I rose my hand and cut her off. "Not here, Via, for Deorcae's sake." I sat in thought for a minute. "As soon as I find out more, I'll let you know. But, in the case that I am being sold off, be prepared to take my place. You're the only one here competent enough, that's for sure."

"Aumee."

"What?"

"I'm so sorry."

I wasn't able to say anything to her, so I rose from my seat and left.