A young boy appeared — still another servant she had not encountered before — and she asked him to take the basket to the stable and put it in the loft above Squirrel’s stall. The boy was only thirteen or fourteen, lanky with rapid growth, so she made him promise not to raid the basket. In turn she promised him all he wanted of what remained on the table. He did not look underfed, but Snake had never known a child undergoing a growth-spurt who was not always a little bit hungry.
“Is that a satisfactory bargain?” she asked.
The boy grinned. His teeth were large and white and very slightly crooked; he would be a handsome young man. Snake reflected that in Mountainside even adolescents had clear complexions.
“Yes, mistress,” he said.
“Good. Be sure the stablemaster doesn’t see you. He can hunt up his own meals as far as I’m concerned.”
“Yes, mistress!” The boy grinned again, took the basket, and left the room. From his voice, Snake decided Melissa was not the only defenseless child to feel Ras’s temper. But that was no help to Melissa. The servant boy was in no better position to speak against Ras than Melissa was.
She wanted to talk to the child, but the day passed and Melissa did not appear. Snake was afraid to send any more definite message than the one in the basket; she did not want Melissa beaten again because of a stranger’s meddling.
It was already dark when Gabriel returned to the castle and came to Snake’s room. He was preoccupied, but he had not forgotten his promise to replace Snake’s ruined shirt.
“Nothing,” he said. “No one in desert robes. No one acting strangely.”
Snake tried on the shirt, which fit surprisingly well. The one she had bought had been brown, a rough homespun weave. This one was of a much softer fabric, silky thin strong white material block-printed with intricate blue designs. Snake shrugged and held out her arms, brushing her fingertips over the rich color. “He buys new clothes — he’s a different person. A room at an inn, and nobody sees him. He probably isn’t any more unusual than any other stranger passing through.“
“Most of the strangers came through weeks ago,” Gabriel said, then sighed. “But you’re right. Even now he wouldn’t be remarked on.”
Snake gazed out the window. She could see a few lights, those of valley farms, widely scattered.
“How’s your knee?”
“It’s all right now.” The swelling was gone and the ache had subsided to what was normal during changeable weather. One thing she had liked about the black desert, despite the heat, was the constancy of its weather. There she had never awakened in the morning feeling like some infirm centenarian.
“That’s good,” Gabriel said, with a hopeful, questioning, tentative note in his voice.
“Healers do heal fast,” Snake said. “When we have good reason to.” She thrust aside her worries, grinned, and was rewarded with Gabriel’s radiant smile.
This time the sound of the door opening did not frighten Snake. She awakened easily and pushed herself up on her elbow.
“Melissa?” She turned the lamp up just enough for them to see each other, for she did not want to disturb Gabriel.
“I got the basket,” Melissa said. “The things were good. Squirrel likes cheese but Swift doesn’t.”
Snake laughed. “I’m glad you came up here. I wanted to talk.”
“Yeah.” Melissa let her breath out slowly. “Where would I go? If I could.”
“I don’t know if you can believe this, after all Ras has said. You could be a jockey, if that’s what you want, almost anyplace but Mountainside. You might have to work a little harder at first, but people would value you for who you are and what you can do.” The words sounded hollow even to Snake: You fool, she thought, you’re telling a frightened child to go out in the world and succeed all alone. She searched for something better to say.
Lying beside her, one hand flung over her hip, Gabriel shifted and muttered. Snake glanced over her shoulder and put her hand on his. “It’s all right, Gabriel,” she said. “Go back to sleep.” He sighed and the instant of wakefulness passed.
Snake turned back to Melissa. For a moment the child stared at her, ghostly pale in the dim light. Suddenly she spun away and fled.
Snake jumped out of bed and followed her. Sobbing, Melissa fumbled at the door and got it open just as Snake reached her. The child plunged into the hallway, but Snake caught up to her and stopped her.
“Melissa, what’s wrong?”
Melissa hunched away, crying uncontrollably. Snake knelt and hugged her, drawing her slowly around, stroking her hair.
“It’s all right, it’s all right,” Snake murmured, just to have something to say.
“I didn’t know, I didn’t understand…” Melissa jerked away from her. “I thought you were stronger — I thought you could do what you want, but you’re just like me.”
Snake would not let go of Melissa’s hand. She led her into one of the other guest rooms and turned up the light. Here the floor was not heated, and the stone seemed to pull the warmth out through the soles of Snake’s bare feet. She dragged a blanket off the neat bed and wrapped it around her shoulders as she took Melissa to the window seat. They sat down, Melissa reluctantly.
“Now. Tell me what’s wrong.”
With her head down, Melissa hugged her knees to her chest. “You have to do what they want, too.”
“I don’t have to do what anybody wants.”
Melissa looked up. From her right eye, the tears slid straight down her cheek. From the left, the ridges of scar tissue led tear-tracks sideways. She put her head down again. Snake moved nearer and put an arm around her shoulders.
“Just relax. There’s no hurry.”
“They… they do things…”
Snake frowned, totally confounded. “What things? Who’s ‘they’?”
“Him.”
“Who? Not Gabriel!”
Melissa nodded quickly without meeting her gaze.
Snake could not imagine Gabriel hurting anyone deliberately. “What happened? If he hurt you, I’m sure it was an accident.”
Melissa stared at her. “He didn’t do anything to me.” Her voice was contemptuous.
“Melissa, dear, I haven’t understood a word you’ve said. If Gabriel didn’t do anything to you, why were you so upset when you saw him? He’s really very nice.” Perhaps Melissa had heard about Leah and was afraid for Snake.
“He makes you get in his bed.”
“That’s my bed.”
“It doesn’t matter whose bed! Ras can’t find where I sleep, but sometimes…”
“Ras?”
“Me and him. You and the other.”
“Wait,” Snake said. “Ras makes you get in his bed? When you don’t want to?” That was a stupid question, she thought, but she could not think of a better one.
“Want to!” Melissa said with disgust.
With the calmness of disbelief, Snake said carefully, “Does he make you do anything else?”
“He said it would stop hurting, but it never did…” She hid her face against her knees.
What Melissa had been trying to say came clear to Snake in a rush of pity and disgust. Snake hugged Melissa, patting her and stroking her hair until gradually, as if afraid someone would notice and make her stop, Melissa slipped her arms around Snake and cried against her shoulder.
“You don’t have to tell me any more,” Snake said. “I didn’t understand, but now I do. Oh, Melissa, it’s not supposed to be like that. Didn’t anybody ever tell you?”