It all happened so quickly. Rance Burgess had taken the baby, and all I could think was to get him back. But after he'd handed the baby to Saricia, he shot Nandi. She didn't stand a chance. Mal rushed off, and I... I felt lost for a moment, and that's how I came to be in Nandi's room.
As I entered I saw the bottle of rice wine and almost automatically poured myself a drink. As I sat down, I smiled as a memory came to me.
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I don't think I was any older than 13. Nandi had been a full student at the Academy for around eighteen months longer than I had, and I thought she could do no wrong. She always seemed so confident about anything, and she was never afraid of saying or doing anything. It was something that caused her trouble with the tutors, but she always just laughed it off.
One afternoon she'd whispered a message to me. I was to stay awake as she was going to save me from an embarrassment in one of my classes. I wasn't sure what she meant. I never seemed to have any trouble in class, I was such a quick study. What on earth could cause me embarrassment.
Everything became clear when Nandi snuck into my room that night.
"Inara... are you awake?"
"Of course I am, you said to stay awake. But someone's bound to find you here."
"Relax, Inara. We aren't going to get caught. There's hardly anyone around tonight. Some kind of big ball. That's why I was able to take this from the kitchens."
I look in puzzlement at the bottle, she was holding. "What is that?" I ask in a hushed tone of voice
"Rice wine, of course." Then, at my puzzled expression. "Look, Inara. You've been here for a while now. So they're going to start teaching you how to behave in polite society. So one of the things they do is make sure that you can drink without making a fool of yourself."
"But surely it's easier just not to drink."
"Okay, Inara. Now you are being a dummy. You can't refuse to drink in polite society. You've either got to get it down your throat, or figure out a way of spitting in out. There's one girl in my class has to do that. One glass and she just loses all control. The Guild can't have people on their books who might say something they shouldn't."
"But if this is something that's taught, then why bring some here."
"Because I like you, Inara. Closest friend I've ever had. I've seen some girls make complete fools of themselves when they first have a drink and I don't want that to happen to you. So I thought I'd give you a trial run. Then we can see how much you can take and then when class comes around you'll be able to cope."
I'd had to muffle my laugh at her words. Even though I'd been placed under the care of an official Jie Jie when I entered the Academy proper. I was so much closer to Nandi than I was to anyone else, and her actions that night had been so typical of her. Always wanting to help me, to stop me from making any mistakes she, or anyone else in her class, had made.
We'd drunk the whole bottle that night. I'm pleased to say that I managed to drink my whole share without losing control of myself, and I do believe it did give me an advantage when that class finally came round.
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I raise my glass in a silent toast. Nandi - the elder sister I never had.