Chapter Two

The House

Two days. Have tried to read books from the library but have found them to be much like Ustareth's from her library in the Rise, all "muchly" and wordy and such. Argul can sit all day and read them; in fact, it's what he did today.

So, am more than a bit bored. I keep a mental count of the precise hours left until we reach the House, mostly for the pleasant surprise of finding that- oh look, only forty-seven more hours left now!

I tried singing a song earlier, but it was one that I'd learned in the House from LJL squawking it constantly, and even though I sang it better than she did, it brought up bad memories. Also, Argul told me to please not as he was trying to read. So I banished myself to the top floor and sang it there, and am still humming it to myself, as it's now stuck in my head. (That used to be a popular expression in the House; "I've got a song stuck in my head." They'd make up catchy tunes and then sing them to death. Pointless exercise.)

The top floor of Yinyay Tower (are Argul and I the rulers of the Doll Tower, I wonder now?) is a sort of observation deck, with glass all the way round, even in the ceiling (Yinyay turns the ceiling opaque during the day because the sunlight in the Waste is so intense). But-funny thing- from outside, it looks like this upper bit is stone-metal just like the rest of the tower. Argul's heard of a thing called two-way glass before- says it's a mirror on one side and you can see right through the other- but he's never seen two-way metal.

So, this observation platform seems like a pretty good idea, unless you're in the Waste, which we are. I could try describing the scenery, I suppose. Right now it's mostly burning orange-ochre sand, blurry with whirling dust. Must be a sandstorm, stirring up more abandoned stuff, cities, civilizations.

That description should be good for a couple of days; the Waste rarely changes. At least, not from up here.In fact, I think I squeezed all the description possible out of it in my first book.

I woke up a short while ago, my head very fuzzy, wondering where I was. It seems I'd fallen asleep on the cushioned bench in the tower room. The Waste is dark now, and through the top of Yinyay's glass dome I can see the millions of shining needle-point stars. They always did look nicer outside of the House, without the light from the many windows interrupting the view, though I'd rarely had room in my mind to appreciate them.

So shall I stay up here all night? Argul's no doubt gone to sleep in our room below, sure that I'm fine, whatever I'm doing. I am rather sleepy, too sleepy to bother going down to our room, even in the elevator. So…

Why did I fall asleep in the middle of my sentence? Do I bore myself that much? I suppose out here, it's not that difficult to do. And I suppose too that I had nothing more to say after all.

Hotcakes for breakfast this morning. I realized halfway through my second one that I didn't know what exactly Argul had been reading in the library all this time. I hadn't ever asked. Had I?

"What were you reading all yesterday?" I asked.

"A book called The Towers," he said. (!) (The black book!)

I choked on my sip of tea. "I've read that one!" I said. "Well- some of it, anyway. Are you trying to read the whole thing?"

"Yes," Argul looked at me strangely. "Where did you see the book? Yinyay told me it was very rare."

"At the Rise," I stammered. "A bunch of silver threads brought it down from the library ceiling. I thought that was the only one."

"Apparently not," said Argul. "And since you asked, what's wrong with reading the whole thing?"

"I don't know," I said, "It's just written all… 'therein they did build unto themselves that hitherto did please them muchly.'"

"It's not so hard to read, once you get used to it," Argul said. "It explains a lot. Only thing I want to know is why the princes aren't named."

I shrugged. "Maybe the book was written by a woman."

"And a poor historian," said Argul. "You can't just disregard information like that. The Hulta actually take their genealogies seriously-" he stopped. His face suddenly turned guarded and carefully blank and composed. The thought of the Hulta still hurt him.

It hurts me too, honestly. I try never to talk about them, since when I do Argul answers shortly and changes the subject. But I can't help but wonder how are Teal and Toy, and Badger and Mehmed and Ro and Dagger? Especially Dagger. She must be at least nine by now. How strange it is to say that! She doesn't act her age at all. Then again, neither does Argul.

I asked Yinyay where she had gotten The Towers. "I cannot say," she said. "That information has been erased." So was it Ustareth who put the book into her Wolf Star or into her doll-snake? Probably. Or perhaps… did Ustareth write the book? No, she couldn't have. The black book loves the Law, and Ustareth… she wanted to break the rules. Maybe that's what she always wanted to do, why she ran away to the Hulta, left Venn…

Is Venn a part of the Rules? Part of the ridiculousness of the City and all its stupidity? Did she not want him? Obviously not, or she wouldn't have left.

Why am I thinking of this, as we draw so near the House? I should be pondering what has happened to Daisy and Pattoo and Dengwi, and Jizania- there I go again. When I go back, I'll have to deal with Jizania, but for right now, maybe I should try to keep the Tower stuff out of my head. Mainly because I don't have enough answers to figure out anything satisfyingly like a conclusion. And because everything goes round in the same circles in my head and fills it with heavy fogginess.

So what about Lady Jade Leaf's maids, my first friends, who haven't heard from me for nearly two years? What about Lady Jade Leaf? And Shimra? What about Shawb and Lady Iris and all the other nasty royals? What will they think of slave Claidi come back in her flying tower with her exotic husband and her Power? What will they do? Can Yinyay survive cannons? And what if they try to arrest us?

I told Argul all this and he laughed. "Claidi-baa, between you and me, I think we can outdo the House." He didn't mean his pendant, I don't think. He forgets sometimes about the pendant.

"But the cannons?" I asked. "Will Yinyay be all right? Yinyay?" I turned to the food-tray on which our meals appear. "Can you survive cannon shots?"

Yinyay thought for a moment. Then her voice echoed softly from a small hole near the food-tray: "Perhaps. I have never faced cannons before. If I were hit by many shots, I might sustain much damage."

I turned to Argul, alarmed. His brow was furrowed. Then, suddenly, it cleared.

"You know, we could just go in ourselves," he said. "Does the House have a door where we could get in?"

"Yes," I said. "There's the front door. They hardly ever use it, just for banishments."

"Will that do, then?" Argul asked.

"It's as good as anything else," I said. "Or we could fly." Yes, that's good, isn't it, fly down and impress everyone with your fantastic powers. Or scare them half to death and make them think you're a madwoman who needs to be locked up in the Black Marble Pavillion.

Then he got up, and now he's gone back to the library, undoubtedly back to The Towers.

Yinyay's just announced it. Twenty-four hours. Then we'll be at the House. Oh, the House.

I slept in the observation room again last night, so I could see the House if we got within sight before I woke up. Well, I woke at dawn, stiff and yawning, and it's now nine o'clock, and there's nothing in sight.

"One hour," says Yinyay, though. So…

There it is. That speck, that tiny thing on the horizon. That's the House. And it's getting bigger.

And now is the time I choose to think, "What will I wear?" I've half a mind to ask Yinyay to make me a spectacular dress so I can flounce in all haughty and look down my nose at people. And yet I think I'd fail horribly. Also, I'd look pretty strange next to Argul dressed in Hulta clothing. So I'll wear my Hulta clothes and rely on Argul and my Power ring to protect me from unforeseen danger.

The House is getting bigger every minute.

I just then realized I hadn't told Argul, so I flew down the stairs to the third floor and into our room, shrieking, "It's there! We're almost at the House! It's right there!" And spinning and flipping in the air above our bed. Argul woke immediately and watched me flap around for awhile before catching me by the ankle and pulling me down onto the bed. "Show me," he said. So I led him back up here to the observation room and began yammering on about the Garden and the servants' quarters and whom we'd meet when we got there.

Argul finally held up his hand. "Calm down, Claidi," he said. "I'll see it all when we arrive."

Then the room fell silent as Argul gazed out the window and I wrote all this up.

The House cannot be more than ten miles away now.

Five miles.

One. One-half.

"Stop, please," I told Yin. She slowed and perched gently on the sand. I turned to Argul. "Can we walk from here?" I asked.

"We don't have to," he reminded me.

Two minutes later we tumbled out of the highest window hand in hand, laughing and swim-walking in the air.

What a lot has happened since then- I'm now lounging on a plush deep-red chaise on the balcony of some royal's chamber, watching the sun set below the Garden wall. And there's no one here to punish me for it.

Actually, there's no one here at all.

A/N: IT LIIIIIIIIVES! This story has been gone for nearly three years, and now it's back! Of course, it's back on an inspiration trip, so it may evolve in very strange ways, but it's alive! Yay! Thank you to every single reviewer who said you were intrigued, thank you very much! I hope that you are still interested, if you find this again. If you have any thoughts about this story, please review. Constructive criticism is gladly welcomed (Especially if you think Claidi or Argul is out of character, which is a distinct possibility). Cheers!