Apunia Dator, more commonly known as the Mud Quarters, is alive with life as usual when the street carriage drops Meli off on Gane Street, the eastern border of the district. It's one of the better places to live in the district: it has wooden slats here and there on the dirt streets to keep wheels from getting stuck in the dirt, and the aura of human toil and misery isn't quite as overwhelming. There aren't quite as many starving and abandoned children roving about, either. Or blood stains on the outside of buildings.

Meli heads down Gane and then turns onto a back alley cast in the shadow of the afternoon sun, taking a common shortcut. She knows this place like everyone knows the story of the Rise, so she walks with purpose and confidence. To be on the safe side, though, she's still raised a slight Psynergetic aura around herself, enough to indicate that a fiery fate awaits those who dare harass her. She hasn't had to defend herself since the first few weeks of her time working here; she hopes she'll never have to in the future.

Her first destination is "Jevara's Kures nd Remedees", a healing house that caters to those who cannot afford the sanctioned healers of Neo Valeriam...or those who have "special needs" that must be tended to in anonymity. This is where Meli has been working for the past three years, applying her healing studies and learning to handle people in real-life situations. Inside, she talks to her supervisor, the owner of the healing house, and easily clears the issue of her absence at work the next day, making sure to tell him not to say anything to anyone about her absence. This leaves her with a free mind to steel herself, as thoroughly as possible, for the main reason she has come to the Mud Quarters.

The Swindling Angel sits three blocks down from the healing house. It's still day, so the tavern is mostly empty, allowing Meli to walk in unhampered and call over the barkeeper – a plump woman with thin blond hair and violet eyes – with no hassle. "Saia?" Meli asks. "Is Ramesh upstairs?"

"Head on up," Saia says. "You'll do him some good, hopefully."

Meli frowns. "Has something happened to him?"

Saia lets out an exasperated sigh. "Wish he'd tell me." She crosses her arms, slick with soapy water from washing the dishes. "I can't tell if he's angry or depressed or what have you, but he's been distant and snappy lately. You'd think he was having a moon cycle, for Procne's sake!"

He's most likely been stressing himself over planning the princess' assassination, Meli thinks as she heads for the staircase located in a back corner of the tavern. He seemed fine when I last talked to him, but that was near the end of waxing Soltime and it's already halfway through the waning month. She had met Ramesh when she had gotten lost trying to find Yzades' healing house the first time she visited the Mud Quarters; after that he'd been a common sight at the healing house whenever she was working, simultaneously fascinated and mistrustful of her, or so she believes. Meli hadn't seen him for the past few weeks, but she'd attributed that to perhaps boredom on his part, or being busy with his own life. She certainly hadn't thought that he would be planning the death of Princess Thea.

The second floor of The Swindling Angel is usually for those who have no place to go after a hearty night of drinking, or don't have the ability to go anywhere after such a night. But there are two rooms that are reserved for the barkeeper Saia and her younger brother. The door Meli wants is marked with a wooden sign that says "Enter and Die" in Moshu, the ancient language of Anemos (which she only knows because Ramesh had told her once). She approaches it and knocks gently, steadying her shaking hand. "Ramesh? It's me, Meli."

There's a bit of shuffling and the scrape of wood against wood behind the door before it opens to reveal a young man who stands about a head and a half taller than Meli. He has the same blond hair and violet eyes as Saia, though his hair is chopped short and uneven, causing him to forever look as though he'd just woken up. His eyes have dark patches underneath them – patches that weren't quite so pronounced the last time she had seen him. He's also shirtless at the moment, and Meli glances away with a pronounced blush on her cheeks.

Ramesh snickers. "Prudish as always, aren't you," he says. "Come on in. I'll put a shirt on, really."

As soon as Meli walks in, though, she understands why Ramesh is only half-dressed. One of his windows catches the full light of the afternoon sun, and that combined with the usual high temperatures of Soltime makes for a rather hellish place to be cooped up. She sees papers, parchments, books, and used quill pens all over his writing desk. Dirty clothes litter the floor and the foot of his bed. On one of the walls is a map of the city, with colored pins stuck into various places, mostly clustered in the districts closest to Solzea Castle, including Deo Auris. She sighs. "You don't need to put a shirt on," she says, sitting down on the bed. "Iris knows I'd like to do it myself, and I haven't even been in here a minute."

Ramesh smirks. "What's stopping you now? No one's going to see you here. Well, as long as you stay away from the windows."

"Ramesh!"

"You'll be fine! It's just me, after all! Besides, after knowing you for so long, surely I deserve to see what's under that shirt at least once! They look really – "

"Ramesh." This is the most irritating aspect of Ramesh's person: not that he's so loose with himself and others (though that's still a problem) but that he's nearly a perfect gentleman whenever Meli enlists his assistance in working with the families of the Mud Quarters. A role model, even, for the younger kids in the Quarters. Why can't he be that role model all of the time? Meli laments to herself.

And how could such a carefree person be capable of contemplating murder?

"Oh, fine, fine. Another day." Ramesh takes the chair from his desk, turns it around backwards, then sits down straddling it and resting his forearms on the back. "What are you here for anyway? Did you get bored with your needlework or something?"

Meli swallows. "No. I came to inform you that I won't be in on Sun's Eve so that you wouldn't wonder where I was." She smiles a little. "Not that you would have noticed, all things considered."

"Hey, now, don't be all passive-aggressive like that! I still like you, it's just that I was busy and everything. We measly peasants down here in the Quarters have quite the life, after all! Where're you gonna be, then?"

Here it is: the moment of truth. Or untruth, rather. "I'll be visiting the Ildelia Gardens with Gregor Alerio," she replies.

Ramesh stares at her in disbelief. "But wait a damn minute! Aren't you against all that marriage and courtship crap?"

She lifts her head in a haughty manner, drawing herself up like a queen. "I've already made it clear that if I'm going to be visiting Ildelia with him, I won't be agreeing to any such thing either now or at any point in the future. It's simply a mild courtesy to Gregor, for lack of a better term. I have no intention of binding myself to him...or to anyone else for that matter."

"What about that teacher of yours, what's-his-name?"

"Professor Reyes. What about him?"

"He ain't collared, is he?" "Collared" is Mud slang for being intimately involved with someone.

Meli drops her dignified pose slightly; she won't have to lie here. "No. But regardless, I can't marry him, or carry any sort of relationship with him other than that of a student and a teacher."

Ramesh rolls his eyes. "Are you gonna give me that crap about focusing on your work and whatnot? 'Cause look, even with all the stuff I'm doing, I'm looking for someone, okay? You really can't do this shit alone, especially not in Mudhell."

Funny: the professor had expressed the same sentiment to her earlier. Meli shakes her head, wishing the subject would stop popping up all over the place like rabid mushrooms. "It's not that," she says with a sad smile. "My parents don't mind whether I marry or not. But I know beyond a doubt that if I were to marry, they would accept no less than a nobleman like Gregor as my husband. A simple instructor from the academy is out of the question."

Ramesh spits on the floor. "That's such bullshit. Marry whoever the hell you want."

"Ah, that's one of the luxuries you have that I don't."

A bitter look crosses Ramesh's face. "Not like we get to enjoy it for long." He twists his body around so that he's sitting correctly on his chair. He gazes out the window. "I'm sick of this shit here, and yeah, you've got stupid shit over at your place too that I'd like to see gone. There's gotta be a way to change things, make it so that everyone's equal or at least more equal than they are now."

"What do you suggest?"

"What do I suggest?" He glances back at her, a mischievous gleam in his violet eyes."Scrap everything. Start over. Throw the world into chaos and make a new order from the chaos."

A chill runs through Meli's blood. She's disturbed by how careless Ramesh seems to have become, even though she can sense an undercurrent of desperation behind the joviality. "A lot of people will be hurt if such a thing should happen," she says quietly.

Ramesh scowls. "A lot of people are being hurt already. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch, honestly. Might as well put that suffering to good use, don't you think?" He grins at her. "Making the best of a bad situation and all that."

Meli can't return the grin. She finds nothing to smile about in this situation, not even in an ironic manner. She takes what she believes may be her last breath. "And what price will be paid for this 'new order'? Shall you kill the king...or the princess?" She glances away for a few seconds, for direct eye contact would be taken as a challenge, and simply speaking like this is challenge enough for her.

To his credit, Ramesh covers up his surprise with a contemptuous snort, and he folds his arms, staring curiously at Meli. "Well, if either of them died – or both of them! – sure, that'd be convenient." He narrows his eyes. "But hey, you're not implying that I'm going to kill either of them, are you? I mean, that's a death wish right there, and I'm a crazy bastard but I ain't that crazy." There's a nervous edge to his words, wrought most likely by paranoia...and perhaps uncertainty.

Unfortunately, Meli can't figure out a way to probe at that uncertainty, to convince him as subtly as possible to cease his deadly plans. She realizes it's a nigh impossible task if he's denying everything...which is nothing less than she should have expected, she tells herself, feeling stupid. "I was being rhetorical," she says to Ramesh. "It's a common sin of the aristocracy, as you say."

"No shit." He's still giving her that piercing gaze so commonly attributed to Jupiter Adepts: eyes that seemed to see every secret in every part of one's body, and a mind that could if the Adept could patch a connection through physical touch. Just a single feather-light touch on an article of clothing would do the trick.

Meli focuses on being her usual self while simultaneously signaling, with a quirked eyebrow, that he's being the irrational, suspicious creature, not her. "Shall I ask what you've been up to the past few weeks?" she asks conversationally, her voice up to its normal level.

There's a brief silence as his eyes shift over to the books on his desk. "Was pestering the important people to give a crap about the Mudhole. Same shit, different day." He suddenly smiles brightly at Meli. "And wouldn't you know it, they listened to my bitching for once."

Meli blinks in astonishment. "How did you...that's absolutely wonderful!" she says, meaning it with all her heart. She relaxes. "Hopefully we can see some improvements in the next year or so. What are their plans, if any?"

"Some of the guys from Solzea are gonna take a tour of the Mud Quarters this Sun's Day. Grand Advisor Tulden, the Minister of Coin..." Ramesh winks at her. "And even Thea herself is coming to check this place out!"

Things fall together in Meli's mind far too quickly. Each click of a settled piece stabs into her, filling her with more and more dread.

She asks for the final piece of the puzzle: "And you'll be their guide to the Quarters as you were mine, correct?"

A sarcastic look. "Yeah, right! I asked Glenna to do it. Like hell I was going to deal with those smarmy bastards if there wasn't a hard contract involved! And anyway, other things came up, you know?"

Meli does know.

Ramesh will kill Princess Thea this Sun's Day, right here in the Quarters.

"Of course, you're more than welcome to talk with them," continues Ramesh, waving a casual hand. "Birds of a feather and all that. And hey, they'll probably listen to you more anyway, so babble their ear off."

"What time will they be arriving?"

"Maybe after three. They'll be starting over by Gane and Sallak, I think." He shrugs. "Whatever, if you come down here you can't miss them, seriously. Just go wherever the riots are." He snickers.

Ramesh's observation about the social patterns of those in the Quarters is too plausible for Meli's comfort. "Well, I'm sincerely glad that you've made progress," she says, standing up. "It's a shame I won't see you there, though. And I can imagine that others will certainly be looking for you. After all, you're the one who persuaded the princess of all people to come down, correct? Quite an achievement, if I may say so. You should be honored for it."

For a moment, there's an unfocused look in Ramesh's eyes. "Yeah. Maybe I should."

O-O-O

Watersday continues on as normal when she leaves the Mud Quarters, but Meli finds herself coming down with a case of the anxious jitters, her limbs shaking and her stomach churning with a sense of impending doom. She nearly trips getting out of the carriage that drops her off in front of the boarding house. Once she's inside her room, she shuts the door by falling back against it and sliding to the floor, face in her hands.

Why? she asks herself, trembling. Why must things be like this? Meli can't even bring herself to calm down through her usual method of meditative breathing. She'd known of the enormity of the task set before her by the Wise One since she'd seen him, but after speaking to Ramesh, it feels as though the task has been picked up and dropped on her shoulders like a dead body.

She'd asked the Wise One when Ramesh was going to attempt his kill. Within the week, the Wise One had replied. What an understatement! Meli has a single day to do what she can to prevent Weyard's destruction. There is no room for error, and it's precisely when there's no room for error that the most grievous errors happen.

Why did the Wise One appear to me? Meli wonders, feeling the stinging tears working their way out of the corners of her closed eyes. Why didn't he appear to the princess herself to warn her? It would have been much more efficient. What can I do? Something occurs to her then, a revelation sprung from years of studying lore. Am I...being tested? But whatever for? What could anyone want with me besides a body to warm the bed at night? She glances up. Mars? Do you have an answer?

The altar to her patron god is set up on a dark red cloth in the southernmost corner of her room, on an overturned wooden crate. The main feature is a simple sculpture of a large, upside-down triangle of scarlet glass embedded in a chunk of metallic black rock: the alchemical symbol for fire. On either side of the sculpture are small paintings, one of a creature with a lion's head and a salamander's body and one of an erupting Mount Aleph. Scattered elsewhere on the altar are various other objects: a small potted cactus, sticks of cinnamon; dried peppers; a plate containing the ashes of a burnt prayer on parchment; and in the center, an elegant ornamental oil lantern.

Meli summons enough strength to walk over to the altar and kneel reverently in front of it. She is more devoted than most Adepts to the god that's granted her elemental abilities. In some ways, it's puzzling even to herself, since it's not as though there have been any major divine interventions in her life that she can attribute to Mars (or to any other deity for that matter). But she's fascinated by the numerous myths surrounding the fire elemental. She admires the passion and strength that he represents, qualities that she feels she conspicuously lacks, particularly for a Mars Adept. His uncontrollable, excitable nature frightens a number of people from wanting anything to do with him except give the minimal amount of acknowledgment, but Meli sees something significant in the fact that there are almost as many stories involving Mars' romantic life as there are stories about Mars' battles. She finds comfort in this fine balance of the victories and tragedies in life, and as she lights the lantern on the altar as a meditative focus, Meli thinks of the sheer vitality Mars possesses, praying that she, too, will have the strength and audacity to pull through on the task that the Wise One has given her. She doesn't get a specific answer – she never has – but she feels immensely comforted nonetheless.

She relaxes and gazes at the flickering lantern flame, imagining it burning away all of her doubts and weaknesses.

O-O-O

For a deleted scene from this chapter, check this out: http(:)//my-psychosium(.)livejournal(.)com/40095(.)html.