Winged: A Novella (Of Two Girls) (17 page)

“
Let me in.
Please
.”

“Earnestine!”

A sleepy woman’s voice could be heard, asking what
was wrong and who was at the door.

“I will explain later. Let me in.”

With a heavy sigh, Javen Windwalker opened the door
wider and let the princess of the Phoenix Court in.

When he was growing up on the Mesa
colony, all gangly limbs and hyperactive mind, his mother and his
aunts used to talk to him constantly – when he was not running
through the desert with the rest of the Mesa boys – that he must
always walk in Beauty and that he must set an example to his fellow
brothers and sister so that they too might walk in Beauty as
well.
Hozhoni.

At the moment, he was not walking
in Beauty, because he did not feel harmonious at all. In front of
him sat the girl, hunched over, hiding her face with her hands. So
much for
hozhoni
. Everything right
now was out of whack and out of balance. He clearly felt as if he
had lost his equilibrium. Should he return her back to her family,
probably beset with anxiety at the disappearance of their daughter?
It was the right thing to do, wasn’t it?

She explained, in halting words, that she had a
disagreement with her family and had run away to escape her
family’s wrath. What was she fleeing from? Her family cared for
her, didn’t they?

His aunt coughed, signaling for attention. She had
roused herself out from her bed and upon seeing the girl, poured
warm corn soup into a bowl and bade her eat. His family always
extended their hospitality, even to strangers.

“Who is this strange girl?” His aunt asked in a low
voice, not trying to disturb the visitor. “Her face looks vaguely
familiar.”

Javen could not lie to his aunt. “She is the girl
whom I have been talking to, Aunt Betta. Merchant family.”

His aunt placed her right hand on her forehead. “Her
family must be so worried!” She gasped. “And you said that she had
argued with her parents.”

Javen nodded, feeling uncomfortable at the way Aunt
Betta was looking at him.

“
My dear boy,” Betta exhaled
slowly, eyeing the girl not unkindly. “You are indeed your father’s
son.
Healer’s heart
. Something in
you felt the compassion and welcomed her in. But I see she have her
own problems. What are you going to do about it?”

“I…”

“Javen, we do have a business to run. And this girl
needs her family, no matter how much she says she hates them now. I
do not want the authorities knocking on our door for harboring a
runaway.” Aunt Betta wrapped her Dine blankets around her and went
back to bed.

Hozhoni.

***

Despite of Aunt Betta’s
misgivings, Javen had Earnestine sit behind their shop while they
readied the wares for the new day. It was a dicey thing to do. Aunt
Betta obviously was uneasy about it but she said nothing, putting
her professional face on for the customers. She had Javen prepare
the fry bread dough, supervising him as she always did. Earnestine
-
the strange girl
- helped out a
little with the corn flour. She was still covering her
face.

The morning crowds appeared the moment the Left
Quadrant was declared open. The merchants hawked their goods and
the aromas filled the air once more. Javen moved, like clockwork,
pouring oil into the large steel pot, helping his aunt with the
payments and spare change, light banter with regular faces and new
customers. It was a familiar dance and he lost himself in it for a
precious moment. He had Earnestine watch over the oil. It must be
kept at a certain temperature, so that the bread could fry nicely
and without getting burned. It was very hot and he could see her
perspiring and moping her face with her veil.

He really had to bring her back to her family.

***

The alarm was raised when the maidservants announced
that they could not find Min Feng. She had not appeared for the
morning breakfast. When they went to check her chambers, it was
empty. Her clothes were strewn on the floor. Her bed was empty and
cold. At first, they thought that she had gone for an early morning
riding exercise. Yet when they checked with the stable grooms and
helper-boys, they shook their head. Her favorite chestnut neo-equus
colt was happily munching on his alfalfa and oats. In his stall.
They searched for her in the gardens, thinking that she might have
gone strolling. None. She was not in the gardens, smelling her
beloved jasmine flowers.

They informed the Empress who dropped her chopsticks
in shock and got up swiftly from her seat, ignoring her breakfast.
Little Min Xin, not knowing what had happened but she knew that her
big sister was not around, started to cry, quickly hushed by her
nanny.

The alarm became an extensive search and the urgent
call was made to the police services who dutifully added a digital
facsimile of the princess to their Missing Persons data-bank.
Because Min Feng was the apparent heir to the Phoenix Court, the
alert was a Code Red and the visual message was sent to all
enforcers in the City and beyond.

The Empress, grieving, shifted to phoenix-form and
combed the area herself.

***

An orange phoenix, the color of flame, was spotted
in the sky and everyone paused to look at the wonderful sight. The
bright bird, sun-fierce, seemed to be looking for something.

“Did you see that?” Aunt Betta sounded awed, her
business briefly unguarded, as she watched the creature soar
overhead. She did not see Earnestine squirm uneasily and hunch
deeper, making herself as small as possible.

Javen had to admire the grace of the phoenix in
flight. He was reminded of the Thunderbird.

“
One of the Imperial members,” he
said softly. “
Amazing
.”
Instinctively and not even sure
why
, he glanced at Earnestine who became more silent, almost
mute.
Is the orange phoenix looking for you, my strange
girl?
And he was surprised at that thought.
He had to get back to the fry bread.

It was in the act of turning when he tripped over a
wire leading to the stove heater, He flung out his right hand to
support his fall, touched the rim of the hot-oil pot… that tilted
sharply, splashing the blistering oil…

… onto Earnestine who screamed in agony, clutching
and tearing at her face. There was the horrid smell of burning
flesh as the girl rolled on the ground, sobbing and covering her
face. For a heart-stopping moment, her face seemed wreathed in
white flame…

People were shouting. His aunt was at once scolding
him and trying to right the pot. Hot oil sizzled all over, redolent
of fry bread.

Javen rushed to Earnestine’s side. By now, the girl
was reduced to a state of whimpering. He gently pulled her stiff
hands away from her face and suffered a shock at the sight of the
obvious blister across her lips and her left cheek. He was totally
at fault and he bit his own lip, helping her up. It was a good
thing, out of the overwhelmingly bad situation, that he knew some
rudimentary burn treatment, all thanks to his father’s medical
textbooks.

***

She is still around
, the
orange phoenix who was the Empress cried.
I can still
feel her. Where is she? Where are you, my dear daughter?

Min Feng screamed inside, stifling
her own physical voice. Her mental voice continued to shriek.
It
burned
. Oh the heavens, it
really burned. She sobbed uncontrollably while gentle hands lifted
her up.
Javen
. He was trying to
help her. Her veil was plastered to her face, partially
melted
into her flesh. He was trying to
peel it off…

And she blacked out from the sheer pain, spinning
into the void.

***

Javen worked as calmly and
meticulously as he envisioned what a physician, a
healer
, would in such a situation. The
burns were not bad, but severe enough to leave scars when they
eventually healed. Earnestine collapsed the moment he attempted to
remove the veil from her face. The shock from the pain was that
great. He had the antiseptic, the saline wash and rolls of clean
bandages and gauze, taken from the medical kit he insisted to be
brought along for the trip to the Imperial City.

Angry crimson and swollen splotches marred her
striking face. Her lips bore blisters, reminiscent of the skin of a
fried fish, bubbling up. He cleaned the burns with antiseptic and
saline, noting that the hot oil had dissolved skin. The trick now
was to prevent infection from taking place. He swallowed, feeling a
tight grip of guilt constricting his throat. With some degree of
determination, he bandaged her face, making sure that her raw skin
had some breathing space. He would have to check the progress of
healing regularly.

The only thing now was to let her sleep and rest.
She slept fitfully, twitching, her body no doubt experiencing some
pain feedback. He washed his hands, done with the treatment.

He went out into the den area of the little
apartment and sat down heavily. His aunt stayed at their stall in
the Left Quadrant. He wished, wistfully, for home, for Mesa and its
large open expanse of desert land. If he were there, he would be
running off the churning emotions and feelings inside his head. She
had to go back to her family once she was better.

Hozhoni
.

With beauty, may I walk.
With beauty before me, may I walk.
With beauty behind me, may I walk.
With beauty above me, may I walk.
With beauty all around me, may I walk.

By evening, the three-dimensional holograph image of
Her Royal Highness, Princess Min Feng of the Phoenix Court,
daughter of the Empress Ze Tian, had appeared in all available
vid-booths and digi-posters. There was one in every Quadrant of the
markets, flashing the visual information every five minutes.
Concerned citizens watched the holograph of the princess: her
features proper and arrogant, clad in shimmering finery.

Betta felt her age tonight. She was getting old. Her
joints ached and exhaustion was lead in her bones. Soon, she would
end up joining the elders on Mesa. Her nerves were still frayed,
partly because of the incident in the morning. Her nephew had
promptly treated the girl. The burns looked serious to her and the
girl was crying so much because of the searing pain. Strange as she
was, the girl had a beautiful face, now disfigured by an act of
carelessness. She knew her sister, Javen’s mother, would have words
with her.

The digi-poster was showing the
very life-like copy of the missing Imperial princess, slowly
turning around. Betta examined the facial appearance carefully. She
did remind her of someone.
The strange
girl
.

The strange girl who claimed that she was a
merchant’s daughter and was now currently lying injured in their
little rented apartment, her face sullied by scorching oil.

It was an uncanny resemblance, almost like her
twin.

Unless
.

Betta had not become a successful trader by sheer
luck. She was experienced enough to add the events and incidents
together. What had her dear nephew gotten himself into? He was not
stupid. He was a smart kid, destined to become someone great like
his doctor, may the spirits bless his soul.

She had to chuckle. Javen was so like her sister
when she was younger, in her teenage years. And his father. Both
passionate people, with strong views and fixed ideas. Idealistic
and altruistic in nature. She was not surprised he was drawn to the
strange girl like a moth to a flame. He was about that age too, to
start looking at girls. She remembered a little boy, darkened by
the sun, scrambling down the cliffs, his hair tousled and covered
with sand. He was always showing what he had discovered: Mesan
scorpions, weird bugs and bundles of wild sage that he gifted to
her, willingly and so open-hearted. Almost a son to her, as she did
not have any children of her own.

She slapped her thighs and focused
on the business at hand. She needed to talk to both Javen
and
the strange girl as soon as
possible.

***

It was the pain that woke Min Feng up. A smarting
raw pain starting from her jaw, right up to the left side of her
face. She automatically reached up and touched rustling bandage and
gauze. It felt damp. The memory of what had happened flooded back,
as lethal as the hot oil itself, and she groaned aloud.