The Ciphers of Muirwood (Covenant of Muirwood #2)(9)

Eventually they reached the tunnel leading to the cloisters and ascended a steep, narrow set of stone steps to reach the floor. The trapdoor was open, and voices could be heard from above, the sound of other girls.

Suzenne sighed, and Maia could tell it bothered her to be late to her duties.

“There you are,” said a pretty dark-haired girl when they climbed into the room. “You are never late, Suzenne. Were you sleepy? It was quite dark when we came.” Her smile was impish.

Several of the girls held candles. There were six young women, eight including Maia and Suzenne. Maia stared at the room in amazement, taking in the sight of the sturdy shelves full of gleaming tomes and the low study desks equipped with squat legs to support the weight of tomes, each surrounded by four chairs. Against one wall was a shelf of scriving tools, clamps, tubs of wax, and so forth. One of the younger girls, who looked to be about twelve, was standing in front of a Leering that slowly started to glow. Leerings always had a face carved into them, and in this room, all the faces were female. Maia thought it interesting that this was where all the boy learners received their lessons.

Suzenne answered the teasing with seriousness. “It is a farther walk from the Aldermaston’s manor, Maeg. I can do that, Sissel,” she said, brushing aside the young girl who was slowly lighting the Leering. The look of strong concentration on Sissel’s face proved the Leering was only barely obeying her. Suzenne stared at it and the brightness grew more quickly.

“I was only teasing,” Maeg said, giving Suzenne a look of annoyance. Then she looked at Maia, sizing her up quickly, her look superior. “So you are the new girl,” she said, a little chuckle in her voice. “Another wretched.”

Suzenne walked to a different Leering and it started to awaken slowly, the glow chasing away the shadows. “She is not a wretched,” Suzenne said over her shoulder. “She is Marciana, the king’s daughter.”

“Princess Murer’s half sister?” Maeg said, surprised. “I mean, her stepsister? The banished one? I always heard they dressed you as a servant.”

Maia felt a prickle of heat enter her cheeks at the girl’s condescending tone.

“Maeg,” Suzenne said warningly. “Be nice.”

“I thought I was,” Maeg said, the impish smile returning to her face. “This is your new companion, Suzenne? Poor thing.”

It was not clear which girl she pitied more.

“Pull out your tomes,” Suzenne said firmly. “We need to be ready when the Aldermaston’s wife arrives. Where are Jess and—ah, here they come.” Three more girls came scampering up the stairs, making it eleven, one of them rubbing her eyes sleepily. She glanced at Maia, smiled, and then joined the other newcomers at a table. Maia saw the uneven match in numbers. Of course it would be that way, she realized. Every girl had been assigned a companion before her arrival. She was upsetting the order of things.

“She is right behind us,” one of the girls said breathlessly. They opened their leather satchels and lifted out their heavy tomes. Maia stood awkwardly, not certain where she should sit as she watched the others quickly assemble in their usual places. Maeg looked her over again, a small smile curling her lip.

Suzenne looked flustered as she hurried over to the third Leering, obviously distraught that the Aldermaston’s wife might arrive before her duties were complete.

Maia did not understand why she had not simply lit all the Leerings at once. With a flex of thought, Maia bid the others to awaken, and light spilled down from the walls. Suzenne gasped in shock, startled, and the other girls reacted the same way.

“Did you see that?” one of the girls whispered.

“Suzenne, how did you . . . ?” another said.

“I did not,” Suzenne said, shaking her head, backing away from the Leering. She turned and looked at Maia, her eyes widening with . . . was it fear?

“That was you,” Maeg said from her table, her expression altering from curiosity to contempt.

“Not even Jayn could light so many at once,” another girl tittered.

There was the sound of footsteps, and the Aldermaston’s wife appeared in the cloisters, wearing her gray robes and a white shawl.

Suzenne quickly walked over to Maeg’s table, where every other seat had been taken. She fumbled with the straps of the satchel as she seemed to realize that Maia was still standing awkwardly alone and there were no empty chairs at the desk. A flush of scarlet bloomed in her cheeks.

“It is all right, Suzenne,” the Aldermaston’s wife said gently, walking up and putting a frail arm around Maia’s back. “She will work with me today. I am the lucky one this time.” Her voice was gentle and soft, yet it had the power to quiet the room to absolute stillness. “This is Marciana, the Princess of Comoros. Her mother, as you know, has passed on. Treat her kindly, as you would wish to be treated yourself if you were in a new situation. She is here to study with us.”

One of the younger girl’s hands shot up.

“Yes, Ellzey?”

“Is she a Cipher too?”

The Aldermaston’s wife smiled patiently. “Yes, but she will serve in a different way since she is a princess. Most Ciphers will become ladies-in-waiting or perhaps chambermaids. Many of you will join a royal household in some manner. You study so you may gain wisdom, so that you may be a counselor and advisor to those you serve. There are great gems of wisdom in these tomes. To find them, you must be able to read. Even though that is forbidden by the Dochte Mandar, it is the way of the mastons. Many of you will marry men of a higher rank. They will choose you not because of your beauty, your cleverness, or the way you play a lute or a harp, but because you have passed the maston test and they value the wisdom of your mind. As I have told you before, Ciphers keep secrets. You must keep the secrets of the lady you serve. You must keep the secrets of your lord husband. And you must keep the secret of what we do here in Muirwood Abbey. Some of you may have the privilege, someday, of serving even a king or a queen.” The hand on Maia’s back increased pressure, just a little. “Let me introduce you to the Ciphers, Lady Marciana.”