“Let me take a look, Annie,” said Paty, taking the plasma with the notes for the next debate.

“Wait.”

Annie highlighted the text with her finger and drew an imaginary line in the air towards Paty’s ProCom, so she had a copy of her own. They were in the greenhead’s room, finishing their homework.

Paty turned on a lamp and read.

“Some scholars argue that Erol’s idea of global unification came from the humans, recently arrived from space, as it was them who provided the weapons for the assault, as well as the spaceship for the Priests’ exile. Others are certain that humans were involved in Aeviniah’s disappearance.”

“What do you think?” asked Annie, while she brushed her hair in front of the mirror.

“Mmm… It needs a quote or a reliable source. We can’t say ‘some scholars’. It would be a stronger argument if we mentioned a famous anthropologist. Besides, you know they’ll counter it saying that whatever happened behind closed doors so long ago has no solid basis.”

“What about the theories about accelerating our involvement in the Galactic Community to exert influence on us?”

Paty sighed while she pondered the relationship between both ideas.

“I could say that from times immemorial, human mythology included winged beings or angels, and they found them in Eloah,” proposed Annie. “They knew intervention in our development as civilization was forbidden, so they staged the accident. In the end, it was the ‘unintentional’ part that saved them from sanctions by the Galactic Community. Then, having befriended the northerners and knowing about the existence of a stone that granted immortality…”

“Mmm, maybe. Where is Bridget? What’s taking her so long? It’s almost time for the concert.”

Every forty days, the Philharmonic Orquestra of Eneviah granted them a recital.

“I’ll ask mom.”

Annie stood and stepped into the entrance hall. She found William bidding goodbye to her mother. She waited for the teacher to exit.

“Your sister has gone to bed early tonight, Annet,” announced Daphne. “Are you ready?”

It was unexpected news for Annie.

“Almost,” she replied, after a moment of distress. She hadn’t missed the look on the elder’s face, or the low voices. “I’ll go tell Pat we’re leaving.”

***

Bridget woke up to the sound of her alarm ringing. She was contracted in fetal position, numb but sweaty. It took her a few seconds to realize that she had spent the night in the same spot.

Goddess! My family must be worried, why am I still here?

Either they were plucking out their feathers looking for her or William, having figured out where she was and that she was out of danger, had decided to remain at bay, informing the mothers of the situation. If that was the case, Daphne would have heard a plausible lie. Either that she had slept at the Obriens’ house with his niece Paty, or that she had retired to her room early.

She was puzzled, she didn’t understand her mentor’s reasoning. Had he wanted to, William wouldn’t have had a problem locating her, and taking her to bed. The elder had refrained from helping her. Why? If he was hoping she would learn something from this, he had failed. She really did not see the moral of the story.

Or maybe that conclusion was premature.

Bridget looked through the vent. The boy was gone. As it was to be expected, there were no guards nearby either. She pulled on her boots, and as she tied them, she suddenly became aware of the time. It wasn’t the first time the alarm went off; she had not heard it the four previous times. And she would be late for class again.

She stood up, and felt the room spin, which made her consider a visit to the medical center. But what would she do about her Geography exam? She needed the credits for the period’s average. She already had enough trouble explaining the loss of her ProCom, and her homework, and of course, the red book. She wondered if the near death experience would soften her mentor’s reaction.

She ran to the service elevator, stepped out on the third floor, creeped to a hidden door, crossed a stretch through the dark, cabled corridor, stepped through another hidden door to the room where she supposedly attended tutoring, and exited to the regular corridors. Another path she had learned. At least on this floor the space between walls was wider, about three feet, which meant secret corridors were roomier. A hundred steps ahead, the main elevator took her to the tenth floor, where the Britters’ apartment was. She walked as fast as her dwindling strength allowed her, thinking about what she would say to Daphne if she ran into her, not knowing what she had been told, but the lady wasn’t there. Bridget let go of the breath she had been holding. She went to Annie’s room, just as empty.

The dress she had slept in had a sweat stain on the back and the neck, as if she had used it for training. She took one of Annie’s, retraced her steps, and ran to her classroom.

***

Tutoring was open to the sons and daughters of palace residents, like the ministers in the Assembly of Representatives, or the Cabinet members. When requested, the children of temporary visitors were also welcome; however, at nine beltas, students would have to travel to the different cities in order to pursue higher studies. Bridget’s group (third, formed by seven and eight belta olds), consisted of six girls. For that matter, any absences or delays were very noticeable.

She stopped at the door, panting. Inside, the students held an angry exchange.

“It says so here,” Elisa Bandier was pointing out, showing an image of an archaeological excavation site. She read, “The ship found in Drah’mar Bay, in Eloah’s northern hemisphere, is eighteen thousand beltas old.”

“What about that?” replied Tiffany, crossing her arms over her chest.

“The cataclysm believed to have originated the Eloahn species happened fifteen thousand beltas ago, didn’t it? It means the ship was there before,” the human added. “Besides, see these shapes on the hull? That is definitely a human, and the stars painted above,” she pointed, “in Old Earth they were known as Orion’s Belt. That means your ancestors could be human.”

Tiffany snickered.

“What’s so funny?” spat Elisa.

“The explosion of the Stones happened at least three thousand beltas before space ships were invented in Old Earth.”

She knew because, in consideration to the foreign visitor, the previous History class had been about the theories about that species’ origin.

“When the Mayan and Egyptian civilizations were building the pyramids, more or less,” added Paty.

“Thus, your theory is absolutely ridiculous,” continued Tiffany. “Did your famous Egyptians have spaceships?”

“Well… they might! There’s a hypothesis that states the pyramids were built thousands of years before the time of the Egyptians, and they just found them. Besides, they are perfectly aligned with Orion.”

“Ah… it’s one of those inconvenient discoveries that your archeologists prefer to ignore because it doesn’t fit in the general theory,” snickered Paty.

“Or… perhaps the mistake is in the estimated date of the Stones’ cataclysm,” added Elisa, angry rather than nervous.

“Maybe time-travelers?” suggested Claudet.

They all laughed at the absurd idea and the girl blushed.

From her spot at the door, Bridget pondered the arguments in silence. Not much was known about the time before the explosion of the Stones, as to date, no evidence had been uncovered of older settlements. The finding of the spaceship meant trouble for the scientific community in trouble.

“If we really were descendants of the first explorers that left Old Earth, Elisa, how can you explain that, having found such a prosperous planet like ours, your people would abandon it for thirty thousand years?” insisted Tiffany.

“Well… after the explosion, your planet was submerged in a nuclear winter, incapable of supporting life. It’s probable the explorers just moved on, terraforming and colonizing planets in other systems, and returned to your when there was no more danger from radioactivity.”

“Come back… peabrain,” interrupted Annie scathingly.

That was when she noticed Bridget’s presence at the door, but William’s arrival stopped her from going over to berate her for making her worry, criticize her disheveled appearance, and scold her for taking her things, specially her dress, even if that particular one didn’t fit her anymore.

All the girls, including Bridget, went to their seats.

“Where were you, Brid? The old man told your mother that you went to bed early, is it true?” whispered Paty, gently pushing her hair behind her ear.

Bridget looked at her over her shoulder. Paterinet Obrien was three cycles older than Annie, but not much taller. Her hair was brown, her face dusted by freckles, and her eyelashes so long, curly and thick, that you couldn’t see her green eyes unless she opened them a lot, or they were hit by sunlight. Aside from the Britters, she was the only other girl who knew her identity, and she partly owed it to her family name. The Obriens guarded the prophecy; Paty was the great granddaughter of William and Christian’s only sister: their great grandniece.

“I was tired,” she explained. At least she didn’t have to lie about that.

Paty looked at her suspiciously.

Oh, no. She suspects something…

“Enough to skip the concert? I thought Gretha’s Flight was your favourite symphony.”

Enough to fall asleep on the floor. Next time go upstairs, if you don’t believe me, she wanted to challenge her. On second thought, giving her permission to visit the royal apartments whenever she wanted wasn’t a good idea. The path there was only safe if it was kept out of the palace blueprints, and its existence remained a secret. Thus, she shouldn’t encourage that kind of conversation in a public place. Should the information reach the wrong ears…

Bridget shrugged and put on her most angelical face.

“It is,” she sighed. “I guess I’ll have to wait forty more days.”

“Eighty. The concert is cancelled next cycle due to the Goddess’ festival. What’s wrong with your memory?”

“I’m sorry.”

“At least you could have answered my calls. Where did you leave your ProCom?”

I’d like to know myself.

“And since when does the old man bother to excuse you to your mother?” she added, before she could answer the first question.

The old man. For practical purposes, older relatives like great granduncles were called Glah, if they were male. In case of a female, they were referred to as Glahi. However, ever since the belta before, Paty referred to William as the old man, or the ancient one. But the most surprising part was that her mentor wasn’t bothered by her insolence.

William called for order in the classroom and got ready to begin.

“Bridget Britter, could you read your essay about the Ancient Empire?”

Just what she had feared. Bridget stared at him, meditating on her options.

“I didn’t bring it with me, professor. I mean, I did it, but…” She felt the heat reach her ears. “Can I recite it? I don’t remember it word by word, but if I could speak about it… in general…”

Elisa Bandier didn’t hide her scathing giggles. Bridget glanced at her and noticed, helpless, that her ProCom was among the human’s possessions. She got the answer for where she had lost it.

Goddess! Why did it have to be precisely her?

“Leave and bring your work,” whispered her mentor brusquely, even though there was a polite smile on his face. “And while you are at it, take a deep breath.”

No, please, why are you doing this to me? she thought, sending him a meaningful look.

“I can explain, professor, please…”

She was begging him not to humiliate her, but she also feared stumbling in front of everyone, she felt so weak.

“I just asked you for something else,” stated the elder, leaning over his desk.

“It’s just that…”

Bridget managed to touch his hand when he got close enough. Like every morning, her mentor’s index finger was covered by a bandage.

William felt her boiling skin and understood his mistake. The girl’s cheeks were bright red, but due to fever.

“Annet, please walk your little sister home.”

“She might get lost on the way there,” added Elisa, provoking laughter from the other girls.

Her biting comment exceeded William’s patience… and Bridget’s.

“In this class we are respectful, Elisa,” said the professor. Bridget, losing all composure, stood up violently, her ears buzzed, her sight clouded over, and she passed out on the floor.