Page 14 of Dark Shaman: Eternal Hope
"Like us," Tula murmured. "I mean, this garden is like us. Nice to look at, but more hardy than it seems. It held up much better than we'd expected."
An uncomfortable silence settled over the group. They all knew what she meant.
"Well," Areana said briskly, breaking the moment. "The garden will be beautiful again. Thank you both for your hard work." She turned to Tula. "Shall we check on the servants? I want to see how they're settling back in."
Tula nodded, though Areana caught the look she cast at Tony as they left.
Perhaps she was wrong, and Tula loved Tony but was only pretending not to because she saw falling for a human as a failing.
As they entered the elevator, Areana felt her chest constrict. "Are you also afraid of getting into this little box?" she asked Tula.
"No." Tula looked up at the camera that hadn't been there before the flood, smiled, and waved. "Our fishbowl has gotten another viewing port. I wonder why? Additional cameras are not going to safeguard us from earthquakes and water breaches."
"Not the natural kind, that's for sure." Areana pressed the button for level seven. "But if the breach was sabotage, cameras in the elevators and the emergency stairs might have caught the perpetrators."
Tula rolled her eyes. "That sounds paranoid even for our lord."
Areana lifted a finger to her lips. "Watch what you are saying. Besides, after the rebellion, security was tightened all over the island. Not just here."
When they exited the elevator on the seventh level, it was bustling with activity. The familiar sounds of daily life filled thecorridors, conversations, laughter, the clatter of dishes, and even the occasional shriek of a child.
Something loosened inside Areana at the sounds. Despite them being deep underground, this was what real life sounded like.
They found a group of maids in the common area, folding linens and chatting. The women rose when they saw Areana and Tula, but Areana waved them back down.
"Please, don't let us interrupt. We just wanted to see how everyone was settling back in."
Marta, an elderly maid who had served in the harem for decades, smiled warmly. "It's good to be home, my lady. The hotel was nice, and the beds were comfortable, but it didn't feel like home. Here, everyone knows their role, their place. No one judges us or looks down on us."
Elda, who was in her late thirties, nodded enthusiastically. "It's funny, but I feel freer here than I felt outside. I don't need to pretend. I can be myself, and no one is giving me the evil eye."
Marta slapped her arm playfully. "No one was giving you the evil eye, Elda. You have a wild imagination."
"Yes, they were!" Elda insisted.
"Freedom is relative," Areana murmured. "Sometimes the cage we know feels safer than the world outside."
Tula's hand moved to her stomach before she caught herself. The gesture was subtle, but Areana had been watching her more closely lately. The other ladies gossiped about Tula being potentially pregnant, and perhaps she was, but until Tula told her, she wasn't going to ask.
Until today, Tula had managed to avoid pregnancy, and if she was expecting now, she wasn't happy about it.
None of them wanted the heartache that they knew was coming, but Navuh expected them to produce sons for him, and although he was patient, his patience would eventually run out.
Each one of them had given him a son, and now it was Tula's turn, whether she liked it or not.
"We should let them return to their work," Areana said before turning to the maids with a smile. "Have a wonderful rest of your day, ladies."
They toured the kitchen, visited the laundry room, and when they were done, they returned to the elevator.
"Are you alright?" Areana asked when they were alone, but with the camera overhead, that was an illusion.
"I'm fine." Tula leaned against the mirrored wall. "I'm just thinking about what you said, that freedom is relative."
"It's a complex thing, freedom," Areana agreed. "Sometimes I wonder if it truly exists or if we all just choose different cages."
They returned to find the library abandoned.
"Is it lunchtime already?" Tula asked.
