Dindi
In the cooking yard behind the High Table, Dindi could hear Hertio announcing the guest of honor. But she didn't look. The other handmaidens giggled and tried to peek at the guests, but Dindi stayed focused. She carefully placed the last hard sugar loaf on top of a tall stack on a wide clay platter.
By the time she finished, the other girls were already busy. They served honey purée, yellowtail in saffron sauce, sweet walnuts, popped corn, roasted onions, and buttered squash with sugar and cinnamon.
Brena had trusted Dindi with the sugar loaves. It was a special job, and Dindi didn't want to mess it up. She lifted the platter and balanced it on her head. Then she walked slowly and carefully toward the High Table.
The guests all sat on one side of the table, facing the dancers' stage. That meant they had their backs to her as she came from behind. Dindi followed the other handmaidens, who moved in a steady line, bringing water bowls, baskets of food, and jugs of corn beer.
There were three guests of honor. One was older, and two were strong young men. The other serving girls whispered and giggled about how handsome they were.
One of the young men sat to the right of Hertio. His costume showed he was a Zavaedi. He wore beadwork over his bare chest, a beaded collar, and a feathered gold headdress. Something about his back looked familiar to Dindi.
Then Brena turned around, caught Dindi's eye, and gave her a small motion to wait. Dindi realized the table's mood was tense. Hertio was questioning one of the guests sharply.
"How is your mother, Zumo? What's it like to grow up with a mother who can eat your thoughts? I bet you behaved much better than most boys."
"My mother never ate my thoughts," said the man named Zumo. He was handsome, but his eyes were pale like dry bone. "Don't think I follow her orders. I act for myself. The Morvae have lived in shame for too long because of the Bone Whistler. That must end. I will bring the Morvae back to greatness."
"Oh, yes. You're the Bone Whistler's grandson, aren't you?" said Hertio. "I almost forgot."
"You're the first person in the seven tribes who has."
"Zumo the Cloud Dancer," said Brena stiffly. "You earned a Shining Name at a young age, just like your cousin." She nodded toward the man beside Hertio. "Can you also dance the Rain?"
"Yes," said Zumo. He looked calm, but Dindi could see the tightness in his shoulders and the twitch of a vein in his neck. "I couldn't let my cousin do something I can't."
Brena leaned forward. "How can a Morvae dance the Rain? What Chroma do you use?"
"I didn't say," Zumo replied. He took a long drink of beer. "But there's nothing an Imorvae can do that a Morvae can't. Don't believe all their lies about being better."
The older guest cleared his throat. "I heard we're having a special treat tonight, thanks to you, Zavaedi Brena."
Dindi's eyes went wide. She knew that voice! She had heard it in the Visions. It was Danumoro—older now, but still the same man.
"Yes," Brena said. "The serving maiden is ready."
She motioned to Dindi.
Oh! The sugar loaves!
Dindi stepped forward, carefully, with the platter still balanced on her head.
Zumo glanced at her. Then he looked again—more slowly this time, from her head to her toes, and back up again.
"Dessert looks delicious," he said, with a smirk.
Something in his voice made the other guest—the one sitting beside Hertio—turn quickly. He looked at Zumo, then at Dindi. His eyes widened in shock.
Dindi froze.
It was Kavio.
She stumbled.
The platter tilted forward.
The mountain of sugar loaves came crashing down in a sweet, hard rain—all over Kavio.
*
Kavio
One moment, Kavio turned and saw Dindi standing before him. She looked graceful, balancing a large platter on her head. The firelight from the cooking yard lit up her shape from behind.
The next moment, everything went wrong.
"No!" Brena cried from down the table.
Then time seemed to rush forward all at once.
Hard sugar loaves flew through the air and hit Kavio. One landed in his headdress. Another dropped right into his soup. Others smashed when they hit him, and sweet powder coated his hair and skin. He was almost buried in brown candy. The rest of the sugar loaves scattered across the dirt.
Dindi turned bright pink, then red, then almost purple.
Zumo was the only one laughing. He laughed so hard he slapped the table.
"Looks like the maiden is sweet on you," he joked.
Kavio gave his cousin a cold glare.
Dindi rushed to Kavio's side, tripping over her words.
"Oh no, it's all over you!" she said. She rubbed sugar off his cheek with one finger. Then, without thinking, she stuck the finger in her mouth. "You're covered in sugar!"
Kavio was stunned. His brain stopped working. The place she touched on his cheek still tingled.
Then Brena rushed over, looking just as horrified as Dindi.
"Please forgive the Initiate," Brena said quickly. She knelt and began picking up the fallen sugar loaves. "She's still new to serving. I'll send her away right now."
Dindi's eyes filled with tears, but she didn't cry.
"Please," said Kavio. His voice was soft, but everyone heard him. "It was an accident. There's no need to send her away."
"But you're the guest of honor," Brena said. "You shouldn't have to put up with a girl clumsier than a goat with three legs—"
"I'm sure we can save the loaves that landed on the table mat," Kavio said. "Everything will be fine."
"You're very gracious," Brena said. She quickly gathered the best loaves back onto the platter while Kavio picked out the ones that weren't too broken.
She gave Dindi a sharp look. "Take the rest of these back to the kitchen. And bring a bowl of water for the guest of honor."
Dindi nodded fast and hurried away with the ruined loaves.
As she walked into the shadows, the fire behind her lit her thin white shift. Kavio's eyes followed her until she disappeared behind the courtyard wall.
He picked up one of the broken loaves. The brown sugar was sticky and hard. He tapped it with the edge of a stone scraper to break off a small piece. He put it in his mouth and sucked it slowly. The sweetness melted on his tongue.
Even then, his thoughts stayed on Dindi.
Why is she a handmaiden? Why isn't she sitting with the Tavaedi Initiates?