Time slowed in captivity, her isolation deafening her sense of self until she felt as though she was submerged in water. True to her word, Mina kept her separate from Alister, so separate, that she wondered if he was in the Holy Place at all. Each day was the same, a rigorous schedule of blessing the sick who were shuttled in from a nearby hospital, then blessing any visitors, and finally blessing the servants of the Order. Ending each day in a state of physical exhaustion, she would retire to her room to read The Enchiridion.
The Enchiridion was by turns thought provoking and boring. It began with a creation story, a myth she had heard before, that humankind was made from a loud sound on a doughnut shaped planet. The Ellipse, as far as she could figure, was music itself. It was only later that it took on the form of a geometric shape so that humankind could understand it.
She was just finishing the chapter on how the Ellipse, frustrated with the cruelty of humanity, sang the curse into existence. There was a knock at her door, and she rose from her chair. A servant waited at the door with a cart, “If it pleases Your Holiness, your servant will change Your Holiness’ sheets?”
The woman’s face was bandaged, her visible skin a strange pale color under a scraggly mass of black hair. Feeling awkward, Tatiana tried not to stare as she held the door. The servant rolled the cart near the bed and started removing the blankets. Tatiana sat back in her chair, flipping to the next chapter of The Enchiridion. “This is the story of the redemption of Eric, a man cursed for 314 days,” she read.
“Bianca,” said the servant, “You wanna get out of here?”
Startled, Tatiana turned in her chair, “Amber? Is that you? You look . . . different.”
“Paper mache, clay, and a horsehair wig. Now hurry up and climb in this laundry bag. It’s only a matter of time before the servants I drugged wake up.”
“You did what?”
“Just get in the bag Bianca,” Amber held out the the sides of one of the canvas sacks on her cart. Tatiana picked up her notebook and tucked it inside her sash. At the last minute she grabbed The Enchiridion, tossing it into the bottom of the bag. She stepped in after it, tucking herself into a ball so Amber could tie the top shut. The light filtered through the weave of the fabric and she could feel the cart start rolling.
The ride seemed interminable, and just when Tatiana thought she could no longer stand the suffocating feeling of having her entire body covered, the cart stopped and Amber opened the top of the bag. They were inside a large room lined with industrial washers and dryers. One servant slumped next to the machines, three others leaned against the folding and pressing tables, dozing against the fabric they were meant to be ironing. Amber opened the window above the sorting table, popping out the screen. “Out you go,” she said over her shoulder. Tatiana climbed onto the table and peered out the window. Sensing her hesitation, Amber gave her a shove. Instinctively, Tatiana rolled into a ball, wrapping her good arm around her bad. She tumbled to the ground, her shoulder smarting from the impact. Amber landed gracefully on her feet, reaching down to help Tatiana up. They ran away from the building, turning out onto the tramway bustling with evening commuters. Immediately slowing to a brisk walk, Amber looped her arm through the crook in Tatiana’s cast.
“Where are we going?” Tatiana passed a drug store and a cafe on her right.
“You know, every time I see you, you're tagging along behind some man who has no idea where he is going,” Amber pulled her down an alleyway, “So why don't you tell me - where are we going?”
Tatiana sucked in her bottom lip, “Is there a city near here that is friendly to the cursed?”
“There’s Errant, but you don't want to go there. It’s dangerous.”
“Great, I’m going to Errant,” Tatiana looked over her shoulder, “Shouldn't we take a tram?”
“Dressed like a priest and a servant? No,” Amber pulled her into the back of a shop. Boxes and hangers littered the small room. A woman lay on the floor, bound by her ankles and wrists, her mouth taped shut with packing tape. She grunted when she saw Tatiana and Amber, squirming in place.
“Carl, we’re here,” Amber called, ignoring the woman.
“We untie her before we leave,” Tatiana pointed at the captive.
“Whatever you want Holiness, just change into this,” Amber tossed her a pair of jeans and a brown t-shirt. While Tatiana changed, Amber scrubbed the gunk off her face in the bathroom. She emerged from the bathroom in khakis and a plum blouse, Carl trailing behind her. His face brightened as he saw her, a goofy smile taking over his expression.
“How come you didn't change?” Tatiana waved at his hand-spun shirt and heavily patched jeans.
“We’re in a women's clothing store,” he shrugged, “The clothes just aren't really cut right.”
“C’mon,” Amber opened the back door, “we got a tram to catch.”
Tatiana picked up a box cutter off the ground and approached the woman, “I’m going to cut the tape off your wrists, okay? You can do your legs and mouth.” She carefully cut through the tape, placing the box cutter in the woman's hands, “Sorry about everything.” Before leaving the store, she grabbed the robes, wrapping The Enchiridion and her notepad in the center of the bundle.
They caught a tram headed East, Amber paying for their fare with blessings from her leather pouch. Carl’s eyes widened as the tram left the stop, and he spent the trip staring out the window mesmerized. Tatiana couldn't help but notice people looking their way and whispering. “Is this safe?” she asked between her teeth.
“I’m guessing at worse they’ll kick us off the tram,” Amber glanced around the car, a fake smile glued to her face.
A stop before they reached Errant, a man debarking sneered at them. “Fucking freaks,” his voice was loud, spittle flying at his pronouncement, “Go back to where you came from.” The tram car became unaccountably silent, and no one would even glance in their direction.