Dear Dahlia (Shadow And Bone)

Chapter 12

It was morning. Dahlia was walking down the corridor, ready to clean the place she was assigned to, when she heard some grisha talking.

"Did you hear about Saida? She ran back to her room last night!" A Ravkan heartrender asked her friend.

There was a gasp. "She never does that. Do you think something happened between her and Kirigan?"

Dahlia remembered when she'd pushed past Saida, and suddenly felt guilty. Then, she pushed the feeling down. There wasn't time to think about Saida. She had work to do.

The place that Dahlia was going to clean was a hut that belonged to someone named Baghra. She apparently trained all the grisha.

Dahlia knocked on the door. "Cleaner!" she called. There was no reply. "Cleaner!" Dahlia said a second time. Again, no answer. "Stupid Ravkans," Dahlia muttered to herself. The door suddenly opened, and Dahlia squinted into the darkness. She slowly stepped into it. "Hello?" she called.

Dahlia heard light footsteps. She immediately assumed the worst, and grabbed a stick that was hanging on the wall. It was hard to see in such a dimly lit area, but now, her eyes were starting to adjust. She gripped the stick as she moved forward, looking around the place. There was a noise behind her. Dahlia spun around.

"What are you doing?" an old woman with ashy blonde hair asked monotonously.

Dahlia immediately screamed. The woman gave her a glance-over, and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not a djinn."

"Oh." Dahlia slowly lowered her arms, then put the stick on the table.

"That doesn't go on the table," the woman said. "If you want to clean my abode, you need to know where everything goes."

Dahlia nodded awkwardly. "Right." Then, with some difficulty, she put the stick back on the wall. The woman watched her, silent. When Dahlia was done, she turned the woman, and clasped her hands together.

"I'm very sorry for that. Um...where would you like me to start?"

The stick abruptly fell down from the wall. Dahlia looked down and stared at it.

"I'd like you to put that stick back up on the wall again, Miss Rahman."

"Oka-wait, how do you know my surname?" Dahlia asked as she hung the stick up again. This time, it stayed where it was. The woman walked towards Dahlia.

"You look like Saida."

Dahlia's jaw ticked. "Right."

She began to clean the table. The woman watched her. Dahlia glanced at her. "You're Baghra, right?"

"Yes."

"What's it like, training grisha?"

"I help them excel."

Dahlia snorted. Baghra looked at her. "What, you don't think they should be able to train?"

"It's not that," Dahlia replied as she began to clean the table. "Shouldn't they focus on the drüskelle? Why are there missionaries everywhere? In Novyi Zem, Shu Han?"

Baghra shook her head. "These wars should not go on. We'd colonised enough the moment we stepped onto your land." Baghra paused. "You're Suli, aren't you?"

"What else would I be," Dahlia replied drily as she started to clean the floor.

"How did your parents escape the test as children?"

Dahlia froze for a moment. "Good question," she replied. Wadi and Rahim had lied to her, and had kept the secret of being grisha from her their entire lives. She still couldn't think of how they'd evaded it. Had they run away? Mutilated themselves before the test? Were they injured, like she had been the day Czarina had come to their house?

Dahlia shook her head to dispel the thoughts. "It doesn't matter. I know the truth now."

Baghra sighed. "If you say so." She watched Dahlia finish cleaning, and nodded to her.

"Thank you."

"Of course." Dahlia nodded back. Baghra's mouth twitched up for a second, amused, before she assumed her normal expression of angry neutrality. "Well then, off you go. I suspect you have a lot more to do today."

"See you later, Baghra," Dahlia said as she stepped out of the hut. It was cold, but bright. Dahlia shielded her eyes from the morning sun, and made her way to the kitchens.