Folding the Sky

-9-

Later that evening, after an opulent meal of braised meat and hearth-baked bread and seasoned rice and beans that Zuri was sure she would be thinking about for the rest of her life, Zuri wrote her father a letter.

She sat in the privacy of her quarters: a narrow, windowless room with a twin bed and a shelf brimming with antique novels and reference books that probably cost more than her home. A small gas lamp suffused the room with a warm yellow hue as she smoothed the blank paper out on her lap, tapping her fountain pen against her teeth.

How exactly was she going to explain this, she wondered? Dear Baba, I am alright, I promise, though it's true you won't be seeing me for a while. Please don't worry.

Oh, yes. That would certainly not worry him at all.

Zuri exhaled and dragged her hands down her face with a groan. When she finally put pen to paper, the letter was fairly brief.

Dear Baba,

I am writing to you from within the Celandine Castle, if you can believe it. The Queen has asked us Celestials to go on an important mission for her, though for safety reasons I think it best not to give you the details. Upon our success she will pardon you of your debts—I've made sure of it. We can finally start over, Baba.

Though I will be gone for a while, rest assured I will think of you often. I love you, Baba. Don't miss me too much.

Love,

Zuri

Zuri folded the letter into a square envelope with her father's name across the front, then slipped it underneath the door, where a guard would retrieve it. She clicked the lamp off, and was asleep the moment her head struck the pillow.

The morning of their departure was a fair one, though Zuri imagined most mornings in Celandine were like this, as though some sort of majestic barrier kept storm clouds away from the glistening gardens. She and three other Celestials stood just beyond the castle's doors, each of them in castle-provided clothes, which thankfully had been tailored to their requests. The boys were in crisp slacks and casual travel shirts; Aldric had wound his hair into a braid down his back. Jem was beaming in a pair of linen shorts and a sparkly new pair of high-rise boots, while Zuri opted for a simple gown of rose pink.

Princess Kalindi had yet to make her appearance. The moment she did, they would board a private motorcar to the train station.

Zuri, though she didn't quite know how, had managed to keep her nerves at bay the night before, soothing long enough for her to rest. Now, however, they ambushed her in full strength, her feet tapping against the cobblestones, fingers worrying at her curls.

In fact, only Jem seemed perfectly fine with everything that was going on. She was peppy, as usual, dragging the three of them into conversation without seeming to notice that their minds were elsewhere. "I mean, don't you think it would be rather lonely?" she was saying, lounging on the front steps of the castle entrance. "In that castle all day. And you can't go anywhere because crowds would swarm you. I don't know how she does it."

Zuri dragged her mind back to center. She asked, "Who?"

"Princess Kalindi," Jem explained, looking up at Zuri, who stood beside her. "Do you think she has any friends?"

"No," said Kalindi, making the four other Celestials jump. "I don't, really."

The princess was striding down the stoop, flanked as always by two royal guards. Though each of her steps was regal, almost lyrical, something else was...different.