The Songbird

Chapter 15: Debtor

Mina tossed and turned for hours, sleep just beyond her fingertips. The nightmares didn't come, but a conscious feeling of absence filled their wake in a way that was just as grievous.

Eventually, she pulled herself from the ground with a groan, body no worse for wear but certainly no better, either. She lifted the flap of the tent into the cavern outside, unsure of the time. Judging by the lack of many faces she'd seen earlier, however, Mina deduced that it must be late in the night or very early in the morning. The absence of any natural light complicated the guess, and she wondered how people could live without seeing the sky.

The stillness outside was ghostlike, so hushed and empty compared to what it was just hours earlier. Only a few people still milled about, one of which was the elderly woman from earlier. She hadn't moved from her spot, still bent over the white fabrics that would soon be dyed into new hues with nothing more than her own willpower.

Mina watched the woman's hands, so spindly and knotted, the skin pulled tight over bones and veins. They were storied and frail-looking, but they also spoke of strength in the vivacity with which she wound the fabric tight around her fingers. The faintest heartbeat of light bled from her palms when the fabric changed color, something Mina had missed before.

A small gift indeed, as Talmage had described it. Perhaps not something people would tell stories about, but it drew Mina in all the same. Here was someone like her, sitting just feet away and growing closer as Mina realized she'd begun to walk in her direction.

The old woman looked up when she saw Mina's shadow, her wrinkled cheeks curling high in a welcoming smile. Mina supposed she should've said hello, but a life of solitude had left her unprepared for introductions.

"You must be the one who caused quite a stir earlier," she said, her tone warm. Mina took a few awkward seconds to formulate a response, eventually giving up to settle with, "I suppose so."

The old woman patted the ground nearby, looking glad to have company. She didn't regard Mina with any veil of hidden distrust like so many others had, and it lifted a small knot in her chest.

"My name is Mina."

"Good to meet you," she said. "I'm Elizabeth."

Mina smiled faintly, and the woman resumed her work with the fabrics. She saw that Elizabeth no longer made them purple like she did earlier, switching to new cloths that were long and thin. A small pile on one side of her was filled with deep blue strands, while the piece she held began to bleed a bright red.

"Are those for the alley dwellers?" Mina asked, eyes wide. She knew someone must make the cloths, but it was never something she'd ever thought about before. That human hands could shape the very thing that marked them forever.

"Yes," answered Elizabeth. "Tomorrow is collection day, so the knights will be by to pick these up and hand them out."

"You mean, come here?"

"Oh heavens no, not here," she laughed. "If they ever found this place, we'd all be arrested. No, I come here because my children are in line with Talmage, and I help him craft new symbols for the rebellion. Plus, there's more space to sprawl out than my little cottage in the Blue Alley. I'll leave before the sun comes up, and the knights are none the wiser."

"Do they know what you can do?" Mina asked, wondering why the King hadn't snatched her up yet if she had magic.

"No," she admitted. "Though I'm not sure what use I'd be even if they did. Most I could do for Abbott is tailor his clothes and keep their colors vibrant, and there's people without magic who probably do a better job at that than I would."