She did not say anything when they set off down the corridor, but soon she couldn't have even if she'd wanted to. That canteen was loud, so loud and full of people, Phoenix's mouth going dry, her heart hammering in her chest. There were so many, too many people, in one place, the Head-hunters would have no trouble finding them at all, what were they thinking?
She had to close her eyes then, her chest heaving, her feet stumbling backwards until she tripped. It was Boris again, his hand warm on her shoulder, his eyes peeled ahead as he studied the room. So softly, so gently he guided her to the others, not saying a word, not even when she'd stopped shaking and he'd let her go.
She had to get it together. She had been caught, why couldn't she understand that? There was no harm in gathering now, not for the moment anyway. Her breathing was hard as she studied the room, her eyes barely blinking in case she missed something. There were big patches of sand across the floor, like it had been kicked up by many pairs of boots and never cleaned. She saw the sun shining through that missing wall, a soft breeze picking up more sand and blowing it up the steps towards them.
No one was running, no one was trying to run or climb, they were either standing in line or eating at the table, and she could feel them staring at her, a part of her wanting to turn around, a part of her not wanting to lose sight of any of them. She heard those whispers again, knowing they were talking about her and there was little she could do about it, and she did turn then, her face tight, her eyes cold and dark as she stared at the floor in front of her. She heard Belfire sigh as he came to stand between her and the others in the canteen, his forehead lining in a crease.
"It'll get better," he said. "Just give them time."
She wanted to say so much, she wanted to snap and shout and scream, but she did not know him, not really, no more than she knew anyone else here. Her eyes flicked back to those tables, watching them eating, hearing them whispering, and feeling her skin crawl. She had to find out soon, she did not know how much more of this she could take or which one of them would try to stand in her way, and then she heard a loud laugh, her eyes flicking back to the front of the queue where she saw a woman, a thick bundle of bright blonde dreads on top of her head, a ladle in her hand as she stared at a boy.
"You have something to say, Bolt?" she asked.
"No, Cassie," the boy said, his head bowing, his shoulders rising.
"Hmm…" she hummed. "You learned your lesson?" Bolt did not speak again, only nodding, his hands clenching into fists as he waited. "Good," Cassie nodded, filling a wooden bowl with porridge and handing it to him. "I don't like teaching you lessons, Bolt, don't make me do it again. Go on," she jerked her head and Bolt disappeared. "There you are," she smiled, her ladle stirring a big pot in front of her. "I was wondering when you would show up, what took you so long?" she laughed. "I'm Cassie, I'm Master Gabriel's Favourite. You won't know what that means yet, but don't worry, I'll give you time to get settled. I'm in charge of this side of the house, you understand? You need anything, you come to me and if you need to say something to the Master, you have to run it by me first. He's a busy man," she said, pointing her ladle at them. "He doesn't like us wasting his time and he's good to us. Make sure you don't ruin it," she reached for another bowl, filling it with porridge and handing it to Mia, but she jerked it back before the girl could take it. "You understand what I'm saying, right?" she asked. "You don't want to see what happens if he gets mad." Mia didn't say anything, only nodding and reaching for that bowl again. "Good," Cassie said. "I have one bit of advice for all of you, make sure you take your training seriously. Trust me, you'll thank me later."
She did the same for Boris, but her eyes narrowed when Belfire stepped up next, her face going grim and tight, her jaw clenching shut as she stared at him, her eyes so cold and sharp, her knuckles going white around her ladle. So slowly she lifted it, only filling his bowl halfway, and then she handed it over.
"I know what you are, Belfire," she said. "Don't think that I don't, we all do," she warned. "You do anything that hurts the Master and I'll kill you myself… better yet, I'll make sure you end up in The Mines, you understand me?" Belfire only stared at her, his eyes never blinking, but he did not say a word, not even when Cassie started smiling and turned to look at Phoenix. "Lyca," she called. "Take over, I need to have a talk with this one."
Phoenix felt all those eyes on her again, not really knowing what to do, not really knowing what to say when Cassie handed her a bowl and nodded towards an empty table. So slowly she took it, her eyes flicking to look at it and then back up at Cassie, but Cassie only smiled, grabbing one for herself and sitting down. She tapped the bench beside her, Phoenix sitting a little further away to make sure there was enough space between them, and Cassie laughed, leaning over her bowl to stare at her up close.
"Your eyes really are purple," she said, and she laughed when Phoenix scowled. "Alright, alright, Woodlander, don't look at me like that, I'm going to try to help you."
Phoenix stared at her, studying that smile, studying those eyes and seeing no collar around Cassie's neck. "Why?" she asked.
Cassie smiled again, lifting her spoon and taking a big bite of porridge, and then she laughed, a short, airy laugh, and swallowed her food.
"There's a really big chance you'll be a Favourite. If you play your cards right," she added. "You're the Master's first Woodlander. He paid a lot for you, so you'd better make sure you're worth it. You'd better be, after all he went through to buy you," she said, pointing her spoon at Phoenix. "For now, you can do that by taking your training seriously. Listen to everything Emery says, it's important."
Phoenix stared at her. Cassie had that steel too, the right kind of steel, the cold one, but that just made things make less sense. Phoenix watched her eating, seeing those muscles on her arms that were quite thick and tanned.
"Why are you helping me?" she asked again, and this time Cassie stared at her from the corner of her eye.
"I said you could be a Favourite, what more do you want?"
"I thought you were his Favourite."
"I am," Cassie nodded, her tongue darting across her lips, her spoon dropping into her bowl. "And I'm going to stay his Favourite, you understand? This is The City, you're new here, I know you don't get it yet. Our Master is… He doesn't just take anyone for a Favourite, you have to earn it. I earned it," she nodded again. "That doesn't just go away because you're here… I've been a Favourite for a long time, I know what he's like and I know what you can do for him," she said, leaning closer to Phoenix. "You be good to him, Phoenix, I mean it, he's good to us, you'll see that."
"That's why none of you run away?"
"Run away?" Cassie laughed, shaking her head. "Where would we go? We're all slaves now, there's nothing out there for us."
"So no one's tried?"
"I'm sure someone's tried," Cassie said. "You're welcome to try if you want," she laughed again, shaking her head. "But I know no one gets out of here without him letting them."
Phoenix stared at her, watching her smile, hearing her laugh again, and she didn't need to ask the next part of her question, already having her answers. These bands on her wrists and ankles had to go, and that collar. If he'd known which door to stop her at, there had to be some sort of tracker in them, the only question now was which one it was in or if it was all of them and if sending one offline would alert his systems.
"You don't want to be a Favourite, Phoenix? Most slaves do."
Phoenix looked at her, watching her closely, weighing her words. "I don't know what it is," she said.
"That's fair," Cassie nodded. "I'm not really sure telling you would make things easier either. You can't be one for now anyway. There's-," she cut herself off, her forehead lining in a crease, her cheeks paling, and then she looked away, clearing her throat and shaking her head. "I don't usually help new slaves," she said. "But come to me if you need anything, I'll help you. It's just… You just have to take your training seriously. It's not going to make sense, not for a long time," she shook her head again. "But you have to do it, Phoenix, I promise you that."