Azaria (15 page)

Yumineh barely heard. She couldn't believe Azaria got to see the placing. Her whole plan had backfired. All her effort, all the risk for naught. Not only did she fail to drive a wedge between her and Daneel, but everything worked out for Azaria. Beneath her skin, Yumineh's blood boiled.
It always works out for her. Because she cheats. She cheats and she always gets away with it. And no one sees it but me. It's not fair. Someone has to put a stop to her cheating.
"Someone has to tell Fahim," Yumineh said, as if Daneel wasn't there.

Daneel turned in shock, "What do you mean? Tell Fahim what?"

"Azaria broke the rules. She cheated, Daneel. She went to the Great Temple during her moonflow. She isn't allowed to do that."

"Yumineh, you can't tell anyone! You promised!" Daneel whispered, her panic returning.

Yumineh realized the conundrum she was in. She didn't want to alienate Daneel, but she couldn't bear the thought of Azaria getting away with her cheating again. She whispered back, "I didn't actually promise Daneel. You just asked me to. And what Azaria did was terrible. She desecrated the Great Temple. What if something happens now? What if the slab breaks and falls on someone? What if it falls on you, Daneel? Or me? The Ta'araki have to be warned before someone is hurt."

Daneel was almost in tears. She cupped her hands around Yumineh's ear and whispered, "Yumineh! You can't! Azaria will know I lied and that I broke my promise. You can't tell anyone. You promised me you wouldn't!!"

Yumineh stopped to think before answering. If she defied Daneel, the first part of her plan would likely be complete. The friendship between Azaria and Daneel would be broken. But she also needed a way to get close to Dogahn and ruin his relationship with Azaria.
Then I can have him... Daneel is important. She's friends with everyone. She knows everything everybody is up to. And gossip spreads like wildfire when it reaches her ears. I need to keep Daneel on my side.
Having made her decision, she put her arm around Daneel’s neck and whispered. "Don't worry. I won't say anything. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if something happened between you and Azaria."

I'll just have to find another way.

Then she whispered again, "But if someone gets hurt at the Temple, the blood will be on Azaria's hands, and ours for not telling anyone. We're taking a big risk for her. She cheated and now someone may get hurt for it."

"I know, thank you, Yumineh! Thank you." Daneel answered. As she wiped her eyes, she thought about how right Yumineh was. Azaria did cheat. What if someone did get hurt? Wouldn’t it be her fault for covering for her? Although she’d been happy to learn Azaria saw the placing, now she was scared - and a little annoyed.

That evening Aiyana, Azaria and her Boar Camp friend Malena sat together enjoying their meal, joined by Daneel and Yumineh. The conversation was unusually slow. Aiyana had made several attempts to spark it and determined to make one more before giving up, "This gazelle is so good, Azaria. I was getting tired of hare and grouse."

"It is, Azaria. I'm grateful too. I was excited to hear there was fresh gazelle again," Malena said.

"Thank you," Azaria replied. "I have to admit I'm enjoying it too. I was surprised to see that small herd. But I wasn't the only one who hunted. A lot of girls did it together."

"That's true,” Aiyana said. "But from what I hear, you're the one that planned the whole hunt and had the first kill." When Azaria only smiled in response Aiyana turned to Daneel and Yumineh, who'd been avoiding all her earlier attempts to involve them in the conversation. She was surprised the usually talkative Boar Camp girl wasn't bothering to congratulate her best friend. "Isn't it nice to have gazelle, Daneel? Yumineh, you’ve barely touched yours."

As if put on the spot, Daneel looked up and smiled and then turned to Azaria. "Sorry. It's wonderful, Azaria. I'm just exhausted."

"I'm not hungry," Yumineh said, making no attempt to hide her displeasure. She glared at Azaria and got up. "I'm going to my tent."

"What's wrong with her?" Aiyana asked after the moody Fox Camp girl had left.

"Oh, it's nothing, I'm sure," Daneel said. "I think working with these fatheads is taking a toll on her."

"She gets this way," Malena volunteered. "She gets grumpy every once in a while. But it passes quickly."

"But she's been glaring at Azaria all evening," Aiyana said, unwilling to let the subject die.

"I'm sure she doesn't mean to. She's probably not even aware she's doing it," Malena said.

"You think so? It looked pretty deliberate," Aiyana countered.

Shut up, Aiyana!
Daneel silently commanded.
She doesn't know when to stop!
"She might be a little annoyed Azaria doesn't have to work with the fatheads, but I'm sure you're right, Malena. She just gets moody and doesn't hide her feelings very well," she said, hoping that would be the end of it.

"Ohh?" Aiyana replied, feeling protective of the Boar Camp girl she admired so much, the one who'd treated her as a true equal. "That's not very fair. Azaria doesn't choose where she works, and she can't control her moonflow."

Daneel was glaring at her. "Leave it alone, Aiyana," she said harshly. "We told you it's nothing."

Azaria's mouth dropped and she cast a steely look at Daneel before turning her gaze to her new friend. Aiyana's head had fallen and her puffy cheeks were growing ever redder. Azaria wanted to tear into Daneel, but had noticed she'd been sharing Yumineh's foul mood all afternoon. Afraid of aggravating her any further, she chose a more diplomatic tact.

"They're right, Aiyana. They've been stuck serving the men hand and foot in the hot sun, putting up with the crude remarks and inappropriate behavior. And for some reason we keep getting the easy assignments. I don't blame Yumineh for being upset. It's not very fair from her perspective. I feel bad. In fact, I think I'll volunteer for picker duty next. Would you mind, Aiyana?"

"Sure! That's fine, I don't mind," she agreed.

Daneel hadn't missed Azaria's fierce glance and immediately felt guilty. "Aiyana, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just having a bad night."

Aiyana wasn't use to apologies and didn't know what to do with it. "That's okay, Daneel. Maybe you're moonflow is starting too,” she laughed.

In her misery and frustration, Daneel had been staring at her food the entire meal, shoveling the contents back and forth across her plate. She didn't know why Yumineh's refusal to eat Azaria's contribution should affect her as well, but somehow it just did. Perhaps she was afraid of further antagonizing the Fox Camp girl, whose objection to Azaria’s preferential treatment wasn’t entirely unfounded. Whatever the reason, she hadn't lied when she told Aiyana she was having a bad night and had hoped it would settle the matter. When Aiyana responded with her patronizing remark, however innocent, Daneel's bottom jaw dropped and the contents of her last bite fell out, landing on her barely touched plate. Her hand wrapped around her knife so tightly, it cut into her skin before she felt the pain. But she knew how Azaria would react if she proceeded with the horribly monstrous act she was envisioning on the ugly Falcon Camp girl, so she suppressed it and instead kept her icy glare down at her unappetizing food.

---

Despite their protestations, Azaria and Aiyana were never again assigned to work with the movers, pickers or cutters. Azaria begged Izyl to assign them the toughest assignments, but Izyl threw her hands up and explained Fahim was very specific in what she wanted them doing. Their preferential treatment was hard to ignore. Yumineh took every opportunity to drive the point, especially in front of Daneel. The experience left Azaria frustrated, but Daneel had little sympathy for her troubles. She realized Azaria had no choice in the matter, but her sheer exhaustion from the unceasing labor and blazing sun, coupled with Yumineh’s constant provoking, left Daneel increasingly bitter each night. Sensitive to her friend's own hardship, Azaria soon began avoiding her.

As their tenure at the Great Temple ground on, Azaria and Daneel spoke less and less. Azaria was sure Yumineh hated her now and stopped eating with them. She saw Daneel only before and after they slept. She tried sparking conversations with her, but Daneel stopped responding in her normal chipper manner. She took to giving one or two word brush-offs and when Azaria asked her if anything was wrong she would only say that she was tired from the never ending work. Azaria wanted to believe her. She was tired at the end of each summer sun also and she was more physically inclined. Growing up, Daneel didn't like working outside. She performed the bare minimum of outdoor duties expected of her, like gathering foodstuffs or fetching water. She rarely went hunting or fishing and never volunteered for anything outside a shelter, like the construction of new dwellings or journeys to neighboring camps. She wasn’t suited for this type of work. Azaria knew Daneel had unfortunately landed on Fahim's bad side with her sardonic quip during the orientation and was being made an example of, only being handed the worst of assignments.
I wonder if she realizes that's what happened? And Yumineh's been stuck with the hardest work because she paired with Daneel. Instead of faulting me for getting the good assignments, she should blame Daneel for getting the bad ones.

Yumineh's constant irritation with Azaria continued to have a creeping effect on Daneel. When Azaria was assigned to the carvers again, Yumineh was openly sarcastic, making sure everyone within earshot could hear. "It must be nice to be Fahim's favorite," she announced. Daneel laughed with the other girls, leaving Azaria red with embarrassment and feeling isolated.

"Don't listen to them, Azaria," Aiyana said, pulling on her arm, urging her to ignore the rude comment.

As they walked away, Azaria heard Yumineh yell out, "Go ahead, little Ta'araki, we'll take care of the real work!"

Seeing the look of angry betrayal as Azaria's turned away, an overpowering wave of shame overcame Daneel, knowing deep inside her best friend had no control over the assignments and feeling confused as to why she was beginning to resent her. "That's enough, Yumineh," she said under her breath.

Yumineh, not wanting to test the new friendship which was coming along so well, held her tongue, though she had half a mind to follow them, spitting out more insults. She enjoyed the reaction she received from the other girls and felt especially empowered when Daneel laughed with them.

Working with Dholuhn that morning, Azaria was more than distracted. She'd had to apologize to him twice already when he asked her for a particular tool and she hadn't responded. "Azaria, what is wrong with you this morning? You don't seem to be here," he asked.

"I'm sorry, Dholuhn," she said. "You're right, I'm a bit distracted. I won't let it happen again."

"It's okay. It happens to all of us, even the great master Dholuhn every now and then," he said, attempting to raise her spirits. When she only barely cracked a smile, he continued, "Why don't you take a walk or maybe a swim? It will help bring you into balance with the Great Mother. This rock will always be here."

Azaria thought it was a wonderful idea. But she felt guilty leaving him alone. And then an idea occurred to her, one she liked even more. "I have an even better idea. Do you like figs?" she asked.

"I love figs! How did you know?" he responded.

"Me too. I saw a patch of fig trees to the north when we were hunting. I wanted to stop and get some, but we were in the thick of it and I couldn't break away. A run will do me good. I'll be back before you know it."

"That sounds wonderful, Azaria. I think I know the patch of ficus trees you're speaking of. Take however long you need," the master carver said.

With Aiyana's consent and special permission to be off by herself for a while, Azaria's spirit returned. She had trouble finding the grove at first and the trip took longer than she'd hoped. Upon her return she dropped by her tent just long enough to steal some figs away and then left the rest of the basket by Dholuhn's worksite inside the main Temple. As she approached the gathering area she saw Daneel eating with Yumineh and some of the other girls who had laughed at her earlier. Resolving not to let Yumineh know her comments had affected her, she made her way for them.

Yumineh saw her approaching and waited until she was close. "Oh there she is," she called. "Fahim's favorite gets to stroll around doing whatever she wants, while the rest of us slave away."

Azaria stopped and glared at her, determined to keep her composure while the other girls burst into snickers. She noticed Daneel didn’t join them, keeping her head down instead. Azaria passed and made for Aiyana, who was sitting by herself, happily enjoying her meal.
At least Daneel didn't laugh too,
she told herself.
She must feel bad about this morning.

That night at the evening meal she rushed through her plate and made for their tent, before Daneel had arrived. She skipped her normal cleaning routine and made straight for her furs, wishing to avoid any uncomfortable interaction with her tentmate, but also hoping Daneel would apologize, or at least try to smooth things over.

Daneel caught a glimpse of Azaria hurrying off when she entered the gathering area.
She's trying to avoid me. Can I blame her? I was truly horrifying this morning. She must hate me.
Ashamed of herself and wishing to give her friend space, Daneel lingered out late with the other girls before finally creeping in, well after the sun had set. When she entered, she stood for a long moment in the dim light, staring at Azaria's still form, hoping she would say something, or at least turn over and grunt to let her know she was still up. Anything. She wanted to apologize. She wanted to throw her arms around her old friend's neck as she had so often before. But she didn't blame Azaria for not wanting to talk to her. As quietly as possible, she slipped out of her tunic and into her furs, right beside her best friend - or at least she hoped she still was. She was so close to her, she could hear Azaria's heart beating and couldn't help but wonder if she'd broken it that morning. But Azaria might as well have been on the other side of the Great Western Sea, where the Ta'ar's great beasts still roamed. That was how far she felt from her now. That night they cried together, but apart - distant, silent tears. Azaria was unwilling to let Daneel know how badly she'd hurt her. She was sure she'd not meant to laugh at her. It was Yumineh that brought out the worst - and this horrible place. Daneel was afraid to wake her best friend - and afraid of her rejection if she did.