Marie's Journey (Ginecean Chronicles) (12 page)

“In a few hours, we’re going to stop in the capital.” The driver, who had been silent the whole time, turned to face them.

“We’re passing through Ginecea?” Marie was surprised.

“We’re spending the night in Ginecea.” Eyebrow raised, the driver gave her a look as if she had asked a silly question.

“But why?” Marie had never paid attention during geography class, but she was confident the infamous Vasura wasn’t anywhere near Ginecea.

“It’s an act of kindness to you.” The driver kept her eyes on Marie a moment longer, then focused on the road again. “To let you see the city before you’re retired at the plant.”

“That’s what they say…” Rane’s voice was a whisper, but the guards behind them must have heard because one pushed hard against Rane’s seat, making her double against the rail.

“Quiet!” Another blow and the whole seat rattled.

Marie exchanged a meaningful look with the doctor and then relaxed against the glass, not wanting to unleash the ire of the two guards. From Rane’s unfinished sentence, Marie doubted showing future wasted women a glimpse of Ginecea was an act of kindness. It sounded more like giving the thirsty a jar full of marine water.

The landscape changed several times, from the Mountainous region’s rocky badlands to the more gentle hills of the Ginecean Federal District, then passing through the Lake region, a holiday destination for the pure breeds. Marie had seen pictures of those places in the glossy magazine that keep track of the latest gossip regarding the rich and the famous. Once she had been mildly curious about visiting there herself. Now she only wanted the ride to be over. She watched as the sun finally disappeared behind the Great Pass beyond which the Desertica Region started and wondered only for a moment if it was true that wild men lived out there. She had heard the rumor back at the Institute, but never believed it. The thought of Grant followed and with it, a different kind of pain she didn’t want to analyze. Soon, the moon owned the sky and she only saw her reflection staring back at her from the glass. Although she hadn’t been focusing on what she was looking at, not having that choice made her feel desperate.

Rane’s hand rested on her arm. “I won’t leave you alone out there.”

Marie put her hand on top of hers and murmured a thanks. “Will it be long before we arrive in Ginecea?”

“We’re almost there.” The driver must have had excellent hearing because Marie had made sure to lower her voice.

Rane nodded. “One or two hours tops.”

Marie didn’t think she could stand after the hours she sat in that seat, but asked the guards permission to use the bathroom at the end of the bus and splashed her face with the lukewarm water dripping from the minuscule faucet. She went back, dragging her feet in a vain attempt to waste time and even tried to close her eyes and sleep once on her seat.

Some time later, the bus finally reached Ginecea City. Marie wondered how two hours felt like twelve. Although illuminated only by street lamps and the majority of the scenery lay hidden behind the large cones of light, she had never seen anything as imposing as the viaduct stretching before them. The structure was made of granite and shone white. Elegant statues bordered the high parapets on both sides. The road itself was six lanes wide, but at the moment, their vehicle was the only one using it. When they reached the center of the bridge, she tried to gauge how high they were over the river, but darkness engulfed everything beyond the statues.

“Ginecea, the beautiful,” the driver announced, her voice matching Marie’s admiration, once the bus cleared the bridge. “First Door.”

Rising majestically before them sat one of the ancient gates the capital was renowned for. The fact that, despite the name, there was no visible gate or door surprised Marie. The bus rumbled under a high arch opening on the façade of a majestic building that matched the bridge. On the other side of the arch, the city proper started. “Ginecea, the beautiful,” she repeated the driver’s words.

Pure breeds didn’t believe in doing anything halfway. Their capital city was the pinnacle of architectural excellence. Marble, granite, and obsidian had been used lavishly. It was evident they spared no expense when it came to maintenance. Some buildings on either side of the ancient cobblestone road were centuries old but looked brand new. Poles, more metal sculptures resembling plant stems than streetlights, sported big lamps hanging like flower bulbs. As the bus left one neighborhood for the next, Marie saw that the decorations changed, and so did the architecture of the buildings.

The slow procession through Ginecea lasted at least an hour, which Marie spent with her mind shut down and her eyes wide open. She had decided only the present counted since she had nothing left. Once entombed inside the waste plant, she would never leave again. And even if she could go anywhere else, none of the people who had cared for her would want to be in the same room with her. She shook her head in a vain attempt to free her heart from the bitterness those thoughts birthed.

“We’ve arrived.” The driver pulled the bus in an alley just outside the cone of light of the majestic streetlamps. They were engulfed by darkness with the same rapidity as if someone had switched a light off.

The two guards stood, and while one walked the few steps to the door, the other positioned herself behind Marie and Rane. “Let’s go.” The woman poked at Rane’s shoulder with her baton.

The doctor didn’t complain. She gave Marie a small smile and then got out of the seat. In a matter of minutes, they were escorted off the bus. Marie furtively looked left and right to take in some of the details, but the tip of a baton on her back convinced her to keep walking. The entrance to the building was on the street, just a few steps from where the bus was parked. A wooden door opened and closed. They exchanged the lashing cold of the night, redolent of metal and stone mixed with exhaust fumes, for the warmth inside the house, which smelled of cleaning agents and baking. Someone fumbled with the switch and the place was day-lit, causing Marie to recoil at the sudden brightness.

“Welcome to the half-house.” A pure breed in her sixties, a grandmotherly type with white, curly hair, bright brown eyes, and a soft figure, welcomed them. “I’m Margareta and I’ll take care of you tonight.”

Marie and Rane presented themselves and then followed the woman through the half-house. Marie had never heard of such thing, but the place was cozy, nothing of the grandeur the rest of the city seemed so fond of. It was also old, the furniture attested to a life of use, and the walls had seen several rounds of painting, but the overall feeling it emanated was of care.

“You’ll sleep in the same room, so I can accommodate the guards in the other.” Margareta walked slowly, dragging one leg slightly. “I gave you the one with the better view,” she whispered to Marie, who was closer to her.

Marie blinked at the statement but managed to attempt a half-smile. She looked at the small hallway with the low ceiling and felt her lungs shrinking. Her shoes clicked loudly on the worn marble tiles covering the floor in a pleasant white-and-black pattern.

“Here.” Margareta opened a white door, a faint light-blue hue popping through. “I’ll bring some refreshments in a minute.”

The guards checked the room from the doorway, seemed satisfied by what they saw, and let Marie and Rane in.

“I’ll be right back.” Margareta closed the door behind them.

She heard the sound of the key turning inside the lock, a sad reminder of their predicament. She gave a brief glance at the room: two small beds covered with quilts, which had been stitched and repaired to the point their original designs were altered beyond recognition. A big window dominated the wall opposite the door. She walked toward it and made to open the heavy curtain.

“Marie—” Rane came to her side and took Marie’s hands in hers. “I never wanted for you to get involved. I’m so sorry Callista wanted to punish me so much that you ended up in the middle of it.”

She was taken by surprise by the doctor’s apology. “I should’ve kept my mouth shut.” She had been wondering why she talked back to Callista.

“You’re not here because of something you said. You were at the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s all my fault. I didn’t think she would go to such extremes.” Rane’s eyes were full of tears and the expression on her face showed her pain.

Marie squeezed the doctor’s hands back. “I’m so angry. I hate—”

“You’ve got a million reasons to hate me. I ruined your life.” Rane lowered her eyes on the floor.

“I hate pure breeds.” Marie knew she and the doctor were only pawns. “What’s the story with Callista and you anyway?”

“I was in love with her once and she couldn’t stand the idea she might’ve felt something for me as well.” Rane wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “In retrospect, it’s me who should’ve never declared my love for her. I should’ve known better. I should’ve known it would end tragically.” She shook her head, then chuckled. “And I was right, wasn’t I? Thanks the Goddess I never thought to ask my m—the rector to smuggle the meds for me. Otherwise, Madame Lana would be in this mess too.”

Marie’s stomach growled.
Get used to that
. Stories of starvation and other horrors associated with the waste plants came back to her. The sound of the key turning in the lock brought her attention back to the present.

After a moment, Margareta appeared, balancing a tray on one hand, ring of keys dangling in the other. “Here’s some food. I’m sorry I can’t let you out to eat in the kitchen, things have happened in the past.” She made an arch with her key-holding hand to encompass everything she wasn’t saying.

Rane accepted the tray from the older woman and put it down on one of the shelves jutting from the wall right to the door. “I understand.”

Margareta reached inside one of the pockets on the front of her dress and provided them with plastic utensils. “Again, things happened in the past.”

Marie and Rane took the useless forks and dull knives and thanked the woman. With no coffee table, nightstand, or desk available, they resorted to sit on the edges of the two beds, facing each other. Margareta didn’t give any sign she was going to leave; she settled her frame against the doorjamb and engaged in harmless chitchat about the weather and other equally uninteresting topics. While Rane tried to mumble some form of assent once in a while, Marie lowered her head, started eating and tuned out the conversation. The food—meatloaf and peas—was simple but tasty and she wasn’t in the mood for small talk—until something they said broke through her barrier and snagged her attention.

“I’ll tell Lana you were in good spirits.” Margareta was collecting the now-empty plate from Rane and moved toward Marie, who promptly raised her own plate to her. “I’ll come back with some herbal tea. It will help you relax.”

“Thank you.” Rane’s lips curved up in a sad smile.

Marie had the feeling Margareta’s previous statement was more involved than simply offering sleeping aids. As soon as the door closed behind the older woman’s back, she turned to the doctor with the question that had kept tugging at her mind since they had left Redfarm. “Who’s the rector to you?”

Rane scooted on the bed until her back was against the wall, then gave Marie a long stare, sighed, and shrugged. “Madame Lana is my mother. I guess it’s safe to tell you now.” Her hands went to her chest, and the envelope hidden under her shirt shifted and became visible for a moment. She immediately flattened it.

Marie’s mouth hung open for a few seconds. “Oh…” She had thought the woman in the picture looked familiar, but she would have never associated the smiling face to Lana’s austere one.

“As you can imagine, it’s not something we like to bandy about.”

“Well, of course… but how…?” Marie was at loss for words. Rectors didn’t have kids. It wasn’t a social rule per se, but propriety demanded a woman in charge of girls to be celibate at best. To have a daughter and employ her in the same establishment the rector directed must be a grave infringement of the rectors’ code of conduct.

“She couldn’t bear to lose me and forged some papers when I was a toddler.” Rane interrupted Marie’s history lesson by conversing with a studied calm. “I was raised at Redfarm under her vigilant eyes.”

“Have you been living there the whole time?”

“No, when I was of age, I was sent to work at Callista’s family-owned medical practice as an apprentice. Callista’s mothers saw potential in me, and fathered women need doctors too. As soon as I finished the training, I asked to be sent back to Redfarm where I knew the rector would let me work without interference.”

“So, Madame Lana knows of your… ideas?”

“Of course. She’s covered for me all these years. How do you think I was able to keep a men’s infirmary that rivaled the women’s?” The hint of a genuine smile appeared on the doctor’s face.

Marie was stunned by the revelation. She had gotten everything wrong about the rector. “I have no idea. I never worked in an infirmary, men’s or women’s.”

“I was so pleased when she sent you to me. Mom has always chosen wisely. She’s great at reading people.” Rane was visibly relaxing.

Conversely, Marie was utterly confused, a state she disliked greatly because normally led her to tense up. She regretted having asked. She had expected a more plausible, although highly inconvenient love story. “Nobody ever suspected?”

“A few people know, but they are loyal to my mother and would do anything for her.” Rane sounded proud.

“I’d never thought the rector would inspire anything but fear.” Marie couldn’t stop herself. “Forgive me. I mean no disrespect—”

The doctor laughed and raised her hand to stop her. “Don’t worry. I grew up having my mother as the rector. I thought the worst things of her at times, but she’s a great humanitarian. I wished you had the time to get to know her. You would’ve been surprised.” She raised her knees on the bed and laid her chin on them, the joyous moment gone.

“I’m already surprised.” Marie had the good grace not to say she was indeed shocked. What a scandal it would have been if such truth had been discovered.

“You would’ve loved Redfarm, I know.” Deep sadness tinged the doctor’s voice again. “I’ll never forgive myself for your involvement in this… nightmare.”