“Goodbye!” I hollered after it. “I’ll give you tummy scratches the next time.”
There was a bang followed by loud cursing behind me.
“Levi, is that you?” a voice shouted from inside my home. “Would it kill you to keep it down? You know I’m a light sleeper!”
I spun around and stared at my homestead, and my heart stopped at the sound of Hilah’s voice. She was a really nice lady, but only during the daytime. She hated anyone messing with her sleep cycle. Anyone. Especially her homemates. I hurried back into my homestead and paused inside the cookery when the outline of Nuni, my other homemate, walked into the room yawning. She switched on the light.
I’d woken her up too.
“I’m so sorry.” I dropped to my knees and locked my eyes on the floor. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”
Tensing, I waited for hate-filled words and a beating.
“Oh, Levi. It’s okay, honey,” Nuni said softly as she approached me slowly. She kneeled on the floor in front of me and covered my hands with hers. “You don’t have to kneel to anyone anymore … remember?”
I kept my gaze downcast, and I tensed when Nuni’s fair-skinned hands slid over mine in a gesture of comfort. I couldn’t help but notice the difference. The back of my hands were considerably darker than hers. My palms were lighter but still not as light as her skin. My skin was calloused from years of hard labour on The Farm, and hers was smooth and untouched. She was definitely not a slave back on Earth. If she was, she wouldn’t look so well put together.
She’d have the scars, marks of great pain, to show her upbringing.
“Levi,” Nuni repeated. “You’re free, sweetie.”
Free, I thought. I’m free.
I found myself nodding. “I know, I’m sorry. I just … forget.”
“That’s okay,” she assured me as she leaned forward and gave me a tight hug. “You’re safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you, sweetie.”
Nuni was an augmented human. She lost both of her arms during an explosion back on Earth when she was a child, and because her family had some wealth, they had her fitted with new arms. They were the expensive kind because to look and touch, you would think they were natural. It was in Nuni’s tight embrace that I could feel the difference because they made her very strong.
“And ignore Hilah,” she continued as she tightened her hold on me. “She’s meaner than a bee-stung bull when she doesn’t get enough sleep. You didn’t wake me. Her big mouth did.”
My lips twitched, but I didn’t return Nuni’s hug.
I had been her homemate, along with Hilah, since the day we arrived on Ealra aboard the Ebony and were sorted into our homes. She was nice, really nice, but I was taking my time when it came to forming friendships. I wanted to be sure about every person I let into my life. I had no control over whose company I was in before, but I had all of the control now, and I wanted to make the right choices for myself. The only relationship I had was with Nicah, my friend and the soon-to-be mother of my half-brother or half-sister. Nuni was starting to break me down, though. I spent a lot of time with her and really enjoyed her company.
I thought she was wonderful.
“Come with me.” Nuni beamed as she pulled back from our hug. “It’ll be daystar rise in a couple of hours, and we don’t wanna miss it. Yesterday, I spoke with a seer, a special and rare Maji who has an ability called sight. He said the rise of the daystar will be most beautiful today.”
I spent the next couple of hours with Nuni just on the edge of Royal City.
Patrols of the Guard greeted us when we passed them by, and each of them stopped and stared at some point during our interactions. Females were highly sought after by Maji males, and seeing so many human women was still taking some getting used to for them. Not that I blamed them. I still had to get used to the Maji, Ealra, and my new life in general.
It wouldn’t happen overnight.
After Nuni and I watched the beautiful sunrise—I mean, daystar rise—we ventured into a canteen designated for single females only within Royal City and had some food to break our fast. Once we were finished, we checked our bracelets for our daily schedules.
Eventually, all human women would take up a job of some kind. It would be different than it was on Earth because the Maji did not work for credits or individual wealth, they worked for the entirety of the people. Trade workers, cooks, healers, engineers, scientists, hunters, tanners, weavers, gardeners, all the members of the Guard and many more … they all worked for each other, and soon, us women would too.